Is Your Twitter Account

RECO and REBBA 2002

Compliant?

Contents
Foreword ......................................................................................................................................... 2
What is Twitter?.............................................................................................................................. 3
Some best practices include: ....................................................................................................... 3
Twitter profile creation ................................................................................................................... 4
Common omissions ........................................................................................................................ 4
Twitter profile creation best practices ............................................................................................ 5
1) Header image .......................................................................................................................... 6
2) Profile Image ............................................................................................................................7
3) Profile name (also called real name) ....................................................................................7
4) Twitter name (also called username) ...................................................................................7
5) Bio ............................................................................................................................................7
Important clarifications when using descriptive phrasing. ............................................................ 8
About Realty Point Inc .................................................................................................................... 8
Web Links ....................................................................................................................................... 8
DISCLAIMER ................................................................................................................................. 9

Foreword
Creating a REBBA 2002 compliant social media profile is a requirement of all registered real
estate brokers in Ontario when you use any social media account for any type of real estate
related activities and there isnt much of a grey area according to the compliance requirements
that have been set out.
There are Advertising Guidelines (available at the RECO website) that describe the particulars as
set out by RECO that will assist you in advertising compliance issues that include online
activities.
This guide has been written to provide advice current at the time of publication. Regulations
may be amended or re-written, Twitter settings may change so we encourage you to seek out upto-date information using the links at the end of this publication.
This guide has been made available to you free of charge by Realty Point Inc.
Please share it with others that may find the information useful.
Realty Point Inc Brokerage
240 Duncan Mill Road, Suite 600
Toronto, ON, M3B 3S6
1-800-410-8516
www.realtypoint.ca
info@realtypoint.ca

What is Twitter?
In its simplest form Twitter is a social media channel that shares news and events as they occur
in real-time through the use of SMS (Short Messaging Service) 140 character long text messages
called Tweets.
Twitter describes itself as the best way to connect with people, express yourself and discover
what's happening.
Tweets reside in your timeline and are shared with your twitter followers. As you follow
other Twitter users your timeline expands to show their tweets just as your followers timeline
expands to show your own tweets.
Twitter allows for a great deal of flexibility and permanence (use caution: anything put online is
forever!) due to the use of hashtags which are keywords preceded with the # symbol. Go to
twitter and search for #torontorealestate and you will see all tweets with this hashtag in it, in
reverse chronological order (newest first).
You can send private direct messages to the people you follow (and those you dont) simply by
tweeting a message to them as long as the message starts with @username (replace username
with their Twitter username). You can message several people by including their Twitter
username as long as the message does not start with @username.
Pictures can be included with your tweets, you can include web addresses to interesting content
you want to share, and virtually anything you can think of can become a tweet, as long as it does
not exceed 140 characters per message. People have even published stories to Twitter using
hashtags to allow for a continuous read.
Real estate agents that effectively use Twitter tend to share a lot of content, not necessarily just
about themselves and their listings, or trying only to generate leads, but by participating in the
larger global sharing of social media.
There are many dos and donts of using Twitter that you should be aware of and the list of
possible repercussions can long-lived for those that dont pay attention to how fast a tweet can
be retweeted (shared beyond your own followers) or how a #hashtag can be abused, hijacked
or otherwise turn into its own social media mistake that takes on monster proportions in an
extremely short amount of time.

Some best practices include:

Only tweet content that you wouldnt be embarrassed to be seen by your family and
professional associates
If using a #hashtag for the first time take a moment to search for it first on Twitter to be
certain that it is relevant to your subject and that it has not been hijacked to suddenly be
related some other topic
If a topic #hashtag is trending (a lot of people are using it) do not simply add it to a
tweet to garner additional attention. The twitter-sphere can be relentless in its dislike
of such abuses and often such #hashtag hijacking gains attention beyond Twitter
If youre uncertain about tweeting a message then dont send it. Its easier to remain
silent than it is to apologize to millions of people (300 million Twitter accounts to-date)

Choose the people you follow carefully and monitor what they post since it shows up on
your own timeline. You dont suddenly want to find adult or otherwise objectionable
content being retweeted to your timeline by the people you follow

Twitter profile creation

According to RECO and REBBA 2002 guidelines your Twitter profile must include:

Your profile name as registered with RECO

Your description (i.e. Broker)
Your brokerage name
The term brokerage somewhere in your bio

Its important to note that your Twitter handle (username) is your unique identifier that does
not have any conditions to be met by RECO and REBBA 2002 for use (at this time).

*image from http://www.reco.on.ca/UserFiles/Social%20Media%20Guide/Social%20Media%20Guide%20%20FINAL.pdf

Common omissions
Compliance mistakes that occur when real estate brokers create their Twitter profile include:

Not using the name they registered with RECO as their profile name

Not having a complete description in their bio identifying themselves as a broker and
not including the brokerage name and/or the term brokerage in their bio

Your twitter profile contains 5 distinct areas of information, 2 of which are required to have
certain information to be in compliance with REBBA 2002 guidelines.
Here is an example of a non-compliant twitter profile created by a real estate broker (identifiers
have been masked). Can you identify all of the non-compliance issues in the image below?

