Social Media Help For Real Estate Agents
If you're a new real estate agent, or a Realtor looking to up your social media game, you will benefit from knowing the best way to post your new real estate listings to social media. In this post, we'll focus on the best practices for Twitter. While most real estate agents have a Facebook page where they post their new listings, many agents either don't have a Twitter profile, or they have a profile, but aren't taking advantage of it much.
In case you are new to Twitter, or don't use it much, let's start with the basics.
In case you are new to Twitter, or don't use it much, let's start with the basics.
Twitter Posts Can't Be Longer Than 140 Characters
Tweets have to be super short and sweet. The character limitation poses a challenge when you're trying to tell everyone about your awesome new listing with all the details and amenities. Plus, keep in mind the character limit includes your link and any pictures (which nearly every Tweet should have, btw).
Don't Over-Tweet Listings
Sharing your listings on Twitter (or any social media site) needs to be a small part of your overall engagement. The reality is, most home buyers are not going to Twitter specifically to search for real estate. Think of sharing your new listings as more of a news item for your business and a marketing strategy you can provide for home sellers.
4 Steps To Tweeting a New Real Estate Listings
Due to the character limitation of Twitter, I like to add the following items in order:
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Shortened Link To The Listing: This one is the most important. Using a link shortener (I prefer bit.ly), include a link to the actual listing. Ideally, you want to use a link for the listing from your website or your broker's website. Sharing a link allows people to click through to the actual listing for all the property details and images. This not only promotes your listing, but also helps your website.
By starting your post with your shortened link and images, you can easily see how many characters you have left as you write your Tweet. This saves you from agonizing over the perfect tweet, only to find that once you add the link and the photos, you have to basically rewrite it because half of it doesn't fit (been there, done that).
- Photo(s): Twitter moves fast, and posting one or more images will grab people's attention as they scroll through Tweets. The engagement rate on Twitter is higher for Tweets with at least one image. You can add up to four images. For a new listing tweet, I like to utilize as many gorgeous photos as possible to show details that might not fit into the 140 character limitation. For instance, if your listing has a music room, gourmet kitchen, luxurious master retreat, or a sparkling swimming pool, you likely won't be able to adequately describe these features in the tweet.
- Listing Details: Very briefly describe the new listing's details. Keeping in mind the character limit, try to include information such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the square footage, the price, address, neighborhood, and any special features.
Also, if possible, use keywords such as "real estate for sale" or "homes for sale" and your listing's location.
- #Hashtags: If you have a stunning historic luxury home, or a home with distinct features or amenities, you may get a little extra engagement by using specific hashtags such as #luxuryrealestate #modernarchitecture or #historichomes.
However, I consider hashtags to be the least important item for a new listing Tweet. Remember, most people aren't going to Twitter specifically to search for real estate. Personally, I don't think the limited space available is best used by a bunch of generic hashtags, and I don't think it is visually interesting to have a Tweet full of hashtags. That said, if you're going to add a basic hashtag, consider #realestate #realestatelistings #newlisting or #newrealestatelistings. These will at least sort your listing with other listings on Twitter under the same hashtag.
Sample New Real Estate Listing Tweets
In this post to a client's Twitter, I included the basics for the property, a link to the listing on the client's website (note the social media friendly shortened link), and a few images of the home. I pinned this post to the top for a couple of days, to ensure it was the first post being seen on the client's feed. The home was pending within four days of this post.
Here are some Tweets I found that have all or most of the elements for a great new real estate listing Tweet. Both of these stood out from the rest of the #newlisting Tweets because they have images and details that give me valuable information about the home itself.
Tweet Your New Real Estate Listings
Now that you know all the important parts of an effective new real estate listing Tweet, you can confidently show off your new listings on Twitter. With a link, photos, details, and relevant hashtags, your new listing will have a better chance at getting viewed, favorited, or retweeted. Bonus: if your link goes back to your own website, you'll increase traffic to your site.
More Social Media Help For Real Estate Agents
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Looking for more details on posting new listings to social media? Check out How To Post New Real Estate Listings To Facebook for a step-by-step guide to using Facebook to promote new listings.
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