Twitter: an agent's perspective

Editor's note: This item is republished with permission from Global Edge Marketing Ltd. The original post can be viewed here.

Our article arguing that Twitter is a complete waste of time for the most internationally focused agents polarized opinion.

To use it properly you need to create great content regularly that helps reinforce your position as an expert in your niche. However, we argued that in the majority of cases, it takes up valuable time -- time that can be spent more profitably on other activities.

Today Mike Cliffe-Jones, managing director of Spanish real estate agency Estupendo Lanzarote, responds to the article with a persuasive argument that Twitter has a role to play in the marketing mix of most overseas agents. As ever, we welcome your comments and feedback.

Cliffe-Jones: To be honest, Twitter is a complete waste of time for any business if used simply as a broadcast medium. I've seen many companies set up Twitter or Facebook accounts, create an auto feed from their sites for a few months, and then declare it a waste of time.

As with any social medium, Twitter will give back what you put into it -- engage and help people and they will be interested in and value what you offer them.

The point of contact

But let's take a step back for a moment and examine the key benefit of Twitter for any estate agent. Most agents have a well-optimized Web site, which attracts people searching for properties in their area. If a potential client keys "property for sale in Lanzarote" they are quite likely to find my company's Web site.

The problem is that people rarely start there when they're contemplating a purchase.

They start with much, much, more general stuff: "Which are the best resorts? Where are the best beaches? Where are the kids' schools? Which bank should we use?" They will do a whole load of research to narrow down where they want to buy in more detail, before they start looking at real estate agents' Web sites. They'll do that through search, but increasingly they will use a medium like Twitter. ...CONTINUED

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