It feels like everybody’s on Twitter, but not many people really know how to use it well. Too bad, too, because it has so much potential for anyone in sales. I’ve been on Twitter for a while now and it’s hands down my favorite platform. I made a lot of mistakes figuring things out so now I can save you the grief of repeating them.

When I started out on Twitter, no one knew me and making a mistake wasn’t a big deal. I still make mistakes, and let me tell ya, it’s A LOT more embarrassing now!

If you’re using Twitter for your real estate business, let me help you avoid a few embarrassing moments so you can put your best public image forward.

1. Don’t get too personal

I see this one too often. While it’s true that people want to get to know you before they trust you to represent them in buying or selling a home, a stream full of pictures of your kids, your Friday night escapades or all your expensive vacations aren’t what your potential customers are hoping to find.

A picture of you handing over the keys to your happy buyers is a great example of blending you with what you do best – sell real estate! A video of you at an open house is another great example of good things to post. When your potential customer sees that, they feel more comfortable with you. You’re basically showing them their own success stories. They want to be that happy buyer or that seller with a real estate agent that can get their home online for the world to see.

They DON’T:

• Care about what sports your kids play
• How many times a week you wash your dog
• How many times a week you wash your hair
• What your food looks like

Late breaking news - Customers don't want to see what you ate 4 lunch or your kids playing bball Click To Tweet

They DO:

• Care what you can do for them

2. Don’t post all business

Hard sell is a thing of the past. If every post in your feed is a listing or you begging for business – guess what? You’ll be scaring off potential customers. You’ll be projecting an image of the scary salesperson that never stops bugging you. (And begging for a follow? That’s the same as telling them you’re desperate for business, isn’t it?) It’s unlikely they’ll be contacting you because they can get a list of homes for sale in about a gazillion other places.

3. Don’t Auto DM

Twitter has a Direct Message feature. I thought it was great – when I had 20 followers. Once you get to 100 or so followers, this becomes annoying beyond words. Why? Because so many people find programs that will send a message automatically to a new follower. I can’t imagine how many real customers I may have lost because their message was lost in a sea of robot auto messages.

A real no-no is auto messaging your sales pitch. Picture this in real life – you’re at the grocery store and someone smiles at you. Do you step in their path and beg them to list their home with you?

4. Don’t post wrong size or bad quality cover art and profile pics

The photo you use as your Twitter header photo has the same impact as the front door on a listing. It should be appealing and give you an idea of what you should expect inside. Use something like Canva if you’re not familiar with Photoshop and make sure your header photo looks good at 1500 pixels wide by 500 pixels tall.

Your profile picture should look good at 400 pixels wide and 400 pixels tall. It should also be the same photo you use on your other business accounts so people that don’t have to guess if they’re following the person they intended to.

If either your Twitter header and/or your profile pic is fuzzy or stretched out in a weird way, people will assume you don’t care enough to make a first good impression and may not go farther than that.
Consider this curb-appeal.

5. Don’t advertise your broker

I see this mistake most often with new agents. I understand that you may not have any listings yet or even any prospects, so you’re banking on your broker’s reputation to get you started. That’s normal. However, and this is a big however – it won’t always be that way. You may decide in 3 months to move to another brokerage. Not what? You’ve established yourself as @AmyABCRealty and now you’re @AmyXYZRealty. Think of a Twitter handle right from the start that tells people you’re a real estate agent or broker without associating it with anyone else. A name that can move around easily with you.

We’re all human and we all make mistakes, but if you keep in mind these 5 things to avoid, you’ll be on your way to making friends and customers while looking friendly and professional.

What questions do you have about using Twitter? Is there something specific you’d like to know how to do? Leave me a comment below and let me know or tweet me at @AskForLiz.