Greg Swann is dead wrong:
I say that trying to sell real estate via Twitter/Facebook is a waste of time — and it is anti-marketing even if it seems to produce some results. Why?
I’ve said it, in public. And I’m only being mildly gratuitous. Because it’s fun.
It is productive to be on Twitter all day long.
It’s also productive to be on Facebook all day long.
Especially in comparison to the selling behavior of the average Bullpen Agent(tm). That’s being on facebook and twitter bitching about their lack of business and appraisal issues.
Now, listen also to what I’m not saying: I’m not saying that it’s the most productive possible use of time. I’m not saying that the ambient, distracted entitled connectivity lifestyle is something to be. I’m not saying that the way the practitioners teach it is sensible. It’s not prudent to crow-plain about every bit of work that they do as if each ordinary real estate transaction is this death struggle that only you can close because you are $(array_honest,kind,connected,smart).
I’m not saying that I’d follow an example of any of the Twit-Lumin-ati.
I’m saying that in damn near any market, a smart agent should be getting 12-14 deals a year via twitter.
They are there, daily.
And you can snatch them out from under the entitled noses of those folks that are “pillars of the twit-munity,” with ease. With ease.
How?
1.) Search.Twitter.Com: This is a godsend. This is amazing. “House hunting” in your area “realtor” in your area. Say hi, send ’em to a squeeze page.
2.) MarketMeSuite.Com (disclosure: they are a paying client of ours). Geotarget local people. Autofollow and autoengage. Make contacts and add to your sphere. They have an auto tool that lets you quickly add and kill it.
3.) TwitterFeed.com when I used TweetSpinner to build up my account (and the ratio of bots/humans is about 4:1) I noticed that my bit.ly links got more clicks. Others had similar results, and if you happen to be blogging and cataloguing your city brute force style, you do it.
4.) DMs. These are where Twitter rocks. Build relationships, make sales. Don’t hesitate, go balls out.
5.) Upgrade the relationship. In my online course, we use a meme called S.S.E.T.H. Seach/Social/Email/Telephone Human. That is the upgrade path. You always want to meet the people you want to meet. So, coffee once is better than 10,000 @ messages. Coffee with 4 guys and a once-a-month “hiya” @ is fine.
Now, look, the fun thing about twitter is the asynchronous nature. Twitter will wait, and the customer will respond to the smartest answer. Hint: it ain’t likely to be from an agent wanting to buy–or sell–you a home today.
So, in 10-15 focused minutes, 3 times a week you can have better results than the Twitterati will get while dissipating themselves on ambient connectivity. The people that tweeted about their twitty landlord? They haven’t heard anything smart yet from all the Twealtors®. Be different and smarter.
(I google phone numbers and call people, and that works, but you all may be stuck with the do not call registry–since you aren’t usually B-T-B).
Now, is it smart if you’re a realtor in PHX to talk to a Realtor in LAX? Maybe on occasion. But really, the point isn’t to hang out. Ride the wave that is made and be smarter.
I’ll leave y’all with this point:
Is it productive for a fisherman to be at a lake with lots of fish? Sure.
What about for the fish? is it productive for the fish to be in the pond?
Who outnumbers whom? What are there more of and which are you acting like?
The “tweeting” I do is largely self indulgent pablum. It has very, very little to do with the work I do on twitter.
Mark Madsen says:
I created a few “Strategic Search” columns in my Hootsuite dashboard for the purpose of following words that relate to my various blogs and online personalities.
I may spend a total 10-20 minutes a week browsing the noise looking for opportunities to RT and get on someone’s radar.
EX:
I’m looking for qualified lenders to participate on one of my blogs, so I watch for #fha or mortgage related terms from loan officers that seem to have a clue.
I added three excellent contributors to my blog last week as a direct result of 15 min worth of listening on Twitter.
How does this relate to getting direct business from Twitter?
It doesn’t. But it’s a means to a means, which always results in a closed mortgage or real estate transaction that comes from a larger SEO campaign.
However, I don’t use Twitter to meet or build relationships directly with clients.
– Marketmesuite looks sweet, Chris. Thanks for sharing.
November 17, 2010 — 10:32 pm
Chris Johnson says:
MMS is sweet.
HS has some good features and they don’t overlap much (if at all).
November 17, 2010 — 10:38 pm
Greg Swann says:
> Greg Swann is dead wrong:
> Especially in comparison to the selling behavior of the average Bullpen Agent(tm). That’s being on facebook and twitter bitching about their lack of business and appraisal issues.
> I’m not saying that I’d follow an example of any of the Twit-Lumin-ati.
> And you can snatch them out from under the entitled noses of those folks that are “pillars of the twit-munity,” with ease. With ease.
I’m “dead wrong” because you agree with me, albeit not as eloquently.
> The “tweeting” I do is largely self indulgent pablum.
And, since you’re a vendor, not a Realtor or a lender, it won’t hurt you with your client base by making you look like a lazy, time-wasting slacker.
We hear the same argument repeated over and over again.
I say: “Real estate professionals wasting their time schmoozing with Realtors, lenders and vendors on TwitBook is devastating for their careers.”
The response: “Oh, no, here’s what I’m doing on TwitBook.”
You go them one better by claiming to disagree with me, then making very similar points before you go on to change the subject.
> I’ve said it, in public. And I’m only being mildly gratuitous.
Your use of my name and your claim to a disagreement in this post are entirely gratuitous.
November 18, 2010 — 6:31 am
Chris Johnson says:
Q4 2007, I booked 9 new loans from facebook, just via reconnecting with past people and calling them.
I booked 2 loans from twitter in 2008. I’d book more if I
Personally. Nothing has changed about the mechanics of Twitter and facebook. I didn’t view them, then as anything.
I still call every stranger that adds me.
Being on Twitter and wasting time there are different ideas.
November 18, 2010 — 8:07 am
Greg Swann says:
> Being on Twitter and wasting time there are different ideas.
Which is why it is an error to conflate the two.
November 18, 2010 — 8:28 am
Chris Johnson says:
You said, specifically, that trying to sell real estate via twitter is a waste of time.
It’s not. Trying to sell a specific property may be, but trying to get clients that buy t is far from a waste of time.
The behavior of most of the people has little to do with getting clients.
I’d probably use a scheduled “Chat” with a hash tag.
Im also intending to practice again because I love the hustle part of the real estate experience. Love.
November 18, 2010 — 8:30 am
Jeff Brown says:
“I’m saying that in damn near any market, a smart agent should be getting 12-14 deals a year via twitter.”
San Diego’s median price these days is around $370,000 or so.
12 sales via twitter, a deal a month, yields GCI, at 3%, of $133,200. Since ya can’t swing a dead cat around here without hittin’ a 100% split office with low, low, low, expenses, that agent becomes a six figure earner.
Wonder how many agents would sign up for that program?
November 18, 2010 — 10:02 am
Mike Mullin says:
Don’t laugh but I don’t understand #4. What’s a “DM?” Can you tell I don’t Twitter? 🙂
November 18, 2010 — 4:05 pm
Scott Cowan says:
I believe that DM = Direct Message when it comes to Twitter.
November 18, 2010 — 6:54 pm