The best real estate marketers approach social media much like they approach being social offline. The best realtors use social media as an extension of themselves to reach more clients and capitalize on their competitive advantage.

Social media provides a way to further connect with your local clients and support your real estate marketing efforts. Social media, done well, builds trust and extends your reach to people who you may have not met otherwise.

So what does proper real estate social media marketing look like in practice?

In this article I’ll give you an overview of Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest (and a few more) and how real estate agents can use them for social media marketing.





Facebook is where people go to to connect with friends and family online. Most realtors want to connect with friends and family of clients. It provides trust and word of mouth marketing.

How can you, as a good real estate agent, tap into this market? How can you get your name and listings marketed to your local clients using the largest social networking site?

Here’s a few simple tips.

Set up a Facebook Page. Don’t use your personal Facebook account for your real estate services. Why? It lacks professionalism, and you miss out on a lot of essential business features (such as the ability to run Facebook contests, and check your Facebook Insights). It’s really easy to make a Facebook Page, and it’s worth the effort.

Once you have a Page, use it to engage your clients:

1. Post about Your Neighbourhood. Show off your listings’ neighbourhood. This both markets your area to prospective residents, and it also shows your passion and knowledge of where you are selling homes. For example, If there is a new community centre being built, post about it, and express the merits and how it will make the lifestyle better for new (and existing) residents.

Check out how Bond Real Estate posts about their neighbourhoods in New York:









2. Use Images when you Update. Images on Facebookare the most engaging types of content. The more Likes, shares and comments your posts get, the more they will be viewed in News Feeds by the friends of your Facebook Fans (people who Like your Page).

3. Post about Events in Your Neighbourhood. Show how wonderful your city culture is. Post about local events in your town. If you’re going to a neighbourly event, tell your Fans, and invite them to join you. Ask questions, too, to spark engagement.

Check out how Polygon Homes uses this tactic on their Facebook Page. They engage with their market (Vancouver) and show off the amazing events you could go to if you lived in this city. They ask a question, too, to get more comments and create a friendly tone.









4. Show you Care About Your Clients. You do this in person, so show you care about your clients on your Facebook Page too.

Check out how Realtors Marni and Shannon elegantly welcome new homeowners on possession day. The post is visually appealing, and subtle (by not mentioning names). The new clients know who they are, and it shows prospective homebuyers that you genuinely care and follow up.









5. Engage with Contests. Contests and Sweepstakes provide an amazing way to create more engagement on your Page, and have fun with your Fans. You can use all kinds of contests to develop deeper relationships with your clients, get to know their likes and dislikes, and promote yourself as a realtor who listens. You can even use them as a way to market your listings, too!

On Facebook, you need to use a Facebook Contest App to run contests and sweepstakes.

For example, run a Vote Contest to ask your Fans what photo they like best from your latest listing.









Or, run a Photo Contest on your Page. You can use photo contests to get more images of a new listing, to follow up with clients who’ve recently renovated, or to get photos of your neighbourhood, etc.

Check out more ideas on how to use social contests 5 Social Marketing Tactics: How To Be a Top Real Estate Agent in Today’s Markets

6. Post Your Listings. Yes, use Facebook to post your listings, too. The golden rule in social media is 80/20. That is - post 80% of your content about lifestyles, customer interests, and other updates; post 20% of your content about you and your product. This keeps your social media social, and engaging.

When you post your listings, keep the personality of you and your Facebook Page. This is not a print ad. Tell about the home, and what points will sell it. Tell how many bedrooms and bath. Tell the address. Tell the price. But keep it engaging.

Ask questions about your new place, to get comments about what people like about it, what they like about the neighbourhood, or comments about the schools and community facilities. Post about your Open Houses, too.

7. Use Geo-targeted ads. Facebook lets you target your ads very specifically. You can use promoted posts, for example, to get your great Facebook posts seen by other Facebookers in your geographic target market.





Read more about Facebook Marketing:





Twitter is another amazing way to keep connected to your clients. Twitter gives you 140 characters (or less), to give updates to your Followers. Use it to engage, and keep strengthening your relationships.

If you don’t have a Twitter handle, read: How to Make a Twitter Handle for your Business: 13 Easy Steps

Use a similar content strategy to Facebook, as outlined above.

1. Tweet Tips about Staging and Moving. Help out your clients (and yourself), by teaching them how to stage their home for better sales. Post links to good articles and videos on how to present a residence when you’re selling it. And teach about how to pack and make a move less stressful, such as in this example:









2. Tweet Local News. Twitter tends to be a great place for news. If there’s a new school being built in your area - tweet about it. Good news stories to show how great your neighbourhood is - and how well you know it.

3. Tweet Questions. Post questions to your followers to encourage a response. For example, ask:

What’s the best thing about moving to a new home? #moving #newhome #sacremento

What would your ideal kitchen look like? #kitchens #daretodream #newhome

How often do you renovate your home? #newhome #renovations #homedecor

4. Use Hashtags. On Twitter, using hashtags gets your Tweets seen by more than your Followers. Use relevant and specific #’s to get found by those looking for your subject matter. For example, use hashtags:

with your geographic neighbourhood

related to your tweets (such as #movingtips, etc.)

Here’s an example of how to use hashtags for a local geographic neighbourhood. The BOTTO Team uses #parkgate, #deepcove and #seymour. Their tweet will be found in these category listings when someone sees these hashtags feeds, or does a Twitter search for them.









