The Benefits of Social Media Marketing For Realtors
Do you want better leads that convert to buyers and sellers? If you're not using social media marketing as a real estate agent, you're missing out.
77% of real estate agents say they are using some form of social media marketing. 47% say their social media marketing strategy results in higher quality leads when compared to their other marketing efforts.
You can't just go out there and start throwing around content though. You need a social media marketing plan.
If you want to ramp up your business and build a social media marketing strategy that brings in quality leads, keep reading.
Why Today's Real Estate Agent Should Use Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing has made it possible for real estate agents to reach a wider audience than ever before. With the right social media marketing strategy, a real estate agent can learn to engage their audience.
Shopfront listings, print ads, and a quality website are still important. They are becoming the second stop for home buyers and sellers. The first place that your audience is looking for you is online.
A younger audience is shopping for houses today. That audience is on social media. If your real estate business is not there, too, they are not as likely to find you.
Social media marketing can be a more cost-effective marketing strategy. ROI is more effective than money spent. The question is, what gets more leads?
If you have a good social media marketing plan, you can make sure that only your target audience sees your ads and posts. With traditional marketing efforts, that can be almost impossible to control.
When you use social media marketing, you can access data that helps you tweak your ads. You can reach people that want to see your content. You can target your content towards those who are buying or selling a house.
Traditional marketing in newspapers or radio doesn't give you the option to see who read the ad and who just skimmed by it. You can't see which ads work and which don't.
The only relevant data you get from traditional ads is how many people called your office!
Marketing on social media allows you to track a lot of different analytics. For example, it lets you see how many people your ads reached. You can see if they clicked on the ad to learn more. You can even answer their questions in real-time.
Another benefit of having a good social media marketing strategy is that you can develop a relationship with your audience. They may not be buying or selling a house right now, but a year from now they could be.
If you've engaged with them, they will remember your business.
You can build a brand that matches the needs of your market. Are they interested in the economy or the environment? Both of those can be important issues for home buyers.
What Networks Should You Use for Your Social Media Marketing Strategy?
Not all social networks are built the same or have the same users. This is why you should consider which social networks will have the most value for you in your social media marketing plan.
Make sure that you are investing in the network that gives you the chance to maximize your efforts.
Users on Facebook have a wide range of ages, interests, and incomes. If you only have time to use one social network, this is your best investment.
You can reach more people and there is more information available about Facebook marketing.
An advantage of using Facebook is the tools available for business owners. Besides posting content to engage with your audience, you can communicate with customers and book appointments.
Start by setting up a Facebook Page. Do not use your personal profile. Profiles are for people and Pages are for businesses.
Besides the fact that it is against Facebook's terms of service to use a profile for business purposes, pages give you tools to use for your business. You can hold contests, get analytics, and create advertisements.
As a Facebook Page, you can join groups to interact with your audience. Make sure you don't spam groups with posts. Comment and answer questions to provide value instead.
Facebook Pages can also create groups to go with the page. Groups are a great place to build a community. With your own group, you have more control of the conversation.
Instagram is owned by Facebook but the presentation is very different. It is more visually focused and this is where all of your amazing pictures come in. You can show off your listings through pictures and videos.
Use Instagram stories to share updates and short videos. Talk with your audience.
Reels are a newer feature that allows you to share longer videos. This is a great place to share a virtual tour.
Finally, you can do a live event and answer questions for users in real-time.
Don't forget to feature your most prominent listings at the top of your Instagram account. You can organize featured content by location or price range or any other qualifier that is relevant to your audience.
Like Facebook, Instagram makes paid advertising an option for realtors. You'll get similar data about the success of your ads to help you get better results.
Other Social Networks
Each social network has a particular audience. Some networks have more women. Other networks may have a larger audience of men, a specific age group, or have specific interests.
Explore Pinterest, SnapChat, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Trulia and Zillow are real estate-specific networks that bring you in direct contact with home buyers and sellers.
Social Media Marketing Gives You More Control
If you've ever wished that you knew more about how effective your marketing efforts were, you'll love having a social media marketing strategy. Your social media marketing investment will prove to be a blessing.
As a real estate agent, you'll have more control over how you grow your business with social media marketing.
Contact us today and let's create a social media marketing strategy you can grow with.