Social media marketing is ever-evolving alongside trends and industry developments, which makes it difficult for anyone without a marketing background to efficiently promote their products and services on the likes of LinkedIn and Facebook - none more so than those working in the property industry.
Many real estate agents won't have time to learn about the technical side of social media and algorithms, but what you can do is follow these 10 simple ideas to improve your presence (and lead generation) on social media platforms.
Here are our 10 tips on how to use social media as a real estate agent...
1. Plan ahead and post consistently
Use a social media planner, schedule your posts and plan ahead of time (the likes of Hootsuite, for example). This way, you will be posting consistently and your followers will know what to expect.
Outline a clear strategy for your company and ensure that it is one that will encourage your clients will want to follow you.
2. Use automations within your CRM
In such a competitive industry, using automation marketing could help give you the edge over other estate agents.
With Rezi estate agency software, you can set up automated workflows to send posts to social media instantly following certain triggers.
For example, within your Rezi Premium CRM, professionals in real estate can use our Zapier integration to automatically:
- Post new properties to Facebook
- Re-advertise reduced properties on Instagram
- Celebrate sold properties
You might like: Powering Automation in Real Estate
Here at Dezrez, we specialise in CRM software for estate agents and also offer brochures, website templates and more - built specifically for agencies - so check out our range of offerings.
3. Make use of hashtags - it WILL expand your reach
Real estate marketing isn't always easy, but adding hashtags is probably one of the easiest improvements to make to your strategy.
When it comes to the number of hashtags, there is no right amount. Choose an amount you're comfortable with - but try to include at least one hashtag in each post and you will notice your posts' reach growing.
4. Use a consistent tone
There's not one tone that all real estate agents should use on social media, so it's important that you find a tone that suits your brand. Don't be afraid to have fun with your social media - if it suits the type of agency that you run, there's no reason why you shouldn't reflect that on social networks.
Whether you're posting viral videos of luxury properties across the whole of the UK or selling affordable properties to your local audience, being consistent with your tone is important.
5. Celebrate your real estate agency's achievements
Why not post a few of your successfully sold properties, or any awards that your estate agency has won?
It all builds trust around your agency and urges other buyers and sellers to come to you for your real estate services. You may also want to post some testimonials or reviews - they're bound to help, if they're positive of course!
6. Embrace the face behind the brand
Posting stories, images or videos about the agents within your branch allows you to showcase the people behind the brand.
Your clients are likely to be interested in this type of content, as it gives them an idea of who you are and what your agency represents. You're also more likely to showcase why potential buyers and sellers should become your customers in the future.
Not all of your agents will be aiming to become real estate influencers on social media and they may not want to be the centre of attention, but posting 'behind the scenes' footage or images is just one way that you can create a more personable brand and one that people (buyers and sellers) will want to engage with.
7. Don't neglect the visuals
Use images and videos whenever you can - images typically generate over two times more engagement on Facebook than plain text posts, and it's likely that interesting videos will only drive even more people to your page.
Regardless of the social channels you're using (whether it's Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok or even Snapchat), social media is a cost-effective way of gaining high-quality leads - so be sure to put some time into at least one or two platforms. When determining which social networks you use, keep in mind your audience as a professional in real estate and decide what type of audience you want to reach.
8. Use your social analytics - they will help!
All social media channels offer some degree of analytics for businesses, so it's important that you use them.
Something as simple as checking the number of engagements each of your posts have or view information about your audience will help give you an idea of the types of posts that work, who you're reaching and whether or not your clients (and potential clients) are interested in your content.
As a realtor it's important that you spend some time looking into how your social media marketing strategy is going. If you review your strategy every few months, you will be able to adapt to the trends you see in order to create content that suits your audience and improve that all-important engagement.
9. Adapt if it's not working
When doing your analysis, if you notice that your social media posts are getting less engagement than ever and your follower count is dropping, don't be afraid to change things up and adjust your strategy to suit your clients.
Much of social media marketing for real estate is a case of trial and error - so there's no shame in getting things wrong. Just make sure you adapt when needs be.
10. Engage with your followers
Whether you reply to their comments on LinkedIn, retweet their Tweets or respond to direct messages on Facebook, your followers will appreciate you engaging with them and are more likely to think positively about your brand if you do so.
You could even:
- Offer live Q&A sessions
- Create polls and surveys
- Share other people's content on social channels
You might like: Becoming a Hybrid Real Estate Agent
Why is social media important for real estate?
Social media marketing has become important for pretty much every industry, and real estate is no different.
In the current climate, it could be argued that a buyer is more likely to check out your social media page than visit your office on the high-street, so be sure to treat it with that importance.
Having a presence on social media has probably never been more valuable.
What should real estate agents post on social media?
There's no hard and fast rule on what estate agencies should post on social media - but being consistent in however you use it is important, as is engaging with your customers or followers.
Some social post ideas for real estate agents include:
- New properties on the market
- Re-advertising reduced properties
- Sold properties
- Behind-the-scenes footage
- Live sessions or webinars on industry topics
- Blog posts
- Celebrating events (it's always a 'national [something] day'!)
There are hundreds examples of estate agencies in the UK and beyond with many thousands of followers, so don't be afraid to do some market research and compare the posts and strategies of other property professionals.
Discover more in our guides for real estate professionals: Insights
Or check out the latest blogs and news: Blog
If you're ready to start automating your processes and working more efficiently, book a ReziPM demo today!
