We all know the power of social media. In 2021, 97% of buyers used the internet as the first step in the house hunting process, according to the US-based National Association of Realtors (NAR), 2021.
Meanwhile, the NAR estimates an astonishing 90% of real estate agents use Facebook as their primary social media platform to increase inbound traffic, find new prospects and improve search engine rankings, followed by Instagram (52%) and LinkedIn (48%).
Are you using your social media bio in the best way? Here’s what to know and what to look out for when compiling or updating a winning profile.
Neglecting your ‘About’ section is a serious crime in Facebook (FB) business circles. While your feed is where the fun happens, the left-hand side of FB is the chance to alert users to your contact details, other social media and availability.
Always, always, check and regularly review your info to make sure it’s up to date, that all links work (especially to your company or office website) and that all contact info is correct.
Your profile is, of course, bolted on to your content, so getting your feed just right is imperative. Video content is king on FB – users spend 50% of their time watching video. FB likes video and videos, such as client testimonials, are more likely to get your inbox pinging and your phone ringing. Video content has been proven to get more likes and reactions than the more “traditional” text and image combination posts.
Think sensibly about coordinated posts and campaigns. You wouldn’t post a new listing or pin an open home at midnight, on the weekend, or on a national holiday. It’s a business profile, so work to business hours. Various studies indicate that posting between 1pm-4pm is most popular for engagement.
As with your personal profile, don’t over post. According to HubSpot, ‘Facebook prioritizes “fresh” content and doesn’t want to overwhelm users with just one company in their feed.’ It suggests publishing between two and five times per week.
Who’d have thought five years ago everyone’s favourite photo filtering app would be the big thing in real estate social media marketing?
With one billion users, Instagram is huge. Instagram business profiles are easy to put together and you can be live in seconds as you are limited to 150 characters.
You can have more fun with Insta in your profile name and pic, but don’t be too “out there” as you want to build professionalism, trust and expertise from the first impression.
Beautiful property images of beautiful properties looks striking on any Instagram profile thanks to its range of filters and animations, so visually it’s hard to get to look of your page wrong.
LinkedIn reaches the parts Facebook and Instagram can’t. LinkedIn is designed for businesses and creating high-quality business networks and connections. As a result, many of the top-end real estate agents use LinkedIn. It enables agents to target very specifically the people and organisations who can help grow your brand as well as boost sales.
We’ve all received ‘I’d like to connect’ messages, but why should someone connect with you? Connections are attracted to profiles with interesting and interrelated Groups, an engaging About section, and just like FB and Insta, regular and insightful activity.
Sure, you’ve got a nice photo, carefully curated your previous experience and posted some recommendations, but LinkedIn really gets going through the creation of blog writing and article posting, reacting to industry-related content, or contributing to your own professional group. In short, your LinkedIn profile is a powerful platform to show yourself as an industry thought-leader and to find more high-quality leads by kickstarting conversations and building relationships over time.
LinkedIn Premium users can access unlimited people searches and send a set amount of InMails each month plus LinkedIn Sponsored Messaging Ads, so it’s a highly personalised and specific approach to building your client base.
As you would with any other piece of customer-facing collateral, your social media profile should showcase your experience and expertise, highlight your unrivalled local knowledge and connect to the right kind of audience on a professional and personal level. There’s always a little room for fun and personality, too.