Having a solid social media presence as a Realtor is no longer a luxury for the progressive types in the business, it’s essential to being in the game. Realtors who do business by word-of-mouth will always have a place in the Real Estate business, but they will find their share of the market dwindle in the years ahead as more and more people flock to the digital space in search of homes, and more importantly to connect with Realtors.

Here are 5 tips to help you become savvy with your social media:

1. Have a plan

Plan ahead. No where is this more important than in social media. Whatever you put out there is going to remain in the social graph long after you post it. Identifying your brand and strategy now, and planning ahead will prevent confusion later on. As we always say in the digital marketing space: nothing is ever private, and nothing is permanently deleted.

2. Identify your resources

To run an optimal campaign identify your target market and the corresponding social tools you will use. Currently Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are the most powerful tools available to Realtors. In the years ahead SnapChat will become more relevant as the younger users of that platform grow into home-buying age. If you find yourself with extra time on your hands it won’t hurt to dabble into new trends like Realtors who are beginning to leverage Houzz.com and Telegram in their marketing.

It’s important to know how to use each of these tools effectively. You can’t share the same content in the same way across every network and be successful. For example, Twitter is a great resource for sharing articles and participating in topical conversations. Instagram is a place many people go for visual inspiration, so it’s an opportunity to share a broader range of content. Simple things like using Hashtags properly and posting duplicate content can hurt or help your campaigns.

Remember that people are not on social media to be sold to and being overly promotional can hurt your brand. Social media marketing is not the place to hit people over the head with advertising.

In addition to sharing images and text-based content, like articles, embrace other forms of media as well. For example, users love and respond to videos and animated graphics. Live streaming is another opportunity. Multiple social media sites have live-streaming capabilities and there are apps that enable you to push a livestream to social media platforms. Livestreaming can be a great way to, attract attention for an open house.

Social media is a two-way street. If you want people to engage with your content, you have to engage back. Don’t be shy about liking, smiling and commenting. Responsiveness goes a long way.

3. Managing your campaigns

Posting meaningful content, engaging with users, and doing it consistently is important. If your social medis is not managed properly it can take up too much of your time or fall to the wayside and be forgotten. Neither of these scenarios is productive to your business. People will turn you off quickly if you’re posting the same selfies of you driving around in your car, or re-purposing articles from the internet because you’re too lazy to write original content yourself. We are experts in real estate social media at Center Street Interactive, and offer a range of services to help you manage your online presence.

4. Measure, adjust, repeat

Marketing should always go hand-in-hand with measurement. Social media marketing is about long-term goals, so in the short-term, identify metrics (such as number of likes or followers) that demonstrate progress until eventually those statistics turn into more leads and sales. Each social media platform provides analytics to help track growth. Measuring will help keep your motivation up and give insight into what works and what doesn’t.

5. Be an innovator ahead of your competition

Technology is not just changing how we communicate. It is changing our entire lifestyles. Companies like Amazon for example are changing the way we shop, the way we give and receive news and information, and the way we turn the accessories in our home on and off. Likewise the way we buy and sell homes will continue to change. In hot markets like today most Realtors will make money, the ones who embrace technology will rise to the top, and the ones who don’t will be out of business when the market declines. Be savvy and know all of the social media tools out there to help you drive your business, and know what is coming. Facebook live is rolling out new features in 2018, cable television is changing as people continue to move over to internet based media, and people who have relied on social media growing up are approaching home-buying age. You are obligated to take continuing ed classes to stay abreast of laws in the real estate business, and you should think about your digital marketing the same way. Seek out webinars on new technologies, take a class on something you are weak in, or better yet hire a company like Center Street Interactive to handle your social media and be the rockstar behind it all!

Being active on social media is a powerful, and necessary, way to establish a strong online presence, position yourself as an expert, connect with your clients and prospects, and build relationships. It can also be fun. Most real estate agents get into the business because they are passionate about helping people find homes they can be happy in. Social media is an opportunity to share that passion, and boost your business along the way. It’s like word of mouth on fire!

Learn about our rockstar Realtor campaigns and contact us if you are interested in discussing your brand and social media management.