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Start Your Property’s Social Media Program in 6 Steps
When launching a property’s social media marketing program, make sure you’ve thought through strategy, content, and audience.
Social media marketing for real estate is a must-do. The reality is that’s where the average American is spending his/her free time — nearly 2 hours a day, according to a recent study. Using platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to market your property, you can:
- engage potential buyers
- build brand awareness
- elevate brand position within the market
- decrease cost per lead
- increase occupancy or sales
- improve retention
- and more
Sounds great, right? But where do you start? Which platforms should you use? How will you ever convince your boss that this is a valuable use of your time?
Starting your property’s social media program can seem like an intimidating task, especially if company leadership is skeptical of the benefits. Here are six steps to launching a real estate social media program that will grow your business to its full potential.
6 steps to start your property’s social media program
1) Speak in the right terms.
Convincing management that you want your team to spend more time on social media to gain “followers” or get “shares” could be a hard sell — even though that kind of engagement is key in real estate sales and rentals. To win support, focus your argument around the factors that are most important to them. Lead generation, lead nurturing, conversions, sales, ROI, profits: this should be the vocabulary with which you approach this conversation.
2) Create a strategy — and put someone in charge.
Only 11% of companies without a documented content marketing strategy find their efforts to be successful, compared to 60% of companies with a strategy in place. And that number rises to 86% when the company designates someone to lead the strategy.
Develop a content marketing strategy — inclusive of social media — that aligns with your goals for the property (e.g., more visits to the website, increased occupancy, better retention rates). And whether someone on your team heads up execution or you outsource that responsibility, the leader should continually monitor analytics and tweak the strategy accordingly to ensure the property’s social media program is meeting the designated marks.
Which brings me to…
3) Determine which analytics to track.
In real estate social media, shares, likes, and impressions speak to your brand exposure, so they’re important to track. But it’s important that you’re looking at more than just these surface metrics. (Read more about so-called “vanity metrics” here.) Leads generated, conversion rates, sales, and ROI are going to tell you if your efforts are helping your bottom line. If you have a good, flexible strategy in place, these metrics will help you adjust your efforts to ensure you’re achieving your business objectives.
4) Develop quality content.
Twenty-seven million pieces of content are shared every day — and a large portion of it is crap. A social media presence could be pretty pointless unless you’re not using it in a way that your followers find valuable. Good, quality content is the alpha and the omega, the key to engaging your followers.
One of the biggest mistakes real estate marketers make is using social channels to push a blatant sales pitch. You’ll quickly lose your audience that way. Your property’s social media should be about engaging target buyers or tenants, building brand awareness, and offering valuable and interesting information.
5) Decide which channels are right for your business.
Who are you trying to reach, and what are you trying to tell them? These are good questions to ask when trying to determine which platforms will comprise your social media program. You need to know who your target buyer/tenant is, and you need to know what kind of information you’re going to offer them.
There’s a wealth of data out there about who uses which channels and when. Most social media platforms also have their own built-in analytics tools that can help you determine the best time for engagement with your followers.
Another thing to consider: You’ll want to choose channels that you’ll be able to maintain regularly and which play to your strengths. If you don’t have the time, skill, or interest in taking regular photographs of things around your property, for example, Instagram probably isn’t for you. Remember, you’ll likely want to work through several different channels to reach a maximum number of potential customers.
6) Follow your competitors.
Following your competitors is a great way to stay up to date on what they’re doing, especially if you don’t have a ton of time or money for competitive research. And when I say “follow,” I don’t mean “copy or imitate.” I mean subscribe to their blogs, engage with them on social media, and like and share their content that you find meaningful for your audience. This way, you become part of the local conversation happening online, and you know exactly what your potential buyers and tenants are seeing from (and how they’re reacting to) your competitors.
Related posts:
- The Metrics You Should Be Measuring in Real Estate Marketing
- 6 Marketing Tasks Real Estate Marketers Can Outsource
- Social Media Can Be a Strategic Weapon in Real Estate Marketing
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These are the Busiest Day of the Year for Real Estate Searches
Real estate searches peak the weekend after Thanksgiving, December 28, January 1, and July 6, so don’t stop marketing your property during the holidays.
