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“The Age of Social” is upon us. From Tweets and posts to boards and -grams of various types, there are many networks real estate professionals can join to expand their reach, build new relationships and find ideas and inspiration to share with colleagues and buyers. In fact, that’s what many marketers in real estate and other industries seem to well-versed in already. Nine in 10 Realtors are already utilizing these platforms in one way or another.
If you’re late to the game, breathe easy: You can still join in and catch up on best practices for social media marketing for Realtors. Below, you’ll find some of the best accounts on four of the biggest social networks — ones that can grow your business and make you stand out online. Take in all the inspiration.
Twitter
Zillow
Entices readers with vivid imagery? Check. Excellent use of questions in tweets to pique visitors’ curiosity? Check. Provides in-depth content about marketing conditions, home decor tips and just about everything else related to residential real estate? Triple-check. It’s little surprise the popular listings and information site knows how to reach its audience well (#winning). Agents would be wise to take a cue from the company’s account in terms of image use in about half of the tweets — visuals perform well on social, plain and simple.
Jonathan Miller
How many big-shot executives do you see taking the time to tweet on a daily basis? You can probably count them on one hand. Well, now you can add another to the list, as the Miller Samuel CEO has mastered this Twitter thing. Not only does he tweet breaking real estate market data, but he does the one thing any agent or broker worth their salt should do on the site: engage people. Do that, and you could end up with a variety of new business relationships and a hefty following.
SOCIAL STAT: Three-quarters of marketers planned to increase social media marketing efforts this year. CLICK TO TWEET
Joe Manausa
The art of self-promotion is a tricky thing to master. But if you want to see a master class of sorts as to how to make a name for yourself in the industry, I suggest following Mr. Manausa. The Tallahassee-based broker and investor may be aggressive with his posting of listings and local Tallahassee real estate info, but it’s clearly paid off for him — big-time. Note how, in addition to Twitter, he takes advantage of other marketing opportunities like a branded YouTube page and crafting email newsletters for more than 5,000 subscribers.
Jed Kolko
Looking for stats to impress prospective buyers? Then Kolko’s account on Twitter is definitely one you ought to check out. Trulia’s chief economist and VP of analytics certainly knows the relevant stats those with skin in the real estate game want to read up on. He also often posts graphics featuring such data, offering distinct visuals agents and brokers can share with prospective buyers and sellers, and retweets other big data firms and analysts that offer interesting tidbits. It may not be the fanciest-looking account on Twitter, but it’s certainly effective and informative.
Facebook
The Corcoran Group
Jaw-dropping. Awe-inspiring. Wow. Just a few words that come to mind when checking out the gorgeous pads on display on The Corcoran Group’s business page. Agents and brokers can learn a lot from this established New York-based firm, which clearly knows how to show off properties for sale in and around the Big Apple. It’s not only stylish, but also serves as an example of how to do social media marketing for real estate in quite a powerful way.
Zephyr Real Estate
We’ve featured this firm before in our post entitled The 25 Most Beautiful Real Estate Websites 2014, and it seems it’s not only Zephyr’s site that’s well put-together. The San Fran-based agency features a variety of intriguing content on its Facebook page, like commenting on housing reports and columns about the Bay Area. One post simply welcomes a new member to the team, which may seem minor (and possibly irrelevant) to some agents and brokers, but showing off a bit of personality and relatability never hurts and could even make your brand more appealing and likable.
SOCIAL STAT: Half of marketers cite Facebook as the most important social media network for marketing. CLICK TO TWEET
Realtor Magazine
Many companies and professionals who join in on the social revolution still don’t get it. They set up their accounts, but then forget to actually connect with their audiences on a personal level. Thanks to Facebook posts that ask situational, thought-provoking questions of agents, Realtor Magazine has been able to embed itself as a go-to publication for real estate pros.
Taylor Homes
The low-cost home construction firm posts several times a day and incorporates an appropriate mix of subtle, promotional content across its Facebook page. A prime example (that also showcases its social slickness): Its friendly promotion of a #NewHomeChat positions the company’s brand well and shows its tech savvy off given the unique hashtag for the Q&A it held with its Twitter following. A shining example of using one social outlet to drive attention (and traffic) to another.
Instagram
Real Estate by Sophie
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
— ARTHUR C. CLARKE
While Facebook and Twitter have dominated the social media conversation during the past decade, the second-generation networking sites, like Instagram, are making noise in the marketing world now too. Southern California real estate agent Sophie Mehtemetian understands the site can benefit her bottom line appreciably. Her strategy? A simple but effective one: Showcase the most unique properties, their amenities and notable locales surrounding those homes for sale.
Coldwell Banker
At this point, video is a not-so-new addition to Instagram, meaning agents wanting to show off their listings in as many alluring ways as possible would be wise to utilize the recording feature on top of taking regular pics of properties on the market. Coldwell does a phenomenal job of shooting lots of video featuring its agents and a “Home of the Week” series. Shooting a series of videos that you think your audience wants to see, like high-profile homes in the area or buying/selling advice, could draw in a regular following.
SOCIAL STAT: Instagram has 200 million active monthly users. CLICK TO TWEET
The Property Sisters
One thing many agents are constantly on the lookout for is inspiration for staging design (watching HGTV simply isn’t enough). Holding open houses for properties they represent means agents need to have a savvy eye. Lots of inspiration can be found on this Instagram account, to say the least. These ladies seem to know trendy and how to showcase unique items and designs in a very appealing fashion. The Property Brothers would be proud.
Joshua Waugh
Sometimes, selling comes easy … such as when you live in a tropical climate where a considerable number of people are constantly searching for prime real estate (and, in many cases, willing to pay top-dollar for homes). This Floridian Realtor understands the the premier way to display real estate on Instagram: beautiful photos of high-end homes Agents who can tap into their artsy sides by capturing the most attractive aspects of their city or region could very well gain more clicks to their account and website.
Pinterest
Bill Gassett
With boards, pins and likes galore, every corner of Massachusetts Realtor Bill Gassett’s Pinterest account is chock-full of useful information to fellow agents, buyers and sellers in the Bay State. As with the other social networks, regular posting is a must to gain traction with your Pinterest board — something Gassett knows, which has led to more than 4,500 followers for his account.
Homes.com
No matter where you look on Homes.com’s Pinterest board, you’ll find lots of great evergreen content, including articles about how to sell homes faster and with tips for creating top-notch listings videos. While it doesn’t mix in much content pertaining to industry news and trends, the branded images for each pinned item create a consistent feel across the account, which shows the website is keeping up with the social times.
SOCIAL STAT: Pinterest grew in followers by 58% year-over-year in 2013. CLICK TO TWEET
Roy Meyer
Agents and brokers scour the web pretty often in search of extensive content they can share with leads. They also are constantly looking for ways to better their business tactics and get in on new industry trends early. Roy Meyer seems to understand these real estate pro needs, as his board features numerous infographics, tech tips, marketing event lists and several instructional videos to give agents the edge they need.
Trulia
The real estate information and listings site understands the core concept of Pinterest better than most: Clean, aesthetically appealing imagery wins — all the time. It’d be easy to find yourself browsing this account for hours given the several dozen unique boards, which include 50-plus data-based infographics and buying and home decor advice.
If you’ve signed up for accounts on these social media sites and want to know the blueprint for lead generation success on them, you’ve come to the right place. Watch Placester VP of Sales Seth Price explain the tips and tricks in our Academy video Marketing Academy Secrets: How to Generate Leads on Social Media.
