The Internet is an ever-changing world that we, as business people, must always stay on top of in order to stay ahead of the competition. One of the most prominent and useful areas of the Internet for businesses to utilize, especially in real estate, is the mastering of social media. Whether you are a new agent just starting your career, or a tenured agent looking to differentiate yourself and attract new clients, having a strong social media presence is of the utmost importance. To give an idea, last year the average person spent 2 hours of their day on social media, and that amount of time is constantly increasing.
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The beauty of social media is that it provides real estate agents a way to reach clients on a personal level, while simultaneously allowing them the opportunity to advertise and build their client-base. Direct selling on a regular basis, however, is one thing for agents to avoid in the social media ring because of the influx of ads that the average consumer is faced with each day.
In fact, Huffington Post estimates that the average Internet user is exposed to as many as 11,250 ads per month. As an average Internet user, can you personally recall every one of those advertisements? Of course not. So then the question becomes, how do you get the attention of users who are being sold to every moment of every day, without selling to them? It’s a tricky question with a simple solution.
One trick is to engage with consumers by cultivating your own community. Engaging with consumers by delivering content that they can find entertaining, informational or useful allows yourself the opportunity to show potential clients your value as an agent through your wealth of knowledge, versus forcing it on them through direct advertisements online.
Finding that content balance sweet spot
According to Forbes, following an “80/20 rule,” where 80% posts are consumer-related content and 20% are sales driven, is the key to providing a happy balance between great content and self-promotion. Of course, accomplishing that balance can sometimes be easier said than done. Firstly, finding a mass percentage of trustworthy consumer-driven content can be difficult in and of itself. Then there’s finding time to deliver that content to social sites while juggling a busy schedule.
To assist in easing both of those struggles, Realty Times has created RT Social, which perfectly combines the consumer-driven content available on Realty Times with posts that are automatically generated to an agent’s social networks, thus taking the pressure off agents to find valuable content their clients would enjoy, whilst alleviating the time management necessary to have a successful online presence. Through RT Social agents also have the ability to schedule posts of their own to bring their own voice to their social sites, whether to wish followers a great weekend or to remind them of an upcoming showing.
How often is too often?
Stats abound when it comes to answering this question. Every social media network out there has its own statistic on the right amount of posts to create and the right times of the day to post them, however the overall average amount of posts per day for social sites falls in the 1-2 posts per day range. While that is the average, it’s always beneficial to check your own individual statistics within your social networks to track impact and engagement to adjust your tactics accordingly.
Social media can be an incredibly useful tool to help real estate agents garner a voice in their community all while cultivating meaningful relationships, so long as it is used correctly. There’s certainly a delicate balance between selling too hard and not selling yourself enough, but so long as you remember to be true to your own voice and let your community get to know you for who you are as a real estate agent, everything else is simply minutia.
