It’s important for businesses to have a social media presence, but this is especially true for real estate businesses.
Don’t just take our word for it, either.
According to a recent study from the National Association of Realtors, social has become integral to scoring clients and closing deals across the industry. Here’s a brief snapshot of the report’s findings:
- 77% of realtors actively use social media for real estate in some way, shape or form
- 47% of real estate businesses note that social media results in the highest quality leads versus other sources
- 99% of millennials (and 90% of baby boomers) begin their home search online (as opposed to in-person referrals)
Social media can be a great tool for real estate businesses.
This assumption is based on the idea that you have a plan and are not just making it up as you go.
If you want to create a social media plan for your real estate business or learn how to get more leads from social media, our guide can help you.
Real estate marketing tools
Real estate agents are some of the busiest professionals out there. You have to prioritize your time and pick which social media platforms make the most sense for marketing.
The NAR study found that Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram are the top three platforms used by realtors.
Facebook for realtors
There is no question that Facebook is a valuable tool for real estate agents. This is because Facebook’s user base consists of the target demographic for most real estate businesses, in terms of age and income.
By having a presence on Facebook, businesses can take advantage of the many features the site has to offer that are perfect for promoting their products or services. For example, Facebook offers businesses the ability to create a page, which can be used to share information about the business, special offers, or upcoming events. Additionally, businesses can use Facebook Ads to target users with specific interests, which can be an effective way to reach potential customers.
For example, Facebook provides businesses with a platform to publish updates and content related to listings, book appointments, communicate with customers, and curate reviews.
What types of real estate content are right for social media?
Now that we know about the networks that are our top priorities, we can discuss the types of real estate social media posts.
In the context of real estate, social media does not require you to be reluctant or hesitant about what you are selling.
It’s important to have a content calendar that includes a variety of topics, and not just sales pitches. Here are some ideas of what you can post to grow and engage your followers.
10 Tips to Step-Up Your Real Estate Social Media Marketing in 2022
The real estate industry is transitioning to being an online market. This industry used to depend on cold calling and traditional marketing to get business, but now it relies heavily on social media marketing to bring in new customers.
Most real estate brands are not maximizing their efficiency online when it comes to social media. Social media is a major lead generator for real estate businesses, yet most real estate brands fail to maximize their efficiency online.
Here are 10 tips to help you improve your real estate social media marketing in 2022.
1. Use the Right Real Estate Hashtags to Optimize Your Content
While hashtags do result in more likes on a social media post, this is not their only purpose. Hashtags also make it easier for potential customers to find your real estate brand on social media.
Hashtags are a great way for people to find your real estate content, but they are even better for you to find potential buyers and business opportunities.
Here is a full guide on Instagram hashtags that we’ve created in a previous blog post. This guide covers everything from how to use hashtags to how to find the best hashtags for your Instagram account.
Here are some hashtags you can use to find potential homebuyers or to attract potential real estate clients:
Generic Real Estate Hashtags
#sellyourhome Just listed! This old house has been renovated and is now for sale. It’s a great property with old house charm. Contact your realtor or broker for more information.
Real Estate Agent Hashtags
The commercial real estate industry is full of brokers, agents, and investors who are always looking for the next big deal. If you’re in the business of buying, selling, or leasing commercial property, you know that the key to success is staying ahead of the curve. That’s why we’ve created this list of the top commercial real estate hashtags for 2020. These hashtags will help you connect with the right people, find the best deals, and get the most out of your real estate investment.
#1 #Investmentsales – This hashtag is ideal for connecting with potential clients who are interested in investing in commercial real estate.
#2 #Realestate – This is a generic hashtag that can be used for all types of real estate-related content.
#3 #Commercialrealestate – This hashtag is perfect for reaching out to commercial real estate professionals.
#4 #Realestatebroker – This hashtag is perfect for connecting with real estate brokers who can help you find the best deals on commercial property.
#5 #Realestateagent – If you’re a real estate agent who specializes in commercial property, this is the hashtag for you.
Customized Real Estate Hashtags
#[Target City]apartments The [target neighbourhood] is a great place to live in the [target city]. Our [real estate team name] team is the best in the business and can help you find the perfect [target city] home, [target city] property, or [target city] apartment.
The maximum number of hashtags allowed on Instagram is 30, so I’ve compiled a list of 30 general hashtags that can be used for real estate posts. However, I would recommend doing some research to find hashtags that are more relevant to your real estate brand and targeted location. You should also experiment with different hashtags to see which ones work best.
Use Hashtag Tools
If the hashtags you are using are not giving you the results that you want, there are some great hashtag tools that can help you. Hashtagify is a popular tool that makes suggestions for twitter hashtags, as well as allowing you to track and analyze hashtags. Ritetag offers hashtag suggestions for images or text on any site, based on real time engagement data. Both services offer free trials, if you’re unsure they’ll be worth it.
2. Include Realtor Quotes in Your Content Strategy
If you manage a real estate business, you know how challenging it can be to generate content that is high quality. Your goal is to find straightforward concepts that will resonate with your readership, so that you can spend the majority of your time on other aspects of the business such as buying or selling homes.
Testimonials and quotes from established real estate businesses are a great way to make your content strategy more effective. The fun, friendly tone of sharing quotes can help you build trust and rapport with your audience. You can use quotes from real estate businesses to create images quotes!
3. Utilize The Best Social Media Tools for Your Real Estate Business
Since time is limited, it’s crucial to be efficient in real estate social media marketing. There are many ways to do this, such as using software that can help with things like exposure to buyers and content creation.
By taking advantage of technology and resources available online, you can make your real estate brand’s marketing more efficient and cost-effective. There are many options for creating great content, and using the right tools for social media can help you save time and money.
