The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) 2013–14 CRT REALTOR® Technology Survey Report states that 77% of REALTORS® use Facebook for real estate business purposes, the highest of the major social networks.  Taking that into consideration, we found some tips on how to be most effective on social media including this informative article and the NAR Field Guide to Facebook and Twitter.

16 Ways to Win Leads in 2016: Social Media

DECEMBER 2015 | BY LEE DAVENPORT

1. Don’t be a link litterer. Posting random links on social media without giving the articles context is what’s referred to as “link litter.” Stop sharing real estate articles that do not provide value to friends and followers.

When you have something to share, ask yourself this question: “Who cares?” You could post the best article in the world, but if you don’t say why it’s relevant to your fiends, followers, and potential clients, it will be lost on them.

Try sharing a housing market tip without a link or information on the latest construction project in your community. Post client testimonials. Talk about the fun new restaurant in your farm area where you had lunch today.

2. Try using Sniply to connect with your readers. You may not always have time to create original content. You’re busy; I get it. But when you share someone else’s content, you’re directing potential clients away from your site. Sniply allows you to share content from other websites while keeping your face/call-to-action presence on the page with a button linking back to your own site. Sniply is available as a Chrome browser extension so you can quickly share great articles and still make connections with prospects.

3. Always include a value-driven call to action. A call to action is simply an offer of value that you make to your network. This should not only be done on social media, but also in blogging, e-newsletters, postcard mailings, and anything else you distribute for your business.

For example, when you or one of your agents has a great new listing, share some interesting photos and write, “Could this be your dream home? Click here to see if you qualify.” Include a link that takes the viewer to your preferred lender’s prequalification form.

If you have a creative graphic of a listing you recently sold in less than 15 days, your call to action could be, “Sold in 15 days. The market is hot! Find out how much your home is worth.” Then link to your CMA automated software (such as CloudCMA).

Are any of your targeted new-home communities offering buyer bonuses, such as additional money towards closing or free appliance packages? If so, find out more information about the conditions and share that with your friends and followers. For example, “Would you like free appliances to go in your new home? Text me today for details.” There are many other ways you can present this to add value and get people eager to contact you.

4. Share items of interest to your ideal client. If your target clients are millennial first-time home buyers, why are your social media posts about high-end, move-up homes? Conversely, if you want to reach move-up buyers who are searching for a bigger house, then why are you posting about small condos and high-rise lofts?

A good exercise for your next sales meeting is to help your agents do some soul-searching and evaluate whom they typically attract as clients on social media and whom they want to attract as clients. If these two target markets don’t match, it may be because the content they share doesn’t resonate with their desired clientele.

5. Automate your weekly posting schedule. I’m sure today’s real estate market (and everything else going on in your life) has you and your agents busy. But if you’re not connecting with your social media friends weekly, then it’s no wonder you’re not reaping the rewards of lead generation. 

Real estate requires that you stay top-of-mind, so create a schedule where you post something of value at least once a week. The key here is scheduling more than “automation.” There are various tools to help like Buffer (my personal favorite for real estate), Edgar, Friends+Me, Hootsuite, and others. Try them out to see which one works best for you, and have your agents do the same. But don’t simply set up the same posts to go out multiple times. It’s still important for each post to be original and thoughtful. When used correctly, automated scheduling apps will start the conversations for you, which is half the battle.

6. Build relationships through engagement. Now that you’ve started the conversation with relevant content, the next step to social media lead generation is responding to the comments you receive and commenting on other people’s posts.

Try using the search function on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest to search for life events like “new job,” “buying a home,” and “selling a home,” to see who may be in need of a real estate agent in your area. This can make you and your agents privy to potential leads without spending money on ads.

Check out part two for tips 7-11 on making the most of your real estate blog, and part three for tips 12-16 on how to create a monthly e-newsletter your contacts will read.

Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online, December 2015, with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.

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