Social Media How-To Guide for Realtors

Real estate entrepreneurs are in the unique business of selling an experience and a dream.

Finding a dream home, achieving lifetime milestones, and making potentially powerful investments tell the story of what realtors help accomplish on any given day. They work as legal advisors, accountants (and therapists), to guide buyers, sellers, and renters to make the best possible housing decisions.

Sound overwhelming? It is.

This is why the incredible accessibility and reach of social media is a must have for any successful realtor’s tool kit. Check out how social media can grow your real estate customer base and help provide a richer experience for current clients.

How can I make social media work for me?

Here’s how you can use social media marketing to your advantage and continue to sell an incredible real estate experience, but with an additional edge over your competition.

1. Promote video.

Show, don’t tell. Use video to walk through properties and show them off. Use video to show that your office is warm and your staff is approachable. Use video to film happy customer testimonials. Don’t believe that this will work? Check the stats, and get yourself a YouTube channel:

• By 2018, the number of US digital video viewers will rise to 244.5 million.
• 64% of shoppers are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video. 
• Using video on a landing page can increase conversion by as much as 80%.

2. Educate.

We know you get countless questions about getting pre-approved, neighborhood school systems, crime stats, staging tips, closing costs. Create a list of your most commonly asked real estate questions and begin to answer them through social media. Encourage your customers to engage with you online to build lasting relationships.

3. Invite.

Create a Facebook Event and directly invite your followers to open houses. The beauty of social media is that they can in turn invite others, and soon you have a full house of potential buyers. Use hashtags to expand your reach.

4. Use Images.

Like video, images sell. Best for Instagram and Pinterest (although images perform well on all social channels), pics are a great way to invite customers to be a part of the real estate experience. You’re not limited only to homes. Post images of gardens, beaches, restaurants, and local artwork. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. 

5. Get creative.

Stuck and need even more social media marketing ideas? Try these:

• Curate and share content from your favorite real estate resources. Share your opinion to show you’re a thoughtful and experienced industry leader.
• Share local happenings in the area in which you sell. Present the awesomeness of the neighborhoods and cities you’re promoting!
• Share exclusive listings, or the house/condo/property of the week.
• Post pics of new happy homeowners you helped and the spaces they now call home.

How to get started right now?

First, add your social icons to your website. If you don’t have a website yet, you can get a great deal here.

Next, set up a Facebook page. Use a free site like Canva to help out with Cover Photo sizing. Transfer basic info about your company from your website and you’re good to go! We also recommend Instagram and Pinterest to promote more images and vids, plus LinkedIn for professional connections and Twitter for real-time communication, but Facebook is a good place to begin.

Consider getting started with a set and forget social media automation marketing tool like MySocialSuite which will save you oodles of time by pre-scheduling posts to multiple social accounts.

Bottom line: If you’re in the real estate biz, you need to be using social media to best portray and sell that dream.

Realtors! Tell us your thoughts. How are you using social media to help grow your business and educate your customers?