Since the dawn of the internet, real estate agents have relied on technology to grow their businesses. Today, our social media presence plays a significant role in real estate success. Social media, live feeds, and other technology became crucial to our everyday lives during the pandemic. In fact, The Close reported that 44% of Realtors said that their social media interactions helped gain at least one new client in the past year.
6 Tips to Increase Your Social Media Presence
2020 taught us to do business virtually, engaging with current and potential clients online. Your online activity is one of the most important tools to help you reach new clients, particularly in today’s culture. Nearly everyone has at least one social media account these days. Even those with an active social media presence can use these tips to help reach new clients and close more deals.
A note here: if you think Facebook is an actual book and TikTok is the sound a clock makes, find a teenager to teach you, stat!
1. Know the Basics
Have you ever tried to watch a video online but turned it off because of annoying background noise? Or started to feel ill because the person holding the camera could seemingly not stand still? If you want to increase your social media presence, you first need to understand the basics of posting, recording, and videoing for the audience.
At the most basic level, follow these rules:
- Know the best size for each platform. Should you film in landscape or portrait mode? Widescreen or 4:3? Decide how to frame yourself and other subjects so they’ll look great across all platforms.
- Check your audio. Limit the amount of background noise, including wind, traffic, and other distractions. Make sure your viewers can hear and understand you clearly. You may even want to invest in an external microphone to ensure your voice is heard.
- Limit bouncing and sudden movements. A gentle, smooth walk through a home is fine, but be mindful of bobbing, spinning, tilting, and other jarring movements that might make a viewer turn off your feed.
- Think about lighting. Harsh sunlight, dark rooms, or unflattering color palettes can be off-putting to your viewers. Consider your space and find non-direct natural light if possible. You might also consider investing in a ring light or other camera-specific lighting.
- Speak directly to your audience. Social media videos should be a one-on-one connection with your viewer. Talk into the camera (looking at the camera and not yourself on the screen). Your social media videos should feel like a conversation with your client.
- Use subtitles. If your video has dialogue (which it should), include subtitles. Not only is this helpful for those with disabilities, but it also encourages viewers to stay on your video longer. Subtitles help you get your message across, even if your clients watch the video without sound.
2. Be Authentic
This rule might be the most important of them all. If you’re trying to be someone you’re not, the viewers will feel it. Your clients want to feel like you’re talking to them, not at them. So, before you start that Facebook Live, get clear on your purpose, your values, and what you bring to the table as a real estate agent.
Your videos should help the viewer connect with you on a personal level. Yes, they’re part of your marketing strategy, but they shouldn’t feel “salesy.” Instead, let the viewer in on your life: who you are, where you go, what’s important to you, and why you got into real estate in the first place. When you share your passion and personality, you’re more likely to create authentic videos that will draw viewers in and keep them watching.
3. Go Live
Social media presence used to be all about posting status updates. Then, it shifted to longer written content. As video marketing emerged, social media became a place to post pre-recorded, edited video snippets. Back then, if you made a mistake while recording, you simply scrapped that take and started again.
Now, business owners often “go live,” streaming real-time videos to their clients. Does it feel scary? Absolutely. There are no second takes. No do-overs. But where authenticity is concerned, there are few things more real and raw than a live video.
You can ease the panic of going live by creating a loose script or jotting down talking points to keep you focused. Then, chat with the camera just like you would a friend in real life. Smile, speak clearly, and create a natural flow from one topic to another.
Your mistakes and missteps might feel embarrassing to you in the moment, but they’re almost always endearing to the viewers on the other end. Live video gives the viewer a true sense of who you are: your personality, your style, and how you handle the unexpected.
4. Know When to Post
Now that you have a plan to increase your social media presence, it’s time to decide when to post your content. Each social media platform is different, and the algorithms, user usage, and target audience differ between them. You can start with online data on social media usage to create your posting schedule. But you may have to experiment, posting on different days and times until you find a formula that best reaches your target demographic.
Then, once you have a better grasp on the best days and times to post your content, you can plan releases ahead of time. Use a social media management app to schedule your content for release. Using this strategy, you can create all your content in one afternoon (except for live video) and then schedule it to release throughout the week or month.
Most social media platforms have analytics tools for business pages. Use these tools to assess when you’re getting the most views: what days of the week, time of day, and what topics are most popular. Analyzing this data can help you fine-tune your social media marketing strategy, which in turn will strengthen your social media presence.
5. Get Personal
Real estate is all about personal connections. One of the best ways to increase your social media presence as a Realtor is to let down your professional guard and let viewers behind the scenes. Share photos of you and your office team at your monthly social gathering. Share video from an event in your town. Go live with something spontaneous, like when you see a home with excellent curb appeal or find a new local business that you think others should support.
What you share – and how much – is totally up to you. Keep safety in mind (don’t share video of the outside of your home, your children, or other personal information, for instance). But let your viewers get to know you outside your role as their Realtor.
6. Provide Quality Content
It’s no secret that content is abundant online. We’re inundated with news, social media, videos, music – and it’s all competing for our attention. If you want viewers to spend some of those precious moments on your page, you’ll have to provide content that’s worthy of their time.
Have a message or a purpose in mind before you post. Great social media presence is about quality more than quantity. Don’t just post something for the sake of posting. You’ll lose viewership if you become irrelevant. Instead, give the viewers something of value. That could be real estate advice or something entertaining, like an anecdote about something you saw that made you smile. As long as it adds value to the viewers’ lives, it’s worthy of a post.
Final Thoughts
Whether we like it or not, social media marketing is here to stay. While it can sometimes feel overwhelming to engage with your followers, it’s a highly cost-effective way to reach new clients and share information.
You might not increase your social media presence overnight, but by adhering to these tips, you’re sure to gain new followers – and new clients.
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