Social media can be daunting for realtors. If you are busy meeting clients and trying to close deals, you may be overwhelmed by the idea of devoting significant time posting online and keeping up with multiple social media platforms. You may not know which social media channel to post on, and you may be unsure of what you should even be posting, apart from property listings.
But in 2020, social media is where the game is played and the better informed you are of the rules, the better you will be at playing it. Awareness of where to focus will mean that instead of spending hours running an ad-hoc social media campaign, you can focus your social media strategy on reaching the right people and providing the best content. Having a targeted and effective strategy will ultimately leave you with more time to run your business - and more customers!
Every realtor should know the following statistics. They demonstrate just how wide your reach can be on social media, and how much you should be monitoring the social media scene. They emphasize what, when and where you should be posting - effectively serving as a guide to how to master your social media marketing.
If you are just getting started, you may prefer not to begin with each platform, but be aware that each one provides a different way to connect with potential customers. As the video marketing trend continues, you should strongly consider Youtube.
The golden marketing rule is that 80% of what you post should be reserved for information about your industry and other valuable content for your reader, with just 20% left for promotional posts.
Simply put, it’s not about you. Instead of thinking about your social media presence as being a direct sales pitch, see it as a way of cultivating relationships with would-be customers. You are establishing your company as being a helpful and trusted resource. The best way to do that is by providing value to your followers. Linking to longer-content blog articles provides your readers with useful resources which help them with their decision to buy, even if indirectly. So instead of just advertising houses, your blog can discuss market trends, neighbourhood amenities, and even interior design questions. By making it customer-centric, you have a better chance of providing compelling, engaging content. Because it’s not about you, curating material from other sources (and attributing it to whoever wrote it) should be embraced. The key here is providing value, even if it wasn’t you who wrote it. Part of the 80% can be directly designed to invite user participation. For example, you can ask an open question, related to buying a property such as “do you prefer an open-plan kitchen?”. You can do this as a poll, or simply inviting responses and asking for people to share photos of their kitchen. This strengthens your relationships with your prospects and promotes brand loyalty.
Nowadays, messenger apps are dominating social media use. But the real scope for growth is in utilising these messaging apps as chatbots. A chatbot is an artificial intelligence software that allows you to engage with your leads directly, and respond to their questions instantly. If you are just getting started, focus on your Facebook messaging app, as so many of your ideal buyers are already on Facebook. It is user friendly and can be integrated into your ads for amplified effect. Your chatbot engages in conversation with your leads, and when programmed properly, can save you time by establishing what their interest is, and gathering information that will allow you to help them. It can direct traffic to your website, direct them to specific listings, and provide additional details.
Organic reach can only take you so far. Advertising can give you a great ROI if done well, and with so many people on Facebook, this platform is a great place to start. What can they offer you? Facebook is excellent at knowing how to target your ideal customers, as they have access to vast amounts of data about their users. Their ad campaigns target audiences that have already interacted with your business. They also create look-alike audiences - one’s with similar characteristics to your current customers - and advertises to them too. This way, your ads are shown only to a very niche audience. You can also choose for your adverts to primarily reach people in a certain age or income bracket - or any other criteria that targets your ideal buyer. The analytics will show you how to tweak your ad content and audience.
There are different ad options but one that is particularly useful for realtors are their carousel ads. These allow you to show multiple photos or videos in one larger image, so you can show off many desirable aspects of a home in one go, appealing to a broader range of people.
Social media monitoring means following what is being said about your business, by tracking when you are mentioned online. You can do this for your competitors too, so you can see where they may have an edge. If you are too busy to do this yourself, invest in software that will alert you when you are mentioned. This allows you to respond to comments in a timely way - whether they are positive or negative - which is important for your business reputation.
Social media listening is about the bigger picture. By listening out for cues and learning more about your potential buyers through their conversations, you can identify what matters most to them. You can use this information to pivot your postings, so you are really addressing the topics that they want to hear. A careful social listening approach will also allow you to spot would-be buyers and sellers before they even approach a realtor, for example, if you see someone posting that their place is too small for them. Searching keywords on social media sites and joining local groups are great ways to follow what is going on.
Once you understand where and what you should be posting, and how you can utilise social media to grow your real estate business, there’s no going back. Digital marketers can help you take your social media marketing to the next level, so check back here for more tips on how to boost your business online.