Are you Tweeting like a good real estate agent should?

You might remember that famous quote from Yogi Berra when someone once asked him about a particular restaurant. His response, “Ahh, nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

Some real estate agents might say, “Ahh, why bother with Twitter, nobody uses it?”

Well, you might take another look. Just like Facebook, Twitter is not the little odd bird for nerds anymore.

In April, Twitter reported it had 106 million users and was adding 300,000 users a day. That’s 300k every day!

And people are Tweeting those 140 characters like crazy. There are 55 million Tweets posted daily.

But here’s the stat that should catch every Realtors attention: Twitter generates 600,000,000 search queries a day. And they expect to be at 1 billion per day very shortly.

What does this mean to Rhonda Real Estate Agent? It means that people are searching for answers on Twitter just like they do on Google.

So if they are searching for questions about real estate in Rhondaville or your town, you need to be there.

Unfortunately, in one blog we can’t write a book about how to use Twitter effectively. Fortunately, someone has written a book about how to use this phenomenal social platform. It’s called “Twitter for Real Estate Twits” and even better – it’s free. We’ll show you the link at the end of this blog.

We have a few suggestions on how to promote yourself as the hyperlocal lifestyle expert, which after all, is what SpatialMatch is all about.

Here they are:

1) Quality not quantity – just like Facebook, don’t just post to post. Put up information that is useful and interesting to consumers.

2) Post hyperlocal information like this – stats on local home prices, great buys in the neighborhood, changes in local taxes or codes, local events or new local businesses opening up.

3) Don’t just Tweet. Follow – Twitter is a great networking tool. Follow people who you are interested in (I know, it sounds weird, but it’s the internet) And respond to people who follow you. When you respond, shoot  them a short message about how you can help them with their real estate needs.

4) Network – one thing is for sure, you will find many other real estate agents using Twitter. The potential there is tremendous.

5) Mention your SpatialMatch search tools – when homeowners are checking for local information, make sure you let them know from time to time that you have a search engine on your site that shows them how they can find the home that fits their lifestyle needs.

Show them that you are not only the expert on the neighborhood, you also have the latest technology to help them narrow down their search. This is going to give you a tremendous advantage in your market.

We’re hearing some success stories from real estate agents using Twitter. It’s not a slam dunk, but it will provide you with more contacts and more exposure which will lead to more sales.

And the beauty of Twitter is, it can never get too crowded.

(Here’s the link to the free Twitter book).