If you’re the type that hates constantly sharing and being so available, you might want to rethink your social media strategy. Most agents aspire to be good at social media but fall short. Agents respond to the new digital marketing landscape with love or hate. If you find socializing and sharing easy, you’re probably doing well on social media. If you hate sharing and being constantly available, you may need to reconsider your social media strategy.
If you find it weird to share information about your personal and professional life with strangers, you probably hate it.
This article provides tips on how to improve your social media skills by using free platforms to demonstrate your real estate expertise to your community. The tips include using social media to reach your customers, connecting with your customers, and providing valuable content.
1. Get Focused
Do we really need any more statistics to show that social media is popular?
It is important to identify your target customer and figure out what demographics are the best fit for your product or service.
After you identify your target market, you can research which social media platforms they use and what kind of conversations they’re having. Facebook is usually the best platform, but you can also find a lot of young users on Instagram.
LinkedIn is becoming increasingly popular, especially among older generations. It provides many opportunities for real estate marketing.
The first step to targeting your desired demographic on social media is to research which platforms they are using. Once you know which platforms they are using, identify the best opportunities for marketing on that particular platform. Focus your efforts on those opportunities for the greatest chance of success in reaching your target market.
2. Engagement
Engagement has become more popular as a topic than a strategy recently, perhaps because the concept is very straightforward. In order for your content and profile to be seen, your users need to be interacting with you, and you need to be interacting with them back.
The post will still be there when you’re done. You can’t post something and continue with what you were doing; the post will still be there when you’re done.
The content you share should be valuable and should start conversations. You should give your target audience a reason to follow and participate.
How can you get a conversation started instead of just posting some photos of a new listing?
Interacting with content that is related to your brand will help you reach your target audience. Liking and commenting on this content will start conversations that can help you learn more about your audience and what they want.
While likes, shares, and followers are all indicators of engagement, becoming a part of the conversations your community is having on these platforms is most important.
You should make your name and profile picture familiar to your target demographic on multiple platforms by engaging with them regularly and offering valuable conversation and encouragement.
3. Don’t Market, Get Real
One of the most important social media strategies for real estate agents is to be social. That is, to post photos of your staged homes, but also to let people get to know you and your business.
If you want to build strong relationships with potential customers, it’s important to share the same principles and interests. You can use social media to show your target market what matters to you, and this can create powerful, authentic connections if these topics are also important to them.
Most people use social media to see what other people are up to. It’s like a form of reality TV where everyone is watching everyone else. If all your posts are carefully curated and lack personality, you might as well be invisible.
People are interested in you because of the stuff that you don’t typically show or tell. Give them a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to be an agent, or live in your neighborhood. This will make them more likely to follow you and share your content.
4. Show Off!
You’re welcome. If you have millennials buying homes from you, see if they would be willing to share a picture of the closing on social media. Tag yourself in the post so that their followers can see your business. You may be surprised at how many people you reach this way.
While bragging about your accomplishments is fine, find ways to do so in a way that engages listeners. Focusing on what you can do for others instead of simply reciting a list of accomplishments will make people more interested in what you have to say. Every post should be based on this idea.
When done right, these types of posts can be a lot of fun and engaging for your brand.
5. Tag Everyone
When you add tags to your posts on social media, it helps to connect you with other users and amplifies your reach. It only takes a little extra effort to tag people and businesses in your posts, but it can make a big difference in who sees your content.
If you want to let people know about your successful open house or the amazing restaurant you went to, you can tag them in a post on social media.
Make sure you’re doing everything you can to make people curious and click the follow button. It might not make you money right away, but these are the kinds of social media strategies that will help you expand your network and make more money in the future.
6. Direct Messages (DMs)
If you didn’t know already, you can communicate with your customers through Direct Messages. Let’s think about this for a second. Consider all your newfound skills in social media marketing, engaging with other agents, local businesses, and your amazing clients. At the end of the day, they’re all just different ways to speak with your customers.
Most customers don’t initiate contact themselves, and many don’t even know how to go about doing so.
If you had waited for customers when starting your business, you most likely wouldn’t be successful now. This is where direct marketing is key.
