How to Leverage Social Media for Real Estate
Having a social media presence is integral for many industries, and using social media for real estate is no exception. It’s key to attracting leads, building a brand, and so much more.
And, according to the National Association of REALTORS, social media is the best source for generating leads. What’s more, since over half the time spent on our mobile devices is spent on social media and more than 80% of Millennials found their home using a mobile device, having an effective social media strategy is essential to connecting with this valuable audience.
Read on to discover how you can leverage social media for real estate. Or let’s connect to discuss the best strategies for you!
What are the best social media platforms for real estate?
Before we get into how to leverage social media, it’s important to think about what online platforms make sense for your business. Keep in mind that you don’t need to be on every single one. Each business and audience is unique, so spend some time defining who your audience is and determine what resources you have to effectively reach them, whether via social media or other strategies. An overwhelming number of social media platforms exist today that can be used for real estate (Clubhouse is quickly growing!). Not surprisingly, a few stand out as the most popular: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.
- Facebook is great for posting company-oriented content, events (both company and buyer/seller focused, like open houses), and people oriented content like new employee announcements, leaderboard shout-outs, client appreciation, success stories and more. It’s one of the most widely-used platforms on which to advertise and saw huge growth last year that has continued into the first half of 2021. Facebook’s algorithm favors posts with high engagement, so including videos and images in your posts is a sure way to increase engagement and extend your brand’s reach.
- LinkedIn is where you can network with others in the industry, share real estate-related news, connect with customers, post company accolades, and more, all geared toward building your brand as a credible resource. More than half of marketers in the U.S. will use LinkedIn in 2021 and it’s the most trusted social media platform.
- Twitter is a great platform for creating a community and finding industry news. By following and using relevant hashtags, you can join conversations and partake in social listening to gain valuable insight into what your audience is talking about. It’s not the platform on which we recommend dedicating the majority of your time and there are relatively inexpensive tools that make posting and tracking engagement across multiple social media platforms easy.
- Instagram is where the visual aspects of your real estate company can really shine. Post listing photos that highlight featured properties, neighborhood pictures that create a strong sense of place, and have fun with things like design, all of which are made easier with the ability to post multiple photos in a slideshow, create stories, and more. Because 80% of Instagram accounts follow businesses, Instagram is a great place to create interest in your company and develop your brand.
To maximize the effectiveness of your social media channels, be sure to set up each of your profiles as a business profile, link your pages to your website, and ensure your company name, email, phone number, and location are consistent everywhere they appear. Continue reading below to get into specific tactics to leverage social media for real estate.
6 Ways to Leverage Social Media for Real Estate:
- Post valuable content. It’s no secret that content is king in the real estate world. Posting relevant and useful content will build your brand as a go-to resource for sellers, buyers, and agents. If you have a blog, linking the blog posts on your social media channels will help drive traffic to the post–be sure to have an optimized landing page! Build a strategy that consists of several different types of content like time-sensitive announcements and follow up from events, informative how-to’s or FAQs, community focused content, and content for and about your employees and agents.
- Build your brand. People are constantly turning to social media to research brands and validate decisions. Social media used to be primarily a discovery platform and is now just as much a validation platform, a trend greatly accelerated by the pandemic. People want to see what others are saying about specific businesses. Highlighting client testimonials, company success stories, and awards is a great way to positively build your brand online. Here are some others. Social media is also the place for storytelling through visuals that capture your audience’s attention and we strongly recommend incorporating video into the mix, whether listing videos or more personalized video content.
- Utilize social media advertising for real estate. Many social platforms have built-in advertising tools to help increase your brand’s reach. For example, Facebook has the ability to boost posts that are performing well (called boosted page posts) and will serve the ad to people who have been engaging in similar content on the platform. This also gives you a look into what your audience finds valuable. Keep in mind that even when you can boost posts from the front end (when you’re looking at Facebook), you should boost them from the backend (Ads Manager for Facebook) to give you the most control over targeting, spend, and other settings.
- Network with peers. By connecting with other industry leaders, peers, coworkers, and thought-leaders, you’ll have access to a vast pool of information that could help your business like new trends and market updates. This is also a great way to do a little research and get inspiration from brands that are similar to you, especially if you don’t know where to start.
- Dive into social media analytics. Most platforms have internal analytics that provide insight into what your audience likes. You can even find a platform that streamlines all of your analytics in one place for easy comparison. Leverage data to tailor your content to what your audience finds valuable and increase your chances of conversion.
- Build a community. Perhaps one of the best ways to use social media is by having a two-way conversation with your audience. For example, first-time homebuyers may be a bit intimidated, so creating your own hashtag where you answer questions or host virtual events streamed on a social media platform gives them the opportunity to access expert advice in a more informal, trusted way, and provides opportunities for you to connect with potential customers. Social media is a great customer service tool and engaging people who are commenting, posing fun questions, and letting your brand’s personality shine are all highly effective in building trust and have other benefits like improving your SEO by building social signals.
In summary, having a strong social media presence involves being intentional and doing the work to create engaging, personalized content for your audience and business. The benefits of being able to build trust and generate leads through this valuable channel make it essential for your real estate toolkit.
Want more information about creating an effective social media strategy for your real estate business? Connect with our team today.