The profession of real estate agent has been around for a long time. It's also an industry that's changed dramatically over the years, with many agents battling to stay current.
One of these developments is the way people use social media on a daily basis. It's no wonder that real estate professionals have taken note and begun to alter their Internet business practices. Social media is rapidly expanding, and real estate brokers are learning how to adapt to this new world order.
While some businesses continue to struggle to expand their client base using social networking sites such as Facebook or Instagram, others make use of these platforms and reap the benefits.
If you've been having trouble generating leads online, it's possible that you're committing one of these typical social media blunders that real estate brokers aren't even aware they're making. Here are five mistakes to avoid and how to correct them to begin building an online presence.
Lack Of A Real Estate Social Media Strategy
It's hard to believe that social media has been around for over two decades. As a real estate professional, a lack of social media presence may seriously impede your company's growth.
However, simply being on social media is not enough; you must have a strategy in place to know how you want to grow and produce real estate leads. The first error that agents make on social media is not having a strategy or simply posting for the sake of posting.
This can turn away potential followers (who might otherwise follow your account because they appreciate what they publish), which will inevitably result in no purchases coming through over time if your social posts aren't interesting or valuable in some way.
Your plan should be inspired and guided by your real estate business goals, such as growing your email list, and by conducting a competitive analysis of what other agents in your region are doing. Your approach should include the following elements:
- What social media sites do you wish to use?
- What kind of content would you like to share?
- How frequently do you intend to post?
- You should post at the best times.
- Which hashtags do you want to get ranked for?
- If you intend to use paid advertising.
- How and how frequently do you intend to analyze your outcomes?
Using Incorrect Hashtags
Hashtags are essential for social media. While hashtags may appear to be little and insignificant information, they can have a significant impact on the reach of your social posts, for better or worse—particularly on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Hashtags allow online users to find your content.
The issue is that when posting about properties, real estate brokers frequently use broad, unspecific hashtags, which limits their social visibility to an audience that is less likely to be in the market to make a purchase soon.
If you're attempting to sell homes in Napa Valley (Northern California), for example, having #California as your hashtag isn't enough because there are so many various reasons why someone would use #California. Instead, concentrate on hashtags that are relevant to your target demographic.
Because there are so many hashtag research tools available online, using the appropriate hashtags is a social media error real estate brokers can avoid in a matter of minutes. Flick. Tech is one of our favorites since it not only allows you to research hashtags, but it also provides training on how to study the proper ones and construct a strategy that will help you start getting found on your favorite platforms.
Being Excessively Promotional
Being too promotional on social media is the biggest social media mistake a real estate salesperson can make. If all of your material is about your company, you're missing out on meaningful connections with your audience.
Being excessively promotional is a typical social media mistake, and it's one of the first things real estate salespeople should concentrate on correcting. As a real estate agent, you're not just attempting to sell houses; you're also trying to establish a business, which requires you to be an excellent marketer.
No one wants to be marketed to, according to the first rule of marketing. Consumers want to feel as though they made the decision on their own, and they want to feel a connection with the agent who will assist them through the real estate transaction. They want to collaborate with someone they can rely on.
Remember the 80/20 guideline when developing your content strategy. 80 percent of what you post should be quality material that allows you to relate to, engage with, entertain, or educate your audience. Only around 20% of your postings should be geared toward generating leads and sales. This real estate social media blunder can easily remedied by making a few minor tweaks to your content strategy.
You Are Not Relatable
Living in the world of digital marketing has given us a gift that previous agents did not have: the ability to uniquely brand oneself. While it may appear tough at times, the key to success online is to distinguish oneself from other agents.
The issue here is that you are not relatable to your target audience.
If you work as a real estate agent in an area where the average home costs between $200,000 and $300,000, but you're constantly showing off mansions for sale or talking about exotic places you've seen, the people in your region will not relate to you.
The most common social media mistake real estate brokers make is failing to engage with their online audience. Relationships are formed through social media.
Concentrating On The Wrong Analytics
Real estate agents must first understand their metrics in order to begin growing online. The truth is that ignoring your social media analytics is one social media error that no real estate agent can afford to make.
Real estate agents, like any other marketing plan, must be able to analyze what is and isn't working in order to build their internet presence and produce leads and sales. As you begin your social media plan as an agent, focus on goals that are clear, quantifiable, reachable, and can be fulfilled in a reasonable time frame.
Here's an example of a social media marketing goal that real estate brokers should work for when expanding their online presence:
Specific Objective:
- 90% increase in brand awareness
How To Measure The Objective:
- The quantity of content shared
- The typical post-reach
- The typical number of impressions
How To Achieve The Goal:
- Determine your ideal audience.
- Concentrate on high-quality content.
- Spend 20 minutes per day conversing with your ideal client.
- Speak to the audience rather than at them.
- Concentrate on high-quality hashtags.
- Tag other people to get them to talk.
- Ensure that your profile is appropriately optimized.
- Make a commitment to 5 posts per week.
- Spend $300 each month on marketing.
Timeline That Is Realistic:
- Focus on raising brand recognition by 15% per month for the following six months to attain this target.
Stop Making Social Media Mistakes In Real Estate
As a real estate agent, you understand how vital social media is for driving traffic to your website and contacting new leads. It's time to stop winging it with your social media strategy and start improving engagement and sales.