If you're a realtor, we know social media is just a single item on a long to-do list, perhaps towards the bottom. It's one of those things that you know you should be doing, but you don't always make time for, or don't take full advantage of. We're not going to tell you to drop everything else, and shift a big part of your time spend to social media, but rather, share how to make the time that you do spend on social count that much more.
Below are a handful of social media post ideas to help you separate yourself from the pack.
Most realtors nail these: new listings and success stories. We've all seen them: a link to a property that just hit the market, perhaps with some basic details. A photo of a happy couple holding their keys in front of their new home. These are the bread and butter of social fodder for real estate agents, and they should certainly be part of the mix - but you shouldn't stop there. So if you're not doing anything on social yet, this is a good place to start. If these are already mainstays in your feed, read on.
Real estate is a business driven largely by relationships, and relationships are established based on trust. Your social media profile should feel like you. A person who doesn't know you should be able to get a pretty good sense of things from your profile, if done well. Client testimonials are a quick way to establish that you're a professional with integrity, and that your clients are very happy working with you. Share a two sentence blurb (not just in plain text format in the post, but perhaps on a graphic, to make it bigger and harder to miss) from a client who loved working with you. Nothing can quite replace the words of another person testifying to the fact that you're a pleasure to work with.
Position yourself as an expert by sharing tips on the real estate buying and selling process. It'll give your followers just a taste of what they can expect if they work with you - that is to say, someone who knows how the game is played and will look for every advantage necessary to secure a good deal. Don't worry about not seeing a direct ROI on these posts. Realtors sometimes struggle to value posts like these because they're near impossible to quantify, but giving away free, valuable content (think: "5 Things Every Buyer Needs to Ask Before Closing the Deal") has been a pillar of smart digital marketing strategies for years.
Don't hesitate to occasionally share snaps of some of your favorite points of interest in your community. Coming across as a genuine local with roots in the area will help make people feel better about working with you. You could share a particularly great dining experience you enjoyed, or your impressions of a new shop downtown. You're already making these connections offline - bring them online to score some points.
Imagine the following life cycle of one of your social followers: a person notices you on social media, they see your posts, maybe they see one of your listings or closed deals, they decide to work with you, and they contract you to help them purchase a home. In the dream scenario, that's exactly how it should work with social media, right? Well, then what happens to that person after they've bought their new home? Why would they keep following you? Continue to engage those people - or, people who aren't ready to buy yet - by sharing articles, YouTube videos, and other resources about renovating and otherwise improving homes.