1. Free Stock Photos to Find Realtor Images
Although it can be expensive to hire a professional photographer, it is often worth it to have professional-quality photos. If you do not have the budget for this, however, there are other options available. There are plenty of websites that offer free stock photos, but some of the best ones for real estate images, include:
2. Creating Real Estate Social Media Graphics
Once you have found some great stock photos, you can begin to create social media graphics that will resonate with your audience. By adding text, shapes, icons, and other elements to stock photos, you can create custom messages that will better reach your target audience.
Infographics are visually appealing ways to engage with an audience and easily communicate complex information. They can be especially useful for highlighting data, and when done well, show off your knowledge in the industry and make for highly shareable content. Here are some examples of effective infographics to get you started.
In its article, Venngage discusses the benefits of using infographics in real estate and provides a selection of pre-designed infographic templates.
3. Automating Real Estate Social Media Marketing Posts
If you want to improve your social media performance, you should be consistent in your posts. This can be difficult if you’re in the real estate business, where your schedule is always changing.
We suggest using free tools and online resources to help you automate your social media posts. This way you can prepare content ahead of time and keep your posting on a regular schedule.
4. Generate Valuable Real Estate Blog Ideas
Many real estate websites have a blog, but many of these blogs are inactive or don’t provide any real value for their audience. Your blog posts should help you demonstrate your expertise in the real estate market and be optimized to attract new prospects to your website and social media channels. But how do you do that?
Coming up with real estate blog ideas can be tricky, but here are some examples of blog post ideas you can use to help improve your real estate marketing:
- Articles on market predictions and market statistics
- Tips for homeowners and what they should know when buying or selling
- Posts about the neighbourhood and information about the community
If you were a new homeowner in the area, or someone looking to move into the area, what would you want to know? Chances are, someone else is wondering the same thing. These blog post ideas will help familiarize your readers with your expertise and your real estate brand.
Examples of the Best Real Estate Blogs
Here are some examples of great real estate blogs that generate a lot of traffic and have posts that are key to their lead generation.
The BREL Real Estate Team
The BREL real estate team based in Toronto does an excellent job with their blog. By focusing on local content and information that homeowners and home buyers actually want to see, they are able to showcase their listings weekly with their “real estate crush of the week” segment. This provides readers with a better look at great listings available from the team.
5. Optimize Real Estate Facebook Posts and Ads for Realtors
Facebook is a home-selling platform that many businesses have had success with. You can take advantage of it by using paid and organic content.
Real Estate Facebook Posts
You want to start by having the right Facebook posts that won’t bore your audience and will help your real estate business attract new leads. Some popular real estate Facebook post ideas include:
- Real estate tips relating to buying and selling homes for inexperienced individuals
- Showcasing local businesses and events happening in the community
- Holding giveaways or contests to help build awareness and drive engagement
- Real estate stories and testimonials from previous buyers or sellers and their experience
- Professional images and graphics of new homes on the market (Use tools like Canva)
Do not try to sell too much to your audience. It is okay if your main objective is to sell homes, but social media should be approached in a way that builds relationships for the long term. Your followers will buy a home when they are ready, so there is no need to push for a sale when they are not interested.
In order to make sure your real estate brand is the first thing on your audience’s mind, give them value and awareness through things like Facebook posts.
6. Share Your Real Estate Success Stories
If you constantly post about the deals you close, people will eventually start to trust you and your real estate brand. This is because they will see that you are both buying and selling often, and will therefore be more likely to use your services when they need to.
If your customers are on social media, they can tag you to generate more engagement and interest. If they aren’t on social media, try to get a photo with the happy customers in front of their new home and share it on your social media channels.
7. Consider Accessibility
Neglecting accessibility in your social media marketing can be a bad idea since it can exclude a larger potential customer base. By following a few simple rules, you can make your marketing more inclusive and reach a bigger audience.
When posting videos, always include closed captions. This is essential for people who are hearing impaired, but even more than that, 85% of Facebook videos are watched with the sound off. Having captions on your videos allows your audience to consume your content in a way that works for them, which makes it more likely that they’ll stay interested. Similarly, offering image descriptions of some kind, either in the caption of an image or using Instagram’s alt text feature (located in the advanced settings), is important. Image descriptions don’t need to be fancy; simply describe what people are seeing so those using screen readers are included as well.
8. Make Video Part of Your Realtor Strategy
Video is a great way to connect with your audience. It’s exciting and interesting, and it usually does well both in the algorithms and in engagement.
Be confident and natural when you are being recorded, as if you are speaking to a friend. Also, think about what the customer would want to see, and plan your content around that. Informative videos that teach the viewer something or provide them with useful information are often very popular. When making videos for your brand, consider what would be most interesting or helpful to your target audience.
The other popular choice is live video. This may be intimidating at first, but it is a valuable way to reach your audience and get more engagement. Live videos let you do a live Q & A session, such as “Ask Me Anything About Buying a House,” so you can share your expertise directly with potential customers.
9. Collaborate With Local Businesses And Experts
Partnering with other local businesses can be valuable for realtors. Sharing content and creating resources together can help both businesses.
10. Collect Real Estate Reviews
Most people will not hire anyone until they have read a few reviews. Therefore, it is important to collect reviews and make them easily visible to potential customers.
Final Thoughts
Social Media has changed the way that real estate businesses reach their clients and has forced companies to be more interactive and more customized to their audience. The rise of online marketing has allowed businesses to specifically target their audience with ads and has made it easier to reach potential customers.
As a business owner, time is always a rare resource. This is also true for real estate brands. It can be tough to make time for real estate social media marketing, but there are several tools and ways to minimize the work and maximize results. By optimizing ads and social media posts, businesses should see better performance on social posts. If you want to increase exposure for your business, check out this article on real estate marketing ideas.