If you’re a marketing professional outside the retail industry, chances are you slow things down during the holidays. But before you settle in for a second helping of leftovers, consider this: according to a study by Realtor.com, December 28 is statistically one of the busiest days for real estate searches.
It makes sense: Potential buyers use their post-holiday downtime to consider real estate investment. Other days when real estate searches spike include:
- the weekend after Thanksgiving
- New Year’s Day
- July 6
It’s important for real estate marketers to be aware of these dates so that you don’t stop all your marketing activities. The good news is that real estate searches are typically lowest on actual holidays, so putting a pause on your pay-per-click advertising, for example, on those days makes sense.
I bring this up because, recently, a client asked to stop all marketing activities between mid-December and New Year’s Day due to “seasonal decline” in sales. While it’s true that December typically sees lower numbers in terms of web traffic, leads, and conversions, that doesn’t mean there is not enormous, largely untapped opportunities for this client — if we are strategic about how we spend marketing dollars over the holidays.
Leveraging the post-holiday uptick in real estate searches
While spending the holidays relaxing with family and friends is something we all deserve, keeping a few strategic marketing activities going can mean big wins for your property/properties. Here are a few things I recommend, and why.
1) Publish blog posts on a normal schedule.
Blog posts are the gifts that keep on giving, meaning the majority of traffic will visit your posts months after they’re published. In fact, 80% of our page views occur on blog posts published at least 6 months prior. It’s a great time to write about trends or happenings in the coming year in an effort to capture future searches.
Search engines value consistency in your publishing schedule, so keeping up your normal posting frequency will help your rankings. If you have the resources to post on schedule, it would benefit you to do so.
2) Be strategic about social media.
Social media management can be time-consuming, so you should dial back your posting on the days you know prospects won’t be spending much time online (e.g. December 25). That being said, you should plan to post on days when you know real estate searches peak (e.g. December 28). Chances are, many of your competitors will be shut down for the holiday, and your posts will be front and center in your prospects’ newsfeeds.
3) Be strategic about digital advertising.
The same goes for digital advertising. Knowing that post-holiday real estate searches peak on December 28, you should budget your pay-per-click and social advertising dollars to spend more on this day. Particularly focus on your Google AdWords spend because that will capture prospects using search engines to find information about potential real estate investments — as opposed to sponsored social posts, which display your ads in the newsfeed of a prospect who may or may not be ready to buy.
Related posts:
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4 Tools for Determining the Best Time to Post on Social Media for Your Property
-
Peak Season Demands Real-Time Analytics for Perfect Fulfillment
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5 Social Media Stats for Real Estate Marketers
Social media is a natural fit for real estate marketing. Here are five social media stats that prove your real estate brand needs to be active on social media.
Highlights:
- 3.5 billion people will use social media networks this year.
- Real estate marketers can take advantage of detailed targeting available through Facebook.
- Real estate marketers who are succeeding on social media are finding innovative and creative ways to relate to users and showcase their property.
Social media has changed the world as we know it. From connecting with old friends to up–to–the–minute news coverage, social platforms are a constant in 2019. In fact, it’s estimated that 3.5 billion people will use social media networks this year.
With those kinds of numbers, it’s easy to understand why businesses are heavily investing in digital marketing on social platforms. Consider some more social media stats: a recent survey found that 73% of small businesses are investing in social media marketing.
We’ve talked a lot about the importance of social advertising and we’re sticking by it. The combination of paid and organic advertising on sites like LinkedIn and Twitter can help get your property in front of the right audiences.
We know that social media posts are time–consuming, whether you’re creating original content or curating posts. This can play a big role in marketers sticking to more traditional advertising methods. But if you’re looking to target specific audiences and run ads that speak to them directly, the social media stats speak for themselves.
Here are 5 social media stats and how they can affect your digital marketing strategy.
1. 68% of U.S. adults are Facebook users
Despite all the headlines in the last year, Facebook is still the most popular social media platform out there. And marketers shouldn’t ignore this platform when advertising properties. Aside from Facebook’s popularity, real estate marketers can take advantage of detailed targeting available through the social platform’s paid advertising options. After determining the goal of your campaign, you can set key targeting options and make sure your ads are getting in front of the right audience.
