In 2015, there are more than 250 million users with active Twitter accounts and this vast number is ever-increasing. The thing to remember is that users aren’t just going on to share their thoughts – they are often there to research and buy.

Real estate businesses need to take advantage of this. Advertising your company online is a great way to increase your client base and form relationships with influencers in the same field. Creating a loyal following isn’t easy, but by tweeting news about the market, price trends, events and more, you will soon become the page to follow for the latest real estate information.  These Twitter tips will help your page stand out from the crowd.

Remember your audience and socialize

Keep in mind who you are targeting your tweets to, as different audiences require different content and language. Either cater your tweets for consumers, or for real estate professionals. Having your audience in mind will influence the stories and links you post, so make sure to choose wisely.

Being present on social media does not mean creating an account and then leaving it unattended. It is vital that you regularly update your page with news that will interest your users; anything from local news stories to fascinating pictures. Make sure you don’t overload your feed with self-promotional tweets, though, as this can become boring and may cause you to lose followers.

Tweeting and retweeting similar sites will help you build your online status (do this in particular with well-established top ranking real estate Twitter accounts). Macdonald Realty, for example, is highly interactive with its users, regularly conversing with people who tweet the page. They also retweet other real estate companies who post interesting stories.

Who you follow matters

On Twitter the last thing you want to look like is spam, so you want to make sure the accounts you follow are active and relevant to your page. It is also important to follow people in your industry as this will help boost your profile.

When starting out it may be a good idea to follow people in these categories:

• Your customers
• Business partners, suppliers, contractors and vendors
• Your competitors or peers
• Professional organisations for your industry
• Business in your neighbourhood (relevant for real estate)
• Businesses run by people you know (your professional network)

Create compelling content

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to tweet, and knowing what will be of interest to your users. Doing research into local news stories is a good place to start; particularly in real estate. Another good way to get users involved is to tweet questions that could stimulate discussion, as this will drive more traffic to your page.

It is important to include images in the majority of your tweets; pictures are 94 per cent more likely to be retweeted than plain text as they are more visually appealing. Also using key words and hashtags (#realestate) will allow more people to view your tweets and help promote your Twitter page.

Re/Max Integra keeps its content interesting by regularly posting questions and links to lists of relevant information.

Keep your profile relevant

The reason people visit a company’s social media page is to find out a bit more about what the company is like – their brand personality. Having an unappealing profile page will drive people away instantly, in turn damaging potential business.

Key points of your page to work on include:

• Background image – should be colourful, compelling and appropriate.
• Profile picture – this will most likely be your company’s logo (but think about how it matches with your background image).
• Bio – informative, but entertaining. Include hashtags to let people know what kinds of conversations you aim to be a part of (you only have 160 characters, so use them well!)
• Links – ideally to your main company website, in order to drive customers there.
• Location – this is obviously key for a real estate company.

Colonial Capital, a U.K.-based investment company, uses a Twitter profile that’s engaging with contrasting background images and profile picture; its concise bio also includes a link to the main website and Instagram page, as well as the company’s location.

Leverage Twitter tools

Managing a new Twitter account can be challenging: juggling your day-to-day activities and having a strong online presence is no easy task.

Thankfully there are plenty of tools that can help you out:

Tweetadder – This app reduces the likelihood of getting spam followers by filtering potential customers by keyword, location and language.

Cotweet – Helps businesses track, analyze and engage with conversations about their brands. It’s always important to know what other people are saying about you, positive or negative.

Buffer – Regularly remembering to update your Twitter feed can be taxing, so this app allows you to schedule when your tweets are sent. It is also able to analyze your tweets to see what your audience loves or hates, and the times of day you should be posting.

These tools will allow you to listen, respond and interact with your followers without spending your whole day on Twitter. Improving efficiency and making your content more appealing for the users is guaranteed to make your page a success!

Lucie Simpson

Lucie Simpson is a U.K.-based freelance writer for real estate companies, specializing in improving their social media and digital marketing strategies. She is currently working with Colonial Capital to develop its online presence.