At Socialfly, we work with a variety of clients. Our services satisfy everyone from fashion companies, to nutritionists to non-profits. It’s 2013 and most people understand why brands need an active social media presence, but when it comes to individual real estate agents we sometimes get asked…but why???
Countless reasons come to mind (after all at Socialfly we live and breathe social media), but I’m going to break it down into the simplest, most powerful reasons why social media is specifically a fit for the real estate industry.
# 1 It’s targeted. Social media is a targeted marketing machine – a way to reach the people where they are. The numbers don’t lie. People are on social media all the time looking, searching, talking, liking, complaining and buying. Facebook ads and other tactics allow you to talk directly to specific groups of people (i.e. people looking to buy or sell a home). Compared to traditional marketing and advertising, social media provides a much cheaper means of reaching potential customers. People are on social media. Go to the people.
# 2 It’s visual. A picture is worth a thousand words and this is especially true for real estate. Buying and selling a place to live starts with what meets the eye. Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, in particular, are designed to satisfy the visual connoisseur. You could write a detailed description of the amazing 3-bedroom apartment on the UES with the incredible views, but a potential buyer is going to want to see the photo. Uploading photos to your website is a start, but it’s static. Post photos to Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest and the photos are “sharable” and “likeable.” Pinterest is where people dream. Go to Pinterest and search “Home.” Check out all of the boards and pins dedicated to people’s dream homes. Wouldn’t it be great if your listing showed up there for people to click back to the website – and your name?
# 3 It’s personal. Social media is personal (just check out people’s profiles and get a glimpse into their lives). Real estate is also personal. To connect with your current and potential customers, you want to be more than a face on a corporate website. Why would someone go to you to buy or sell their home? They want to trust you and they need to know something about you. After you’ve worked with someone, you want them to remember you. Stay connected to people by giving them a glimpse into your life and into the city you live. Check out William Bolls, a former client and a real estate agent with the Corcoran Group. We worked with William creating a social media strategy and setting up his profiles. He now has over 600 Likes on his Facebook page. This number represents a large group of people that he can now “talk” to about anything he wants from the weather to sports to his latest listings. Position yourself as an expert. Position yourself as fun. Position yourself as something.
#4 It’s fast. Particularly in NYC, but really no matter where you are, real estate moves quickly – as does the incredible flow of news and information. Social media is the real time way to keep up with what’s happening now! Don’t let others dominate the conversation. Dive into the 400 million tweets being sent each day (Source: Digital Marketing Ramblings). Be a part of the 700 billion minutes spent on Facebook each month (source: Statistic Brain).
# 5 Why not? In some people’s worlds if you don’t exist on social media, you don’t exist. Check out your fellow real estate agents. Do they have a Facebook business page? Do they have an optimized LinkedIn profile? If someone Googles your name how much information could they gather on you? As a real estate agent, YOU are your business. After working with William Bolls for three months, he was ready to fly on his own with his social media and we couldn’t be more impressed. He has clients say to him that they check out his pages before actually meeting with him in person. Stop hiding. Get social.
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