The dos and don’ts of social media for real estate
Social media has a lot going for it – it’s free and your potential clients are already using it, so most agents will agree that having a social presence is a no brainer.
However, having a social presence and being able to use those social platforms to promote yourself and generate business are two very different things.
It’s important to remember that growing your profile and your brand on social is a marathon, not a sprint. The tips below will help you get the most from your social efforts and help you stand out from the competition.
1. DON’T underestimate hashtags
Hashtags are effectively search terms and can help you build a loyal following and increase engagement.
Many social users bookmark hashtags to ensure they don’t miss any content they are interested in, so use them to your advantage.
Start by building a core hashtag set like #realestate or #homeforsale to use on all posts, then add post specific hashtags like #dreamhome, #firsthome or #investor to help you target the right audience.
LinkedIn recommends limiting your hashtags to 5 per post, but Instagram allows you to include up to 30 per post. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new post specific hashtags so you can measure which ones work best for you.
2. DON’T feel like you need to be on every social channel
The single biggest mistake all small business owners make, including real estate agents, is thinking they need to be active on every social media channel available – you don’t!
The key to social success is to make sure you’re visible on the channels frequented by your potential clients. For real estate agents, Facebook and Instagram are the obvious choices and depending on your client demography, LinkedIn is worth considering too.
Every social channel has its own niche best practices, so managing your social can take up a lot of time. You’re more likely to see better results when you focus on mastering 2 or 3 channels and avoid the temptation to be everywhere.
3. DO use a variety of content
Of course, you should be including listings and sales results in your posts, but you need to remember that most of your followers won’t be actively looking to buy or sell right now.
The opportunity for agents is to keep followers interested and engaged over time so when followers are considering engaging an agent, they already have a level of trust in your brand.
To build that trust online, you should be aiming to share fresh ‘valuable’ content on a regular basis. Valuable content answers a question or solves a problem for your followers, and topics like the state of the market, how the self-employed can secure loans, how to prepare property for sale, and tips for home renovation demonstrate the breadth of your knowledge and helps promote your expertise.
4. DO show the real you
Real estate is a competitive industry and it can be difficult to differentiate yourself from other local agents in your area.
One sure fire way to stand out is to tap into the ‘authentic you’. Share ‘behind the scenes’ insight with your followers eg What makes you tick? What do you love about real estate? What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? What are you most proud of in your career to date?
By allowing yourself to be ‘real’ and authentic through your social channels, you not only paint a picture of what it would be like to work with you, you also showcase your unique personality and separate yourself from the competition.
5. DO take advantage of scheduling tools
Managing your social media can quickly become a time consuming exercise, but the good news is there are a number of free tools on the market that enable you to schedule your posts in advance, access analytics and save you a lot of time.
Facebook business suite
Facebook business suite is accessible via your Facebook page and is a free and easy option used by many small business owners.
You can schedule your posts in advance and at a glance see how well each of these posts have performed in terms of likes and comments.
This is a great option if you are only using Facebook and Instagram.
Later
This visual social scheduling tool has integrations with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok and Pinterest, and market themselves as the #1 marketing platform for Instagram.
Later is free to use across all the social platforms they support. The free plan is limited to 30 social posts per month, however this is generous enough to allow you to post daily so will suit most agents.
Hootsuite
One of the original social scheduling programs, Hootsuite is still a solid option when it comes to scheduling and tracking your social media.
Hootsuite can be used to manage posts across a large range of platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, however their free plan is limited to 2 social platforms.
When used correctly, social media is a great platform for agents to build their brands, engage their followers and generate new sales opportunities.
The tips above, combined with a well thought out social content plan will help you focus on the most important elements of your social strategy and set you up for social media success!
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