5. Tweet about Charity Events. Tweet about local events you support. Show you are connected and trustworthy, and care about your community.

6. Use @mentions to Keep in Touch with Clients. Twitter lets you send tweets to specific people. Aside from using the Direct Messages, send out a Tweet to congratulate a new home owner, or to thank a local merchant for assisting you, etc.

7. Use Contests, Sweepstakes and Group Offers. Like on Facebook, use contests, sweepstakes and group offers to create more engagement with your clients, and get your Tweets seen by their Followers. For example:

Offer a free dinner at a neighbourhood restaurant for entering a photo contest.

Ask for a description of a great moving experience, using an essay contest, and offer a gift certificate to a local spa.

Host a sweepstakes on Twitter, offering a home decor gift certificate, for viewing your Open House.









8. Tweet about Your Listings. Again, use the 80/20 rule. 80% of your content is about lifestyle and connecting; 20% is about your listings. You do this in your sales, don’t you? Do on social too!

Intersperse your Twitter content with your real estate listings. Include info about your places. Include images of your houses and apartments, etc. Include short videos too, if you have them.

DON’T ONLY TWEET YOUR LISTINGS, like this:









It’s annoying, and shows that you are not thinking about your clients!

Use Twitter tactics like this realtor, Olga Marquez. She uses Twitter to engage with her clients, tell related news, and market her homes for sale:









Read more about Twitter Marketing:





How to Use Social Media for Real Estate Agents #3: Pinterest

Pinterest provides an amazing opportunity to show off the visuals of your listings. This fourth largest social site is all about connecting through images. As a realtor, this sounds like a great match. Your listings get sold by appealing to visual emotions, right? Apply this to Pinterest.

On Pinterest, you set up boards, pin images, and engage by repinning, liking and commenting.

Here are a few tips:

1. Set Up a Board about Your Neighbourhood. Sell the area of your listings. Create Board about the amenities, shops and services available in your community.

2. Set Up Boards about Your Lifestyles. Show who you are, too. Set up Boards about your hobbies. If you like to cook - post some of your favorite recipes. If you like to play tennis - post about tennis groups, and where to play tennis in your locale.

3. Set Up Boards about Home Decor. Appeal to the inner designers on Pinterest, and show off beautiful photos of amazing home decor. Link to how-to sites, too.

4. Set Up a Board for your Listings. Keep with the 80/20 rule, but make sure you have a Board specifically for your listings. Make sure your listing Board is located in your first four. This keeps your listings easy to see (in tech talk, we call this “above the fold”).

Here is a great example of a realtor who does Pinterest very well. Lindsay has a Board for her listings, her passions of fashions and food, decorating tips, inspirational quotes, real estate infographics, and more. She markets herself as a trustworthy, real and caring real estate agent.









5. Use Hashtags. Like on Twitter (and Facebook, too), you can use hashtags to connect with your market, and extend your posting reach beyond just your Following.

Use hashtags that are specific to your niche and your community. For example, use:

geographic specific tags, like #LynnValley

listing specific tags, like #4bedrooms

image specific tags, like #decorate and #newhome

6. Use Contests and Giveaways. Again, like on Twitter and Facebook, use contest, sweepstakes and even group offers to gain more engagement (and ultimately more clients).

You could:

Host a vote contest, asking your Following to vote of their favourite image of your new listing.Offer a randomly drawn prize such as a local gym membership.

Make a great photo contest to get people to submit their favourite bathroom. Add a vote element to generate even more engagement, and excitement about homes. Offer a prize such as a gift certificate to a home reno store.

Make a video contest, offering a weekend stay at a nearby resort. Get your participants to make a short video of what they like most about your recent listing. (This also can get you tons of great, authentic, marketing material for your listings.)

7. Cross-Promote with a Facebook Pinterest Tab. Expand your social reach by getting your Pinterest updates on a Pinterest Tab on your Facebook Page. Don’t worry, it’s not all that complicated - and it gets you more engagement with more of your social connections.









Read More About Pinterest Marketing:





How to Use Social Media for Real Estate Agents #4: Other Social Sites

There are many other social sites real estate agents can use very effectively.

For example, use:

1. Linkedin: Set up business page and make sure your personal linkedin page is filled in - include a good a summary, introducing yourself, and why you’re a good realtor choice (both to buy from, and to sell through).Join local groups and participate in them. Keep connected with your clients, and ask for referrals through the site (just as you would in person).

2. YouTube: Make videos showing your listings. Use a short video to introduce yourself (you can embed this onto your website too!). Use videos to show off the best features in your neighbourhood. Make video contests to get user-generated content (UGC) from your clients.

Here’s an example from Billy Ross. He sells cheap real estate in Florida. He effectively uses public YouTube videos. He makes a video of himself showing the listings - just as he would as if you were there.









3. Blog: Blogs are a great way to write about your knowledge of your trade, and get your clients clicking on to your website. (Blogs are also great for SEO, and keeping fresh content directly on your website.)

Here’s a blog example from The Botto Team of realtors. They use their blog to post news about the local housing market, interest rates, and property listings. A blog post lets them describe their listings in a longer format than most other social (and traditional print) marketing.









Conclusion

So, there are a few social media tips and techniques to implement a valid real estate marketing strategy. I hope you’ll try out a few of these social media marketing tips. Remember to engage your clients, and use social online like you use social offline!

There are many more ways you can do real estate marketing for your social business through social media. What additional tips do you have? How do you engage your home buying clients online?

Let us know in the comments, below.

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