Those of you that follow me on Twitter know that I am a pretty prolific user of the micro-blogging service and I have written in the past of how the platform is rapidly gaining popularity with the commercial real estate industry.
Social media scientist Dan Zarella released a new report on how to get the highest number of click-throughs for your tweets. In addition, with 3 years of daily tweeting under my belt, I have a few tips specific to the commercial real estate industry you may want to consider.
Don’t tweet your listings: People don’t spend time on twitter to search for commercial real estate. I know it’s hard for you to resist as the email blast/push mentality is ingrained in most of us, but I assure you that nobody clicks the link to your listing advertisement. If you insist then at least try to keep it to a minimum.
Diversify your content: Most of your clients and prospects don’t want to read about commercial real estate 100% of the time. In my opinion the real value in Twitter is that it is a great tool to gain visibility and credibility. Pick some other content relative to your niche but outside the scope of CRE and your likely to attract more attention to your stream and a more diverse group of followers beyond just commercial real estate brokers.
Don’t over-do the self promotion: I know you are all awesome, but most people don’t want to hear about how you closed two deals today and picked up a listing. Try to add some value with your content.
Pay attention to the frequency of industry tweets: Twitter is a great news source if you follow the #CRE hashtag. However, if you are tweeting only the links to a news article from the standard industry news sources i.e. CoStar, GlobeSt, Commercial Property Executive etc. and the story has already been tweeted hundreds of times, then chances are people that might be interested have already seen it. Look for some less prominent new sources and tweet interesting information. This will bring attention to your stream and enhance your reputation as a content curator.
Build rapport: Ultimately if you spend time on Twitter consistently then you will begin to build rapport with other Twitter users. Send them a direct message and further the conversation or even pick up the phone and call them if appropriate. The secret sauce to getting the proverbial ROI from Twitter is to advance your best online connections into real business and personal relationships.
Time management: I would strongly recommend using HootSuite or Tweet Deck to manage you twitter stream. I won’t elaborate on all the features, but Twitter can be one of the biggest time munchers of all the social networks. These tools are great for getting the most out of your time on Twitter. Also use google reader to organize your favorite websites and blogs so that you can quickly scan interesting content to select what you want to share.
You might also like:
- Twitter Gains Traction in the Workplace
- The Opportunity Cost of Not Tweeting
- Is LinkedIn or Twitter the Best Social Network for CRE?
- Why is CRE Gravitating to Twitter?
Coy. Really good post on Twitter best practices for #cre. I am just starting out with twitter and I have a lot to learn. I think you would be a great featured guest on my radio show.