8 Essential Reasons Why You Should Join Twitter for Marketing Your Real Estate Business

by Joshua Dorkin on December 7, 2008

I’ve been playing around on Twitter for a few months now (@jrdorkin) and, while I’m not an addict like many people claim to be, I do think that it can be yet another useful tool in your marketing arsenal. I thought it would be interesting to browse the ‘net to see what others are saying about why you should join; there definitely seem to be some common themes, which I’ll try and share below.

Just so you know what I’m doing, I’m going to take ideas from various sources (in bold) and expound on them with my own ideas:

Here’s the 8 Reasons To Get on Twitter Today

From 12 Reasons to Start Twittering by Michael Hyatt

  1. It will make you a better writer. Because of Twitter’s 140 character limit, you’re forced to write concisely. This requires increased thought and better use of the English language. I believe that it can help people in coming up with slogans and marketing copy, which also must be concise.
  2. It can create traffic for your blog or Website. While Mr. Hyatt noticed a 30% uptick in his blog traffic, many people won’t see such a drastic surge. There are tools that let you automatically post your latest blog post to Twitter, which can help with Traffic, but these aren’t the only way to do it. Meeting new people brings visitors, as does posting interesting content. There are many ways to go, and those who use the tool most effectively will certainly see a nice bonus of traffic for their efforts.
  3. It requires a very small investment. Twitter is free to use and can require little to no time if you want. With auto-posting services, you can stay active in Twitter, but that’s not going to cut it in the long run. Part of building up your own community with Twitter is forging relationships, and sharing some of yourself with others. You can do this in a few short minutes – a worthwhile time commitment.
  4. It can help build your personal “brand.” As Mr. Hyatt puts it, “Twitter gives you one more way to build your brand, one tweet at a time.” Imagine the mortgage agent who posts about rates and helpful educational topics, or the real estate agent who posts about community events, new listings, and other localized topics, or the investor who posts about deals and other helpful blurbs? All of these people are working on their brand AND posting relevant information for people who may be following them. This is how you use twitter for good!

From 10 Reasons Why Every Musician Should Join Twitter NOW by Ariel Publicity. While the title isn’t relevant, there was a point that stood out:

  1. Text message tweets to your entire list from your phone. You don’t need to be in front of your computer to post. You can use your cell phone to keep your Twitter followers up to speed, and those of you with iPhones and other sophisticated smartphones can use third party software to keep up completely with everything happening in your Twitter world.

The next two items come from 50+ Reasons Why Join Twitter Today at the WomensDish, and I’m actually going to post them verbatum, as I couldn’t put it any better myself. Additionally, I’m going to share a YouTube video, courtesy of the same post, that highlights those 50+ reasons.



  1. Get Connected With People You Think You Should Know.
    Most likely everyone you want to get connected with already is on Twitter. Whether you want to get better connected with your customers, business partners or network and make new connections, Twitter is the place to do it. Networking at Twitter is less formal than LinkedIn, and it is even easier to get connected with new people at Twitter than on Facebook. If you feel you have a lot to learn about online networking, Twitter is the easiest and fastest place to learn and get started with building your network fast. Twitter is also great for those, who don’t feel comfortable sharing their bios and a lot of information right away.
  2. Get Connected With People You Never Thought You Should Know. I asked my Twitter friends, what was the number one reason why they thought anyone should join Twitter, and number one reason was to get to know people who they wouldn’t have gotten to know any other way. Many who have joined Twitter for business reasons have found friendships that have taken people from web to real life. There are even Twitter marriage proposals and people who have found their soul mates on Twitter. Twitter allows you to show as much or as little of your personality as you want – and to find new people you never even thought of getting to know.

From Five Reasons Twitter is an Essential Social Media Tool by Jennifer Laycock of Search Engine Guide.

  1. The Power of the Re-Tweet equals Viral Gold. Twitter allows you to “re-tweet” the posts of others to share with your network. This ability can create the potential for a cool, interesting, or informative post to spread virally. In the recent terrorist events in Mumbai, Twitter allowed people to keep a pules on what was happening, and through re-tweets, news spread like wildfire. When a mover and shaker on twitter (an “influencer”) posts something interesting, you’ll see it re-broadcasted many times over. Twitter gives you the ability to post something that can spread like wild fire and help build your name or reputation. You’ve got to participate to gain access, though!

There are plenty of other reasons to use twitter as you can see from this post, but I thought that the items I posted above brought together some of the most important ones to inspire you to get started, if you haven’t done so already.