2. Over 90% of Millennials use social media (and 77% of Generation X’ers)
Millennials use social media more than any other age group and the majority of them access social media on their phones. This is crucial information for real estate marketers trying to understand the buyer’s journey and determining what platforms will work best for their audience. For example, are they trying to lease apartments near a college or university? Knowing that Instagram is the fastest growing platform or that messaging apps are the most popular form of communication amongst millennials is key.
3. An average of 143 minutes a day is spent on social networks and messaging
According to a survey by Digital Information World, internet users are now spending an average of 2 hours and 22 minutes per day on social networking and messaging platforms. And that’s a lot of opportunity for marketers to showcase properties. Don’t miss out on organic (and paid) searches for properties. Make sure to post your blogs, photos, and virtual tours to your social media pages to expand your reach.
4. 73% of marketers believe that their efforts through social media marketing have been‘somewhat effective’ or ‘very effective’ for their business
Social media is one of the most cost-effective ways to market your property, engage with audiences, and establish brand loyalty among customers. Tracking your social media efforts is key to optimizing your strategy and tweaking your plan to increase performance. Gauge the effectiveness of your social media strategy using these data points that reflect your digital marketing objectives.
5. 54% of social browsers use social media to research products
Social media is all about engagement. Users don’t want to engage with brands that are pushing their properties. Users want informative, interesting, and, yes, even fun content. Real estate marketers who succeed on social media are finding innovative and creative ways to relate to users and showcase their property so that social browsers are drawn to your content.
These social media stats prove excelling at social media could pay off for your real estate brand. What does it take to become a whiz? Keep reading our blog or contact us to learn more.
Related posts:
- How to Increase Leads with Chatbots
- Infographic: Best Video Distribution Channels for Real Estate Marketing
- 5 Effective Ways to Use Instagram for Your Luxury Real Estate Brand
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5 (More) TED Talks for Real Estate Marketers
Need some new digital marketing ideas? Check out our new favorite TED Talks for real estate marketers.
One of our most popular posts focused on the success of TED Talks for real estate marketers. As many of you know, the lecture series has published more than 100,000 talks on YouTube with over 2 billion views.
From technology and analytics to home design and child-care tips, TED Talks cover an array of topics, hence the astonishing number of views. For our real estate marketers, we’ve pulled together 5 new TED Talks since our last post to keep you inspired and create innovative ways to market your brand’s properties.
5 TED Talks for real estate marketers
1. Barbara Corcoran:Rethinking Failure
Founder of The Corcoran Group & Shark on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” Corcoran is responsible for building the largest and best-known brand in the brokerage business. In her talk, Rethinking Failure, she discusses her personal, firsthand experience of embracing failure and re-imagining what it has meant for her own path to success. This is a must–watch for any real estate marketers who are just starting out or savvy marketers looking to refresh their strategies.
2. Dan Pink: The Puzzle of Motivation
Career analyst Dan Pink examines the Puzzle of Motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don’t: Traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think. His illuminating stories will leave viewers ready to abandon old ways of motivating your marketing team and jump into innovative methods to reach your potential.
3. Ernesto Sirolli: Want to help someone? Shut up and listen!
When most well-intentioned people hear of a problem that they think they can fix, they go to work. This, Ernesto Sirolli suggests, is naïve. In this funny and impassioned talk, he proposes that the first step is to listen to the people who you’re trying to help. This lively TED Talk tells real estate marketers how to actively listen to help build their brand and, ultimately, sell properties.
4. Angela Duckworth: How Grit Can Transform Your Attitude and Real Estate Career
Looking for inspiration backed by science? Angela Duckworth’s talk on grit takes an in–depth look at what motivates people to succeed, against all odds. What Barbara Corcoran discovered through trial and error, Duckworth explains through a scientific lens.
5. Ben Miller: The Real Estate Deal that Could Change the Future of Everything
Ben Miller, co-founder of the real estate investing platform Fundrise, covers technology’s place in the world of real estate in this TED Talk. His insight into how technology will shape the future of real estate marketing will leave you contemplating the role of AI, 3D technology, and other innovative marketing solutions in your digital marketing strategy.
What TED Talks for real estate do you recommend?
