SOCIAL MEDIA BEST PRACTICES FOR REAL ESTATE AGENTS
Social media has become a critical component to most real estate marketing strategies – and for good reason.
Allowing you to connect with and learn about your target audience is just one of the many benefits. But just because social media offers ease of use, agents need to be prudent with their social media marketing activities. Facebook
Do: Create a “Business” page and a “Personal” page. Keep them separate and be a person, not a salesperson, on both. Some agents prefer to use one page for both. If that is the case for you, be mindful of your audience. Also, go by the 80/20 rule of thumb: 80 percent of your posts are business related, and the remaining 20 percent can be the fun stuff.
Do: Post about hobbies and things you are genuinely interested in. After all, it is what makes “you” you. You must be genuine on social media.
Do: Engage with clients, friends and acquaintances. If people post on your content, respond and keep the conversation going.
Don’t: Post and ghost. If your post is engaging, begs a question or a dialogue, be sure you have time to tend to it with replies. If you don’t, choose a better time to post or a possibly use a different post.
Don’t: Get too personal, opinionated or controversial. It is a best practice to keep social media posts light and relaxed.
Don’t: Get frustrated. Most business pages can be inactive, especially at first. Stay current and relevant by posting engaging photos, videos and insights. People may not “engage,” but that doesn’t mean your page isn’t being seen.
Do: 140 characters is all you have. Make them count. Be witty, thought-provoking and concise.
Do: Tweet often. The shelf life of a tweet is very short, so you can even make multiple tweets in a day.
Do: Understand how hashtags work and which ones are trending and relevant to your content. Hashtags count as part of your 140 characters, so choose them wisely.
Don’t: Miss a mark. Twitter is quick – real time conversations can transpire immediately.
Don’t: Be negative. Nobody is interested in clicking to “find out more” about a negative tweet.
Don’t: Use Twitter to spam listings. It’s not where people go to find a listing.
Do: Understand LinkedIn is all about business and making business connections. This is your professional side … show it.
Do: Have a complete and current profile.
Do: Make sure your company and profile page are “keyword” rich with what you want to be found for. For example, farm and ranch, commercial, residential, luxury, etc.
Don’t: Post listings. If you want to connect with other real estate agents and share listings, consider a private message with a personal note about why you are sharing it with them.
Don’t: Neglect to endorse peers, associates and friends on LinkedIn. They will appreciate the gesture and may even return the favor.
Don’t: Be afraid to brag in your bio. This is your online resume where clients may find you and other agents will look for referrals. Make sure your profile picture is current and professional.
What success have you had using social media as part of your lead generation strategy? Share your tips and experience in the comments below.