Choosing the Right Social Media Network for Your Real Estate Business
There are six highly effective social media networks; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube. Dividing your time between selling real estate and promoting your business can be challenging. Here’s how to choose the best social media network for your business.
Facebook Business – Very social without being too casual. Post comments, photos and videos that showcase your knowledge and expertise without being “salesy”. 80% social posts and 20% business posts are acceptable.
Twitter – a fast-paced scroll of posts and comments. Find and interact with people in your target market. The text is limited. So, use a URL shortener like tinyurl for links in your posts. Since the Twitter feed moves quickly, you can add the same post 2 to 5 times a day.
LinkedIn – A professional network. This is where people will check out your resume and qualifications. Include endorsements from colleagues and referrals from clients. It has been shown that a profile that includes skills receives 13 times more views than those that don’t. LinkedIn provides a lot of opportunities to strut your stuff. Take advantage of them.
Pinterest – an online bulletin board for adding, storing and linking photos and videos. With 100+ million users each month, you’ll have a lot of online exposure opportunities. Since you can use keyword-rich text and link back to your videos, posts or pages, you can also benefit from higher search engine ranking.
YouTube – A place to upload, optimize and share videos. YouTube is Google-owned. Create your own business channel and playlists. Include virtual listing tours, community profile tours, client testimonials, tutorials, etc. Optimization and links give a lot of power to your videos.
These six social media networks offer different opportunities in a variety of ways. Here’s how they are the same:
Build Your Brand – Brand each social media platform to your website, logos, etc.
Be Social and Courteous – Sounds like a no-brainer yet we’ve all seen the inappropriate posts and comments. Engage your followers. Avoid hot-button issues and don’t spend all your time selling.
Build Relationships – This might sound a little harsh, but everyone is not your friend. If the person requesting to be your friend isn’t going to be an asset to you and your business…you don’t need to connect.
Send out Invitations – Invite people into your network. Let them know about your open house or other special events.
In a time crunch? Here’s how to work on three social media network sites in just 20 minutes a day:
Facebook – Check your Notifications. Like posts shared by your customers about your brand and reply to any new posts and messages from customers and friends.
Twitter – Check your Mentions tab to see new interactions and followers. Respond to inquiries and comments. Thank your new followers, shares, and mentions.
LinkedIn – Check and moderate your new Connections. If you published any posts or updates, see if there are any comments that need replies.
