Are You Effectively Selling Through Social Media?

Having a smart social presence in place not only helps businesses of all shapes and sizes but provides them with ample benefits. The importance of social media for the real estate industry though simply cannot be overstated.

Don’t just take our word for it either.

The National Association of Realtors® conducted a study on social media and its affects on acquiring new customers and closing more deals across the industry. Here are a few highlights of the findings:

• 77% of Realtors® actively use social media for real estate in some way, shape or form.
• 47% of real estate businesses note that social media results in the highest quality leads versus other sources.
• 99% of millennials (and 90% of baby boomers) begin their home search online (as opposed to in-person referrals).

The bottom line? Social media is an absolute goldmine for real estate businesses, assuming you have a concrete social strategy in place and aren’t just winging it. Platform jumping is time consuming, especially when you must reformat your listing information on each platform to keep up with your buyers’ needs. This can be a daunting and difficult task to do all on your own.

Whether you’re starting from scratch or want to figure out how to win more leads from social media, Amarki, a PAR Sponsor, has tools to allow you to streamline your social media marketing across the platforms that matter most to your customers in just a few clicks. NAR’s study showed Facebook (97%), LinkedIn (59%), Twitter (47%), and Instagram (39%) are most Realtors®’ top picks when it comes to success using social media. You need to prioritize your time and attention on the social media that makes sense.

Facebook continues to be a no-brainer and remains a staple of marketing for Realtors®. A big reason for this is that Facebook’s user demographics represent the target audience for any given real estate business age and income-wise. Beyond being where your audience is likely hanging out, the business features built into Facebook are perfect for real estate businesses. And Facebook ads allow you to directly target specific demographics and users who have shown interest in buying a property in your area.

Although LinkedIn is primarily a B2B network, it has quickly become a fantastic place to not only network with fellow Realtors®, but to also show off your industry experience. Your LinkedIn profile acts as your digital resume and can be used to expand your customer base and expand your partner reach. Advertising your listings on LinkedIn can also reach customers who may not have been in the market before seeing them.

Love it, or hate it, Twitter still ranks as one of the leading social networks having 330 million monthly active users. On average, approximately 500,000 tweets are tweeted out daily or 5.787 tweets every second. Unlike other social platforms though, tweets are limited to 140 characters, but users can also upload photos or short videos.

Instagram for real estate is absolutely booming and it’s no secret why. Stylish property photos go hand-in-hand with the most popular types of content on Instagram. For luxury or boutique real estate businesses, the platform is becoming more and more of a priority as opposed to a “secondary” social channel.

The good news about all of this is social media for real estate is highly visual in terms of content. It is for this reason having stunning, high-resolution photos are central to so many real estate business’ social strategies. Eye-popping photos encourage “likes” and shares and compel followers to get in touch with you. One thing to note is that almost all photo-based real estate content is coupled with copy that “sells” the property and likewise contains details and contact information.

Learn more about PAR’s sponsor Amarki and their capabilities.