Guest Post from Lani Rosales – Why Are There So Many Realtors on Twitter?

July 30th, 2009 | by Sarah Vela
Flickr image by libn

Flickr image by libn

Realtors didn’t invent Twitter but they dominated it first

If you’ve spent more than five minutes on Twitter, you’ve made a friend who practices real estate. And while I’d like to take credit for it as New Media Director of AgentGenius.com (an online real estate magazine), because we’ve been encouraging agents to engage on Twitter for years, I cannot take credit.  Why not?  Because agents are the quintessential one man show; each agent is a business unto himself despite hanging a license with a broker.

Did you know that in order to be a Realtor, an individual has to join the local board of Realtors, the state association AND the national association?  They bleed dues in order to have the fancy title (and legal ability to practice), and they’re leeched onto by any Tom, Dick, or Harry with a marketing or tech tool. Because of this  we spend a lot of time teaching agents (through our written content) how to adopt free tools.  Enter social media.

Between hemorrhaging money simply to practice effectively and a challenging national market, agents are turning in droves to social media, which allows them exposure to new clients, ability to conduct market research, and a chance to connect with peers in a non-competitive way.

Twitter is the easiest network to join and delivers a high impact with a low time investment.  Twitter is a collaborative space and when etiquette violations occur (aka agents spam), the community quickly speaks up, typically in a gentle way.  The Twitter culture is open and embracing, ideal for a self-employed one man show to put himself out there and naturally engage in conversation rather than sell.

Characteristics of RealtorTwits that can benefit you

While not all agents fit into the mold of the modern social media Realtor, and there are bad apples, the *majority* of Realtors you meet on Twitter will exhibit the following characteristics:

Do you need a PHP coder?  Are you looking for a maid?  Do you have a question about taxes?  Do you want to know who has the cheapest printing in town?  Realtors network for a living and are an amazing resource for referrals because they work on commission and understand the value of a referral better than most.

Are you looking for a house to buy, sell or invest in?  This is obvious, but if you look deeper, the culture of Realtors on Twitter is against the grain of typical Realtor culture in that they embrace the fundamentals of social media and consider themselves UNRealtors and won’t hard pressure you.  If you ask, they’ll tell about you two or three other agents you should interview before making your selection (remember, the culture of Twitter is collaborative, not competitive).

Have a question about community politics?  Realtors, especially those who have taken the time to get involved in the community by being active on Twitter, are often active in city council and much of the time are lobbying on homeowners’ behalf, so let them know what’s going on in your area.

Want to know about a local charity?  Realtors are frequently philanthropic and at the core are focused on community building.  Do you need an introduction to someone you see your new Realtor friend talking to?  Ask!  As natural connectors, agents are always happy to make introductions, so don’t be shy.

Real estate agents are great information sources and connectors and are a vibrant part of the Twitter community, so hug your local Realtor on Twitter and thank them for helping the Twitter community and your own community to be so robust (or at least interact with them and don’t fear them, they’re not all bad)!

About Lani

For several years in social media, Lani has gained highest regards during her role as the New Media Director of AgentGenius.com. She is known as a vocal social media advocate, often speaks on Generation Y and specializes in blogging, Twitter and LinkedIn. Lani was awarded the Statesman Texas Social Media Award, and was named one of the Top 12 Most Influential Women in Blogging and listed in the Top 25 Most Influential Bloggers. Lani lives in Austin, Texas, where the sun always shines, the hippies are always hip, and the grass is always greener.

  • I'd like to believe that this is an accurate depiction, but it's NOT.
    Although there are a handful of good REALTORs on twitter and other social networks I find that most of them are constantly shoving their listings down your throat in the form of updates.

    Even worse are the REALTORs who constantly comment spam. Rather than write something meaningful in a comment reply, they include their contact information which has NOTHING to do with the conversation. WTF is that all about?

    I don't think this is completely their fault, I also blame NAR for not providing more comprehensive training on the use of social networks. Most people come from the old school broadcast mentality and they bring it into social networks thinking that it will work.

    What you've described in the post above is an ideal Social REALTOR. They are the acception, not the rule.
  • You hit the nail on the head with the realtor domination of Twitter and the reasons why are compelling, and mostly accurate. I guess you haven't been hanging with those hip hippies and their green grass after all.
  • Couldn't have asked for a better advocate to disperse the "plaid-suit salesman competing for a set of steak knives" image of Realtors than Lani.
    Your fellow RealtorTwit from Houston :-)

    P.S. Got any questions for me? Ask away.
  • Lani, as someone outside the RE profession, you've provided me with a perspective of realtors that I hadn't fully appreciated. You've managed to effectively advocate for realtors, which is something to be proud of. The big takeaway? If you don't personally know a realtor, you better get to know one now. Thankfully, through you and Benn, I now know a few more. Good stuff!
  • i like your description of the types of realtors on twitter! it suits me and my personality as i love interacting with my community and and with people and being myself.
  • @LaniAR You. Nail. Head. A great description of what I find of value on Twitter as an agent and a consumer. Collaboration and sharing in an almost "open-source" style. You know I'm a big fan of yours to begin with (since you brought me to Twitter and social media in general), but this is an article more consumers should read...it gives them an excellent look at what those of us who are employing social media practices are actually doing and more importantly, how and why.

    Twitter isn't about shoving a new property down everyone's throat and hoping someone buys it. Twitter is about making connections. Twitter is about getting involved in your community. Twitter is about passing the latest news to your network...real estate or not. Twitter is also a fun place, where people can let their hair down a little and play. It's not all-business-all-the-time. Twitter's kind of like a mullet - business up front, party in the back!
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