Certainly, there are many aspects of a successful real estate career. But, one of the most important ways real estate agents become known, prospect and present themselves as an expert in their field is through social media. Therefore, those already with a love of social media have a giant head start as a real estate agent. Be sure to check out other ways that your love of social media can help you: Ways to Make Money with a Real Estate License (Without Selling a Home)
Let’s look at the Social Stats:
44% of real estate agents surveyed stated that they generated the most clients via social media. It was only 2nd to referrals.
82% of agents plan to improve their social media presence to grow their business.
A 2021 Realtor Technology survey found that 53% of respondents say that social media is one of the most valuable technology tools they use.
74% of realtors use Facebook in their day-to-day business.
81% of older millennials, 80% of younger millennials, and 78% of Gen X found their home on a mobile device.
These are impressive statistics. This is saying that new agents that love social media, are on it all the time and feel very comfortable with the platforms have mastery over the second most important lead generator. By anyone's standards, that is a solid basis for a real estate career.
But, as a brand new agent, where do you start? Well, let’s start with an introduction—that sounds like a good place to start.
Introduce Yourself as a Real Estate Professional
Let’s assume you don’t have your license yet. Once you start the courses to get your license, let everyone know! Share your story of the classes, the parts that are interesting, the parts that are fun… let everyone know what is going on!
Maybe some studying selfies, or a video message to your sphere to give them the big news. You could share professional looking branded photos connecting you to your new career. And, if you know what brokerage you will be joining, perhaps you could share some of their announcements or social posts.(You might like: How to Choose the Best Brokerage for You)
Discuss why you wanted to get into real estate, how you wanted to help people find their dream home, if there is a neighborhood you will place your focus and why, why you will be joining the chosen brokerage, what has been surprising so far…Share your journey!
Polish Up Your Social Media Accounts to Reflect Your New Career
Real estate involves branding—you will want to tighten up your current social media so it is always giving a consistent message.
To begin with, you should have a business page, which keeps public stuff public and private stuff private. You might want to consider changing some privacy messages, or even deleting some posts if you decide they don’t show your new brand in the correct light. Don’t miss: Top New Agent Choices: Assistant v Team v Solo
Choose Platforms
Before you can start marketing, you'll need to pick the right platform. This is where a very knowledgeable social media “expert” could find too many choices. Start with your favorite go-to platform. Then, think about who you want to reach (your target market) and which platforms work for them. You may want to use accounts you already have or wish to start new ones for your business. You might enjoy: What Does a Typical Day Look Like as a Real Estate Agent?
There are five great social media platforms for the real estate agent.
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube
Pinterest
Facebook remains the dominant social media platform among an agent’s target market: those that are in the home-buying and selling phases of their lives. Because it is so widely used, Facebook is a great platform for real estate agents to generate leads, gain followers, and continue to connect with their sphere of influence. An agent can tell their stories through posts and videos and interact with other users.
The stats:
2.9 billion active monthly users are on Facebook
Facebook is the third most visited website in the world, after Google and YouTube
56.6% of the global Facebook users are male, while 43.4% are female
The average daily time spent on Facebook is 33 min
There are 60 million active business pages on Facebook
Facebook has over 6 million active advertisers on the platform (Brandwatch)
If you don’t have any platforms that has a lot of followers, Instagram is probably one of the easiest places to start a following. Driven primarily by photos and video, Instagram is less about the conversation and more about showcasing your personality through the visuals you share. It is also a great choice if you like sharing behind-the-scenes of the business, or posting properties and showcasing lifestyle. Check out: Why Do People Choose a Real Estate Career
LinkedIn is like the Facebook for business: it is the place for professionals to connect with others about work and their professional journey. LinkedIn’s average user is more educated, has a higher net worth than users on Facebook and Instagram, and is more focused on bettering themselves professionally and financially. Unlike Facebook or Instagram, growing your following is difficult to achieve on LinkedIn, so the most successful real estate agents on the platform have a well-established sphere of influence that they can easily tap into. It is a great platform for beginning your group of professionals you work with, such as inspection companies, title companies, etc. Don’t miss: What Can You Do with a Real Estate License?
The stats:
LinkedIn has 875 million users worldwide
LinkedIn has more male (57.2%) than female users
Millennials make up 60% of LinkedIn’s users
LinkedIn is the top platform for B2B lead generation
Marketers see up to 2x higher conversion rates on LinkedIn (Brandwatch)
YouTube
YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine and second most visited site after Google. Yet only 9% of U.S small businesses use YouTube. (Brandwatch). Video is more engaging than written text, so it makes it powerful for real estate. In fact, real estate listings that have at least one video receive 400% more inquiries. However, your videos must be clear, organized, and engaging.
YouTube is based on posting interesting videos that actually help your audience, such as teaching them something or being entertaining. You need to be authentic, be clear about who you want to serve, and provide value. Don’t miss: Can I Start Real Estate for Just “Extra” Income?
Pinterest is often overlooked by real estate agents due to it not directly bringing in large amounts of buyers and sellers. Even though the pins might not offer direct leads, Pinterest can improve your online visibility and traffic to your other platforms and website. Further, your pins don’t “expire”, and won’t disappear over time. You may want to consider that when working on this platform; make your pins something that doesn't ever become dated.
The stats:
Pinterest has 433 million active users each month
45% users make a household income of over $100k (source: Pinterest Business Insights)
The average time spent on Pinterest is 4 minutes and 50 seconds
76.2% Pinterest users are female, 17.2% are male and 6.6% are ‘unspecified’ gender
Most Pinterest’s users are at the age of 25 to 34 (Brandwatch)
Keep in mind consistency, and post branded, real estate-forward content
Consistency
In real estate marketing, consistency is everything. Stay consistent with timing: decide early on how often and where you plan to post, and stick to a schedule. Then stay consistent with your personal brand.
Design Your Personal Brand
During this time, don’t forget about personal branding. Your logo can be on each video or post, and you might even figure out a tagline. In posts, you can discuss what your values are and what it will be like to work with you. And, this is a good time to consider a niche: an area that you specialize in where you are the expert.
There are different types of niches:
Types of property, like horse property or historic properties
A target market, like investors or first-time homebuyers
An area such as a large neighborhood or small town
Once you have your niche, learn everything you can about it. Then, get on social media to discuss your expertise!
Post Real Estate- Forward Content
You might not have experience yet showing properties, but you can still find great content. Maybe team up with a local agent to show their properties. Do a short video interviewing your Managing Broker or Teammates to get their knowledge on the area. Join local communities to get their perspective. Attend local events, everything from farmers markets to charity gatherings – there is a lot to report on! You can learn more about the area or the real estate market with some research through Redfin.com. You could even discuss: The Future Job Security For Real Estate Agents, and why the field isn’t going away. Think about everything from a real estate perspective.
Conclusion
As a lover of Social Media, you can hit the ground running in real estate, while many are just trying to catch up. Put together a marketing plan and start working the plan. Here’s some help: How Do You Start a Successful Real Estate Career