Use Social Media to Your Advantage
Social media has become viral means of sharing information, ideas, photos/videos, allowing it to, seemingly, become synonymous to the Internet. As the internet is a popular commodity, social media allows you the ability to reach and engage with a huge audience. Yet, effectively using social media for marketing and promotional purposes, reaching as many people as possible in your target audience, is a complex process that takes strategic planning and testing. To save you the time and energy, here are 10 tips to help you navigate this virtual realm and to help you successfully execute social media marketing.
1. Tag People in Your Posts.
Various social media platforms allow you to tag people or organizations. Use social media as a means to engage and build relationships, not just broadcast your homes for sale.
This is a great example of a successful post on Twitter
Use sites like followerwonk to find out who you should tag in your post on Twitter, as long as the information pertains to that person or organization. Facebook and Google + will allow you to tag names within your post also.
2. Be Aware of Character Counts.
While some platforms, like Twitter, limit the amount of characters you are allowed to use to 140, you want to make sure that you are keeping character counts low in all of your posts. In Twitter, use less than the 140 characters to allow people to retweet your posts. In general, when posting on any platform, get straight to the point–most people won’t take the time to read lengthy messages.
3. Don’t Be Spammy.
Hashtags allow you to categorize your message and helps others interested in your topic easily access information about it. Try to limit yourself to 3 hashtags to avoid coming off as overly spammy.
4. Mix Up Your Content.
While it may be easy to jump on Facebook or Pinterest and post one of your featured listings everyday, both making your client happy and showing potential clients that you actively use social media, you want to keep your buyers in mind too. Post about current events in the area or about your own hobbies and interests to show that you are not only a real estate professional but also an area expert and active member of the community.
5. Include Pictures.
On social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, it is clear that photos and images are crucial; however, they are just as important on
Using pictures catches a viewer’s eye.
Facebook, Google +, Active Rain, Twitter, and any other platform. It creates a visual element that attracts viewers so that they spend the time to read about the content.
6. Include a Call To Action.
Calls to action are especially important. You need to make it clear what you want your viewer to do. If they read their post and have nothing left to do, they will just move on to the next update on their Facebook feed or search for another post with more information on the topic they are interested in. This could be “View my blog for more information” or “Find out who is in this week’s concert lineup,” or whatever relates back to the message’s content.
7. Include Links.
With your call to action in mind, you want to make sure that you are providing the link to where they should go next. In most cases, you should be linking back to your main marketing hub: website, blog, IDX solution, etc. However, in some instances you can link to an informational resource, like the main page for the concert in town or the downtown website that includes all of the community events for the month of June.
8. Share the Love.
If you are on social media and you see a post you like, make sure that you share, retweet, or favorite that post. Many people will see that you have liked their post and will check out your page to like or share yours in return.
9. Ask a Question.
Asking a question encourages responses and engages your audience.
Asking a question is a popular way to get your audience involved. It shows that you are interested in what they have to say and encourages a conversation, as opposed to always talking at your audience–talk with them.
10. Post Consistently.
Regularly posting on social media is important for SEO. The keywords you use in your posts increase social sharing, which is measured by Google, and are key to your social media marketing success.
Get on the Social Media Bandwagon
Many people seem hesitant to use social media, maybe because they are unsure of the advantages these platforms can offer. With social media as popular as it is, if you haven’t already jumped on the bandwagon– you need to.
Most people’s reluctance to join or use social media seems to be based on the idea that it requires a lot of time. Yet, think of all the downtime you have during your day: in line waiting for your Venti Caramel Latte at Starbucks, waiting for your client to arrive for a showing, eating a meal. Less than five minutes of your time during each of these downtimes and you could be productive and posting on three different social media platforms. For those of you that are still frustrated by social media, keep in mind that Dakno is a marketing firm and we are here to help you with your marketing strategy and needs.