TWITTER    FOR  REAL  ESTATE  PROFESSIONALS  

“Regardless  of  age,  regardless  of  position,  regardless  of  the  business  we  happen  to  be  in,  all  of  us  need  to  understand  the  importance  of  branding.  We  are  CEOs  of  our  own  companies:    

 Me,  Inc.  

   To  be  in  business  today,  our  most  important  job  is  to  be  head  marketer  for  the  brand  called  You.”    

 Tom  Peters  –  Fast  Company  

Getting  Started  –      Who  you  are    Why  use  twitter?  

What  we’ll  be  covering:  

About  Twitter    Buzzwords    Anatomy  of  Twitter  

How  to  Use  it    Creating  your  profile    Using  the  Search  Functionality    How  to  build  your  following  

TWITTER  

Why  Twitter?    Twitter  is  an  invaluable  tool  when  trying  to  create  one’s  brand.      It  allows  for  direct  and  constant  communication  with  current  clients,  potential  clients,  and  millions  of  informed  individuals    • 360  Million  users  • 25%  earn  over  $100k  per  year  • 51%  have  a  college  degree  

Building  audiences:    • 69%  rely  on  friends  suggestions  for  followers  

TWITTER  Buzzwords  Handle  A  user’s  handle  is  the  username  they’ve  selected    A  handle  is  a  @  sign  followed  directly  by  the  username    

Lists  Curated  groups  of  other  Twitter  users.  Used  to  tie  specific  individuals  into  a  group.    

Mentions  Mention  another  user  in  your  Tweet  by  including  the  @  sign  followed  directly  by  their  username  

TWITTER  Buzzwords    Retweet  When  someone  reposts  a  tweet.  

Hashtag    Using  the  #  symbol  before  a  phrase  will  create  a  link.  

 Benefits  to  using  hashtags:  •  Categorizes  tweets  and  conversations  •  Helps    to  show  topics  more  easily  in  

Twitter  Search  •  Clicking  on  Hashtagged  words  shows  

you  all  the  other  tweets  marked  with  that  hashtag  

 Profile:    

•  Describe  yourself  and  your  job  in  your  “About  Me”  •  Link  it  to  your  TOWN    page  by  using  a  link  shortener  •  Add  TOWN’s  handle  @townresidential  and  mention  TOWN  in  your  bio  •  Use  your  TOWN  headshot  

   

   

Anatomy  of  Twitter  

Anatomy  of  Twitter  

Feed  

Anatomy  of  Twitter  

Follower  suggestions    

Anatomy  of  Twitter  The  Discover  tab  shows  you  content  you  might  be  interested  in  following  based  on  your  connections,  location  and  recent  trending  topics.  All  content  in  the  Discover  tab  defaults  to  Tweets.  

Anatomy  of  Twitter  

Your  Profile:  This  is  a  general  overview  of  your  account  including  your  Tweets,  photos,  following  count,  and  bio.  You  can  customize  your  profile  by  clicking  on  the  gear  in  the  right  hand  corner.    

Anatomy  of  Twitter  The  Connect  section  contains  all  Tweets  that  mention  your  username  so  you  can  easily  keep  track  of  conversations  people  are  having  with  you  or  about  you.  

CREATING  YOUR  PROFILE  

1.  Navigate  to  http://twitter.com  and  fill  out  the  sign  up  form.  2.  Enter  your  full  name,  email  and  password.  3.  Click  sign  up  for  Twitter.    

4.  You’ll  be  taken  to  another  screen  to  select  a  username.  •  When  selecting  a  username  try  to  make  it  the  same  name  as  your  

Instagram  handle  if  applicable.  •  Usernames  must  be  fewer  than  15  characters.    •  Since  usernames  take  up  characters  in  retweets  having  a  shorter  name  

7-­‐10  characters  is  preferable.    

PROFILE:  Upload  a  profile  picture,  header  and  background  to  display  your  personality.    

•    20%  Links  to  your  own  listings  on  Townrealestate.com  or  your  own  blog  if  you  have  one  

•  30%  Link  to  other    people’s  content  (News,  Press,  other  interests)  

•  The  remaining  50%  should  consist  of  personal  interaction,  small  talk,  commenting  and  networking  

Content  Mix:  

Answer  these  questions:  •  Who  is  your  target  audience?  •  What  problem  can  you  solve  or  need  can  you  fulfill?  •  What  unique  outlook  can  you  share  that  positions  your  business  as  thought  leader  within  your  local  market?  

•  Will  you  manage  your  social  media  or  outsource?  If  it  is  you,  how  much  time  can  you  commit  on  a  weekly  basis?  

•  What  end  results  are  hoping  to  achieve?  Be  specific  in  what  outcome  you  hope  for  whether  it’s  to  generate  new  business  or  gain  new  recruits.  

Getting  Started  

Choose  a  handful  of  personal  qualities  about  yourself  that  you  want  to  be  known  for.    Ask  yourself  the  following  questions:    •   What  interests  you  most?  •   What  will  you  have  fun  executing?  •   What  could  you  be  most  consistent  with?  •   What  do  you  want  to  use  social  media  for?  

   

FINDING  YOUR  VOICE  

Some  content  you  can  specialize  in:  •  Home  Décor  •  Sports  •  Family  Life  •  Fitness  •  Restaurant  Reviews    

Make  sure  you  don’t  try  to  focus  on  too  many  things  –  it’ll  be  harder  for  someone  to  remember  any  of  it.  

 Make  sure  you’re  honest  with  yourself  –  pretending  to  

be  something  you’re  not  never  works  well.    

