Happy Social Media Day, Champions!
Today, June 30th, marks Mashable’s 6th Annual International Social Media Day celebration to “recognize and celebrate social media’s impact on global communication.”
“While every day is essentially Social Media Day, June 30th, 2015 marks the sixth-annual official global celebration. Last year, meet-ups happened all over the world including those in Egypt, Spain, and San Diego. No matter where you live, you can celebrate with us! Learn how to make Social Media Day official in your city, and follow @MashableEvents on Twitter for #SMDay updates.”
Did you know that among young adults that use the internet, 87 percent are on Facebook? It goes without saying that social media has revolutionized the way we communicate in every industry, including, without doubt, Real Estate. Social media is drastically changing the real estate market and the way that we market. With increasing numbers of actively-social real estate professionals are turning to Facebook to, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and more to build their reputation and drive traffic to their websites, their no question that social media has revolutionized our industry.
According to Guy Kawasaki, “a good framework for agents is to think of social media as steroids for word-of-mouth reputation building,” he says.
In that spirit, he recommends these4 rules of thumb for social success:
1. Think locally.
“The densest markets for social media are also the densest markets for real estate,” according to the ULI. “So even though social media enables you to reach hundreds of millions of people around the planet, what really matters are the people in a 50-mile radius,” says Kawasaki.
With that in mind, tailor your content to your local readership. Be sure to post and tweet not just info about national trends, but also about local trends. Tag and mention local followers, “likers” and friends to involve them in the discussion. Tweet and post while attending local events.
2. Make yourself useful.
“Value comes in the form of information and assistance,” says Kawasaki. “You want to establish a position where people see — through your social media efforts — that you know what you’re doing and are helpful.”
“The point is to make yourself useful and valuable,” Kawasaki continues. “To build credibility; to build trust; so much so that you earn the right to post a link to a new listing every week or so. And when people think about listing their home, they’ll consider you.”
3. When you can’t create, curate.
Don’t feel bad if the thought of crafting a 1,200-word blog post makes you want to cower in the corner. You’re a born agent, not a born writer. Although blogging is a fantastic way to establish yourself as a thought leader in an industry, if you don’t have the time or the resources to do it, concentrate your efforts elsewhere. “Curation is easier,” says Kawasaki. “All it takes is an active, curious mind. Just find stuff that a seller or buyer would be interested in.” (Need ideas? See the second point, above.)
4. Don’t spread yourself too thin.
Choose one or two types of social media and concentrate your time and attention on those platforms. “The most important social media tools for most agents are probably Facebook and Instagram,” says Kawasaki. “Just post good stuff on Facebook and great pictures of your listings and interesting properties through Instagram.”
5. Don’t try to buy your friends.
“There are only two kinds of people on social media: those that want more followers and those that are lying,” says Kawasaki. “The more followers, the better, assuming these are organic, earned followers. Never, ever buy followers. That’s cheating.” Plus, you can always spot a friend-faker when their engagement isn’t nearly as robust as their follower tally.
6. Set content goals and stick to them.
“Agents should post one to two times per day to start,” Kawasaki suggests. “See how that feels. Give it two months. All this will cost you is 30 minutes per day.”
Kawasaki’s advice, from my personal experience as a professional social media marketer is on point – but now, we have a question for you: “How has Social Media changed the real estate industry for YOU?”
Share with us to be featured in an upcoming blog!