Jennifer Kelly

Sep 03 2015

Realtors: Build Awareness For Your Listings

Calling all real estate agents! Have you ever tried out using Twitter for your real estate business? Did you know that it is a powerful tool to build awareness for your business? But just how can Twitter help you?

Twitter Helps You Build Awareness

Twitter provides the perfect platform to communicate with your target clients. You can tweet about hundreds of different topics, including:

Tips about certain neighbourhoods #Leaside
Deals on hot properties #HomeForSale
Information about open houses #Listing #OpenHouse

Photos of your listings #Bungalow

And the list goes on. These types of tweets will increase the awareness of your business and listings with people who are interested in where and what you have for sale – and the more awareness you have, the more followers you gain, the more interest you’ll generate, the more people who know about you and your business. This is good for your sales pipeline.

Your Personality

A great advantage of Twitter is that it gives you an opportunity to show your knowledge and personality. With literally thousands of realtors in your region, your clients will do business with someone they know, like and trust. You can start to get known – do let your personality shine through. You can choose to be very professional or have a more casual voice, whatever you’re most comfortable with.

Hashtags Can Help

Never underestimate the power of hashtags on Twitter. Just what are hashtags? Check out this Nimble Quotes blog post on hashtags.

You can use hashtags to reference many things, from the area that you sell homes in or the type of homes you sell. Hashtags will categorize your tweets, so that when someone searches that particular hashtag, they will see all of your tweets that have included that hashtag. They are great tools to get more interaction and build awareness with other Twitter users who may not yet know you. Oh yes, and Google also indexes tweets – so your tweets can show up in Google searches now. Talk about double duty!

Have I convinced you yet? Go on, tweet about that #Leaside neighbourhood #listing you have an #openhouse for this weekend from 2-4.

Let Nimble Quotes Help You Build Awareness

Nimble Quotes has a database stock full of great quotes pertaining to the real estate industry. Why not try us out? If you sign up for our 30-day free trial, you’ll get 1-8 engaging quotes per day from our Real Estate category, plus the option of adding your own hashtags to each quote. Once your trial is over, it costs about $1/day or about $1/week to continue. Check out Nimble Quotes in action on @jenkellyjen or @newimarketing. Not ready for a trial just yet? Sign up for the Nimble Quotes newsletter instead.

Aug 28 2015

How To Get More Interaction on Twitter

Tweeting can sometimes feel like talking into the wind. No matter how often you post fantastic sales, tweet web links, or choose quotes to attract new followers, you still don’t get very much engagement or interaction.

Getting interaction on Twitter isn’t impossible—other social media personalities do it all the time! Perhaps it’s time to review your approach. Here are a few best practices that some of the most popular Twitter personalities like Grammar Girl and Ann Handly follow:

Reach out to followers

Don’t just stay in your corner of the Internet! Step out of your cave and interact with people on Twitter (that’s what you’re there for, after all). And the first people you should talk to? Your followers!

Every time you get a new follower, reach out to them and give them a personal greeting. This creates a good first impression and will make them more open to interacting with you in the future. If you missed your chance to greet them, respond to one of their own tweets and join in on a discussion.

Reward followers who respond or reach out

Did your follower reply to you or give you a mention? Or did a follower retweet one of your quotes?

Fantastic! Show your appreciation by retweeting something if theirs, as well! Publicly thank them for their effort. They’re guaranteed to appreciate it. If you can get this cycle of mutual appreciation going, you’ll quickly have a dedicated following.

Don’t spam

But don’t abuse your access to your followers. People aren’t on social media to be sold to. They want a pleasant online experience where they can chat with cool people and maybe learn something new.

Spamming people with offers, sales, or other things will just turn them off. Remember the golden ratio: 20% promotional, 80% non-promotional.

Choose quotes that pop

If you’re struggling for content, choose quotes that appeal to your target audience. Talking to business people? Choose quotes from prominent entrepreneurs or managers like Bill Gates. You can even try quoting movies and films, as long as they’re relevant to your topic.

One thing that really makes quotes pop is having a matching visual image. If you choose quotes that are intellectually appealing and post them with images that are visually appealing, it’s more interesting to readers and may get you a lot more interaction.

Join Twitter chats

A Twitter chat is a pre-arranged chat on a specific topic, which is formed around a particular hashtag. The hashtag links all of the participants’ conversations together to form a pseudo-chat room on Twitter.

