Social Media Marketing for Real Estate Agents
One of the many platforms available for online marketing is social media. Social media has become a place for various businesses, including real estate businesses. The real estate business over the years has evolved from cold calling, traditional marketing into a mix of those mentions and social media marketing. Many real estate agents experiment and try different ways to let the public know about them and their business.
In general, the term Social Media Marketing or SMM refers to social media and social networks to market a company's product and services by connecting and engaging with existing customers and reaching new ones. It is believed that 97% of marketers use social media to reach their audiences by applying cost-effective strategies that help boost their sales over time.
Taking advantage of the social media platform helps realtors build trust in the client base, lead generation, and maximize online presence to establish their branding. However, some agents need a little more experience to know what works for them. So, whether they are beginners starting from scratch or wanting to improve their social media marketing skills, we gathered a few to guide them on their real estate journey to success.
Facebook has become a common ground for many agents or all sorts of businesses. According to the NAR study, Facebook is the top pick for realtors to and many choose Facebook to help them grow their business. Almost 2.7 billion people use Facebook to connect with family and friends and discover things that matter to them. Facebook allows business owners to find new customers and build lasting relationships with them.
Facebook Page
Facebook page is an excellent marketing tool for businesses, and it is free! Creating a Facebook page lets companies identify themselves and develop their brand identity. They can list products and services as well as sharing links, images, and posts. But they have to keep in mind what the audience wants to see and still have a strategy for what to post. They can consider anything related to their business and they can use Facebook Insights, where they can see performance data of their page. They assess by checking the summary like the number of views, likes, reach, post engagements, and the like. They can have a preview of how their page has been doing recently.
Facebook Ads
Facebook offers its own form of advertising, and it increases website clicks or directs the audience to the messenger. It has features that allow the page owner to select a target audience based on age, location, and interests. They can set a daily budget and the schedule for the ads, like when to start and end. It has the ability to advertise in a particular area, great for real estate agents who are selling a specific location. However, Facebook ads are not free, and their cost varies depending on target options.
Facebook ads can increase traffic to Facebook pages by increasing "Likes." Once a user likes a page, they become followers, and they will see the posts they made on the page as they appear in their newsfeed.
Facebook Boost
Facebook Boost is a paid advertisement promoting an existing post from a Facebook page simply by clicking the blue button at the bottom that says "Boost Post." When the agent decides to boost a post on Facebook, users' news feed fits the general targeting parameters, although it is not as detailed as Facebook Ads. It also requires a budget to reach more people than it would have organically.
Instagram is a social media platform acquired by Facebook in 2012, so it has similar features to Facebook. It is a photo-sharing application where users can edit, upload photos and short videos. Instagram is ideal for realtors who have stylish and luxurious listings since it is a platform for sharing high-quality image content like new property announcements. A quick tip: upload amazing photos and plan out the theme with their feed to look pleasing and represent their brand well.
Instagram Stories
Stories can be used to create personal touches and updates day-by-day by real estate agents. They can record quick videos, snap photos or use boomerang. It is an interactive tool where the audience can see what agents want to share about their day, like visiting the property, assisting clients, short virtual tours, etc. However, it usually lasts for only 24 hours and is moved to archives afterward.
Sponsored stories on Facebook and Instagram work similarly like a "word of mouth" concept in marketing. The goal is to have users take the same action as what their friend lists do. However, these kinds of posts are usually overlooked.
LinkedIn is not usually a place to spot clients for their real estate business. Still, it is an avenue to network colleagues and fellow realtors in the same industry to share opportunities amongst them. It acts as a virtual resume where anyone viewing their profile can see details about them like educational attainment and work experience. Although not many people spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, it is a great place to set up a profile as a real estate agent or company page to add to their online presence.
Most people spend more time on social media during the day and night. It has become a part of the routine of any individual to scan through different platforms to check for updates and messages either first thing in the morning or before sleeping. It has become a habit to scroll through the feed, whether Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Being in the proper channels helps businesses attract the right customers. Still, real estate agents must also consider giving out the correct information at the right time to make the most out of social media marketing.
Choose social media platforms wisely.
Real estate is always super busy, and agents can leverage their time by prioritizing their energy and focusing on things that matter. It can be overwhelming to be active on various platforms to establish and maintain an online presence with different accounts. It is best to have some test runs, research, study, and see which ones get the best results. They can start by exploring what platforms their target market often uses and where they spend their time online.
Consistency is the key.
The real estate business needs a relationship-building strategy to be successful. With it, they have to be consistent with their interactions so that people will have something to look forward to from them. It provides value, and it motivates viewers to keep coming back to them. But they must do it strategically that people will not lose interest or eventually tune out.
One great way to check If they are going in the right direction is to oversee the account profiles or pages if they are gaining or losing followers, increasing or losing engagements, and if these movements dramatically affect their productivity.
Since consistency is the key, mapping out the calendar is ideal for knowing what to post on a specific day. Many tools assist in this process like they can schedule posts beforehand, but they must consider the goal of each post. It can be announcements, promotions, informative content, or entertainment. But they do not have to worry that much because there is no need for them to create everything. They can always share links, repost, or retweet anything related to the real estate industry as long as they are unique content from reliable sources.
Be Yourself.
Studies show that customers want to have a personal connection with those they do business with. They prefer to get to know the person behind the profile so, it is best to create authentic social media content that resembles who they are as a real estate agent or firm. What people like to see is the personality that shines through across many platforms.
Clients would probably check how they respond to followers in the comment section, like answering inquiries and how they would react to negative comments if there are any.
In conclusion, social media are great, and having strategy can positively impact the bottom line - sales. Real estate agents must put their contact information even though it seems obvious who posted it. After all, the end goal is to get clients on the phone, reach out to them, and have a successful transaction.