It’s that extra push that says, “Hey, I noticed you were thinking about selling. I’ve sold x houses in your neighborhood this year and would be happy to give you my thoughts on the neighborhood, and your house. Let me know if you want to chat.”
You cannot successfully sell someone something if you do not ask for the sale, and in real estate you need to sell the potential customer on you and what you can do for them before anything else.
7. Give Them More
In the end, social media is just a marketing tool to help your business grow. If you want to engage with your followers and potential customers, you need to get them to visit your website.
Your website is the center of your digital marketing efforts and should be managed accordingly. This is where you can directly connect with your audience.
You should always be showing how useful and talented you are, and every now and then it’s okay to ask for a small favor in return.
8. Focus on E.A.T.
Interact with your followers by responding to their comments. Get them more engaged by asking questions like, “Which do you prefer, white marble or black granite?” Understanding what your followers want helps you decide what kind of content to post in the future.
Being authentic means striking a balance between pretty pictures and the ugly behind-the-scenes details. It’s not just about looking good–it’s about sharing the story of how you got there.
As an agent, it’s important to show your followers that you’re an expert in your field by sharing your thoughts on why one apartment layout is better or worse than another, or what makes a neighborhood unique.
9. If You Want Professional Results, Use Professional Marketing Tools
I’m still amazed at how many agents think they can just wing it and create professional content for social media without using professional tools. Unless you’re a natural graphic designer or video editing genius, chances are using unprofessional tools is going to make your content look unprofessional. It seems obvious, right?
10. Don’t Forget About YouTube
YouTube videos are a great way to authentically build your brand. By putting yourself out there and showcasing your personality and business style, you can raise brand awareness on a larger scale. The content you create can have a positive impact on other people and help you gain new business.
11. Measure Your Results & Test Constantly
There is a popular saying among fitness enthusiasts that also applies to real estate agents who are trying to be successful on social media: “You will improve whatever you measure.” Most agents choose to instead use a shotgun approach on social media, rather than following this advice.
Social media platforms offer professional-level analytics that help you determine which content your audience responds to, the best time and format to post it, and how to improve your content.
12. Document Local Events & Invite Colleagues to Curate Your Stories for a Day
Use Instagram and Facebook stories to document local cultural events (e.g., festival, museum, pop-up). It’s more effective than a static announcement of what to do in your neighborhood. Ask a colleague or client (e.g., interior designer, landscaper, or crystal healer) to guest curate your page/story for a day via your social channels.
13. Post Bite-size Summaries of Studies & Other Market Data
Posting studies or other market data is a great way to show your audience how carefully you follow the real estate market and position yourself as the go-to expert.
Many studies or data sets are complicated and can be interpreted in different ways. Instead of just accepting a journalist’s interpretation, look at the data yourself and come to your own conclusions. Then share your ideas with your audience.
14. Post a 50/50 Mixture of Business & Personal Stories—Think Aspirational & Celebratory
You should post a mix of personal and business stories on Instagram, with approximately half of each. This will make you appear relatable as well as successful in business. You should also post several stories at different times throughout the day, every day, in order to reach the most people possible.
It is important to be positive and encouraging in your posts, but you should never come across as arrogant or self-absorbed, as this will turn off many of your potential followers.
15. Use Humor, But Make Sure It’s Appropriate
The Close Pro Coaching Team | IG: @theclosedotcom
Most people use social media to escape their lives, so humor usually goes over well on any platform. Posting memes and funny videos shows your audience that you’re not just an expert in your field, but also someone they might want to have a beer with. Just avoid topics that are controversial, overly negative, or too racy for prime time TV.
Kapwing app is good for making memes while The Broke Agent is good for finding ready-made, custom-branded memes.
More Winning Social Media Strategies for Real Estate Agents
Whenever you’re on social media, make sure to follow these 3 principles:
- Be helpful and aim to give value and start conversations.
- Create quality content around what matters to your hyperlocal target market.
- Have fun and show some personality!
It is important to maintain a balance between three principles when producing content. If a post is not helpful, it should be an amazing shot or video. If it was not fun to produce, it should be quality work that is helpful to the audience.
It’s usually best to ignore negativity and trolls, or just be kind to them. Keep posting and creating value, and you’ll see the results of your work.