This is a great place for you to interact with new people and possible get new followers. You can provide helpful resources like blog links or answer questions. Just make sure the topic is relevant to you, and that you actually do know what you’re talking about. And if you don’t, you can always ask questions. The Twitter crowd can be very helpful!

Try out these tips, and let me know what kind of results you get! Better yet, tweet me and we can have that conversation online!

Reach out to me on Twitter at @jenkellyjen and let’s talk! I look forward to hearing from you!

In this blog post, I mentioned using quotes as part of the content you tweet. Try out Nimble Quotes, our content as a service. Choose quote categories, timing and hashtags. Then sit back, relax and interact with your audience without the time consuming task of searching for your next quote to post. You’ll see 1-8 quotes per day being tweeted from your account automatically as if you tweeted them yourself. Pause, change and personalize at anytime. 30-day free trial, no credit card required.

Aug 25 2015

How Hashtags On Twitter Will Help You

Did you know you can search Twitter a similar way as you search on Google? Did you know using hashtags on Twitter when you tweet can help your tweet show up in Twitter searches?

Hashtags are also very powerful tools for connecting and building a network on Twitter.

What Are Hashtags On Twitter?

Hashtags are keywords or phrases that begin with the hashtag symbol (#). Hashtags are used to categorize tweets. On Twitter, when you click on a word or phrase with the hashtag symbol before it, you will be taken to a page with a list of tweets that contain that same hashtagged word or phrase.

If you use a hashtag in one of your tweets, someone who doesn’t know you but is interested in that topic can see your hashtagged tweet. It’s a great way to generate more interest in what you post and more awareness for you and your business.

Hashtags On Twitter Help

Hashtags create a wonderful opportunity to build a network. Twitter allows you to search for millions of different topics, so you can look up hashtags specific to your work and interests. And Twitter shows you all of the tweets pertaining to the hashtag, not just the tweets of those you’re following. This way, you can get into conversations, follow, RT, or favourite tweets from people you don’t even know yet. What a great way to meet and get exposed to more people, companies, charities, conversations and events. Learn more with these 5 ways Twitter hashtags help you engage and get noticed.

Try It Out For Yourself

So take advantage of hashtags on Twitter and get searching. You’ll find interesting topics for discussion and new people to interact with. Here’s how to start.

To search on Twitter:
Go to https://twitter.com/search-home

Type in the hashtag of the topic you’re searching for information about. If you are not sure there is a hashtag for your topic, start typing and you’ll see the hashtags that are currently used for that topic.

In our example, we’ll use #SmallBiz.

Here is a screen shot of the most recent tweets with #SmallBiz. We’ve circled in red the hashtag #smallbiz in each tweet. This is why these tweets were brought up in the search.

Creating your own hashtag is also a great way to get your business into the conversations where your customers, clients and colleagues are, as well as potential customers, clients and colleagues. Find some more information on using Twitter hashtags for your business tweets by Stephanie Buck.

Try Out Quotes With Hashtags

Using quotes is a great way to interact with your Twitter audience. With the Nimble Quotes service, you can try 1-8 inspiring quotes per day automatically tweeted from your Twitter account. You’ll also get the option of adding hashtags to your tweeted quotes, making your tweets even more engaging. Try us out today – we offer a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. Once your trial is over, it costs about $1/day or about $1/week to continue. Check out Nimble Quotes in action on @jenkellyjen or @newimarketing. Not ready for a trial just yet? Sign up for the Nimble Quotes newsletter instead.

Aug 21 2015

Twitter for Business 101: How do I Tweet to a Specific Person?

Welcome to another edition of Twitter for Business 101!

You may have already noticed that Twitter is a fantastic platform for broadcasting your message to a bunch of people, whether it’s your followers, the Twitterverse at large or a hashtag. But what happens if you want to talk to a specific person? Do you just throw the tweet out there and hope the person you’re talking to sees it?

You could, but you don’t have to. Twitter already thought of that, and provided some nifty options for you to get in touch with specific individuals. They consist of:

Mentions
Replies
Direct Messages

Let’s break it down one at a time.

