For the past several years, real estate professionals have been using social media channels to
sell more homes faster by creatively leveraging the tools at their fingertips.
Social media marketing is one of the more cost-efficient forms of
local marketing for real estate pros. However, an effective social media presence in today’s real estate market is no longer simply defined as setting up a business page on Facebook and hoping your promotional listing posts magically find interested buyers.
While having a Facebook page, Instagram account and Pinterest profile are all certainly necessary foundations to
using social media the right way as a real estate professional, the art of social selling has evolved far beyond its transactional past. In order to succeed, you now need to build deeper relationships with your community, become a recognizable authority within your area and be proactive with how you’re using social media to get leads.
Since it can take well over
6 to 8 touches to generate a viable sales lead, especially in real estate, much of using social media to generate business means being a frequent presence in the lives of people within your community.
Moreover, it’s incredibly important not to allow your messaging to be confined solely to listing promotions, open houses and other self-serving posts. Using social media to cultivate leads is all about building relationships and creating opportunities to be top-of-mind once people in your community are ready to list or sell.
Use these tactics to help position yourself as a local community authority:
- Share move-in photos of your clients getting the keys to their brand-new house via your Facebook page and Instagram account. If you tag the new homeowners in the picture, the photo will be shown to more of their friends on Facebook, which increases your likelihood of additional exposure to larger social circles.
- Become a local expert on events in your community outside of the real estate world. Remind people to support local business by attending the farmers market. Share exciting news about great restaurants that are coming to town. If any of your past clients are local business owners, work with them to highlight new projects and relevant happenings in your area.
- Create and share genuinely helpful content in the form of detailed move-in tips, advice for homeowners to increase the value of their properties, video walkthroughs of your listings and homeowner dos & don’ts through your Facebook page and other social channels.
- Join community Facebook groups like those dedicated to a specific city or neighborhood. Chime in on local conversations to increase your visibility and position yourself as a local home expert to a broader audience. Be on the lookout for chances to prove your neighborhood knowledge—answer an inquiry about reputable local plumbers, or give a rave review of that new coffee shop that opened around the corner.
Providing value without asking for anything in return is the deepest, most sincere form of using social media to generate leads. By becoming a resource to your community on social media and regularly sharing content that builds your relationship with people beyond simply sharing your listings, you’ll be viewed as a welcoming authority and maybe even gain their business down the line.
Source: Ryan Robinson writes for ryrob.com and Vistaprint, where he advises entrepreneurs on how to launch a successful business and leverage social media as a first step to local marketing. He has also been featured on Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Business Insider.
