Why you should use Twitter

Compared to Facebook, Twitter’s seriously underutilised by real estate companies across SA. It’s likely most of your competitors are using it incorrectly - if at all. With this in mind, you can leap ahead of other real estate agencies and…

• Become a local authority in your community
• Find and engage with leads
• Create a strong brand presence
• Drive more traffic to your website

The world’s biggest brands are on Twitter. You can join them in just six simple steps. Once you do, you’ll need to think strategically.

Understand your Twitter goals

It’s easy to find yourself firing off tweets one after the other. However, it’s best to create a clear and concise content plan which will guide what you post throughout the day, week and month. Your content plan should provide value-driven and brand-centric info like interesting facts about the neighbourhood/s you specialise in. It should showcase your local expertise and provide updates relevant to your market.

It’s also important to figure out who your target audience is: Are you trying to gain the attention of buyers and sellers, tenants and landlords, or property investors and developers? Or all of the above? This will determine the direction of your content plan.

By first understanding who your target market is, you can then go on to answer other important questions on the road to determining your Twitter goals.

• What unique opinions/advice can you share that positions your company as a property leader in your community?
• How can you help or engage with your target audience?
• What makes your real estate company stand out? This could be your property listings, services, brand position etc.
• What end results are you hoping to achieve using Twitter? This could be generating new leads, gaining new followers, etc.

Once you’ve set your Twitter goals, you’re ready to start tweeting.

Post a great tweet

There isn’t a perfect formula that works all the time. However, top tweets tend to have at least some of the the following seven important features.

1. Concise
   Keep it short, sweet and to the point.
2. Call to action
   Don’t be afraid to tell your audience what you want them to do.
3. Topical
   You can add your thoughts to trending topics on the site.
4. Hashtags
   Use one or two that are related to your industry.
5. Human
   People want to talk to people - not a marketing robot. Be genuine. Add value.
6. Creative
   You have so many options to make your tweet interesting: Photos, GIFs, videos and polls.
7. Emotive
   If your tweet can create a reaction from your audience, it will be more effective.

Keeping this in mind, you won’t have any problems getting likes and retweets for your content. By creating relevant posts, you’ll successfully engage your audience.

What you can post

You’re well on your way to becoming a master property tweeter. Here are some ideas that you can use in your content plan.

• Properties for sale or rent: Promoting your listed properties will generate great exposure on the platform, especially if you choose to promote properties that are sole mandates, on-show or have sought-after features. Don’t forget to back this up with a well-written description and high-quality pictures/videos.
• News and advice articles: Twitter is the perfect place to showcase your unique insight and opinions. You can share your articles from your website to the platform. A quality piece will drive traffic back to your website and over time these will cement your status as an industry leader. You can also share articles from other Twitter accounts that are relevant to your brand.
• Insiders: Throwing a Halloween party at your office? Reached a new milestone? Or are new staff members joining? Personalise your tweets a little and let your followers know what’s going on behind the scenes. This not only adds colour and fun to your Twitter account but also allows people to get to know you better.

How often should you tweet?

A SocialBakers study found that you will see the most engagement when tweeting three times per day. The general rule of thumb is that you should average between three to five tweets per day.

When should you tweet?

The best day of the week to tweet is Wednesday. The best times are at 12 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm, and 6 pm. The tweets of business-to-customer real estate agencies perform 17% better over the weekends.

As you post, you’ll quickly work out which times and days get the most engagement from your audience.

Be sociable

Twitter is all about connecting. You should use Twitter to network, get your name out there and build a trustworthy reputation in your industry. Be sure to interact with relevant industry leaders - those whose opinions enhance your brand and can help you promote your listed properties and services.

You can engage with them by liking, commenting, retweeting and hosting ongoing group chats. However you choose to engage, remember to always keep it relevant to your goals of your agency and add value to the Twitter space.

PRO MOVE: To make engagement easier, you can use Twitter Lists. This lets you place your followers into organised lists that can fall into various categories such as clients, competitors, prospects and partners. Once these lists are created, you can monitor or reply to tweets in a more organised way. This also ensures that you don’t miss any important enquiries.