Mention

You know how each Twitter handle has the “@” sign at the front of their name? That’s what Twitter uses to identify specific names in a tweet. It kind of works like the “To:” field in an email, except in this case all of the Internet is bcc’d when you send it out. For example, typing “@WilliamShatner” in your tweet will flag it for the attention of, you guessed it, William Shatner.

Twitter has a special section called “notifications” that alerts you every time your name is mentioned in this manner.

So if William Shatner wanted to know who is tweeting him or talking about him, he just needs to read his Notifications.

When do I use mentions?

Mentions are most commonly used when:

Making a public statement that you want the other person to see, either because they’re a part of the conversation or it’s relevant to them in some way.Example: “Met some great people at tonight’s networking event! @HelenHunt”
Quoting someone or referencing their work. Excellent when you want to give credit where it’s due.Example: “Identified my own “Tipping Point” today courtesy of the amazing @Gladwell”

Starting a public conversation that you don’t mind other people reading.Example: “Hey @jenkellyjen, when can we meet up for tacos?”

In addition to the “Notifications” tab, there are a lot of tools like Hootsuite and ManageFlitter that help you track any time someone is mentioned on Twitter, whether it’s you or someone else.

Reply

Do you want to respond to an interesting Twitter post? Hit the “reply” icon on their tweet!

Twitter will automatically fill in the original tweeter’s name, similar to the way mentions work, so that your message will be addressed to them. But the reply will also be attached to the tweet you’re responding to, thus creating a conversation threat that’s easier to follow.

When do I reply to tweets?

It’s just like replying to an email, or answering someone verbally. If you want to ask a question, answer a question, make a comment or even just strike up a conversation, replying to someone’s tweet is a great way to do it.

Even if it’s “just” the Internet, the standard rules of social decorum still apply. Make sure your reply is relevant to the conversation. Don’t spam them with a barrage of messages. Never say something you wouldn’t say to their face. Above all, be interesting.

Direct Message

Finally, Direct Messages (or DMs) are a way to initiate a private conversation with either one specific person or a group. To send a direct message, you have to go to your Messages page on your Twitter account and start a new conversation by entering the Twitter handle (or handles) of who you want to talk to. Only people explicitly mentioned in the address box will be able to see and participate in the conversation.

You can only send a DM to someone who already follows you, and vice versa. If you want to use Twitter for business purposes and encourage people to contact you anytime, there is a setting that allows you to receive Direct Messages from anyone, even if you don’t follow them.

When do I use direct messages?

Marketers love using Twitter for business because it allows for direct messages. Direct Messages are ideal for discussing sensitive and private business topics, and for exchanging contact information if you and the other user want to meet face to face or via email.

The Twitter support page has more great information on how Direct Messages work.

To learn more about using Twitter for business, sign up for the Nimble Quotes newsletter.

Aug 18 2015

Who Sees My Tweets?

When you send out a tweet, just who sees it? Can anyone see your tweets, or just your followers?

Can Anyone See My Tweets?

Once you’ve tweeted your update, those who are following you will see it appear in their Home timeline. The Home timeline is the first page seen once someone has signed in to their Twitter account. It’s where you can see all the recent tweets of the accounts that you’re following.

Your tweets also appear on your profile page. This is where anyone from the public can view your tweets – if your account is public, then anyone can look up your profile and see what you’ve posted. So people don’t necessarily need to be following you in order to view your tweets.

Your tweets won’t appear in the timelines of those who are not following you, but they can search for them. (Except for your direct messages – these cannot be viewed by the public.)

What About Hashtags?

Hashtags are keywords or phrases that begin with the hashtag symbol (#). They are used to categorize tweets. On Twitter, when you click on a word or phrase with the hashtag symbol before it, you will be taken to a page with a list of tweets that contain that same hashtagged word or phrase.

Click here for some helpful information from Twitter on using hashtags in your tweets.

So, whether you use hashtags or not, many people can see your tweets. But using hashtags will boost your potential audience!

The Nimble Quotes service posts famous and industry-related quotes to your Twitter feed as if you’ve tweeted them yourself. We offer a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. You’ll get to try 1-8 thought-provoking quotes per day automatically tweeted from your Twitter account, with the option of adding a variety of hashtags and specific timing for your audience. Once your trial is over, it costs about $1/day or about $1/week to continue. Check out Nimble Quotes in action on @jenkellyjen or @newimarketing. Not ready for a trial just yet? Sign up for our newsletter instead.