How to Use Social Media for Business: 5 Tips for Real Estate Investors
When you thought of joining real estate, you probably didn’t think about becoming a full time influencer on social media. Well, I have to break it to you - building your online presence is going to be one of the mandatory tasks on your to-do list, since social media is the go-to place for networking these days. With that said, here are five social media tips for real estate investors.
#1 Diversify Your Online Presence
Your first step toward building a real online presence is to diversify your efforts across multiple platforms. The ones I personally find to be the most helpful are Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin. Instagram is a great place to showcase your properties and connect with people in the industry. Most importantly, it can easily be connected to Facebook so all your posts get shared to your Facebook page as well - a way to kill two birds with one stone. Linkedin, on the other hand, is a different story. This is a more professional space where you can easily connect with relevant people in the industry. You can also consider making a YouTube channel if you want to go to the next level - however, keep in mind that running a YouTube channel is a full-time job on its own. You might want to save this one for later when you have a good team to rely on.
#2 Share Real Life Content Along with Value Posts
The key to growing on social media is to stand out by posting real-life and personal content. Many realtors and investors make the mistake of joining social networks to sell to people all the time. The truth is, you’re not likely to make any sales this way. Being genuine and authentic is guaranteed to get you a lot further in your social media efforts. So, what should you post? You can never go wrong by posting photos and videos of your properties, as well as any other work that you do in the industry. You can also share graphics with tips and educational information that people will find helpful. Keep in mind that posting real-life photos will help you build up social proof, which will allow you to build real connections and start new relationships that can lead to business opportunities. Besides, you will grow your brand awareness and become better known in your community.
#3 Use the Stories Feature
As you start posting more on Instagram and Facebook, don’t forget to use the stories feature. Not only is this beneficial for your account’s growth in terms of favoring the algorithm but it also helps you get recognized more often. Nowadays, people are more likely to spend time watching stories and reels than scrolling the good old feed. That means you have to leverage these features the best way you can - post engaging stories with questions and pools, upload short reels to start conversations or provide value, and share real-life behind-the-scenes situations on your story. You can also market your properties and listings every now and then to keep things professional. Real-time walkthroughs and renovation clips are a big hit nowadays too (just something to keep in mind).
#4 Set Aside a Budget for Ads
While it’s true that you can go a long way with organic efforts on social media, this is going to take a lot of time and effort on a daily basis. It’s only a matter of time when you’ll need to automate this process. That’s when paid ads come to play. It’s always a good idea to start setting aside a budget for paid ads so you can be ready to finance campaigns when the time comes. The bigger your business grows, the more traffic you’re going to need to your social outlets. However, keep in mind that ads are also a full-time job and it might be too much for you to tackle them alone. Consider hiring a marketing manager or an ads expert to help you out!
#5 Be Active and Engage Consistently
Last but not least, keep in mind that being active on social media is the only way to grow your online presence. You have to be there and you have to make it a habit every day to go through your little social media routine - engaging with other people’s posts, commenting, and messaging people. You’d be surprised how far you can go by doing a bit of social outreach on Instagram and Facebook every day.