Only One Property Portal In 100 Most Influential Property Tweeters: Do Brands 'Get' Social Media?

READING, ENGLAND, August 12, 2011 (Press-News.org) Property Week have announced the top 100 most influential Twitter accounts in UK property which surprisingly included only one property portal: The Big Property List (www.thebigpropertylist.co.uk) which was named the 9th most influential property Tweeter.

Property Week have released a list of the top 100 most influential Twitter accounts for UK property and The Big Property List was the only property portal in the top 100, leading to questions whether UK property portals are truly embracing social media or whether Twitter users want to hear more from people than brands.

Other 'brands' in the top 100 included the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) (positions 6 & 10) and Property Week itself (76). Many of the most influential Tweeters were individuals, bloggers and property journalists such as Sarah Beeny (74), Henry Pryor (15) and Graham Norwood (23).

The top 10 most influential Property Twitter Accounts were:
1. The Tenant Advisor @coydavidsoncre Corp Real Estate Strategy
2. John Corey @john_corey Property Investor
3. Su Butcher @subutcher Architect/ Writer
4. Tracy Kellett @buyingagent Buying Agent/ Blogger
5. Paul Wilkinson @eepaul PR/ Marketing
6. RICS @ricsnews Professional Association
7. Hugh Pearman @hughpearman Architect/ Journalist
8. James Coyne @jamescoyne Social Media/ Software
9. The Big Property List @thebpl Property Portal
10. RICS @ricssurveyors Professional Association

Social Media is a buzzword and many companies and individuals are trying to work out how to use this new platform to their advantage (including Twitter themselves). The Twitter ecosystem in UK property is characterised by individuals who use Twitter to participate in a virtual property community. This many-to-many form of communication differs from the traditional one-to-many form of communication traditionally employed by brands in marketing products. Users do not want to be bombarded by marketing messages but want to participate.

The Big Property List, launched in August 2010, has invested itself in Twitter from the start, connecting with consumers and property professionals and engaging in a dialogue.

A spokesman for the company said:
'...social media is a trend too big to ignore and the online property community in the UK use Twitter to share news and as a platform for discussion and networking. We love interacting with people and have found friends as well as partnerships through Twitter. Some brands use the platform in a cold way to broadcast their messages but this is not how people want to interact.'

For further information please contact:

Press Officer, The Big Property List
0044 (0) 20 3286 3445
press@thebigpropertylist.co.uk
http://www.thebigpropertylist.co.uk

Notes to Editors:-

• Read the Property Week Twitter research findings here (http://www.propertyweek.com/professional/pwtwitter100-who-are-propertys-top-tweeters?/5022791.article)
• The Big Property List launched in August 2010 to display property adverts uploaded to Google Maps in a popular list format
• In June 2011 The Big Property List contracted with Nestoria to display property adverts from the vertical search company's customers
• The focus of The Big Property List is to provide quality advice and content for UK homeowners, buyers, landlords and tenants alongside a BIG list of UK property for sale and to rent.
• Follow The Big Property List on Twitter @TheBPL

Formally launched in August 2010 The Big Property List was the first UK property portal to display listings from Google Maps. Since which time we have featured in Property Drum, Property Week, New Media Age and Net User magazine (Best New Website), contributing to our continued growth in visitor numbers and readers of the property blog, which has a growing subscriber base and is now re-published by four other online publishers with a combined reach of over 2 million monthly visitors.