Over 3.5 billion people actively use social media. If you’re not using social media marketing for real estate agents, you’re missing out! Instead, use this as an opportunity to expand your reach online.
About 90% of marketers say social media has increased their online exposure. Another 75% say they’ve increased traffic.
Meanwhile, consumers spend over 2 hours on social media every day. With social media marketing plans, you can boost your reach and draw in new buyers.
Not sure where to get started? Here are the 10 tips you need for an effective social media marketing strategy. With these tips, you can start marketing different properties, drawing in clients, and getting ahead of the competition.
Don’t wait! Get social with these 10 easy tips today.
1. Know Your Goals
Before you start developing your social media marketing plans, take a moment to consider your goals. What do you hope to accomplish through social media marketing? Do you want to:
- Generate brand awareness for your real estate business
- Book more tours
- Increase traffic to your website
- Establish your credibility
- Demonstrate your experience and expertise
- Show off your listings
As you consider your goals, set a key performance indicator (KPI) for each one. For example, you can track how many people view your posts. Each view can help you boost brand awareness.
Otherwise, track your likes, reblogs, comments, website visits, bookings, and other metrics.
Establishing your goals and KPIs will help you track your progress. Otherwise, you might not realize your posts aren’t generating engagement until it’s too late.
Once you set your goals, start researching. Who are your customers? What demographics do they fall under?
Understanding your target audience will help you create content with them in mind. Otherwise, your posts might not appeal to buyers.
Take the time to understand how your customers behave while using social media, too. For example, about 50% of people ages 16 to 24 research products online.
Others:
- Discover brands and products through social media advertisements
- Discover brands and products through recommendations on social media
- Say a “Buy” button would increase the chances they’ll make a purchase
- Say a lot of likes and positive comments will increase their chances of a purchase
What social media platforms do your clients use? You don’t need to create an account for every platform. Instead, focus on the platforms your clients use daily.
Understanding how your prospective buyers behave on social media will help you adapt your strategy with them in mind.
2. Update Your Profiles
Make sure each of the social media platforms you’re using is optimized and up-to-date. You don’t want to display outdated information on your platform. Otherwise, you might risk confusing clients.
Add your:
- Contact information
- Professional profile photo
- Website URL
- Address
Updating your profile will make it easier for prospective clients to get in touch with you. They won’t have to struggle to learn more about your business.
You can take it a step further by using the Story section on your Facebook Page. Give people a little more information about your business. Try to tell a story that will draw people in.
Consider updating the Services section as well. Updating these areas will help qualified leads understand what you offer.
3. Create High-Quality Content
The strongest social media marketing plans are based on high-quality, engaging content.
First, research your competitors. What content are they creating? Which posts are generating the most engagement?
Learn from their successes and failures. Then, develop your own social media marketing strategy based on what you learned.
For example, you might find your target audience enjoys aerial property videos, vlogs, and video tips. In that case, start creating more video content!
You can adapt the content you create for your digital marketing strategy with social media formats, too.
As you start creating your content, keep your branding in mind. A consistent brand will help you build awareness and recognition. The next time someone needs a real estate agent, they might remember seeing your brand.
Then, they’ll contact you directly instead of considering someone else.
Videos
Watching videos on mobile devices has increased by almost 10 million daily viewing minutes in the past 2 years. About 64% of consumers are influenced to make a purchase after watching a social media video. Another 54% of consumers want to see more video content.
Use videos to show off your properties. For example, you can use aerial drone videos to create guided tours. You can post Facebook Live videos to replace open house events, too.
Consider 360 posts, Snapchat Stories, and Instagram stories as well.
Try creating different types of videos, too. For example, you can create an explainer video that runs through the step-by-step process of buying a house. You can create vlogs with updates about the local real estate market.
End each video with a strong call-to-action (CTA) encouraging videos to take action.
4. Use the Right Hashtags
Hashtags can help people find your social media posts online. They can boost engagement and facilitate discovery. Without hashtags, new followers might struggle to find your posts.
You can group different hashtags based on themes, such as buyers versus sellers.
Here are a few hashtags you might want to consider:
- #realestate
- #realtor
- #justlisted
- #foreclosure
- #homesweethome
- #fixandfliphouses
- #househunting
- #renovated
- #mortgage
- #newhome
- #forsale
Don’t forget to add hashtags that are relevant to the property’s location, too.
5. Start Blogging
Do you prioritize blogging as part of your digital marketing strategy? Blog posts can help you share your experience and expertise. You can build your credibility and draw in new customers.
Blog posts can also help you generate more website traffic and gather new leads.
First, head online to read articles that other real estate agents are sharing. Look for:
- Articles that share market statistics and predictions
- Posts about the neighborhoods you’re selling in
- Information about the local community
- Tips for homeowners who are buying or selling
Think about your target audience. What content would they value?
Then, make a blog post on the same subject. Share a post on social media with a link to your blog post.
You can check out Courtney Lanier Sarofim for inspiration.
Don’t forget to prompt people to check out your post with a strong CTA.
6. Get Advertising
About 50% of Instagram users are more interested in a company after they see an ad for it on Instagram. You can use Facebook and Instagram to create eye-catching social media ads.
First, make sure to focus on your target audience. Don’t use sales-heavy language. Instead, focus on different ways you can engage followers.
For example, you can showcase local events, host a contest, or post real estate tips.
Add a strong CTA to each ad.
7. Share Success Stories
Have you worked with a lot of happy clients? Ask them to share their positive reviews! Their reviews can help optimize your social media profiles.
Then, turn those reviews into an eye-catching post. You can also create testimonial videos as part of your social media marketing plans. Testimonials will boost your brand’s reputation and help you draw in new clients.
8. Collaborate With Local Businesses
Work with local businesses to expand your reach. For example, you can collaborate with inspectors, photographers, home stagers, or mortgage brokers. Have them take over your social media account for the day (or take over theirs).
A collaborator can share their experience and expertise. They can add value to your account by providing homeowners with additional information.
Try sharing each other’s content or creating content together.
9. Keep Up With Trends
As you start marketing different properties on social media, don’t forget to keep up with the trends. New social media platforms and trends pop up constantly. If you’re not up-to-date, younger buyers might take notice.
They might turn toward one of your competitors instead.
10. Gather Your Tools
Gathering the right tools can help you remain organized across multiple social media platforms.
For example, you can schedule posts ahead of time to save time. Consider using a scheduling platform like Hootsuite or Later.com. You can create content in buckets, then schedule out posts for the week.
Automating your posts will help you save time and remain consistent.
If you don’t post regularly, people might not remember your brand exists. Posting on a schedule will help you build brand awareness and recognition.
Consider gathering free stock photos using websites like Unsplash or Stocksnap.io, too. You can post professional images, even if you have a tight budget.
You can also use tools like Canva or Snappa to create eye-catching graphics. Make sure to customize your posts with your brand guidelines in mind. Create different posts, including infographics, quotes, and story quizzes.
Once you start posting, take time to review the data. Which posts are generating the most engagement? Which ones are falling flat?
You can use your data to make adjustments to future social media marketing plans. Otherwise, you could continue making costly mistakes with your posts.
Stay Social: 10 Tips for Effective Real Estate Social Media Marketing Plans
Use every tool at your disposal! With strong social media marketing plans, you can reach your target audience with ease. Then, you can draw new homeowners to your real estate business.
They’ll recognize your experience and expertise and choose you over your competitors.
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