Why Realtors Need Twitter

Q: Should Reators use Twitter for business?

A: Many realtors realize that it is getting harder and harder to work with the younger clients (I guess, anyone under 40). The young buyers, according to one of the realtors I spoke with recently, are simply too flaky and do not value loyalty. Plus they prefer e-mail, text messaging, and other Internet channels over actual meetings or phone calls.

I happen to completely disagree on the issue of customer loyalty. It’s just in the good old days, there was probably no other choice for real estate buyers and sellers, but to go through a realtor in order to post to and search the listings as well as to get even the basic market intelligence. Now, of course, clients have lots of choice in how to get information and real estate services. And, if they like a channel, they’ll be loyal to it, whether it is a traditional Realtor, a FSBO-type service, Zillow.com, etc.

As for preferring online communications, hey, online is where most clients spend most of their time now. A phone call after 8pm might not be welcome or appropriate. But a tweet is. Twitter can be used to contact clients with new listings, to follow up after a showing, update on the status of paperwork, or just to send a link to a news article about local events. And it gets extended into building online relationship with fellow realtors.

Sample Solution

Here’s a real estate agency that successfully uses Twitter to communicate with clients as well as with realtors. The tweets are not limited to just listings, but include news, helpful websites, and closing tips, among others.

Technorati Tags: twitter, realtor

Related posts:

1. Should Realtors Tweet?
2. Twitter Tools, Part 3: It’s ALL About Content
3. Are You a Twitter Spammer?