The rules of engagement for Estate Agents

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, the adverts had just come on and I decided to check my Twitter account. Not moving from the sofa, I reached over to my phone and tapped on my favourite Twitter app. What greeted me was possibly the worst mistake I had ever seen.

Using Twitter from a business perspective, you want to use Twitter to promote your properties and drive traffic onto your Estate Agent website and there is nothing wrong with that.

Many social networking experts recommend using the 80:20 rule where Estate Agents only self-promote 20% of the time and then spend the rest of the time networking.

The Estate Agent in question was either uneducated, victim of an error from Twitter or disillusioned as to the results of his or her efforts.

They had posted about two dozen times and the majority of these posts were directed to their Estate Agent website. This meant that my Twitter feed was completely filled with their Tweets and only their Tweets.

Not only did I watch them lose followers within seconds, even Tracey Kellett expressed her frustration and declared that she will promptly be unfollowing them.

Estate Agents, I urge you to not make the same mistake. Think about what you are uploading to Twitter and consider what it would be like to receive those tweets. Are you providing valuable content for people? Are you communicating directly to people in your local area? Are you establishing yourself as a local expert?

• James Coyne – eMarketing and Social Media Consultant