3) is not the registered RECO name of the broker

5) does not identify the brokerage name and does not include the term brokerage
To correct this non-compliant Twitter profile the following steps should be taken:
1. Change 3) Profile name to be the same as the RECO registered name
2. Edit 5) Bio to include the name of the brokerage, the real estate broker description and
add the term brokerage

Twitter profile creation best practices

Due to the limitations of text and space available with Twitter profile pages it is highly advisable
to create a custom graphic for the profile page header area that includes all of the elements
required to be RECO and REBBA 2002 compliant as well as editing the profile name and Bio to
ensure the proper information is available. This will also eliminate the unfinished or newbie
look of a single colour across the top of your profile page.

1) Header image

The recommended size for your Twitter profile page header image is 1500x500 pixels in
JPG, PNG or Gif formats
Due to the variety of ways users access Twitter (desktop, mobile, tablet) we recommend
that you create a full-size image at 1500x500 pixels and combine additional graphic
layers within this larger size that contains the information needed to make your profile
compliant

(Image above shown at 30% size approx.)

Here is an example of the Twitter profile header for Realty Point (@realtypointinc) and how it
looks across the top of the profile page

We placed our logo in the centre of the larger image so it is always seen and not cropped
on different devices
Our profile image (lower left) is the hands in the shape of a house

2) Profile Image

The recommended size for your profile image is 400x400 pixels in JPG, PNG or Gif
formats
Generally this image is a headshot of the account owner however there are no
restrictions as to what is displayed as your profile image

(Image above shown at 50% size approx.)

3) Profile name (also called real name)

Can be up to 20 characters long

Is displayed on your profile page
Will be shown on your messages when you tweet
May not necessarily be unique to you (select and edit with caution)

4) Twitter name (also called username)

Can be up to 15 characters long and is your unique Twitter account identifier

Will be shown on your messages when you tweet (to the right of your Profile name)
Will also be used with direct messages
Forms part of your twitter url (example: https://twitter.com/username )
Used to log you into Twitter
Is unique to you
Can be changed later through your account settings

5) Bio

The Bio section is limited to 160 characters

This section must include your description, brokerage name and the term brokerage

Also includes your location, one web site link and the date you first created this twitter
account

Important clarifications when using descriptive phrasing.

Due to the limited space available in your Twitter profile description its important to note that
using descriptive phrasing, comparative claims and indications of honours and awards must still
abide by the Advertising Guidelines and have notations either with the details or a link to where
the details about the statements are available online.

About Realty Point Inc

Realty Point offers an innovative franchise brokerage platform that allows successful real estate
sales professionals to open their own real estate brokerage at a significant savings over the
traditional brokerage franchise model.
Incorporating your real estate business through your Realty Point brokerage franchise allows
you, the real estate professional, to become the Broker of Record of your own brokerage and
utilize the Realty Point administration staff as your back-office support staff, allowing you to
continue what you do best, sell homes, while we take care of the compliance and administrative
work your brokerage requires to operate daily.
Your Name Realty Point becomes the foundation that allows you to utilize the tax savings that
other self-employed professionals in Ontario enjoy while at the same time operate at a
substantial lower office and staff cost and still be RECO and REBBA 2002 compliant.
With over 10 years successfully running a real estate brokerage, our management team guides
you every step of the way, starting with incorporation and continuing through your daily
operations, to help you achieve the success you desire.

Web Links
Twitter
https://twitter.com
Twitter Support
https://support.twitter.com/
RECO (guidelines)
http://www.reco.on.ca/professional/registration.html
REBBA 2002 (RECO documents)
http://www.reco.on.ca/tc-328/sc-335.html

REBBA 2002 (e-laws)

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_02r30_e.htm
Realty Point Inc
http://www.realtypoint.ca

DISCLAIMER
The information contained herein is an adaption of the information available through RECO and
the REBBA 2002 from currently available documents (November 2014). It should in no way be
deemed complete or binding and you are advised to seek additional clarification from the above
mentioned regulatory bodies to confirm your individual compliance with these recommended
guidelines.
Real estate agents in Ontario are licensed and regulated by The Real Estate Council of Ontario
(RECO) which is responsible for administering and enforcing the Real Estate and Business
Brokers Act 2002 (REBBA 2002).
Enforcement covers all activities deemed to be a part of the activities of a real estate broker (see
RECO for clarification) including social media activity when used by real estate agents in
conjunction with real estate business. This may include advertising, lead generation and
property promotion among other activities.
You may freely share this publication, in its entirety, provided no additions, deletions or other
changes are made to the document.
Realty Point Inc Brokerage
240 Duncan Mill Road, Suite 600
Toronto, ON, M3B 3S6
1-800-410-8516
www.realtypoint.ca
info@realtypoint.ca

2014 Realty Point Inc. and Robert Lee. Images used remain the property of their respective
owners. All rights reserved. Edition V2.4