If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that you’re a real estate agent. There’s also a good chance that you know how to sell a home. You’re good at person-to-person interactions, and you can show homebuyers everything there is to love in a home, neighborhood and city.
However, it’s harder to translate your face-to-face skills to an online setting. You know how important it is to start using social media to sell, especially because according to Hubspot, over half of marketers who have been using social media for three years say it has helped boost their sales. But how can you use social media to get you to that point?
The key is truly to provide value to your clients and potential clients through social media. Not only will this increase the number of people who see your page, but it will keep your clients returning to you over and over.
What to share on social media
Provide value through your posts
Whether it’s a post about getting ready to stage a home or the best walkable tour of the city you’re selling in, posts that provide value and information to a reader’s life are your best bet for boosting your social media prowess.
Not only will these types of posts get read more often, but they’re also more likely to get shared if a reader thinks their friends will benefit from the information. The more valuable and interesting what you share is, the more it will be shared.
To get started sharing valuable information, you’ll need two main things.
First, a website where you can write articles. You should share your own content, not just other writers’!
Not only will it boost your search engine optimization, but when people click to read the information you shared, they’re already on your website and one step closer to contacting you.
Second, you’ll need to create professional profiles on all the social media platforms for yourself as a real estate agent or for your brokerage.
Next, start planning what kind of content you want to share on each of these profiles. Most social media authorities adhere to the 80-20 rule, where 80 percent of the posts on your social media profiles are about value, and 20 percent of your posts are selling your product or listing, in this case.
The 80 percent
Culture and neighborhood facts
As a real estate agent your job is not only to sell a home but to also sell a neighborhood; a place to live, grow and dwell in comfortably. People want to know what it’s like to live in the place where you’re selling them a home.
Through social media, you can do that easily. Post about the best place to buy a pizza, the best coffee in town, parks and entertainment venues, or maybe a walkable tour of your town.
How-tos
To new homebuyers (or homebuyers who have bought a few times), you are an industry expert! You know everything there is to know about buying a house, and thus, you should use the knowledge to write how-to articles for your clients.
Write down questions you hear every day, and then write a post about each of them. Maybe focus on how to get pre-approved for a mortgage or the steps for buying a home.
Contests
Giveaways provide some of the best traffic and shares from social media platforms, which is a great way for you to get in front of thousands of eyes. Ask people to share their favorite article on your site for a prize or to tag a few of their friend to be entered into a double winner prize.
Maintenance, decor and DIY
Once your homeowners have moved into their homes, make sure to write and share posts on getting their homes in shape and maintaining them.
Maintenance posts, DIY posts and decor posts can help your clients keep coming back to your site and social media to gain more knowledge and will be more likely to call you up if they need to move again or list their home.
The 20 percent
Listings
The 20 percent of your posts should be the listings for the homes you’re selling. However, you don’t just have to post the listings. You can use your blog to provide longer, detailed information on the home, neighborhood, floor plan and amenities for each listing.
Different platforms require different posts
Different social media platforms were designed for different types of posts. Instagram, for example, is the perfect place for artistic photos of the neighborhood, beautiful angles on a home or the minute details you might not want to focus on in a listing.
When posting on Facebook, you have the opportunity to write a long post, but you can also increase its interaction by 39 percent by including a photo.
On Facebook, write longer updates but include photos or videos to increase shares and interaction. This is a great place to share a piece of history about the neighborhood or a review of a local food place, along with a photo.
Use short posts on Twitter, and use hashtags as your posts are more likely to be found through a hashtag.
Mix up sharing links, photos, quotes from industry leaders and short comments from yourself.
Google Plus
Google Plus is another perfect place to share large visuals along with links or text posts. This would be another place to talk about how-tos or your contests.
Much like the platform’s name, LinkedIn is the perfect place to post links. There is a 45 percent higher engagement than updates without links.
On Pinterest, create your own how-to infographics, photos or collage to get clicks.
Then, make sure to add a call to action (like “Visit now!” or “Call today!”). Pins with calls to action increase engagement by 80 percent. When you create a how-to post, include how-to visuals and put them on Pinterest to get great engagement.
YouTube
Obviously, this platform is for videos. However, you can still use this to your advantage.
Not only can you create how-to videos for DIY decor, but you can also create visual walkthroughs of your listings. Just make sure to take down the videos once the homes have sold!
Share beautiful, artistic photos of homes and neighborhoods. Make sure to check in on the map, and use hashtags so individuals can find you easier.
Snapchat
If you’re gearing toward a younger audience (like first time home buyers) SnapChat different parts of the city you list in, and show them around the neighborhood. Use geotargeted filters to make sure your snaps are seen by hundreds.
When to share on social media
Now that you have a good idea of what to share and on what platform, you might be wondering when to share. The most important thing to remember is to keep it consistent. If you share once a day, then continue to share once a day. Some platforms (such as Twitter) should be used to share content more often. Others, such as Facebook, should be used less.
The best way to get your content seen by as many eyes as possible is to develop an editorial calendar with an automation tool using something such as Buffer, Hootsuite or Sprout Social. They can find the best times to post for the best engagement, and then post your updates.
How to get a return
If you’ve done all this work, you might wonder what the payoff is and rightfully so. The best way to get a return is to get your content into more people’s social media feed, thus getting them onto your website and getting you to provide you with their information. Some quick ways to get a return on your social media are:
Include your contact information
Make sure you have a contact me submission form, as well as your contact information listed plainly on your website.
Ask people to share your content
Provide calls to action where you ask readers to share, and make it easy to do so. Make sharing buttons on your website easily accessible, and when you post something on your social media profile, include things like “Please share if you think your friends or family would benefit from this information” or “Please retweet!”
More individuals will share your content, and more people will see your information.
Create something downloadable
Capture leads by making your articles include downloadable content, like infographics or how-to graphics. Once they input their information you can automate many different services to send them an email with the downloadable piece of content. They have your valuable information, and you have their lead, and hopefully soon after, their sale.
Don’t be afraid to spend some money
Don’t be afraid to spend a little bit of money boosting sharable content — Facebook will let you geotarget to tailor each post to the group you think will benefit most from the information you’re sharing.
Want the graphics in this article? You can download them here.
Whitney Baum-Bennett is the SEO specialist at Landmark Home Warranty; see more of her content here.