FINDING  YOUR  VOICE  

Staying  Consistent  

Once  you  find  out  what  your  online  voice  will  be,  you  have  to  be  accountable!      Stay  in  touch!  –  Create  posting  calendars  for  yourself    so  people  can  look  forward  to  seeing  your  posts    Stay  relevant  –  post  timely  articles  or  photos  that  are  of  interest  to  you    Stay  Personal  –  Post  photos  of  you  and  your  family/friends    

PERSONAL  VS.  PROFESSIONAL  

Everything  on  the  Internet  is  public..    Always  be  thoughtful  when  publishing  your  opinions  and  personal  life  on  the  Internet.      

•  Personal  :  •  Always  maintain  a  positive  demeanor  •  Be  cautious  of  the  photos  you  share  (risque  clothing  or  behavior)  

 

BRIDGING  THE  GAP  BETWEEN  YOUR  AUDIENCE  AND  YOU  

The  number  one  source  for  real  estate  listings  is  referrals  

Social  media  is  your  opportunity  to  engage  with  your  clients  on  a  regular  basis    • Stay  top  of  mind  by  becoming  the  authority  (the  topic  is  up  to  you)  • Stay  in  people’s  news  feeds  by  posting  to  twitter  5-­‐7  times  a  week  • Stay  consistent  on  twitter  by  sharing  relevant  articles  and  posting  fun  and  exciting  updates  more  frequently  

 As  long  as  you  stay  top  of  mind,  they  will  remember  to  refer  you  to  friends  and  connect  with  you  when  the  opportunity  arises.            

Only  14%  of  consumers  trust  ads  75  %  trust  peer  recommendations  90%  of  consumers  start  their  search  online!      

 •  Plan  a  messaging  schedule  of  80%  sharable  content,  20%  sales/

leasing  messages    •  Set  up  Google  alerts  and  subscribe  to  newsletters  for  good  content  

you  can  share  regularly  •  Share  content  from  Around  TOWN  emails,  the  corporate  Facebook  

Page  and  YouTube  •  Share  your  listings,  but  focus  on  one  interesting  aspect  •  Tweet  How-­‐To’s.  YouTube  and  design  blogs  have  great  articles  about  

DIY,  Home  Décor,  and  even  recipes  •  Geographic  info  –  become  the  go-­‐to  in  your  neighborhood  •  Ask  questions.  Ask  for  opinions.  •  Share  photos  •  Be  Funny/friendly/inspirational  –  Share  great  quotes  using  #qotd  

(quote  of  the  day)  •  Try  to  use  a  hashtag  in  every  Tweet  to  increase  your  virality,  tag  

other  businesses  in  your  Tweets  instead  of  using  names    

What  to  Tweet:  

Use  the  search  functionality  to  find  new  followers  and  potential  clients  

•  “Moving  to  NYC”  •  Relocating  NYC  •  NYC  News  •  West  Village  News,  East  Village,  etc.    

Grow  Your  Following    

 

 

•  Follow  people  that  want  to  follow  you  (people  talking  about  your  topic)  

•  @reply  even  people  who  don’t  follow  you  •  Interact  with  influencers  •  Take  it  offline!  Tweet  from  events  and  follow  influencers  

that  day  •  Add  yourself  to  twitter  directories  like  

www.wefollow.com,  www.twello.com  

   

Grow  Your  Following  

   

•  Send  an  email  blast  to  your  list  encouraging  subscribers  to  follow  you  •  Add  your  link  to  your  signature  (Twitter.com/username)  •  Follow  people  that  want  to  follow  you  (people  talking  about  your  topic)  •  @reply  even  people  who  don’t  follow  you  •  Interact  with  influencers  •  Follow  all  of  your  vendors  and  clients  and  begin  having  conversations  with  

them,  a  lot  of  them  will  reciprocate  •  Begin  following  the  top  100  bloggers  on  real  estate  (find  via  apps  like  

TRAAKR)  •  Follow  real  estate  developers/builders  •  Add  yourself  to  twitter  directories  like  www.wefollow.com,  www.twello.com  

   

Grow  your  following  

 

 

•  Industry  Peers  and  professionals  

•  Experts  (RE,  Social  Media,  Marketing,  etc.)  

•  Client  List  (private)  •  Local  Competition  (private)    

Create  and  Subscribe  to  Lists  

Top  Tweeters  

Paul  Macapagal  –  Town  Residential    Paul  gained  his  following  by  finding  people  with  common  interests  

and  following  them!    Twitter.com/nyc_real_estate      

Top  Tweeters  

Chris  Alston  @chris_alston  •  Chris  has  a  great  mix  of  

commentary  and  interacts  with  his  followers  regularly  

   

 

 •  Find  10  Tweeters  you  should  be  interacting  with.    

 

Exercise  

 

 •  Follow  5  real  estate  reporters  or  editors    

Action  Items  

   •  Lauren  Schuker  Blum,  WSJ  @laurensblum  •  Candace  Jackson,  WSJ  @candace_jackson  •  Michelle  Higgins,  NYTimes  @michellehiggins  •  Vivian  Toy,  NYTimes  @VivianSToy  •  Matt  Chaban,  Crains  @MC_NYC  •  Kathy  Clarke,  The  Real  Deal  @KathyClarkeNYC  

•  Send  an  email  blast  to  your  list  encouraging  people  to  follow  you  on  all  social  media.  Include  relevant  links  

 •  Post  a  picture  to  twitter    •  See  what’s  trending  and  get  involved  in  the  convo.  You’ll  be  surprised  

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