The 6 Most Common Social Media Mistakes That Real Estate Agents Make

I found an excellent blog on improving your social media marketing titled "6 Most Common Social Media Mistakes That Real Estate Agents Make" by RESAAS. RESAASprovides tips and advice to help real estate agents modernize their business approach. Follows is a synopsis of the article.

Mistake #1: Profile Fail

  • Create your Profile!
  • Provide concise, up to date information.

Mistake #2: Branding Fail

  • Properly brand yourself.
  • Be Consistent.
  • Each of your social networks should have the same profile image.
  • People respond better to a human image rather than a company logo. 
  • Utilize your logo in your cover image..
  • Color consistency will play a role in your overall brand and how you will be recognized.

Mistake #3: Lack of Consistency or Content Schedule

  • To be successful in your social media efforts, post on a consistent basis, NOT here or there.
  • Having a schedule will make your life easier.
  • Only posting your listings or open houses is one of the top reasons why people won’t like your page, follow you … you get the point.
  • Develop a posting schedule for each social network.
  • There are so many different things you can post, here are just a few:
    • Home Seller Tips
    • Home Buyer Tips
    • Your Blog Posts!
    • Local Real Estate News
    • Tips for homeowners
    • Mortgage tips and advice
    • Just to mention a few
  • Posting quality content on a consistent basis is the core.

Mistake #4: Only Posting Listings

  • Only postings your listings are as spammy as it gets.
  • No one wants to stay connected to a Facebook Page that only has houses for sale and links to the full listing.
  • Not to say never post your listings, quite the opposite!
  • But, there are a few ways to do it correctly to avoid being unfollowed:
    • Don’t post more than one listing per week. Instead, choose the same day of the week to either introduce new listings or provide a theme, like feature property of the week.
    • When you post the listing, provide an impactful introduction.
    • Use one of the best pictures you have of the property, whether it is of the interior or exterior.
    • Pose a question about a feature shown in the picture you are sharing along with the link to the full listing.
    • Include information about the area where the listing resides.

Mistake #5: Lack of Interaction on Social Networks

  • You need to engage with your readers, peers, customers, friends and supporters.
  • Don’t be a “post and pray” Realtor.
  • Simply posting something to your social networks is not enough, not even close!
  • How you interact with and respond to the activity on your page will make or break how much activity you will see in the future.
  • Here are a few tasks you should do:
    • Check notifications.
    • Respond to comments.
    • Seek out new folks to follow (like, invite to connect) that you would like to do business with.
    • Visit the pages/accounts of those that visited yours and interact with them.
    • Share other people’s content.
    • Respond to messages in a timely manner.
  • Key takeaway- just sharing an update to your social networks and them simply signing off, is a waste of time and energy UNLESS YOU ENGAGE!
  • Be genuinely open to making new connections and engaging with the connections you have, and your real estate biz will be positively impacted!

Mistake #6: Being Selfish – Advanced

  • Note- do not attempt the following until you have mastered  items 1-5 above
  • It’s extremely important to share and link to other real estate blog content.
  • Here’s why:
    • You are adding real value to your article.
    • Real Estate professionals included in your article are likely to share it to their social channels, increasing the article’s exposure.
    • SEO Benefits – Outbound links provide a benefit to your site by allowing you to achieve authority in your niche. Google looks favorably on your content when other links of authority are used.
    • Encourage Backlinks – When you link to other real estate agent’s content, they are more likely to link to an article you have written.
  • Your end goal is to provide knowledge to your readers about what you know best – Real Estate!
  • One of the ways you do that is to utilize the content written by other real estate professionals who also provide their take on the subject at hand.

 

To the above 6 mistakes, I would like to add one other...

Mistake #7: Not Targeting Your Sphere of Influence

  • Agents spend a lot of time and money targeting people they don’t know.
  • Agents should also spend time and money targeting the people they do know. 
  • So, make sure all of the people that make up your sphere of influencers (SOI) and past clients are Facebook friends.
  • Ask all of your SOI and past clients to like your page.
  • Here are a few things you can post and target to your SOI and past clients:
    • Photos of you and your clients at a recent closing
    • You placing a sign on a new listing
    • A live stream video of your latest listing before it hits the market
    • A pic of you participating in your favorite cause 
    • Photos of your kids and/or pets tagging along with you on business errands
    • You ata CE class or educational function, learning to be a better realtor
    • And the list goes on!
  • Remember, like #5 above, engage and interact!
  • Posts and boosts with you and others featured will generate more likes and comments for which to engage! 

 

For the complete article go to http://blog.resaas.com/articles/2016/common-social-media-mistakes-real-estate-agents-make

RE/MAX Alliance