Real estate is all about people — and in 2018, that means real estate should be all about social.
If you're a new agent (or even a veteran looking for a few hacks), the idea of marketing yourself in-person AND digitally may seem like a lot to tackle. To make it all just a little easier, we've compiled a go-to guide for understanding how to best connect with your audience. Let's get started!
Post high-resolution photographs on Instagram
With more than 700 million users on Instagram, the platform is very user-friendly and perfect for real estate agents just launching their careers. As the visual-centric platform that it is, it's important to make sure your picture is as perfect as possible. Does it mean you always have to post professional photography? Not necessarily. For home listings, leave it to the pros, but for a DIY project, a personal tour via Insta Story, or a drop-in with a new family after they've gotten settled, an impromptu phone photo will do the trick.
Pro-tip: Try to use filters that make your photographs look natural — anything with a crazy tint will seem fake and your followers will find it harder to relate to. When in doubt, less is more!
Target your audience right where they are.
There are lots of platforms — how do you know which one is best for you? By looking at the demographics. Here's the cheat sheet for each below, and how to target them most effectively:
- Instagram's audience is largely going to be Millennials/Gen Z. These viewers statistically have a love for travel, lifestyle, and food, so if you're breaking into the starter home, first-time buyer, or luxury markets, Instagram is your go-to tool for reaching the young (and the young at heart).
- Facebook is the home of the Boomer/Xennial — think retirement homes and vacation getaways. This demographic likes videos with cute dogs, cute families, and cute easy-to-make meals. If you're trying to get a bug in the ear of the older set, ramp up your video content, how-to guides, and commenting — this will definitely get their attention.
- Twitter is where the buyers go. With more than 2 billion search queries each day, Twitter is where people go for answers. The best part? Ninety-three percent of people who follow small and medium-sized businesses are looking to purchase (and some 69% have already bought). Pro-tip: Make sure your handle mentions that you're a realtor in some capacity. It'll make it easy for prospects to find you.
- LinkedIn is where the businesses and brands live. Looking to jump into commercial real estate? LinkedIn is more or less the B2B Facebook, so sending out a couple of ad campaigns, commenting on business page updates, and keeping your profile fresh with your commercial listings is a great way to snag the audience at the source.
Keep your content short and sweet.
If we've learned anything after Millennials jumped onto the scene, it's that conciseness is VERY much appreciated on social media. People are busy and want to get to the important stuff as fast as possible, especially on a platform like Twitter. With only 280 characters per post, you need to keep your post to one or two sentences tops so that your followers can scan with ease. This is a great platform to engage with recent buyers, check up on your favorite clients, and list your open house times and recent sells.
Take advantage of a "tag" at every opportunity.
If you're not familiar with a tag, it's super easy — you're just highlighting a particular person by calling them out by name on social, which links to their account in the case of Facebook and Instagram. It more or less doubles your readership because it pulls your followers AND their followers into one audience for that particular post. If your content is right for the audience — be it an open house showing or a signing day recap — you will find your follow numbers go up.
Repost, repost, REPOST!
When you're just starting out, you're not going to have all the content, all the time. That's why reposting can be your best friend: it's helpful for you to get content up, and it will also increase your following. We suggest an easy 3-way split with content: 33% fresh/new content, 33% past project highlights, and 33% reposts that are relevant to your audience.
Not sure what kind of reposts are right for you? Think of your target audience. Are they mainly millionaires with a love for travel? Repost dreamy destinations from Conde Nast Traveler. Are they Millennial homebuyers? Spotlight a great little cafe in a neighborhood where you have properties for sale. Your potential customers want to know that you understand what they want — get inside their head by anticipating what they want to see and you'll do just that.
Try a giveaway — it works across all platforms.
One of the best ways to grow your numbers and engage with your audience is through giveaways. After all, who doesn't love free stuff? The giveaways don't have to be huge either. Think about hosting a dinner at a great restaurant in your market (it's a great opportunity to meet your followers face-to-face), offering a one-year subscription to a local magazine (or even to Netflix), or tickets to a great event around town. Not only will you engage your audience, but you'll also support your local community. Two birds, one stone.
Pro-tip: Giveaways are also a great way to get more reviews about your experience, for Google reviews, Facebook reviews, or even for your website. Offer a great little giveaway in an email to your past clients and then randomly pick a winner from the people who oblige.
And the best tip for social media across the board is this: Make it meaningful. There's no need to post if it doesn't have a clear tie to your end goals. You'll just waste your time and everyone's else's by posting filler content. So stick to your message, the right platform for the right audience, and you're golden.