Effectively Use Social Media for Real Estate | MPH
Get started advertising your property business on social media today.
Be honest, how long do you spend on social media every day?
Perhaps you have your habits under control. Maybe you’ve got work-focus on, only use social media in the evenings or don’t have the app on your phone. If you do any of these things, you’re more disciplined than most!
The majority of adults in the UK are hook, line and sinker addicted to social media apps. The average UK adult will spend almost a year and seven months of their lifetime just on Facebook. With increasingly addictive functionalities rolled out on our smart devices to hook us in for longer, the time we spend clocking up views on social media is only projected to increase over time.
But you already know all this. Social media is a phenomenon that we’re all familiar with, and we know it’s here to stay. Yet the average estate agent has almost no online presence at all. In fact, 60% of UK small businesses, including real estate agents, don’t even know where to begin when it comes to advertising their business on social media.
If that’s you and your business, you’re missing out.
Whether you’re an architect, a property developer, an estate agent or a contractor, there is an important role that social media could play in your business. Plus, there are some easy ways for you to get started right now.
Here are our five quick ways you can take advantage of social media in your business today.
Five Ways to Create a Social Media Real Estate Strategy
Build a Content Strategy and Marketing Plan
The place to begin is always with your plan.
A content plan is a strategy that outlines the type of content that you will create, the goals of that content, and the social media channels through which it will be distributed. Your plan also includes a schedule of when the content will be posted to your social media account, who the target audience is, and what metrics will be used to measure its success. Finally, you might want to consider here the budget and resources you will need to execute your plan.
It’s tempting here to get carried away with creating a plan, but keep it simple! Most social media algorithms reward consistency. You don’t need to post every day, just a few times a week will be sufficient to begin with. Use your plan to generate ideas, allocate work to your team and think of things you’d like to post.
2. Create Content
Now you’ve got your pan, it’s time to create your content. Here are a few simple tips on how to inject some spark into your posts.
First, take a step back and look at what other accounts in your niche are doing. Take notes of the things that draw you in and make sure to stay away from anything too similar. Next, brainstorm ideas by yourself or with friends or colleagues – this is a great way to get inspired. Try asking questions related to the topic of your account - it encourages followers to comment and start conversations.
Use visuals like photos, videos or graphics. Lastly, don't forget about a sprinkle of appropriate humour – it can lighten up any post and show off your personality, certainly important if you’re looking to build a personal brand.
Looking for some content inspiration? Check out Canva for cheap, professional graphics.
3. Write Engaging Captions
Having an engaging caption on social media is essential to grab the attention of followers and draw them into your content. Captions are just as important as the visual elements, so it’s important to get them right.
Start off with a great opening line. This could be a witty quote or an intriguing question about a property, a statistic or a recent experience you’ve had relevant to the property market. Make sure your intro is something unique and makes your reader click ‘see more’.
Try adding in some fun emojis too, a surefire way to help your caption stand out from the crowd. Don’t be afraid to experiment and see what works best for you – some captions may resonate better with your audience than others.
4. Formulate a Hashtag Strategy
Hashtags are an easy way to expand the reach of your posts and make them more discoverable. They’re especially important on IG as your potential audience may follow property-related hashtags. When you use them, your content will be exposed to new followers. When posting on Instagram, consider using five or fewer relevant hashtags per post – any more than this can feel overwhelming for viewers.
Keep in mind that using popular hashtags like #TBT or #MondayMotivation you may have some competition when it comes to showing up in search results, plus that audience may not be specifically interested in the property market. Instead, focus on specific hashtags related to your niche and localised hashtags too. Try #LondonProperties for instance or #LondonPropertyForSale.
5. Don’t Just Post!
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make on social media is that they’re not very social. The algorithms of all the social media platforms reward community engagement activities, such as interacting with other social media accounts, replying to your comments, following like minded accounts.
Just posting is not enough. To really start to build your account, you’ll need to set aside time to engage with other accounts and form a community online. Do this by regularly setting aside 30 minutes a day simply to browse and to engage. Comment on posts, like, reshare and make use of what social media has to offer. This will get your account in front of your potential customers, and help share your content with people who are interested.
Build your Real Estate Social Media with MPH Social
While all of the above are great ways to get started on social media, the quickest way to scale and build an audience is to partner with MPH Social, and let us do the hard work for you.
MPH Social is the social media management agency with @millionpoundhomes – the groundbreaking IG account that reaches an engaged audience of over 100k people every week. If you’re looking to build an audience, use social media to sell property and get started building your personal brand, we can help.
Contact our expert team today for a free consultation, and start building your social media strategy now.