5 Social Media Tips for Real Estate Agents

Real estate agents are some of the best marketers out there, when it comes to listings websites, print advertisements, and one-on-one, in person environments. But many agents and brokers have yet to embrace social media. Social media is your chance to stand out from the crowd and we’ve put together a list of five tips to help you differentiate yourself on sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and beyond.

It’s all about engagement

Social media isn’t simply about broadcasting, it’s about engaging. The whole point of social media sites is to be, well, social! So get in there and join the conversation. Here are some ways to engage:

• Use Twitter’s search function to find people that are looking to buy or rent homes or apartments and offer up advice. If they’re in your area, all the better – you can offer to show them some places.
• Retweet or share interesting content about your neighborhood or the real estate industry in general – be sure to comment or tweet back to the original poster to let them know you enjoyed their content.
• Join real estate related groups on Facebook for people looking for apartments or properties in your area. Comment with helpful advice.
• Join the conversation around relevant real estate hashtags on Twitter. Zillow has compiled a list of 30 Twitter hashtags every real estate agent should know.
• Note: Don’t spam your networks by simply posting links to your properties. The key is to offer up useful advice and be a part of the conversation.

Realtor Leigh Brown talks more about being sociable on social media in a recent video she uploaded to her YouTube channel. Find out more about Leigh in our blog post on selling yourself with video.

Your personality is your selling point

When posting on social media, let your personality shine through. Leigh Brown speaks to this in the above video and earlier this year we interviewed Brian Lewis, Executive Vice President of Halstead Properties, who shed some light on this as well. He told us, “We are in a personality-driven market. Find an interesting angle and be yourself. Don’t try to be something you’re not. Be the most authentic you possible.” Being authentic makes you more personable and potential clients will see you as someone they’d like to work with.

Video stands out

Sharing video with your followers will help you stand out. Video gets further reach and, thanks to autoplay, is more eye-catching than photos or text as people scroll past it in their Facebook or Twitter feeds.

Here are some ideas for ways to use video:

• Showcase available properties with listing videos.
• Create a video bio to let potential clients learn more about you. You can use this as the featured video on your Facebook business page or on your YouTube channel. In a recent blog post, we featured a video bio that realtor Kent Corey created with Animoto.
• Create videos showcasing the selling points of your neighborhood.
• Show off your expertise with videos featuring tips for homeowners, buyers, and sellers.

The 80/20 rule

The 80/20 rule is key to an effective social media strategy:

• 80% of the content you develop and share should be about your customers. It should be content that will help them solve challenges and peak their interest on personal level.
• 20% of the content you develop and share can be sales-related, talking about yourself and your listings.

You don’t want to overwhelm your followers by spamming them with advertising, so be sure to keep your promotional content to a minimum (20% or less). For the other 80% here are some things to focus on:

• Lifestyle content
• Neighborhood-related content and events
• Tips for staging homes
• Tips for moving
• Tips for buyers or sellers

Driving traffic

Of course, even if you aren’t being blatantly promotional on social media, ultimately you’d like to drive traffic back to your website or your listings. That’s why it’s important to make it clear how people can contact you or find out more information about what you have to offer. Be sure to include links and contact information in your bio or page descriptions.

Are you a real estate agent using social media to promote your business? Check out how these realtors used video to promote themselves and build interest in their listings.

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