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Should property professionals still be using Twitter? – GWlegal

by: Teresa Abols is a business development manager at GWlegal
  • 19/07/2019
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Nowadays it seems that all anybody who uses Twitter is concerned about is politics, pop stars and the latest (or should I say, last) Game of Thrones episode. Is there really any room for us humble property professionals on this fast-paced, 288-character platform anymore?

 

That’s a question I’ve asked myself often lately – especially after reading the words of my colleague Gavin who, in his recent article for MS ‘How property professionals can use LinkedIn effectively’, spoke so passionately about how LinkedIn is the single most important social media platform for those in the property game – and I will attempt to answer it in this month’s column.

First, however, let’s look at the evidence. I always love some good stats.

 

Is Twitter a platform in decline?

The past few years haven’t exactly painted a pretty picture as far as the future of the major social network platform goes. Since 2015, Twitter’s user base has remained fairly stagnant. From 2015 to ‘17, the platform gained just 28 million new users. This may sound like a lot, but compared to LinkedIn, which has gained 123 million new users over the past three years, it’s not so flash.

Despite the poor user figures though, Twitter is making a profit.

The company actually turned a profit for the first time ever in 2017 and then again last year, so clearly, the platform’s not in fact as rotten as its user stats would imply.

So what’s going on?

According to Social Media Today, there are many factors that could go towards explaining at least some of Twitter’s stagnant stats, including a crackdown by the platform on spam (it’s apparently identifying almost 10 million spammy accounts per week) as well as inactive accounts.
It’s possible then that the content being posted, while not reaching as many users, will actually be consumed by more authentic ones.

Here at GWlegal, we believe in utilising all major social media platforms to increase the reach and engagement of our promotional messages. As such, I would say yes, you should continue to do so – as long as you are analysing your results (using analytics) and allocating your resources accordingly.

Given its slow growth in recent times, it could be worth taking a ‘less is more’ approach to the likes of Twitter and focusing instead on savvier modern platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram.

That’s not to say that Twitter doesn’t have a number of unique benefits for property professionals. A few that come to mind include:

  • It’s a fantastic tool for reaching out to journalists. Tweeting your news stories to carefully targeted trade reporters can be more effective these days than sending an email to the press desk;
  • It has fun features that users tend to actually engage with, like polls. They can be a great way to gauge what your clients and others in the industry are thinking;
  • It reins supreme for social listening. Using Twitter to stay up-to-date with trending topics (hashtag #GoT, for example!) can help inform your other marketing efforts.
  • It’s the place 74% of Twitter users go first for their news fix. Formatting promotional messages in a more subtle news-like format could be the key to engaging meaningfully with your audience.

So, is Twitter going anywhere? I doubt it. At least not for now.

 

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