As a real estate agent, social media allows you to create a strong community with all the people who are within your sphere of influence, creating opportunities for them to become prospects and/or referrals. Real estate agents (or any independent contractors for that matter) who are truly engaging understand how to use social media as a line of communication.
Social media is not meant to be like the megaphone on top of the ice cream truck. Your messages should be more personal than that. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and other channels should not be used as only a platform to broadcast self-promotional messages at a passive crowd.
You need to listen to your community, crafting content that serves their needs and interests, and both invite and elicit a response.
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If you are engaging, how do you know if you're doing it successfully? It's not about the number of fans or followers, but who is actively responding. There's a whole range of responses you may be seeking, including Facebook likes, blog comments, retweets, and direct dialogue. After all, social media engagement can have many different goals:
- Humanize yourself as an agent
- Manage your reputation
- Create advocates by engaging people
- Generate leads and sales
- Resolve customer service issues in a timely manner
Whether the conversations are on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, or popular real estate forums, there are many ways to jump in and say hello. Good conversations solidify relationships, and your circle of influence will feel a more direct connection with you.
At the end of the day, isn't that the goal of all marketing for a real estate agent?