Social media can be a gold mine for real estate marketers. According to research from Contactually, 91 percent of Realtors use social media as a prime marketing tool.
This is due to the fact that 83 percent of home buyers want to see photographs of potential properties online. Social media is an excellent tool for spreading pictures around and bringing more exposure to properties for sale.
Of course social media shouldn’t be the only method of marketing your website, nor is it necessarily the most effective. Multiple listing service (MLS) websites and physical signage often do most of the talking in real estate.
But social is an excellent tool for bringing a little more attention to your listings. Here are some tips that will improve your social media strategy and boost your traffic as well as sales.
1. Use Facebook
More than any other social media site, Facebook has done wonders for Realtors. Contactually research also found that 93 percent of social media web traffic for Realtors originates on Facebook. It’s the best source for online lead generation there is.
The most effective way to market a listing on social media is to use both images and compelling text. Images do wonders for catching attention from people who click by, and those who are looking for a home or apartment will almost always stop and study your content.
Through compelling text, you can talk up a property’s best attributes and minimize its less ideal features.
2. Talk Up the Neighborhood
Location is the single most important factor for most homebuyers. If you want properties to move, make the neighborhood sound like a place people want to live.
You’ll want to highlight nearby amenities, school districts, local events, and other elements that may attract renters or buyers. Make sure these discussions are targeted toward the right audience, though.
If you’re looking for a tenant to fill a vacancy in an apartment complex, you’ll target millennials, who make up the greatest number of renters. Single out local clubs, the distance to college campuses, and other appealing items likely to attract millennials.
3. Post Blogs and Other Content
Social media marketing for Realtors follows the 80/20 rule: post 80 percent of the time about listings and 20 percent of the time about yourself, your services, and your blog content. This is the essence of the branding process when you seek to build a golden presence on social media.
Regular sharing of your blog content accomplishes several goals for your business. First, it generates leads among those who are interested in an easier buying or selling process.
Second, it can boost your SEO rankings. Every time someone clicks on your blog post through social media, it raises your credibility factor and moves your website a little higher on search rankings.
It’s the best way to climb to the first page of Google search and compete against larger competitors.
4. Rely on Geo-Targeting
Facebook offers a surprisingly useful tool to make your ads and content more effective. It’s called geo-targeting.
As the name suggests, geo-targeting promotes posts, listings, and advertisements according to the audience’s geographic location. Essentially, this means that properties listed in the Houston area will show up for people in Houston and not in New York City.
It’s certainly going to be the case that some people will be looking to move across the country. But when they do, they’ll go straight to MLS websites, and socially promoted listings won’t do you much good here.
Your advertisements on social media are going to be targeted more toward shoppers looking to improve their living conditions in a nearby area, which is where most home moves take place. Geo-targeting is an incredibly effective tool for connecting the right people with the right Realtors.