Source: NikNik – MyTechOpinion
What is TweetLister?
TweetLister is a new Twitter tool specifically created for real estate agents. Signing up for the free service allows you to post, schedule and manage real estate listings on Twitter. Track clicks received on your listings, as well as collect and download contacts you get through those listings (available via an Excel Report).
While I see the benefit of scheduling resourceful tweets to share with your network (aka “drip tweets”) throughout the day, I don’t recognize the benefit of ONLY twittering your listings. As a real estate professional on Twitter, your goal should be to become your network’s trusted advisor. This means you should be sharing what makes you a great source of related information. Yes, listing information is important to your local network (for those planning to transact now or in the near future). But what about the vast majority who are not transacting. Surely you want to maintain your connections and provide resourceful and local information so that when those in the majority are ready to transact, they call you!
Why TweetLister needs a NEW attitude…ooh, ooh…ooh, ooh…ooh?
TweetLister mentions that you don’t need to understand Twitter to use their site. In fact, the “about page” goes on to profess that there’s really no need to go back to your Twitter Profile, just use TweetLister. Contrary to TweetLister, this is NOT “good news” to you or me!
If you are just using Tweetlister to ONLY post listings then you don’t really understand why and how Twitter benefits you and your network. You are missing the point!
According to TweetLister, it is ONLY for real estate listings and spammers will be blocked. Hmmm, the very nature by which listings are shared on TweetLister seems pretty spammy to me! For example, the “Add New Listing” form only allows for select information about the property (location, bedrooms, baths, features, etc.). See below:
You cannot change or modify the listing information provided within the tweet. The automated portion is helpful and fast, but there’s no room for customization. My suggestion would be to make the text modifiable. As RE pros, you know how important verbiage is on your listing flyers…and with only 140 characters, you need to make them count! I would also be extremely beneficial to have the ability to share various media….pictures, video, blog, single property site, etc.
MyTechOpinion
The way I see it, you could just as easily create your own “tweetlisting” directly from your Twitter.com profile (or Tweetdeck, Twhirl, Tweetlater, Twuffer, etc.), and do so in a more creative and professional way. At least then you can have complete control over what you can do with those 140 characters. You can simply add links to whatever related media (virtual tour, images, interesting info, etc) you have for that property. Better yet, you could share something special about the neighborhood, helpful maps, and/or other local specifics….and then provide a trackable link (like BudURL) to your listing site or blog. Include your own hashtag and call it a tweet! That’s MyTechOpinion, but feel free to share yours!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I find TweetLister to be really useful. I think what most brokers are missing is the search/index utility of getting your listings into Twitter. While I agree your followers might now want to see all your listings, they certainly don’t want to see most of the stuff brokers typically tweet about. Further, how many brokers are building up followings of potential buyers? So the purpose of getting the listing on Twitter, specifically using TweetLister, really helps on the search side of things. Brokers – thing bigger than just putting your listing on Twitter…think about how it gets searched, who’s searching for that listing, and where they’re searching for it. It certainly isn’t amongst your tweets. They’re doing it from search.twitter.com and sites like TweetLister who provides a real estate specific search.
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I would have to disagree with what’s been said above. I think TweetLister is a really useful tool. It provides utility, ease, and function. Seems to be lots of brokers using it too. Listings would seem to be more useful as tweets than most of the garbage that brokers are tweeting about. IMHO.
This is an easy tool to use; I am a twitter fanatic, (Realtyshark), and didn’t even know there was a way to search for property!
My only suggestion for improvement is that perhaps it could be made to fit all locations in the country. We have no “river views” to speak of but have gorgeous Ocean/Island views. Exposed brick here would be rare and city lights means almost nothing in comparison to what is intended with this site. Perhaps no drop down at all, leaving us to input our own features would be the easiest.
as far as “Listings would seem to be more useful as tweets than most of the garbage that brokers are tweeting about. IMHO” above goes, some of us tweet almost nothing about real estate and use it mostly as a social media tool; others appear to have no life outside of their professional appearance and some are handing off information as it comes to them. There are no absolutes when it comes to tweeting for any profession.
I never said I was against scheduling your tweets or syndicating your listings to where consumers look for real estate. I just think it’s silly to use one service like Tweetlister that syndicates only to Twitter, when you can use more sophisticated tools like AgencyLogic or Point2 Agent to blast your listings to all the major real estate portals and social networks on the Web.
I see how brokers would use Tweetlister to broadcast their listings on Twitter, but as an established, professional, local interest broker…I would think you’d want to appeal to your local market in more ways than one. Not to mention the opportunity to recruit new and experienced agents. And if you were going to shoot for being more transparent, resourceful and well rounded with your tweets (also including listings) then you’d want to use a service like Tweetlater or Twuffer that will schedule all types of tweets (allowing for customization and tracking) not just listing tweets.
I think Heidi has it right, “there are no absolutes when it comes to tweeting for any profession”. But I would bet that if you talked with your consumers, clients, followers, friends, etc…. most of them would say that they use Twitter to connect and converse. And since not too many folks are “in the buying way” right now, shouldn’t an agent’s or broker’s concern be with maintaining and building new relationships with locals.