Most Of The Estate Agents On Twitter Are Idiots
13 Apr 2009
Meh, as pointless and shitty as I think Twitter is, to my despair, it’s become another one of those geeky rages that I’ve embraced as part of my daily life.
Apparently Facebook and Myspace wasn’t enough- now we need to log into more shit in order to maintain our virtual lives. It’s actually got to the point of insanity. I mean, some people on Twitter deem it appropriate to declare that they’re, at this exact time, biting into their cheese and cucumber sandwich (like I give a shit). Ironically, they also declare when taking a dump (again, like I give a shit (pun intended)). But I guess that’s the point of Twitter- to share real-time thoughts in the space of 140 characters.
I’ve been signed up to Twitter for a while, but I’ve only recently started to use it actively. I’m not using it because I like it, or because I “get it”, I’m using it purely to stay in tune with the latest online fads. To be honest, I think most people are using Twitter for the same sheepish reason.
While I don’t get Twitter, I’ve learned to accept it. It’s going to be around for a while and it’s hugely popular, so fuck it. However, there’s one thing I refuse to accept on Twitter, and that’s the blubbering idiots behind the majority of the accounts representing Estate Agents. A lot, and I mean A LOT of Estate Agents have an account on Twitter. The majority of whom are trying to utilise Twitter as a marketing tool. I’m a rabid fan of online social marketing, but only when it’s done right. Sadly, most Estate Agents are doing it all wrong. So wrong. So wrong that my conscience has forced me to dribble this rant.
When I started using Twitter properly a few weeks ago, I started following a lot of Estate Agents in hope of connecting with useful industry information/people. Sadly, I couldn’t have got it more wrong. The majority of the agents are relentlessly Tweeting links to hundreds and hundreds of properties they currently have for sale in their books. I’m not going to point fingers and say these Agents have broken any animal welfare laws by illegally tying a chimp to a computer for the purpose of executing this brain-dead activity, but all I’m going to say is that I wouldn’t be surprised.
Don’t get me wrong, some Agents get Twitter, and they’re being smart. I’ve noticed that some Estate Agents are Twittering about their daily business. For example, I’m following a random estate agent that Tweets about the deals that are going through, and deals that collapse. I actually get that, and most importantly, I take interest in that. Other useful agents provide links to good resoources of information e.g. important industry news.
But the Agents/Portals that are just tossing out random links are dumb as shit. Agents like that aren’t thinking, and they’re probably struggling in this current market because of their inability to comprehend appropriate marketing strategies. I’m no Seth Goddin of the marketing world, but I don’t think you need to be in this situation in order to point fingers and say, “you’re a dumb ass”.
Here’s a few reason why Estate Agents should stop Tweet-spamming links to properties:
- The general public looking to buy a property WON’T follow an Estate Agent on Twitter. Most people that follow Estate Agents on Twitter are fellow Estate Agents. So who are the links to the properties actually for?
- If someone wants to buy a property, they’re certainly not going to follow an Estate Agent on Twitter, or even search on Twitter. That’s a fact. The average sane person will use Rightmove, or the Estate Agents actual website.
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Sending out links constantly to properties for sale is BORING. I stopped following 99% of Estate Agents because my profile was just getting filled with shitty links. I’m
hopingassuming no one else finds those links entertaining or useful. - The target audience isn’t there, so what’s the point of distributing these links? The links aren’t being clicked on by actual “buyers”. Even if by some stroke of luck a potential buyer does follow an agent on Twitter, what are the chances of actually displaying an ideal property for that user? I’d rather try my luck with a scratch card.
- Buying a house is a VERY broad area, and it’s not a sustainable area of interest for one person. What I mean is, it’s not a niche E.g. if my business was selling rare Spiderman memorabilia, then it would be worthwhile flooding my Twitter account with links to all the latest memorabilia I got into stock. The majority of my followers would most likely be targetted Spiderman fanatics, consequently the clicks would be of value.
- Ask yourself, would YOU, an estate agent, follow a Twitter account if you wanted to buy a house?
This is out to all the Estate Agents guilty of this sin! Forget trying to generate sales and increase pointless pageviews by Tweeting links to properties. Instead of trying to generate sales with Twitter (because it ain’t going to happen) focus on growing your brand and building relationships with other agents and property enthusiasts by saying something useful.
I’ll bet my left bollock on the fact that an average Joe would be more interested in hearing about the day-to-day activities of an Estate Agent (especially in this climate), as opposed to being smothered with shitty links to properties for sale. Stuff your links up your arse.
Anyways, if anyone with a Twitter account that reads this is either a) involved with property/landlording b) interested in property/Landlording c) is a regular reader, please leave your Twitter details below, and I’ll start following you.