BTW – A post about Twitter wouldn’t be complete without the essential plug to join me on Twitter. Be sure to follow me @jrdorkin (http://www.twitter.com/jrdorkin)!

Speaking of getting started with Twitter, here are a few other articles that might interest you:

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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Twitterless Joe December 7, 2008 at 3:14 pm

Great post, thanks! Everyone talks about how cool Twitter is, but this post actually breaks it down to why I need to get in on the hype.

Reply

2 Joshua Dorkin December 7, 2008 at 3:23 pm

Hey Joe and thanks for the comment. Twitter is certainly “cool” . . . I’m glad we may have inspired you to get in on the action.

Reply

3 Diane Menke December 8, 2008 at 10:28 am

Josh,

Thanks for this post on Twitter. I first heard about Twitter this summer from our project photographer who “twitters”. Honestly I drew a blank. I thought it was a place to show photos.

I get the impression only younger folks, folks who do not buy our remodeling services Twitter. Am I wrong here?

Our remodeling company has a website so I can see Twitter might help me get customers there if the right group is twittering.

Meanwhile we are considering an RE website (separate company) where we will list property for rent or sale, and Twitter seems like it would be a good fit for this.

Thanks I will check it out now.

Diane

Reply

4 Peter Estephan December 7, 2008 at 11:26 pm

I keep hearing about Twitter but I’ve yet to set-up an account. Your article has sealed my fate, it’s time to bite the bullet and start to Twitter.

Peter Estephan

Reply

5 55 plus December 8, 2008 at 9:52 am

Hey, I completely agree with you, twitter is very very helpful media for marketing, i have been using it from last three odd months, if you ask me the result, i will say it is quite pleasing!

Reply

6 Scott December 8, 2008 at 12:08 pm

You may also like http://yonkly.com

It’s the first niche microblog that integrates with Twitter.

Reply

7 Joshua Dorkin December 8, 2008 at 12:15 pm

Welcome to Twitter, Diane and Peter. Be sure to stop by and let us know your twitter names once you’ve signed up.

55 – I’m glad to hear that you’re having success. Perhaps you could tell us your name?

Reply

8 Matt Pitcher December 8, 2008 at 12:30 pm

Thanks, Josh. Great post. I feel we are just starting to see/utilize the true business potential of Twitter. I think we’ll see some amazing tools/concepts/businesses evolve from micro-blogging over the next few years …

Matt Pitcher
http://www.twitter.com/liveoakcapital

Matt Pitcher’s last blog post: LiveOakCapital: New blog post: Capital Alert – Headline Activity, But No Real Change http://tinyurl.com/5e45rw

Reply

9 Ainsley Okoro February 14, 2009 at 1:29 pm

I’ve been having a debate with an SEO friend over whether social networking media (twitter, facebook, myspace, etc) is of significant marketing benefit to a real estate site.
My somewhat recalcitrant view is that the age profile of people who use social networking sites the most aren’t the sort of people who invest significantly in real estate, especially overseas real estate, which is my niche.
But I stand to be proved wrong/ridiculed/vilified…

Reply

10 Rakesh Bhardwaj February 16, 2009 at 2:45 am

Now you have one more reason to join as they are among the hottest stratups The have recently joined a $34 million contract cheers for them boys!!!

http://advancetechnology.today.com/2009/02/14/twitter-more-richer-by-35-million/

Rakesh Bhardwaj’s last blog post: World’s slimmest AIO PC “MSI Wind NetOn AP1900″ touches Indian Land

Reply

11 Technology Blog February 27, 2009 at 4:21 am

To be frank, i’ve never thought of using twitter till now. But after reading this, i think i might give it a try

Technology Blog’s last blog post: UK government: Welcome Open Source, Out Microsoft

Reply

12 Carrie Dawson October 19, 2009 at 2:21 am

I agree that twitter creates massive traffic for websites but twitter now has tons of spammers so be careful.

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13 Martijn van Turnhout March 3, 2010 at 3:01 pm

Good article! I’m not sure your grammar skills will improve when you’re using Twitter, but I sure agree about getting more traffic and a better brand this way.

Things like sending out a Twitpic once in a while doesn’t hurt at all. Pictures are always fun to see. It makes it all a bit more personal.
Martijn van Turnhout´s last blog ..Professionele presentatie bouwbureau Holm de Jong My ComLuv Profile

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