Let Social Media Work For Your Real Estate Business This Year
Does social media marketing still work for real estate in today’s investing landscape? If so, how can you make it work for your company?
Social media remains one of the most challenging parts of business for real estate investors, agents, and other professionals. Many are still failing to see the results that they hoped for, if at all. That said, does social media marketing for real estate still work? Should businesses still expect results?
The New Social Media Landscape
Social media still works phenomenally well for some. In fact, some brands are seeing social working better than ever. So why the vast disparity? The most obvious answer is that some are just doing it all wrong, while others are following the road map, and doing everything right. However, the real answer is more complex than many realize. It may be true in some cases, but it is also equally about expectations, and recognizing the changing attitudes of social users, and the resulting best practices.
First of all, recognize that results can be dramatically inflated by a respective budget. If a brand or experienced wholesaler is spending a million dollars a year on buying likes and traffic, the individual agent isn’t going to achieve the same results with a $2,000 a month social media marketing budget. It’s not impossible, but there are obvious challenges.
What works in social media is changing too. Users are burned out. They are more than tired of spam, and abusive marketing. Even the ‘value’ posts that many have tried to put out are now starting to fall on deaf ears, if they are even being seen at all. This doesn’t mean that paid social media marketing is the only option, and it doesn’t mean viral potential is gone. However, it does mean that real estate pros and brands need to amp up the excitement if they want to see results.
The Right Social Media Platforms for Real Estate Marketing
One of the biggest questions many real estate marketers still have is which social media platforms they should be on. There are many viable choices:
Google+
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
There are really no right and wrong answers. It would be best if you had a presence on all of the hundreds of networks out there, but there becomes a point when you can stretch yourself too thin. The only exception is place holding social URLs and user names so that no one else grabs them.
Creating an Effective Social Media Funnel
There is a lot of bandwidth for entertaining posts. However, even Mark Zuckerberg has personally said that many brands simply aren’t including enough calls to action. Your real estate marketing dollars have to count for something. Put some thought into it. What actions do you want other social media users to take? Where do you want them to go? How are you making that happen? Where is the ROI?
Disrupting the Status Quo & Sticking to What’s Important
There has been an intense focus on inbound marketing, but outbound social media marketing can work very well today – if it is relevant. People are on social because they want to be heard and engaged with. Give them that.
While free social media is more difficult, and some hate paying, there is nothing wrong with both. Just know when each should be deployed, and the pros and cons of each approach.
Who will run your social media marketing? Freelancers have become one of the most common choices for independent real estate pros and small businesses. Some have turned to agencies, but often find them pricey. The biggest problem is often that existing team members are ignored. Every member of your team should be engaged in your social media efforts. If they aren’t loving it enough to engage, why should anyone else?
However, one rule that many are breaking, and shouldn’t, is blogging. The blog is the heart of online real estate marketing. The same can be said for offline marketing as well. Don’t stop blogging. Use that as the epicenter of all of your real estate marketing and lead generation. Make a plan, budget, and posting schedule, and stick with it.