Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
On the internet, crowdsourcing has become a popular method for gathering information. There are whole websites devoted to users getting their questions answered by anyone and everyone who wishes to respond, and the highly popular question-answering service Quora does just that. A different type of social media site, Quora is an untapped resource for real estate agents looking to increase their visibility online and to market themselves and their services. Here’s why you should most certainly be engaging on Quora to build your buying audience.
Quora is a deceptively simple site. It differs from most social media sites in that you don’t necessarily use Quora to share details about your life – instead you go to Quora when you have a question that needs answering. Users can ask any question they want on subjects as varied as cupcake baking to zookeeping and beyond, and answers are then given by other users. These answers are then rated as to how helpful they seem to be by other users.
This is where the social media aspect of Quora comes in. Crowdsourcing answers in this way helps to build an entire community of individuals who habitually answer these questions because they have demonstrable expertise in their chosen fields – or simply choose to share insights or comments in dialogue with users that have already answered. In this way, a true community does indeed develop, with individuals learning one another’s personalities over time as they answer questions and interact with each other.
There are, of course, many things to look out for while using a social media platform, and this includes Quora. Online interactions will vary wildly depending on who is asking questions on the platform and who chooses to answer them, and this means that you (or anyone else) can encounter negativity. In general, however, the number of negative encounters on Quora are relatively fewer than those on Facebook, Twitter, or some other much more widely-used general social media platform.
People who spend a lot of time on Quora answering questions can build positive reputations for themselves, often becoming seen as experts in specific fields. This way, when one of these users answers a new question pertaining to an area of their expertise, their answer or advice is likely to be taken more seriously than someone who has just joined the website and doesn’t have a history of providing helpful answers.
This is, of course, where having a presence on Quora can be incredibly beneficial for a real estate agent. Taking time and effort to consistently build up a reputation for answering real estate-related questions correctly, sharing insights into things like the home buying process, and simply showcasing a friendly and professional tone is an excellent way to establish yourself as a trustworthy expert in your chosen field.
Establishing trust and showcasing your expertise might not have a strictly quantifiable impact on your ability to convert prospects into clients. However, presenting yourself as knowledgeable, engaged, and approachable means that the likelihood of someone who’s considering using you as a realtor is going to increase, especially if they have seen your name before on the answers of real estate-related questions. Quora isn’t the most direct marketing funnel, but some things – like reputation – simply can’t be measured using the same metrics.
While establishing yourself as an expert on Quora can do wonders for building a reputation as a being knowledgeable in how the real estate market works, there’s more to using Quora effectively to build visibility than simply providing accurate answers to questions about buying or selling properties. It’s just as important to provide other users on the platform a glimpse into who you are as a person – and that you’re not just a real person but you’re also really personable.
Creating and maintaining positive interpersonal relationships are a big part of being a successful real estate agent. You work with buyers and sellers, not properties! Establishing a positive rapport with individual clients is crucial to your success as a realtor. To accomplish this, you’ll need to reinforce the idea that you’re both honest and authentic.
The best way to accomplish this is to craft every response and interaction on Quora through that lens. Cultivating a persona that is friendly and approachable yet still professional shows the other individuals on Quora that not only can you be trusted to answer real estate questions correctly, but that you can do so in a manner that showcases your own interpersonal style. This is nearly identical to the way you would treat anyone while working in a professional capacity as a real estate agent; the only difference is that you’re not communicating face-to-face but instead over the internet!
Just like it would be if you had a presence on any other social media platform out there, being active on Quora is a highly effective method for marketing your services as a real estate agent. As with all social media interactions, be sure to put your best foot forward, always act professionally, and showcase our authentic self to earn the trust of those you interact with. In the end, doing so in a consistent manner will have a positive effect on your reputation on the platform. Building such a positive reputation on Quora can help you grow your realty business. When users of the platform that are local to you are looking for a realtor, there’s a high chance that you’ll be their first choice, thanks to the positive interactions you have had with them in the past. It might not net you massive numbers of new clients, but the possibility should never be discounted – and that’s why Quora should be a part of your professional social media marketing strategy for building your real estate agency business career.