Related posts:
- 5 TED Talks for Real Estate Marketers
- 4 Real Estate Marketing Trends 2018
- Top 5 Real Estate Marketing Influencers
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What You Should Know About Real Estate Chatbots: An Introduction
To reach your future customers, don’t ignore the significance of real estate chatbots in shaping the content marketing landscape.
Chatbots are the latest trend in artificial intelligence for marketers, and the real estate sector should be taking note.
Real estate chatbots can help automate and improve some of your marketing and customer service efforts. But to get the most out of these automated systems, you first need to understand what they are and how they work.
What is a chatbot?
A chatbot is a computer program that simulates human conversation using auditory or textual methods. Basically, it’s a software that communicates with your customer inside a messaging app, like Facebook Messenger. Chatbots are similar to email marketing, but rather than ending up in your inbox, they communicate through a messaging app.
Real estate chatbots are typically used to converse with potential clients at the very top of the funnel — people you don’t know, and who might or might not be ready to move on to the next stage of the process.
Why are chatbots so popular?
As our mobile devices continue to change the way buyers receive and interact with our brands and properties, messaging-app usage has skyrocketed. In fact, 2017 saw a 69% increase in messaging-app users from the previous year. Business Insider reports the number of people on messaging apps surpassed the number of users on social networks. From iMessage to Facebook Messenger, mobile users are leaning more toward this newer technology to communicate with friends and family.
Why the big drop for email? Because people are buried in emails. For example, the average office employee receives 121 emails per day. Of those 121 emails, only around 20% are opened — and click-through rates are even lower. More and more companies have stuffed inboxes with repeated emails. Over-communication is the number one reason that readers unsubscribe to your email list. Chatbots have alleviated the inbox drama.
How can a real estate chatbot help my business?
Quality messaging without the spam
Real estate chatbots take the spam out of email marketing. When companies market on a messaging app, they create an easier way for leads to receive educational messages about their brand and properties. Chatbots are an easy and fun way for potential buyers and renters to engage with your brand, getting answers to their questions and quality messaging about your products and services.
Ease of tracking and segmenting
Your brand will also appreciate the ease of tracking and segmenting your leads through chatbots. Take Facebook Messenger for example; using messenger bots, you can identify who your potential buyers and renters are in less than a minute. No other platform (email, social media) can get you that information as quickly or efficiently.
Increased audience engagement
Getting your audience to subscribe to your real estate chatbots is much easier than email subscriptions. Why? The ease of usage and lack of friction on messaging apps creates a more positive customer experience. Businesses can set up chatbots to message any user who comments on your social media pages. They can retarget people who have left your site, offering special discounts or promotions on your properties. And chatbots can also nurture the sales process by notifying you of potential customers that request a specific action during their interaction with your chatbot.
How do I create a chatbot?
There are plenty of chatbot-building platforms available online. Before you pick a platform, make sure you do your research. Here are three of our favorite chatbot-building platforms.
1. Chatfuel
This chatbot engine will do most of the hard work for you, ideal for those lacking programming experience. MTV, TechCrunch, BuzzFeed, British Airways, and Adidas are said to have used Chatfuel to create their chatbots, along with almost 20,000 other users across the globe. The user interface is easy and slick, meaning you could create a chatbot in less than 15 minutes!
2. Chatscript
Launched back in 2011, ChatScript is a “next generation chatbot engine,” which has won the Loebner Prize (awarded for the most human-like examples of artificial intelligence) four times. It provides an open source framework for developers to build and deploy chatbots.
3. Facebook ‘Bots for Messenger’
At its F8 developer conference in April, Facebook launched Bots for Messenger, a tool which allows developers and businesses to build chatbots for its Messenger platform (which is used by almost a billion people). Developers build bots, submit them for review, and then Facebook decides which ones get onto Messenger. The three main capabilities are its send/receive API, generic message templates, and the ability to customize the welcome screen users first see when interacting with your bot.
Messaging automation is the new email automation. Brands will be looking to join the chatbot craze for the ease, convenience, and the positive audience experience. Have you tried a chatbot program yet? We’d love to hear from you about your experience.
Related posts:
- 10 Social Media Statistics for Real Estate Marketers 2018
- Social Media Trends for 2018 Real Estate Marketers Need to Know
- 10 Must-Follow Blogs for Real Estate Marketers
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