Your presence on social media is an important part of how you do business today. However, gone are the days where simply ‘posting’ on a number of platforms was enough to keep your brand in front of people.
Today you need a strategy. A plan.
Creating Your Plan
Start with asking yourself what your goals are. Are you looking for buyers, sellers, landlords or renters? Are you just looking to increase your exposure to your market? Would you like to position yourself as the expert in real estate in your area?
The way you interact and share on social media should always be with this goal in mind. For example, if your goal is to find new sellers, then sharing information that a seller is interested in is key. Think about sharing sold listings, or writing and sharing blogs on ‘ways to prepare your home for sale’.
If you have a number of these goals, think about how each post or interaction is directing you to one of these goals.
Posting vs Content
The key to having your audience engage with your posting is to create content they can interact with. The best way to do this is to provide value in your content.
Think about the following questions when creating content for social media:
- Am I providing content that someone would find useful?
- Am I producing something that is entertaining?
- Is anyone likely to share this content with someone else?
- Is this piece of content a conversation starter?
Some content ideas that promote interaction and sharing are;
- Encouraging owners to share your posts about their listing
- Local area property updates
- Tips for landlords
- Tips for selling your home
- Buying a house checklist
- Promoting community events
- Surveys
You may need to test a variety of posts to see what your audience responds best to.
The right content in the right place
Think about what content works on the platform you are using. This is something that a lot of businesses don’t think about when it comes to creating and sharing content. Understand the strengths and weaknesses of each platform, and take advantage of these.
Instagram – Designed for sharing great images. Do you have interesting photos or videos of a listing? Or something from the local area? Instagram is a great place to share these.
Facebook – Just about everyone has a Facebook account these days. It’s a great place to share new listings or price updates on existing listings. Use the Facebook Events section to create invites to your open homes. Share your blog posts about what’s happening in your local area.
YouTube – Create informative videos about your local area. Do you create videos or video slideshows of your listings? YouTube is a great way to host and share these videos.
Pinterest – Using Pinterest is a great way to display images and details to highlight your listings. You can create a Pinterest board for each listing displaying the property photos, local area photos while highlighting key features.
Be Consistent
The important part of creating a plan is sticking to that plan consistently. Building a presence on social media can take time. It may feel like at times that you are putting the work in for no result, but be patient and consistent.
When creating your plan, think about regular posts or series you can create. Will you have a monthly market update? A “Selling Your Home” tips series that posts tips every Thursday? It could be as simple as sharing details of the monthly local markets.
Quite often, a business will create their social media plan but only stick to it for a couple of weeks. You are building a relationship with your community and this can take time. Stick to it, and it will pay dividends in the long run.
Need help?
Setting up your social media plan can be overwhelming if you’re new to it. To help you get started, check out our other blog posts filled with tips and free templates designed specifically for your real estate business, or schedule a free consultation with one of our specialists to find out more about our digital marketing services. Make sure to subscribe to our mailing list via the button below for even more free resources!
