Internet links can be very lengthy, and this creates a problem when you want to include a link in your tweet yet your tweet can only be 140 characters long.  A bunch of free services have sprung up called URL shorteners.  When you visit one of these sites you can input a link you want to use in a tweet and then the site will provide you with a very short link you can use in your tweet that (when clicked) will auto forward people to your intended link.  The free service bit.ly provides the shortest links I’ve seen for Twitter usage.

You can get started by sending a few tweets that allude to content on your website, especially your blog.  Your first tweets can be as simple as the headline of your blog article followed by a link to the full article.

Twitter Isn’t Your Own Truman Show

As with Facebook, many real estate professionals make the mistake of discussing personal and business matters simultaneously in the same account when you really should have separate accounts for business and personal matters.  As with your profile’s bio, none of your prospective clients or referral partners really cares about your comments about the weather, tv shows, celebrities, your cute little nephew, that gorgeous new designer bag you just maxed your credit card out on or that scrumptious piece of cheese cake you just ate at a trendy cafe.  In fact, I have seen one very prominent Toronto real estate professional use his Twitter account for little more than updates on his personal jet-set life as if he were a Kardashian.  If you want to know the minutia of his life such as where he travels, who he meets with, what he eats, or what show he’s going to see tonight you can get that in spades by following his Twitter account.  People, Twitter isn’t meant to be your own Truman show!