It’s no secret that top agents have learned the secrets to using social media to help them generate leads, build their brand, and sell more property. But there’s a right way and wrong way to manage your social media platforms, and when you know the basics, you can build an effective marketing strategy around the different social media outlets. 

Stay Consistent 

The key to an effective social media marketing campaign is consistency. Think about the image you want to create for your audience and make sure everything you post supports this image. If you want to build a professional brand, save your personal photos, favorite memes, and personal thoughts on your personal page. Everything you post should represent your brokerage and your experience as an agent.

Once you’ve decided on the filter in which you’ll run all of your content, it is time to decide on a posting schedule. This is part of being consistent. Will you post every day, every other day, or once a week? 

On the very rare occasion that you have two very important things to share, to post in a day may be appropriate. However, for the most part, it is safe to limit your social media sharing to once a day on your news feed. The “stories” feature on Instagram and Facebook is made for small snippets of information throughout the day. 

Use The Tools

Facebook and Instagram have come a long way since the days of just posting pictures and writing your thoughts on your timeline. Now, there are so many different tools you can use to reach your audience and build your brand. Instagram offers polling features, which allows you to engage with your audience and start a conversation. Facebook makes it easy to create an event and invite people to them, and both platforms make it easy to host a live video. 

Instagram allows you to insert music, GIFs, location stickers, and text on your pictures, creating more engaging visuals for people who are quickly clicking through your story. IGTV is an app within Instagram that lets users share longer videos, up to an hour long, to create more in-depth episodes and videos. 

If you haven’t explored the new features across your social media platforms recently, spend some time doing that this week. Experiment with different messaging features, sharing features, filters, and sharing settings.

Check And Re-check 

As a professional or a small business, it’s your responsibility to make sure the information that you’re sharing on your platform is honest, accurate, and up-to-date. The content you post on your social media platforms is a direct reflection of you and your business, so it’s in your best interest to check and double-check anything you post or share. Fact-check what you’re posting and double-check for little mistakes like spelling or punctuation that could alter the tone of your message. It can be tempting to quickly put something together and share it just for the sake of meeting your social media posting quota for the day. However, this is where mistakes happen. Don’t just post just to post. Have a reason and a purpose behind everything that you post, and make sure it aligns with the vision you’re trying to create for your brand. 

Engage! 

The whole purpose behind social media is to get people talking. It’s to share ideas and generate a conversation and engage with the community. As a real estate professional, your relationship with the people in your community is vital to your success. This means that along with posting accurate, useful, honest, and up-to-date information, you should also be engaging with your audience. Like other people’s posts, answer questions, and respond to direct messages right away. 

Ask questions, answer questions, and get involved in the conversation. This will show your audience that you are an active participant in your marketing strategy, that you hear and see what they are saying, and that building a relationship with them is important to you. 

Follow Social Media Best Practices

Many small businesses and entrepreneurs trying to build an authentic social media presence may inadvertently do things to sabotage their own success. Simple things like writing in all caps, abusing hashtags, begging people to follow or retweet, sharing the same message over and over again, or just posting without a vision or a method. 

As you put together your social media strategy, it’s important to follow social media best practices so that you can engage and attract your audience. Some social media guidelines that all small business owners should follow include:

  • Don’t complain about business. If things are slow, or a sale falls through, your social media platform is not a place to vent about it. That’s what your friends and family are for. Keep your social media pages positive, informative, and professional. 
  • Don’t obsess about likes, comments, and shares. Post because you have something of value to share, not because you want to see how many likes or comments you can get. 
  • Share your sources. If you’re sharing informative, data-driven, or analytical information, share your sources. People want to know where you’re getting your information from, and you want to be seen as a reliable and trustworthy source.
  • Give credit where credit is due. If you are sharing a photo, a quote, or any other information, make sure you make it clear that you are borrowing content from someone else and that it is not your own. 
  • Make sure you sound like a human being. A quick scroll through your social media platforms and a visitor will be able to tell if you just copy and paste the same response to everybody’s question or comment. This makes it look like you don’t have the time or energy to respond authentically to people, and potential clients may worry that you won’t have the time or energy to spend on them if they hire you. 

Social media is a powerful tool, and real estate agents and brokers can use it to maximize their reach and build their professional brand. Whether you’re just starting with social media or you’re trying to give your online presence a makeover, these guidelines will help you create a consistent and authentic presence that buyers and sellers can trust. 

Learning to navigate social media is similar to learning to navigate all of the other different aspects of being a real estate professional. From obtaining your license for the first time, to continuing your real estate education, Mbition has resources and courses to help you gain a better understanding of every aspect of the real estate industry. Click here to see some of the available online classes you can take to help accelerate your real estate career.