If anyone wants to follow me on Twitter, Tweet, Tweet.
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Talk / 17 Comments left so far
So many people are just abusing Twitter, and filling the place with crap. I don't get it! Your client is just adding to the crap. I'm sure he'll get a huge following of people interested in fences =]
Twitter have basically taken the "status" function from Facebook. Go figure.
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Yeah, those individuals are most likely bloggers and influencial people, right? They're probably linking to blog articles they have written.
It's an entirely different market. Every time I publish a new blog article, I'll Tweet it. It acts like an RSS feed, and my followers know what they're getting.
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Your points about estate agents not thinking about their twitter market is very apt. It's a very common problem with most businesses, since they just don't target their customers correctly. They then wonder why their business is not performing!
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Not sure I really get twitter other than it's a must have as social marketing is the new, actually I'm not really sure what it's the new. But it isn't marketing. But what do I know?
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There's an English company which are setting up some sort of search facility which is going to facilitate people searching for jobs on Twitter. Sounds crazy at the moment, but it could just take off and if it does, expect the housing market to follow suit. So, essentially, it's not the worst idea to use Twitter if you're an estate agent - but I agree that the way they're using it currently is dull and unimaginative and unlikely to attract business!
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I’ll follow you on Twitter for sure. My name on Twitter is labirinto. Good tweets!
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I think Twitter can be a great resource for keeping you ear to the ground... finding out things much faster than your counterparts. You can also reach potential buyers/sellers that never knew you existed, as long as you don't scare them away with a bunch of uber-hype.
As an agent, I don't particularly find any interest in knowing who's going to what closing, or how many clients some agent picked up today. I think Twitter is better served as solving a consumer's problems, than patting yourself on the back.
Twitter is turning into MySpace really quick IHMO. Let's hope the TwitterHeads will try to keep it from getting out of control.
Love the rant! Keep bringing the content. I appreciate it.
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I completely agree (although didn't mention in my rant), Twitter is also great for those things you mentioned- solving a consumer’s problems, finding out the latest news...etc.
kind regards
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I couldnt agree with you more! I call these agents "twatters". No insight! We tweet about anything and everything, property focused or not.
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I get the impression that you didn't understand my post, or perhaps you didn't even attempt/want to understand it, beyond the title (Most Of The Estate Agents On Twitter Are Idiots). I didn't say ALL estate agents were idiots, I said those that aimlessly tweet links to "properties for sale" are idiots, because the chances of converting through that kind of marketing exploit is SLIM. And believe me, the majority of them are, or at least were, tweeting aimlessly like that.
I have no qualms with agents that are actually engaging with one another and trading useful information- that's how it should be, which is exactly what I stated. I'm under no impression that estates like that don't exist because I follow some great Real Estate Twitters!
Now, to answer your questions...
I'm attracting all kinds of idiots- most of the accounts following me are spammers (agents tweeting links to properties) and dead accounts. But amongst the dead weight, I'm only engaging with the 50 or so people I'm following, which are real people involved in the industry. They don't aimlessly tweet "properties for sale", they provide interesting tweets, resourceful info, and help solve problems.
I've been using twitter for a while; my Landlord account wasn't my first or primary account. I initially started following over 100 estate agents, and they were all trying to sell property on Twitter, which was ridiculous. I removed 99% of them. Now, tell me, how many "friends in the real estate industry" are you following? I hope it's a credible sample portion for you to defy my thesis. Unfortunately, I fear your "few twitter freinds in the real estate industry" are exactly that, "a few"
I've sampled a fair enough portion to stand by my comment- Most Of The Estate Agents On Twitter Are Idiots!!!
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Don't agree with some of the other comments here bashing Twitter generally. Personally I find it incredibly useful, but only if used in the right way. Flogging houses isn't it.
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I don't think the property industry moves fast enough for this type of thing.
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I love your tweets, they are funny and to the point. I agree that tons of companies are using twitter badly, filling it full of salesy nonsense that people simply block.
I work in social media so i spend alot of time trying to get Brands to use Twitter effectively, ideally as a customer service tool. It is a long hard road and as soon as companies understand that Twitter is about communicating and not simply selling, it should get better.
great post by the way
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I am not currently on twitter and doing a little research before I start, it was suggested to me by a leading local estate agent that I should be on twitter as it will increase my google rankings.
I found your article very interesting and I will definately try and keep my tweets relevent and not just send out relentless property links !
Many thanks
Michael
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Please leave a comment
I initially started this website because I wanted to document my every step from property idiot to property landlord,
in hope that people would find my site and help me along the way. I literally didn't have a clue about being a landlord
when I started this website.
I do wish I had the sheer confidence to create such a rubbish idea and manage convince people to use it. For that you have to give credit!
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