Social Media Doesn’t Work

Okay… we may have lied, social media works and you need to take advantage of it now! After a conversation with our very own, CCIM Troy Muljat about his real life experience using social media within his firm, we are more than convinced that social media isn’t just for the average social butterfly.

After hearing the countless opinions from naysayers that “social media doesn’t work in CRE,” Troy had one thing to say:

 “screw you, social media works!”

After actively posting property listings & news on his social media accounts, an investor reached out to Troy asking about a specific commercial property that they were more than interested in. And that connection resulted in a $850,00 transaction, all because of simple social media posting. Troy was able to make the personal connection that otherwise would not have happened. Had Troy stuck to the old ways of marketing and listing a property that property could still possibly be listed.

BUT in commercial real estate you should approach your social media tactics a little differently than the average social media user would. Social media has always been intended for interacting and creating conversations with others, but when it comes to using social media in real estate the intention is somewhat different.

 

To help your real estate social media path we’ve compiled our top 3 social media platforms all brokers should be using, including tips on how to best use each of those platforms.

1. Facebook

One interesting thing Troy mentioned about Facebook was that he in no way promotes his firm/services on his personal Facebook account. In fact, he’s convinced that none of his Facebook friends know what he does for a living and it’s better that way.

Which directs us to our first tip for brokers on Facebook:

• Don’t Use Your Personal Account:

  • Keeping your personal Facebook account separate from your business account is key. Doing so allows you to establish yourself as a professional within the industry and by separating your private life and all it brings with it from the brand/image you are trying to convey is essential when trying to seize the attention of potential clients.
  • This creates boundaries – mixing your personal life, opinions, and interests with your professional image/career can be detrimental, the two don’t mix, so keep them separate.

• Invest in Facebook Ads:

  • Whether you’re promoting yourself as professional or a hot new listing, invest in Facebook Ads, they’re targeted and actionable.
  • Investing in ads puts your face and your services out there in front of those who matter.

• Post Listings:

  Don’t listen to those naysayers and take some advice from Troy and post your listings. At most one new listing per week.

  • Be informative about the listing – provide the information you yourself would want to find when stumbling across property listings. Include multiple images and of course a call to action, whether that be a contact form or call for more information.

• Create/Post Informative Content:

  • Remember the 80/20 Rule, according to Wishpond’s “Social Media for Real Estate Agents: 21 Tips”, the 80/20 Rule is the key to social media. The rule states “80% of your online content/postings is about lifestyle, customer interest,etc and the other 20% is about your product.”
  • Creating informative content that you can post and share with your followers. Doing so will not only help your followers stay informed on the market’s conditions, but it shows your knowledge and expertise about the industry.

• Don’t Overwhelm:

  • We know how tempting it can be to continuously post and post, but remember the 80/20 rule and try not to overwhelm/annoy your followers with posts that can appear too pushy.

2. LinkedIn

• Socialize:

  • Unlike Facebook and Twitter, we want you to use your LinkedIn to socialize. Use LinkedIn to make new connections and reconnect with other professionals within the real estate industry. According to Dave Byrnes’ “How to Use LinkedIn For Real Estate Leads,”  joining groups that are full of potential customers rather than competitors is essential to establishing a presence and generating potential leads.

• Invest in LinkedIn Ads:

  • In order to make money you need to spend some first, and for that very reason we believe that investing in yourself and your business includes investing in paid ads. Much like Facebook, LinkedIn Ads provides you with the ability to create targeted ads, but remember, LinkedIn is not a sales platform. So instead of trying to sell yourself or your services through LinkedIn posts, limit yourself to promoting your services through your paid ads.

• Create/ Post Informative Content:

  • Content! Content! Content! It’s important and your potential clients are out seeking it, so why not provide it to them yourself? Whether it be content you’ve created yourself or other informative content you’ve collected from other experts within the industry, content is essential. Providing a nice flow of informative content helps creates an image of yourself and your expertise and knowledge about the industry.
  • Using LinkedIn’s blog platform is a great place to host your blogs, articles and informative videos.

3. Twitter

• Create a Professional Personal Twitter:

  • This means that instead of using firm or company twitter account, you create a personal account intended for a professional purpose. According to Easy Agent PRO’s “9 Must-Do Twitter Marketing Tactics For Real Estate Agents,” doing this generates more engagement and most importantly establishes your presence online. Easy Agent PRO also recommends using a personal image and your own name, followers are more likely to engage with you if it appears that there is a real person behind the account.

• Tweet Tweet Tweet:

  • Tweet your local listings, tweet articles (both yours and those from experts), tweet tips and tricks, tweet, tweet, tweet! Provide your followers with a flow of relevant and informative content, but remember that 80/20 Rule from before? Well it applies here too, provide quality content but don’t overwhelm your followers with too much content. Quality over quantity.

• #Hashtag:

  • As annoying as they can be at times, hashtags are actually quite beneficial. Including a relevant hashtag actually gets up to 2x more engagement according to Easy Agent PRO, but this doesn’t mean the more hashtags used the more engagement to follow. Limit your usage of hashtags to 1 or 2 per tweet and try to avoid creating your own. Chances are creating a new hashtag will never see the light of day or gain any attraction.