As a real estate professional, creating a strong social media presence is an essential part of your overall marketing strategy. Not only does it create visibility, but it can also lend credibility and authenticity to your business, thereby positioning you as the local expert.
So where do you begin? Use these 6 ways to help you add this tool in your real estate business today!
1. Claim Your Brand
Your online brand should echo the brand you have established offline. Use the same profile picture, design and color scheme throughout. As real estate a professional, your picture is often the defining mark of your brand, so this makes it especially important to transfer the same picture to your Twitter profile.
Your online marketing efforts should also match your style. For example, if you are conservative and reserved, stick with a professional or more traditional business photo.
If you have a passion or hobby that defines your life outside of your business, include that in your profile picture and/or your bio. People want to know the you that exists outside of your real estate career.
Whatever qualities or characteristics make up your personality let them shine through!
2. Choose Your Twitter Tools
Between listing appointments and showings, make better use of the time you devote to Twitter by using tools that allow you to listen, respond and interact with your followers.
A few of my favorites are:
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Sprout Social A social media management tool created to help businesses find new customers & grow their social media presence.
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Buffer Analyze and automatically schedule your tweets to post at the best possible time.
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Social Oomph Schedule tweets, track keywords, welcome new followers
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TweetLevel Monitor, analyze and calculate your influence and that of your competitors
3. Establish Your Goals
Before you begin marketing your business with Twitter, determine your goals.
To get started, answer these questions:
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Who is your target audience?
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What problem can you solve or need can you fulfill?
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What unique outlook can you share that positions your business as thought leader within your local market?
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Will you manage your social media or outsource? If it is you, how much time can you commit on a weekly basis?
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What end results are hoping to achieve? Be specific in what outcome you hope for, whether it’s to generate new business or gain new recruits.
4. Determine Your Audience
Far too often I see real estate professionals making the same Twitter marketing mistakes. They decide it is easier to become a “one-stop shop,” rather than defining whether consumer or real estate professional is their target audience.
Here is what that might look like:
Amy is a managing broker that wears multiple hats. She finds that in her online marketing efforts, she is torn between her sales oriented, business generating duties and her managerial, recruiting duties. Instead of choosing one group to focus on, Amy tries to serve both. On a daily basis, Amy creates and curates content that is both for the real estate professional, homebuyer and seller. Due to the hodge-podge of content, Amy struggles to find her voice and an audience. Ultimately she decides that Twitter just does not work and gives up on Twitter marketing.
If this scenario sounds familiar, don’t dismay. You still have the opportunity to define your audience and create a community that craves your content.
Take some time to determine who your target audience is and what content they are eager to consume. Now work to provide that in a fun and engaging way on a daily basis.
5. Engage and Inspire Your Followers
While running from listing appointment to showings may keep you tied up throughout the day, it cannot be an excuse to simply pop in and out of Twitter on an inconsistent basis.
Create a strategy that includes relevant and newsworthy content along with inspirational and motivational tweets that inspire your followers to get engaged in the conversation. You also want to create share-worthy content that spreads your message, and your brand, across the Twittersphere. This can include invites to your next open house or a link to your latest video explaining the top mistakes made by homebuyers. (You can also share articles targeting clients published in this newsletter, CVAR At A Glance!)
Remember, it is important to keep it fresh and mix it up. When creating a content strategy, work to integrate fun and topical with relevant and timely.
Your tweets should consist of:
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Link to your own blog or website content 20%
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Link to other people’s content 20%
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Talk business or share your own marketing material 20%
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The remaining 40% should consist of personal interaction, small talk, commenting and networking