Buying or selling a house is a significant financial decision that requires careful consideration. There are a lot of questions individuals have as they start this emotional journey. Because clients are making such a big decision about their future when buying a home, they are looking for more than just a real estate agent. Safeguarding their interests and guiding them through the intricacies of property ownership is what they are looking for from an agent. Clients need to feel they can trust their agent and that they have their back during the purchasing process, and this is where social media comes into play.

Effective use of this strategy might lead to the development of long-term relationships with buyers, sellers, or renters by allowing for the exchange of ideas. Find out why real estate agents should use social media, as well as a list of dos and don’ts for them to keep in mind.

Promote both the home and the neighbourhood

If you’re looking to buy a house in a new city or town, you want to know what you’re getting yourself into. However, the vast majority of real estate blogs provide buyers with little more than basic demographic information and, at most, fancy descriptions of the surrounding area. As an alternative, make extensive use of social media to enlighten potential customers about the various neighbourhoods in which you are selling, including both the positive and negative points.

It’s a good idea to use the “@CityOf…” Twitter handle of several cities to mention them in your own posts on the social media platform. Use hashtags to promote the listings you have in that city. City Twitter accounts may retweet your message if they see it as relevant to their followers, boosting the number of people who see it.

Be natural: be yourself

Many real estate agents employ the services of a ghost writer to generate their marketing content. While this is understandable from a certain point of view, this practise has drawbacks. This is a missed opportunity because the copy isn’t authentic, and something won’t seem right; it doesn’t convey a feeling of who you truly are to potential customers.

Studies suggest that consumers seek to build a personal connection with individuals whom they do business with, and there’s no skipping generating your own original social media material that mirrors who you are as a real estate brokerage. Let’s not forget, paid social media content won’t be presented with the same love and devotion as you can personally give your customers.

Let your individuality come through throughout each social network you’re active on. It’s a terrific way to establish a relationship with a client before they even make that first phone call to you.

Guide and enlighten your clients

As a real estate professional, some of the most challenging days we have faced may be used to impart to our customers valuable lessons learnt. Making your clients aware of the major problems in the real estate market can help their buying process run much more smoothly and also underscores to them why they should work with and trust you.

This can be done best on social media. If you have a blog, use social media to spread the word about your home-buying advice articles. If you haven’t got a blog up and running, you are missing out on a valuable property marketing tool. Using the hashtag #realestate when tweeting a “Real Estate Fact of the Day” can be a good idea to reach relevant audiences.

Engage with your followers

We now live in a fast-paced world where customers expect a quick response to their inquiries, and homebuyers are no different. Another thing that is different is in how and where those questions are asked.

Real estate professionals are getting fewer calls from potential homebuyers with queries about a house or the local community in question. The starting point for most is now online; they’re using Facebook’s Recommendations tool and tweeting at real estate agencies on Twitter. Respond quickly and answer these questions, using them as a starting point for a conversation with followers who may still be in the research phase of their home buying decision.

Respond to both positive and negative comments

Engaging users who leave comments on your social media platforms is best served with timely and respectful responses. Try to avoid responding to people who write harsh or abusive remarks, this could only fuel the fire. Bullies and trolls lurk on social media, baiting others; not every comment left on your social media page is worthy of your time and energy to respond to. Sometimes, comments are left for the sole purpose of drawing you into a verbal sparring match. Don’t feed their negativity.

Instead of engaging your harshest critics, thank those who have praised your work. The majority of people that contact you will be asking for more information about a certain home that they have seen for sale or let and whether it is still available or not. If you receive comments that show disappointment about a property no longer being available, use this opportunity to avert their interest in good alternatives they might be interested in.

Unhelpful Practices for Agents to Avoid

We have so far looked at useful tips for real estate professionals to consider following; now we will take a look at a few practises that are best avoided.

Overemphasis on home listings

In general, it is OK to talk about the properties you are promoting, but without focusing on them as the main purpose of the conversation. Create informative blog posts based on the questions that you get asked most frequently by both homebuyers and sellers. People will return to your social media page if you provide them with useful information. It will also enhance the prospect of them liking and sharing your posts, as well as likening your page to follow you for future content.

The absence of video content

Billions of videos are viewed each day on social media platforms. When it comes to selling your listed properties online, videos are a must-have for marketing real estate. It’s important to remember that homebuyers are both tactile and visual people, and a well presented and edited video may help you connect emotionally with them.

Search engines like Google, where many prospective home buyers and tenants begin their search, favour websites with video content, such as yours, and YouTube videos are no exception.

Talking to yourself

In the end, it doesn’t matter what you post on your social media page; if it doesn’t resonate with the people who are following you, it will have little or no desired impact.

The key to social media marketing is to realise that social networking is more about listening than talking. Keep an eye on what others are saying about you and your business. Informal polls or free survey tools like Survey Monkey or Google Forms can be used to obtain this valuable information. In this way, customers’ interests will be reflected in every piece of material you post on social media.