It’s the time of year when most of us in the real estate industry are focused on achieving as much as possible before everyone takes a well-earned break. If previous years are any indication, many agents fail to consider how important it is to keep their online profiles active and engaging during the busy period leading up to Christmas or while having some down time.
That’s a shame, because the holiday break can be the perfect opportunity to make new connections and build engagement through your online profiles. In this technology-driven world, your fans, followers and connections will still be attached to their mobile devices during this time of year. In fact, some reports suggest that consumer interaction rates increase by about 46 percent on the most popular social media sites around the holiday period. This includes clicking on ads, commenting, sharing, liking or following new pages and accounts, installing applications and making purchases.
So don’t miss out! To make the most of the opportunities that this time of year brings, update your online profiles every few days with relevant and interesting content to keep them active and engaging.
Here are a few ideas and suggestions for updates to post on your social media profiles during the holiday season:
- Does your company sponsor a charity? Most charities have official social media accounts, and the holiday season is the perfect time to share updates. Many will have interesting content you can share on your own page – charity drives and end-of-year celebrations, holiday gift ideas and more.
- Add personalized content of your own, such as favorite holiday recipes, photos of your Christmas decorations or displays, or news about festive events in your local area.
- Dress up your cover photos, background photos and profile pics to reflect the spirit of the season.
- Share articles related to the season: holiday preparation tips, keeping your house secure when leaving town, etc.
- If you are working throughout the Christmas and New Year period, let your networks know so you stay top of mind.
- Invite clients to share their favorite seasonal memories.
- Sponsor a competition where the prize is something that will help make a holiday special. Vouchers and gift baskets are always a popular choice
- Share links to your favorite pages to help them build their fan base; they will receive a notification when you have done so and just might return the favor.
- Add seasonal home-maintenance tips and gardening advice.
One of the biggest advantages of having active online profiles is the ability to inject your personality and show a more personal side. Use this to your benefit by instigating conversations and asking for opinions.
Utilize a scheduling tool, such as Hootsuite, to create posts ahead of time for your social media profiles. Set aside time to schedule a number of updates that will post at optimum times of the day. You will want to make sure your notification settings are on so you don’t miss any comments or questions from your fans and followers.
Once the holidays are over, you may want to utilize any downtime to think about and decide how your online presence will fit into your marketing plan for 2015. Here are some questions to help get you started:
- What do you want to achieve?
- What is your budget?
- How much time each week will you set aside to research content and build connections?
- Do you need to invest in assistance to make your plan a success?
It is worth remembering that creating an active and engaging online presence takes time, creativity and commitment. Setting up your profiles won’t immediately attract large numbers of followers, so your goals should be ambitious but realistic.
I wish you an enjoyable holiday season and all the best for making 2015 your most successful year yet!
Avelyn Holcroft-Lewer of buildmyprofile.co.nz is an online presence educator specializing in supporting and educating the real estate industry to build active and engaging online profiles. From delivering customized training webinars, seminars and presentations, through setting up and managing Facebook and other online profiles, Avelyn believes in providing practical, value-added solutions.