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The average real estate agent or broker probably doesn’t have any social media tricks are tips up their sleeve. The reality is there aren’t too many working professionals in the real estate industry that are that savvy. Most people hire a local digital marketing agency to get the job done, or they do very little on their own and thus get very little traction in terms of qualified leads or signed and dotted contracts.
If you’re reading this and you’re focused on finding those leads and closing those deals, but you want to be social media savvy enough to build your brand, consider this post your shortcut. Learn from some experts giving you the inside scoop on all their secrets.
The Top Social Media Marketing Tip for Real Estate Agents and Brokers
10 years ago if you wanted to be successful on social media, Facebook was the only website you would have to worry about. All you would have to do is create a personal page and promote yourself to all your friends and family (there were no fan pages back then). The difference is that back then, Facebook was only accessible to college students, so while it didn’t take much to gain traction on the platform, you would’ve had to be a very forward thinking young adult who could see the future of the social media industry before it took shape in order to actually capitalize on branding yourself.
Conversely, if you’re not on social media today pumping out value constantly, you’re falling behind. That’s why you absolutely, positively need to be on Facebook and Instagram. The bottom line is it’s for all millennials are hanging out these days. A millennial is technically anyone born from the 1980s onward that would be in their 30s or 40s right now. Think about it. Those people at the prime earning years in their careers. They’ve likely paid off their student debt or almost paid off their student debt, and they have built up their savings. They may have their parents helping them, but the point is they are ready to buy their first home.
CEO of Clever, Ben Mizes agrees.
“According to our study about marketing to Millennials, Facebook is still the best social media channel to reach the widest audience, but if you’re looking for a younger audience Instagram is the best platform to use. Millennials are 25% more likely to buy a product because of a social media ad than older generations, so focus your social media campaigns toward Millennials; they typically prefer funny and informative ads.”
An Easy Content Strategy for Facebook and Instagram
For any realtor or broker trying to get started with posting on Facebook and Instagram consistently, coming up with fresh content ideas can be difficult. You need to evaluate who you are as a person and how you can convey your core values through these mediums using your content. That takes some personal reflection.
That being said, there is a really simple formula that anybody can follow in order to make sure that they’re always providing value to their followers, who will eventually become homebuyers that do business with you.
Keverne Denahan recommends considering your content through three different lenses. Mixing quotes and memes, personal posts, and professional posts together let your prospect know that you’re serious about helping them. Taking this approach also brands you as an expert. You can do all this without coming off as a sleazy salesperson. Yes, the foundation of all business is to be able to make sales, but the focus of your social media strategy should be more related to content marketing.
Content marketing is not just the promotion of content, it’s the promotion of content that isn’t necessarily designed to sell. You need to spend a lot of time creating content that builds a relationship with potential clients well before they become your clients. This means you’re reaching out to people at all points of their customer journey. You need them to be aware of you before they consider using you as their real estate agent or broker. Once they start giving you thoughtful consideration, only then can they be converted into a client.
Here’s what Denahan has to say about each of his pillars:
Personalized Content for Real Estate Agents and Brokers
“Make it personal, but not too personal. When you look at your own feed, ask yourself this. Would I do business with this person? Do I want them to sell MY house? If you hesitate for one second, then you need to change what you’re doing. No photos of you in the gym, but you standing in workout clothes near the water or a hiking trail is interesting.”
Using Quotes and Memes as a Real Estate Agent or Broker
“Use the several editing apps out there to create a word graphic of your favorite quote and then marry that to the # day. #MotivationalMonday is a good one or #ThoughtfulThursday People like quotes and the quotes you choose are a reflection of your personality.”
Real Estate-Focused Content for Realtors
“People like success. When you close that house, do a selfie and tag them (if your Buyer/Seller allows, otherwise show yourself in front of the house) Going out that night to celebrate a Closing with your significant other? Take a photo of your champagne toast. Celebrate the wins and SHARE them.”
Denahan always recommends putting a bit of your personality into your professional real estate-focused content. That means going above and beyond promoting an open house when you have one.
“Show yourself as a well-rounded individual who LIVES and LOVES the community that they sell in. Yes, put posts up about an Open House you are having or something that comes from your company about market stats, BUT show people that you actually live where you sell. Go to that great restaurant and show, tag, share.”
Getting Deeper Into Facebook
If you’re first starting to create your content strategy for Facebook and Instagram, you may not want to jump into Facebook advertising right away. It can be intimidating and it’s a quick way to lose a lot of money. The best thing to do might be to hire an agency to handle it for you.
The reality is even if you plan and implement a robust content strategy, you just may not have the time to implement it all.
Realtor Christopher Pagli recommends using video ads. Video is very powerful because you can craft a sales pitch, teach a lesson or show off a home:
“Video sequencing is also a great advertising strategy. If the agent installs the Facebook conversion pixel on their website they can create a custom audience of people who have visited it (up to 180 days). I recommend adding people who have visited their FB/Instagram Business profiles to the audience as well. These people are a warm audience and easier to convert. From there, they can retarget those who watched a certain percentage of their first video, anywhere from 3-10-15 seconds. I would target people who have watched at least video 50% because they are most likely interested in what you are offering.”
For those that don’t want to get into advertising but still hope to make an impact, there’s always an opportunity to do that through live video. Facebook ranks live video higher in newsfeeds because they want more people to use that feature. And the bottom line is that live video is just more engaging than other forms of content.
Aiden Angeli from Ripe Marketing chimes in:
“Live stream open houses and walkthroughs that incorporate valuable information a potential buyer or seller would need to know when going through the process. Be consistent but understand that there is a lot of noise that you are fighting against to get their attention. One video will not be sufficient in quantity.”
Consistency really is the key. For a real estate agent or broker one qualified lead or sale per year is probably worth enough to spend the entire year branding yourself. But it takes commitment. A consistent effort to make things happen and to engage with people over and over again. The reality is if you’re trying to sell a home, it’s a big life decision. The classic idea that it takes seven points of contact to make a sale and close a deal may not necessarily apply to such a big purchase. It might take 10, 12, 15 or more points of contact to get a new client.
Either way over the long term branding yourself is always worthwhile. Develop an early game plan, come up with a few posts per month you can get started with an in the beginning worry just about that. Getting started. That’s all.
Now take what you’ve learned and go find somebody that will be the next buyer at your latest open house.
Jack has been in the internet marketing space for 10 years. He enjoys writing and watching the Toronto Raptors.
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