Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
In today's digital world, real estate agents can use social media to build relationships with clients and market their services. While a website is an effective way to showcase your listings and provide information about the home buying and selling process, real estate social media marketing is an even better way to generate leads, close deals, and obtain more real estate social media followers.
As a real estate agent, where are you in the realm of real estate social media marketing? Are you a beginner, a habitual user, a pro, or someone who needs further guidance and improvement? In a technology survey of National Association of Realtors members, 53 percent of respondents said that social media is one of the most valuable technology tools they use. But according to a survey of real estate agents, 82% think they need to improve their social media presence in order to grow their businesses.
Social media is an umbrella term for internet-based technologies that facilitate the sharing of information, ideas, and opinions through electronic communication. It can take many forms, including social networking sites, blogs and micro-blogs, wikis, photo and video sharing sites, instant messaging systems, and more.
On the other hand, social media marketing is the use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with customers and prospects, drive sales and build your brand through an online presence.
When used correctly, social media can be an effective part of a real estate agent's overall marketing strategy. In order to grow your social media presence, the first thing you should do is increase your social media followers.
Based on the recent survey by the National Association of Realtors, the top three tech tools that provide quality leads are social media (52%), Customer Relationship Management (31%), and multiple listing service sites (28%). The same survey also showed that realtors use Facebook most often (90 percent), followed by Instagram (52 percent) and LinkedIn (48 percent).
But merely having a social media profile is not the same as real estate social media marketing. You might have a profile, but if no one knows that you exist, then it's just an empty shell.
The following are some reasons why you should make an effort to increase your real estate, and social media followers.
In a 2019 study, Real Estate in a Digital Age, the National Association of REALTORS® Research Group reported that nearly all older millennials (98 percent) and boomers (89 percent) use websites as an information source during their home search.
The use of social media in real estate marketing has proven to be an effective tool in generating interest and driving traffic to a website. One way to do so is by posting excerpts or teasers on social media along with a link. This can encourage viewers to go to your website to read more.
According to the National Association of Realtors, 24 percent of homebuyers in America are aged 41-50 or younger. This means that these home buyers are also social media users with whom you can engage.
Interacting with your audience on social media helps you build relationships that directly boost engagement. The more consistently you interact with your community, the greater the effect will be.
Real estate social media posts offer agents and companies the opportunity to showcase their success stories, giving potential clients more reason to choose them.
In today's competitive market, prospective homebuyers have many options for choosing a real estate agent or company, so highlighting your satisfied clients help retain current clients and attract new ones.
Almost all new home buyers search online before they make up their minds about where they want to move, so real estate agents started using social media as the most powerful way of lead generation through real estate social media marketing. However, most real estate agents are struggling when it comes to the efficient use of social media in their business especially in getting more real estate social media followers.
Here are some suggestions on how to increase your real estate, and social media followers:
Each social media network requires an investment of time and money. You should, therefore, assess which networks best suit your business before devoting too much of your resources to any one platform.
Avoid using your personal Facebook account for marketing your real estate business. Create a business profile and use features such as contests and analytics to grow your business' presence on the platform.
While hashtags do increase engagement with your social media posts, they also make it easier for potential customers to find your real estate brand.
Using relevant hashtags in your real estate business's content can help homeowners and buyers find you—but hashtags are also a great way for you to discover potential buyers and opportunities.
Instagram allows a maximum of thirty hashtags per caption or comment. Research the keywords for your real estate brand and targeted location, and choose hashtags that are more relevant. Experiment with your hashtags and change them depending on what works.
In today's real estate market, it's essential to stand out on social media and give people reasons to choose your brand. When you create content, always keep your customer persona in mind. If you're creating social media posts, articles, ebooks, or even newsletters, ask yourself how it fulfills the needs of one specific persona.
Contents with professional real estate photos are more likely to be viewed on social media than content that lacks pictures or has poor-quality photographs.
Other appealing contents are well-crafted videos of the homes and properties that you're selling to attract more buyers and prompt them to contact your business for more information.
Sharing content from other businesses and people who are interesting and relevant to your followers can help you build trust and grow your social media followers. By sharing someone else's content, that person is more likely to share your posts with their followers — which increases your exposure as well.
You can also share social media posts from another person or business that contain their content with your own commentary, which increases the value of your followers' experience on your profile.
Whether you are a new real estate agent just starting out in the business, a seasoned agent looking to better utilize social media to grow your business, or a new student studying for your real estate license, there is always room for improvement. Use the tips above and you can successfully grow your real estate social media marketing presence!
—
Bodnar, K. (2021, September 13). 10 Real Estate Social Media Marketing Strategies That'll Bring in New Business. HubSpot. https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5911/social-media-dos-and-don-ts-for-realtors.aspx
Dopson, E. (2022, February 8). Real Estate Social Media Marketing: 8 Ways to Get More Enquiries. Sendible. https://www.sendible.com/insights/real-estate-social-media-marketing
L'Eplattenier, E. (2021, September 30). 21 Real Estate Social Media Marketing Tips From Top Agents & Coaches. The Close. https://theclose.com/real-estate-social-media-marketing/
Mrignayni, P. (2022, June 27). 22 Real Estate Social Media Posts to Get More Leads in 2022. Invideo. https://invideo.io/blog/real-estate-social-media-posts/
National Association of Realtors. (2021, September). Real Estate in a Digital Age. NAR. https://cdn.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/2021-real-estate-in-a-digital-age-10-05-2021.pdf
