10 Social Media Musts for Real Estate Agents
Social media is more than just a tool for growing your business. With nearly 5 billion social media users worldwide and over 70% of Americans using social media on a regular basis, social media can be extremely powerful.
As a real estate agent, you run a relationship-based business. You’ve probably heard the saying, “Your network is your net worth.” The connections you make will almost always be the main drivers of your business, and social media is the perfect place to help you connect with past, current and prospective clients, all of whom can help you close more deals.
Though 57% of Realtors reported using social media daily, logging on to social media alone isn’t enough to help grow your business. Instead, you should focus on leveraging social media to connect with and engage the right people. So, how do you do that?
Here are 10 social media musts for real estate agents:
- Post consistently (and often)
Social media is a marathon, not a sprint. According to the National Association of Realtors, the typical duration of homeownership in the U.S. is 13 years. To establish a successful social media brand, you need to engage with your followers several times per week at a minimum, if not daily. To help ensure you post regularly, try pre-planning your posts and creating a social calendar for the month. This way, you won’t have to think about when and what to post, and your audience can count on you to regularly generate high-quality content.
- Get on camera
Like it or not, people respond better to social media posts with video. Getting in front of the camera might be unsettling, but video-based content is a crucial component of your social media strategy. In fact, social videos can generate 1200% more shares than content containing text and images alone. You don’t have to include a video in every post, and if you’re creative behind the scenes, you may even be able to create video-based content that doesn’t require your face to be on the end of the lens.
- Showcase your listings
Social media is the perfect place to share your listings, not only to woo potential buyers but also to attract prospective sellers. According to a 2021 report, prospects are 73% more likely to list their home with agents who post video walkthroughs. Posting professional photos and videos of your listings (or even other agents’ listings that might appeal to your audience) definitely falls in the “do” category, though you should try and avoid overpromoting yourself.
- Offer helpful advice and expert knowledge
Social media is about more than just fun and friends. Many social media users consider these platforms a valuable resource for knowledge and information. You can capitalize on this opportunity by offering helpful advice and expert knowledge, both of which build your brand and meaningfully engage your audience.
- Share success stories
Showing is more powerful than telling and nothing speaks to your success like highlighting your ability to close deals and help clients land their dream homes. Share your wins by posting about pending sales, closed deals and other successes on social media. If your clients are willing to offer feedback about their experience working with you, posting positive reviews and testimonials are among the best ways to help generate referrals.
- Post across multiple social media platforms
Limiting yourself to a single social media account can limit results. We’re not saying you have to sign up for every social media platform out there (for the record, there are over 100), but it’s probably a good idea to be active on a few of the more popular platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter) and TikTok.
A quick and easy way to save time is to utilize cross-posting, which is even easier with social media scheduling tools like Hootsuite, Buffer and Loomly. Cross-posting allows you to share the same content across multiple social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. Remember, even if you can’t cross-post the exact same content, you can always repurpose or recycle content on different platforms.
- Use relevant hashtags and trending audio
Using relevant hashtags and trending audio can help boost your posts’ performance and increase engagement. You can think of hashtags like search engine optimization for social media. Though you probably won’t go viral by simply adding a few hashtags or a popular song to your reel, these tools are an important part of building your social media brand and maximizing exposure.
- Diversify your content
You have a diverse audience, so diversifying your content is key to helping you connect with different types of potential clients. While specializing in one area or type of property can benefit your real estate business, casting a wide net on social media can keep your audience engaged, appealing to first-time buyers, seasoned sellers and anyone in between.
- Engage with your audience
As the name implies, social media is, well, social. Following others and liking, commenting or reposting are great ways to interact with your audience. In addition, creating content that asks questions to your audience can actively engage them, further reinforcing your brand and building your social media following. Engaging with your audience can be as simple as asking them to guess the price on a house or taking a poll on whether or not people would pay extra to have a pool.
- Be unique and be yourself
It’s easy to get caught up in the latest social media trends or mimic posts from successful social media accounts. There’s nothing wrong with using other creators’ content for inspiration or even remixing other users’ reels. However, your followers want to see your unique perspective, and the best thing you can do is let yourself shine. Don’t be afraid to try something new, even if it feels silly. Putting yourself out there on social media might be a little intimidating at first, but believe us when we say it’s a lot easier than making your first cold call or going to your first listing appointment.