Twitter has been in the news quite a bit lately with the protests in Iran, politicians and celebrities, trying to get their message out, and news reporters seeking a new means of communication. Most business people including real estate professionals are wondering how they can take advantage of Twitter. I'll have to admit it, I didn't think Twitter was such a big deal when it first started. After all, it was basically text messages in 140 characters or less to a public website. However, after using it for a while, doing some research, and getting feedback from my Realtor clients, I now see how powerful Twitter can be.

Twittering, like Blogging, does take a commitment of time and effort. You cannot just do it a few times then forget about it for a several months and expect to get results. Twittering is one aspect of Social Media or Social Networking which for the purposes of a Realtor is essentially marketing. Like all marketing, you have to budget time and/or money to implement a succesful strategy. Most agents these days don't have a lot of time or money, so let's cut to the chase and get to most important "Tweet" strategies an realtor can use. If you need some help setting up an account or learning how Twitter works, there are plenty of sources on the internet or you can email me.

The two main ways a real estate professional can use Twitter is by people following you or you following people. For a beginner, a good way to learn is to follow other members Tweets in subjects that will help your business or that you simply have an interest in. You may also comment or ask questions in response to other people's tweets. Following others will allow to learn about new blogs, tweet ideas, real estate news, community info, real estate marketing ideas, etc. To follow me on Twitter, please visit https://twitter.com/varsano

So you have finally signed up, set up your profile, learned how it works, followed other people's tweets, and now you wondering how in the world this is going to help my business. You need to start sending out your own tweets and broadcast messages of importance to the rest of the world. Social Networks are about a non-intrusive exchange of information, so you don't want too be too pushy, but you want people to notice you and the properties that you represent. Like your personal business website and your blog, you want to cultivate a reputation as an expert in your field with a specialization in a certain geographic area or real estate function/type.

The most popular tweets I have seen from real estate agents involve the subtle promotion of a listing or open house. You can send short Twitter messages about what makes a property unique or what a great value it is in today's market. You can also add a link on your Tweet to the properties virtual tour or to the listing on your own website. If you are a buyers agent, then you can tweet about properties that you think are a good buy or talk about markets that you think are a buyers market. Give out neighborhood data and stats. All agents can benefit from tweeting about the current market status. Make market predictions. It will establish you as an expert in your region, help develop a following, drive traffic to your website, generate leads, and eventually lead to more clients and closed transactions.

Some of the less obvious ways real estate agents can use Twitter involves trying things that generate interest but may not be directly related to their core business model. Tweet about new laws or financing programs. Start a contest and give away a prize, it's a great way to generate leads. Promote a conference, trade show, or community event. Redistribute content or recommend articles and new products that you like.

Harness the power of internet with the cross promotion of different marketing tools. Turn every blog post headline into a Twitter message, make every price change an alert through Twitter, schedule your Tweets to be spread out over the day, and have your latest Tweet be the same as your Facebook current status. Most of these things can be done automatically with little or no effort from you through tools like Friendfeed and Tweetlater. Web Retool offers an affordable and effective Social Networking set up plan that can get you started quickly. Once you get started it is strangely addictive. I have Twitter on my Blackberry and have sent Tweets when I had a couple of minutes to kill. In today's busy business world, Twittering doesn't take a lot of time, reaches lots of potential clients, and best of all it's free.