So you are amongst the millions of Realtors that use social media like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to share your exciting listings to the world right? Well we have had several years of growth and maturity in the realm of marketing to people with social media and there comes a time where Anything is not Everything when it comes to posting. Our audience is really smart and I tend to think get annoyed easily by seeing the same thing posted all day or weird posts that mean nothing to them. What I am mostly speaking of is using a 3rd party posting tool to cross post to each and every social media you subscribe to. We need to clean this up and put a little strategy to work. So I have some advice. None of this is telling you to not use the Hootsuites of the world, because they do have a purpose and can be quite helpful with their many features. But we have to stop and look at the purpose of our posts, the target of our posts and the content of our posts. No more is it a “one post fits all” mentality and if you can’t take the time to figure this out, you may want to hire someone that can. Your audience will thank you for it.
Hashtags – Have you searched for your cute hashtag on Facebook lately? Yes you are the only one using it. If your goal is to use hashtags for query purpose and your just making them up as you go on Facebook, most likely they are not working. Hashtags on Twitter and Instagram work very well and you might be surprised what people search for, but it still must be kept simple. On Facebook, just say the cute line you want to say and let people enjoy that content. On Twitter be strategic. Look at what other Realtors are posting and getting traffic from. Truly a little time looking at these can get your so much more traffic and interaction, but using them in places that don’t work can be annoying. I know I am no fun…..
Cross posting – I love the fact that Instagram can post to twitter, Facebook, tumblr and other places. But I also love the fact that you don’t have to share everything everywhere. Posting a picture on Instagram can be an awesome way to show off a listing or feature in a property but we typically fail in the description. If you are just sending it to Instagram and Facebook, take the time to make a nice descriptive post without all the hashtags and codewords. But even better, just use it to edit and create the picture you want. If I am going to cross post, I limit my hashtags to 1 or 2 and even then feel like I am alienating viewers. So here is the recipe I recommend. Use Instagram to edit and post images to IG and Twitter. Then take that saved picture and post to Facebook on its own. Then tag friends in Facebook that may appreciate the shot. Below is an example of a terrible Facebook post.
Strategy – Lastly we need better strategy. Just putting up a post about a listing is nice and tagging the owner is even better but who are we trying to get to? The seller wants it gone so they don’t need to see it, and the future buyer may not be your friend. So How do we make the connection? Target the people that can sell that home. If its other Realtors, create posts that are of interest to other Realtors, talking about bonuses or quick closes. Talk about things that make your life easier when working with a buyer, like financing options, schools and condition of home. This may get their attention and the coveted share may occur. Create dialog and a place to engage with them by thanking and answering questions they may have. Follow them and see how you can help them do exactly the same job you are working. But posting just to post is a waste of time and really bad posts should have little to zero expectation.
Hopefully you are having some success using social media to market your listings and your services and as we all grow a little further into it, we should try to evolve and get a little better over time.
-curt
