Social Media Marketing Tips for Selling Real Estate

We live in the online age and Real Estate Marketing has had to adjust to this digital transformation. Real Estate was once an industry dependent on traditional marketing, from distribution of pamphlets and newspaper advertising to cold-calling and billboard marketing. Today, these outdated methods have had to be tossed aside to a degree and Real Estate agencies are now turning all their marketing efforts toward digital platforms - with social media marketing at the helm.

When it comes to Real Estate, marketers will build their strategies around brand awareness, engaging the consumer, content creation and lead generation - and social media platforms are able to do all of this and more. Social media marketing has a great impact on building trust and establishing relationships and communication with your target market. And not only is social media a great tool to engage with your audience, it is also a powerful platform for lead generation. With the above in mind, it is important that real estate marketers focus their efforts on building a strong social media presence for their clients.

Below, we provide some top tips to help you set up your real estate social media marketing strategy for 2021.

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1. The Top Social Media Platforms for Real Estate Marketing

Before we unpack social media content strategy, it is important to take a look at the top social media platforms for real estate marketing success.

Facebook: Facebook is a staple in the social media world and is an important platform for real estate marketing. This is because Facebook’s user demographics represent the ideal target audience for property buyers. Facebook is where your audience is present online and this is why it is vital that you create a strong Facebook presence for your real estate business. Facebook advertising is also ideal for real estate marketing, as the ads allow you to target demographics and users who fit your buyer persona, location and have actively shown interest in the property market.
LinkedIn: This platform is primarily used in the B2B space and may seem like a strange platform for selling real estate. However, LinkedIn offers a great opportunity to network, engage with possible investors and establish your business as an industry thought leader.
Instagram: This image-based social media platform is perfect to showcase your properties. High-quality, stylized property photos go hand in hand with popular Instagram content and the platform is quickly becoming a social media priority for those in the luxury or boutique real estate industry. Instagram also links up with Facebook which means your Facebook ads are able to work double time - and reach an Instagram-targeted audience.

2. The Best Real Estate Content for Social Media

Above, we outlined the best platforms for Real Estate marketing (this is not to say that other social platforms do not have their place), and now it’s time to take a look at the best kind of content to distribute across these platforms.

When it comes to marketing for real estate, it is important that you put together content that is designed for every stage of the consumer journey. Rather than consistently trying to “sell,” provide valuable and insightful content that adds value to the viewers life - with call-to-actions and some sales content thrown in, of course.

Property Photographs: Delight and Engage the Audience

Social media is a visual medium and this is what makes it so appealing to the real estate market. With high-quality and high-res photographs, you can quickly draw the eye of the consumer and make them do a double take. By sharing beautiful property images online you also encourage shares, likes and engagement - and compel your followers to engage with your business.

Property photos are a “selling” technique as well as an awareness strategy and should always be coupled with copy that promotes or sells the property - and contains relevant details and contact information to drive a call-to-action.

Testimonials: Build Trust

Purchasing a property is a massive undertaking and it is vital real estate businesses establish trust with potential buyers. The best way to do this is to share success stories or testimonials on your social media platforms. Share videos, photos, testimonials and interviews that highlight a client success story. For example: share photographs of a client moving into their new property and follow up on how things are working out for them in their new home. These kinds of posts build what is known as “social proof,” and showcase the human side of your company - what better way to build consumer trust?

Blogs, Articles and Market Related News: Establish Industry Authority

Every real estate company should have a web page dedicated to blog content and it is vital you share this content across your social media platforms - specifically Facebook and LinkedIn. It is important to note that your blog content should always offer value to the viewer. For example: blogs that offer helpful property advice, property tips, industry related reports and the latest property news will establish your company as an industry expert which in turn, will keep your business top-of-mind when a prospect wants to take the next step into property ownership.

Property Listings: Lead Conversion and Sales

This goes without saying but it is important you make a point to stylise and build on your latest listings through strong captions and eye-catching photography. A great tip is to incorporate multiple photographs per listing, and make sure to provide contact information as a call-to-action.

3. The Importance of Social Media Engagement, Communication and Tracking for Real Estate

Today’s consumer expects immediate communication and instant gratification when it comes to connecting with businesses or brands. Your social media platforms offer the perfect place to engage with your audience, however, you need to be on top of this at all times. Many real estate companies hire community managers to take on their social media communication but this can quickly become overwhelming and difficult to track - especially when jumping from one social platform to another.

A Customer Relationship Management tool such as HubSpot is able to manage all your social media communication from a single location while tracking all engagement and storing this data for future communication, as a lead moves through the buying cycle.

4. Social Media for Real Estate Lead Generation

Landing Pages for Lead Generation:

Lead generation is the lifeblood of real estate and when it comes to generating leads online, your landing pages are the difference between an opportunity or a miss. Before we dive into it, it is important we define what a landing page is and how it can assist in your lead generation efforts.

A landing page is a page on your website where you offer a resource from your business in exchange for a visitor's contact information. Marketers can capture this contact information using a lead-capture form, where visitors can enter details like their name, email address, and job title. So, what has this got to do with social media?

You may share a blog on your social media platform that links through to a landing page that has a specific call to action. This action can encourage a viewer to provide their contact details in exchange for more information or extra content.

Creating a landing page that has the power to convert takes time and content marketing savvy. You will need to do a lot of testing to find the right formula and this is why it is important you work with a professional digital marketing agency to assist you in the creation of lead magnets and landing pages for your social media marketing efforts.

Paid Lead Generation Social Media Advertisements:

Social media paid advertising provides incredibly high conversion rates with significantly low costs - making return on investment that much more profitable. The top social channels are now providing the most advanced lead generation specific advertising options which allows marketers to gain leads through highly targeted social media ads - based on demographics, user behaviour, careers, likes, dislikes, location, interests and more.

Not only are you able to reach the ideal buyer persona through these platforms, they provide lead generation specific advertising formats to help businesses generate quality leads directly through social platforms. For example, when a user clicks on a lead specific advertising they are provided with an opt-in or lead generation form where they can place their contact information. This makes the process of gaining lead information easier - and allows for greater lead nurturing campaigns and email drip campaigns, which leads to increased real estate sales.

In Summary

Social media for real estate is not just a way to increase awareness and engage with consumers, it is a platform that allows you the opportunity to reach the highest quality leads, increase conversions and make more sales.

Social Media marketing continues to evolve with the times, and if you put time and effort into your real estate marketing strategy by understanding your audience, creating relevant content, promoting that content on powerful platforms, and continuing the conversation, you will attract quality leads and convert those leads into loyal customers. .

If you are interested in implementing Social Media marketing for your real estate business, our team of professionals have vast experience in the real estate space and will create and implement social media marketing campaigns to better your brand awareness - and your bottom line.