Tip of the Week: Build Your Brand on Social Media
Social media has become a key branding tool for professionals across all fields, including real estate. Brokers and agents can connect with fellow industry players, push out information about listings or open houses and use social listening tools to identify potential clients who may be looking to buy.
But as with any brand, no one will want to follow you if all you post about is business. Your social media audience wants to know that there's a human being behind your accounts, and it's important to have a healthy mix of personal and professional content to keep people engaged.
Members of Forbes Real Estate Council offered 10 key ways to use social media as an effective brand-building tool without alienating your followers.
1. Show Your Personality And Charm
You may be focused on selling your product and service, but it is paramount that you incorporate the importance of intangible factors like personality and charm. You've been in sales your whole life because every day you are selling your most important asset: yourself. It may sound cliché, but people do business with people they like. So sell yourself; the business will come later. - Alex Chieng, A & L Real Estate Team
2. Be Yourself And Let People Into Your Daily Life
Don't be afraid to let people in on your daily life. If you post little snippets of your life, people will love following you. Keep your social media positive — happy pictures of your friends and family, and then sprinkle in a little bit of work-related subjects. Be real! When you make people laugh, they will be glued to your reality. - Angela Yaun, Day Realty Group
3. Find A Balance
It’s important for your social media to be a reflection of yourself, personality and all. But at the same time, remember who your audience is. Your followers are likely interested in your real estate knowledge, not necessarily how you feel about the current political climate. Make sure to find a balance or people might not take you seriously in the real estate industry. - Joshua Hunt, TRELORA
4. Have Your Clients Blow Your Trumpet
I have seen some younger brokers/agents use social media to engage with their customers and use that as a brand building tool. It adds more validity to your skills when praise comes from your clients rather than yourself. Tagging your clients in a post mentioning a successful closing might be the first step to brand building on social media. - Nikhil Choudhary, Zenith Engineers Inc
5. Focus On Facebook
The biggest mistake most good agents make with social media is they try to do it all. The vast majority can't; they are too busy. The best one for agents is hyperlocal: Facebook. You can connect with your sphere and your neighbors. There is no better way to reach your audiences to build your brand. Use Facebook in the course of your daily routine and post as you go. - Kevin Hawkins, WAV Group, Inc.
6. Be Consistent
To build brand awareness you need to stay consistent with your message, whatever it may be. Make sure to be active across your social media platforms on a daily basis and find a way to differentiate yourself and stand out from the herd. - Engelo Rumora, List'n Sell Realty
7. Don't Try To Sell
Use social media to build your personal brand, not to sell your product or service. Post items that help people understand who you are, what you think and what you stand for. Be very careful never to criticize others: Whatever you say on social media is out there forever, in writing, for anyone to see. - Lee Kiser, Kiser Group
8. Add Value To The Conversation
Whether you currently use social media or not, it is critical to understand that your brand is already being talked about online. By using social media, you can steer the conversation in the direction you desire. The No. 1 rule of social media is to provide value. Always make sure you're adding value to the conversation while keeping the goals of your audience in mind. - Sarnen Steinbarth, TurboTenant
9. Be Where Your Clients Are
When developing and managing your social media brand, it's important to focus on those channels where you'll have the most impact. The greatest content in the world is useless if no one is seeing it. Survey your clients and prospects to find out what social media channels they're using and what type of posts they like to read. - Lisa Fettner, ReferralExchange
10. Go Behind The Scenes
Use social updates, videos, live streams and other tools to show off not only your listings, but your life. And I'm not talking about a video of you standing in front of a Bentley — I'm talking about the real grunt work that goes on behind the scenes whether you're staging, flipping or listing a home. - Kent Clothier, Real Estate Worldwide
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