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Social media has become a necessity for agents who want to grow their business. It allows us to find our ideal clients by attracting them instead of chasing them, continuing to deepen relationships and make new ones. This leaves many wondering what they can do to build an engaged following that consistently generates listing and buying leads.
Here are the top seven social media tips I’ve ever heard and how you can apply them to increase your presence and influence through social media.
1. Master one platform at a time
There’s a figure of speech that says a jack of all trades is master of none. When it comes to social media, one of the most common mistakes agents make is trying to build a presence across all platforms. Lack of focus on a social media platform rarely leads to creating an engaged audience on any platform.
The most effective agents focus and master one platform at a time. They build an engaged audience and a consistent, sustainable content stream on one platform, then move on to the next. They overlap their successes on each one instead of trying to do them all from scratch.
Each platform offers opportunities, so which one should you focus on? The answer to this question is not about you; It’s about your ideal client. What platform do they use?
If your ideal customer is younger, perhaps a first-time homebuyer, then TikTok might make sense. If your focus is on a more mature audience, then Instagram or Facebook might make more sense. If you’re working on second homes or luxury properties, then you need to consider LinkedIn.
Identify which social media platform your ideal customer is on and focus on growing that platform first. By focusing your attention on one major platform, the domain will arrive sooner.
2. Have a set of goals
Every activity that we do in our business should have a set of goals, so that we can understand if we are progressing in the direction that we want.
All goals, including social media goals, should be SMART goals. This acronym encompasses everything that goals should have. They must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound.
Here are some examples of social media goals that use this format:
I’m going to add 1,000 friends (followers, connections, etc., depending on the platform) in 2023. This will be done by sending three friend requests per day. I’m going to post a minimum of 365 times in 2023. This means that I will post at least once a day, every day of the year, and if I miss a day, I’ll make up for it by posting twice the next day. I will comment and add value on five posts per day, five days a weekin local area facebook groups where people ask questions.
By having a specific, time-bound, and measurable goal, your success and following will be systematic.
3. Be authentic
Authenticity is key when it comes to social media. Authenticity acts as a filter that attracts your ideal clients. It also filters out people who are not your ideal customers.
If you are a working mother and share your victories and struggles as a mother, you will attract those who can identify with you. In many cases, they will be your ideal clients. If you are a real estate investor and share your process of buying and remodeling investment properties, you will attract other investors who could be your ideal clients.
Be authentic and social media will connect you with people who share your hobbies, passions, and personality.
4. Be consistent
Consistency builds trust. Consistency keeps you top of mind and confirms that you are the resource your connections can trust for all things real estate. But consistency involves two components that must work together to maximize your success on social media.
Your consistency should include both the quantity and quality of posts. If you post every day, but the quality of your posts is poor, you will fail. If you post high-quality content but only post once a month, success will be hard to find. You must have both if you are going to maximize the opportunity that social media presents.
Three main types of content add quality. These posts include your followers in your activities, educate your followers, or entertain your followers. Posts that include your followers are those where you share what you’re doing and engage them in it.
Examples of posts where customers feel included:
Check out the amazing kitchen in this house! I’m leaving a great new list, and I can’t wait to share all the details! Tonight I attended an event that benefited our local free medical clinic. Take a look at these photos – this is one event you won’t want to miss in the future!
Examples of educational publications:
Here are the numbers for the last quarter for our local housing market. I love having lunch with clients; these are my three places to have lunch in (your city). Here’s how rising interest rates affect your home buying process.
Examples of entertaining posts:
Today I experienced the funniest thing that has ever happened to me in real estate… Here are the before and after photos of 123 Main Street. An incredible transformation now available for showings… This is the story of how (name of client) found his dream home. It started …
Staying consistent with both the quality and quantity of posts will pay off.
5. Document your trip
There’s a reason “reality” TV does it so well. People love to see other people, and social media gives you a free way to document your journey in business and in life, creating the opportunity to connect with people before you even meet them in person.
Here are some examples of how you can document your trip:
Share your thoughts as you head to the office in the morning. Sharing the process of launching your ad and everything that goes into it. Talking about what excites you about real estate and life.
All of these posts contain content that people are interested in. If they’re not interested, they’ll move on, which, as I mentioned earlier, is the natural filter for identifying your ideal customers.
Documenting your journey in real estate and in life is a great way to deepen your connection with your followers and find new connections.
6. Respond to all comments
You have been authentic and you have been consistent. Finally, if someone comments on his post, he responds to all the comments that remain. Not only does it give you the ability to communicate and interact with them, but it also lets the social media algorithm know that you have an engaging post.
The more engagement your post generates, the more organic traffic the social media algorithm will reward you by putting it in front of others.
Their comment also opens the door for you to connect with them. Something as simple as “thank you for your feedback” or “I really appreciate your insight” shows them that you care.
It also allows you to send them a direct message to personalize the communication. This could be something as simple as, “thanks for commenting on my post”, “how are you?” or “It’s been a while since we talked. Do you still love your house?
Make sure to reply to all comments. By doing so, your engagement will build deeper relationships and increase the reach of your posts.
7. The $1.80 Strategy
The $1.80 Strategy was introduced by Gary Vaynerchuk as an external engagement strategy to connect with potential new followers and draw attention to your profile. The process is relatively simple to understand, but like anything worth doing, it takes time to execute the strategy.
The process involves giving your “2 cents” or commenting on the top nine posts on 10 relevant hashtags each day. In other words, commenting on a total of 90 posts with your “2 cents” equals $1.80 of daily activity.
The process begins with identifying 10 hashtags relevant to your market. These could be #atlantahomes, #movingtoatlanta, #livinginatlanta, or any other hashtag related to people in your area. Once you’ve identified the top 10 hashtags for your niche or specific area, leave valuable comments on the top nine posts for each hashtag.
This could be as simple as when someone asks if anyone knows of a plumber in the area, you provide them with a name and personal experience. Or if someone asks about the difference in school districts, please provide information from school district websites.
The key is to be helpful and be seen as the resource for the area. You don’t even need to mention that you’re a real estate agent; the more useful you are, the more people will see your profile and follow you. If someone says thanks for your comment, follow them because they will often follow you back.
This systematic approach to building your social media presence and influence is the best strategy I have seen and personally used to grow my connections and following on all social media platforms of over 50,000 people. It works, if you make it work.
If you really want to grow your following, I can’t encourage you to follow the $1.80 strategy enough.
Increasing your social media following and influence involves a systematic approach to authentically and consistently adding value. The more value you add to people on social media, the more connections and influence you will develop.
Develop your plan and start executing it. By doing so, success will follow.
Jimmy Burgess is the director of growth for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties of Florida in Northwest Florida. Connect with him on Facebook or Instagram.
Source: news.google.com