As a fifth-generation entrepreneur and a real estate professional practicing for almost two decades, Marki Lemons-Ryhal has taught social media and technology tools to real estate agents in all 50 states and bases her systems on efficiency, flexibility and results.
“I’ve trained roughly 250,000 Realtors face-to-face,” Lemons-Ryhal notes, and she’ll be training some more in a session at Inman Connect New York, January 29 through February 1 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square, where she’ll be talking about how to create a blueprint for your social media spend in the new market.
We talked to Lemons-Ryhal about the up-and-coming trends in social media and beyond that she sees on the horizon and how she suggests agents and brokers alike should face the shifts in the market.
Tell us a little more about your session. How will it address how the industry can embrace the shifting market?
We’ve got to go back to the foundation, and that’s creating a business plan. There are so many predictive analytics that tell you what these trends look like and what the future can hold; I think everybody needs to develop a marketing calendar around their business plan and what they think their business is going to be.
When you look at some of the online portals, the one thing they lack is live stream and video — they don’t have feet on the ground creating content. From one video, we can create more than 250 forms of content, from YouTube to my podcast to audio-to-text transmission for blog posts.
You have to be willing to do what others aren’t willing to do. You can’t just do what everyone else does; you have to think outside the box and do something different. In the state of Illinois last year, we netted 70 new residents in our state. That lets you know how many people left. Clearly people are relocating. So now when I travel around the country, I do a Facebook Live from those locations and I have the Realtors tell me three benefits for why people would want to live there — and I’m also building a network.
What do you think are the biggest opportunities to focus on in the real estate industry right now?
From the social media and technology standpoint, you have to listen to what people tell you they want. In 2019, Instagram Stories and Facebook Messenger will be no. 1, with Facebook Live being no. 2. Agents need to focus on what’s going to be their Messenger and Stories strategy; so many people have been accustomed to creating horizontal video, and nothing is growing faster than vertical video. We’re consuming it from the mobile device now.
To stay competitive, agents, brokers and companies need to execute quickly. What do you feel are key areas where quick execution can vastly improve the customer experience?
The consumer dictates, and if you look at companies that have seen substantial growth, they were focused on what consumers wanted and delivered it quickly. To do so might be a little problematic because the average broker is older, and if they don’t start to relinquish control, they’re going to lose market share. We were on a call yesterday and the person told me about a strategy from 1983! When we start looking at the industry overall, the practitioner is a little older and the people in control are a little older than that, so we need to see some change in how they think or some new leadership.
What are your hopes for the next 12 months, and what will you be working on?
I’m working on vertical, vertical, vertical video, having a lot of fun in the Facebook Groups because of the social learning units which allows for comprehensive education, and building a bridge program between face-to-face and online education to reinforce what we’re doing. One class does not do it, so we’re following up and providing more value.
Discover the opportunities in a changing market at Inman Connect New York, January 29 – February 1. Jumpstart 2019 with tactical takeaways, unlimited networking and thought-provoking speakers. Learn more.
Thinking about bringing your team? You may qualify for special group perks! Contact us to learn more.