Tweetlister Promotes Properties Over Twitter
Gahlord Dewald writes today over on Inman.com about Tweetlister – a new service that helps you market your listings on Twitter.
The main advantage? Tweetlister takes all the listing details you input in to the site and automatically creates a 140 character “tweet” for you and gives you a landing page for the property.
Dewald writes…
With all of the variables and attributes in a real estate property listing, trying to get it shortened to the 140-character limit of a Twitter post can be a challenge. One thing which TweetLister does well is shorten the listing information for you.
You enter the broad-stroke information via pull-down menus and a few text boxes. You can also select a repeating schedule with start and end dates. TweetLister shortens it all into a classified-ad-style Twitter post. Nothing fancy, no snappy copywriting or anything. Just short and simple.
I’m a big fan of any service that makes life easier – but like Nik Nik at MyTechOpinion I had a hard time wrapping my head around Tweetlister initially. Certainly, using Twitter to promote a property can be an effective way to launch a listing into the conversation — as long as it’s not the only thing you’re tweeting! — but as NikNik said, much of this could easily be accomplished with a URL shortener and link tracking service like Bit.ly.
Also I think I was reacting to the idea that I’d be using my network to drive traffic to a third party destination. Personally, I’d want to send any visitors to my own website. I suppose if I were a Realtor that didn’t have a personal website that showed off my listings or already own a single-property website for the home, Tweetlister might make an quick and dirty alternative. But I’m betting most readers of this blog are doing at least one of the former however.
That said, combine Tweetlister with service like vFlyer that already does some of the heavy lifting of syndicating listings to multiple destinations online (including social networks like Twitter) and you’ve got a really interesting product. Especially if you roll in all the back end analytics functions that something like vFlyer offers.
As traffic to social networks continue to soar, they do become viable syndication destinations in addition to the real estate portals – but as Gahlord also writes in his piece, “don’t confuse automating your listing promotion via TweetLister with being an engaged social-media-expert real estate professional”. Engaging on Twitter or Facebook or any other social network is a big responsibility – and there are no short cuts there.
For more on how to use Twitter in real estate, check out the Tomato’s post, Twitter Explained for the Real Estate Blogger.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Make sure to follow Inman News on Twitter too!
14 Comment(s)
1 Trackback(s)
- From Tweet or No Tweet... | Jul 20, 2009
Duke Long | Jun 9, 2009 | Reply
Understand it , but don’t like it at all. Keep listings off of Twitter and Facebook. I can find that information in 1000 other places. Why should our industry spam the hell out of everything.
Mike Rohrig | Jun 9, 2009 | Reply
Listings don’t need to be on Twitter. It creates more noise.
Pedter Toner | Jun 9, 2009 | Reply
Used sparingly it’s not a bad idea/service.
Unfortunately it also makes it a whole bunch easier for Realtors to spam the heck out of Twitter and the related Facebook feeds.
We reviewed yesterday here too:
http://webrealestatetools.com/real-estate-tools/should-you-twitter-your-listings
Peter Toner
Joel Burslem | Jun 9, 2009 | Reply
@Duke and @Mike
I actually think listings can work on Twitter – my Realtor for example sends out certain listings (’homes of the week’) over Twitter and as a potential buyer I actually look forward to seeing his tweets.
Point is, that’s why I’ve followed him – to get that kind of information. When used respectfully and honestly, Twitter can a great distribution tool.
But it only works if the expectation is set up front as to what I’m going to get from them. If that’s the case, then it’s a truly opt in marketing tool.
However – if that expectation is broken, like all of a sudden I start getting pictures of their kids’ birthday party in their twitter stream, then my trust has been abused.
Bottom line is expectations just need to be clearly defined up front. Listings on Twitter are ok if that’s what I’ve signed up to get from them.
Great thing is though; that if I, as a consumer, don’t like what I’m receiving I just defriend them or unfollow that person. Their loss, not mine.
Duke Long | Jun 9, 2009 | Reply
Agreed.It is a fine line. I dm my local agents and tell them not to hit me with their info on Twitter and Facebook. Some either don’t get it or don”t care. I send them the link to @nik-nik and http://www.mytechopinion.com and let it go from there.
Clinton, UT | Jun 9, 2009 | Reply
To me, it seems a bit of a stretch to use Twitter but maybe that’s because my clientele isn’t as plugged in as most. Personally, I find it annoying to have all these things and I see them as being less effective uses of time than things I might otherwise do.
invest in property | Jun 10, 2009 | Reply
I think this is a great idea and can really help you sell a house this could make a really difference. I wanted to invest in property earlier this year but was fed up of seeing the same properties in the estate agents window.
Paul Gaddes | Jun 10, 2009 | Reply
I think using tweets to promote listings is a bit over the top…for whatever reason REALTORS have embraced social media as a form of self promotion. I am on the fence about this issue. My clients have lots of methods for me to get listing information to them other than via Twitter.
Real Estate Site Guide | Jun 10, 2009 | Reply
I agree that this could be prone to horrible abuse- but those accounts will be quickly unfollowed. I think the regular twitter user who is actually using account will be posting enough so that the repetition may be beneficial-
Also didn’t anybody notice that the tweet used # hash tags, so you’ve got the link value from twitter, m.twitter.com, hashtags coming to that page and then u can list your more details page and virtual tour page. Your virtual tour page can be a youtube vid that links in the description back to your site. I’d say this would be an effective way to get link value. Never mind that tweetlister also has a property search system as well so extra traffic. Win win win, if you don’t abuse it!
R. Giesbrecht | Jun 10, 2009 | Reply
It seems over 90% of the Realtor website blogs that have an automatic listing load tool to their blog use that and only that. Little or no original content. I hope Twitter doesn’t devolve to that either.
Gahlord Dewald | Jun 10, 2009 | Reply
Hey Joel,
I’m totally with you and others on how a tool like Tweetlister could be used for spammy behavior. Luckily, it’s mighty easy to unfollow spammy Twitter users so the incentive to spam needs to be weighed against irrelevanting oneself. A quick review of the #tl hashtag identifies some pretty egregious examples but I didn’t want to seem like a bully by calling out names in the column.
I also agree with you and Nicole that much of what Tweetlister does could be done with a shortener and scheduler like Tweetlater (reviewed in my previous column). Tweetlister’s regularly/repeatable scheduler would simplify this however.
The main trade-off is on better link analytics with bit.ly or cli.gs vs regular rescheduling with Tweetlister.
I think not owning the conversion form is also something to keep very much in mind, which I mentioned in the column as well.
Thanks again for writing this up.
Gahlord
Ed Kohler | Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
Getting people to a listing is great, but what happens if they can’t afford that property or it’s one bedroom short of what they need? Don’t send people to silos on the web.
Tommy | Sep 17, 2009 | Reply
Tweetlister is a nice idea – i’ve made an test and used it to promote my villas….
Thanks for the article…..
Marty Lachance | Sep 18, 2009 | Reply
Twitter is a Square-Peg technology for Real Estate. It just doesn’t fit.
You’ll always hear from Realtors that it’s working for them. The only way to know for sure is to try it yourself.
In my personal experience in working with Realtors, 100% of them who have tried it, dropped it within 6 months.
Marty
Utopria Inc.