Real Estate and Social Media
Seattle Real Estate | Gerhard Ade
Real Estate and Social Media
Real estate and social media are made for each other. Are you on Facebook at least once a day? According to Brandwatch.com, there were 1.083 billion daily active users a year ago. Do your Facebook friends number in the hundreds? In 2016, each user had an average of 338 friends.
Even if you answered these two questions with no, read on. Don’t stop here, whether you are planning to sell your home soon or a year from now. I will show you how real estate and social media go together.
A mighty social media army
Selling a home is now a team sport. The team consists of your agent, you and your family, your friends, and your neighbors. On the agent’s side, the team includes trusted colleagues, family, and friends. Your agent posts and all the team players “like” and share the agent’s post. A good agent will prepare special posts for your personal posting. Critical to the success of this social media campaign is the link that’s part of all posts.
A landing page
The best social media posts have engaging visuals with text that calls for an action. An effective Facebook post captures interest and makes people want to know more. The social media post serves as the jumping-off point to a place on the web and links to a so-called landing page. The landing pages pick up where the social media posts left off. Here’s a timely example of social media engagement for a Renton listing.
Hitch a ride with a familiar brand
The Redfin brokerage firm with its high-tech image and appeal to younger buyers is my competition. However, Redfin can also be an ally, especially as it concerns social media and real estate. In an effort to attract more buyers, Redfin tags some homes as “Hot Homes” predicting their quick sale. Today, Redfin declared the Renton home a Hot Home. Immediately, I created a Facebook post to let the world know how well Redfin thought of my listing.
Measure the results
In the online world, everything is immediately measurable. I can keep tabs of all custom property pages at SeattleRealEstateNews. Zillow measures the visibility of properties on their real estate marketing portal. And, while I’m no friend of Zillow, I respect their business acumen and will use their favorable reports of my listings. All data starts with the syndication by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). The NWMLS data is exported to the websites of licensed real estate firms, their brokers and indirectly also to real estate marketing portals like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com. No slouch when it comes to data, the NWMLS provides very instructive statistics to its members. For me, it is the first indication of interest by the member agents and their clients. Updated daily, it is a good indicator of a listing’s success.
Real Estate and Social Media? Yes!
Social media is a powerful weapon in real estate. Nothing engages more people more quickly. It should be used with a light touch. The resulting statistics are of great value not only to the agent but to the seller. If a home is overpriced it will be apparent immediately. It is a good predictor of a listing’s success. Sellers and agents who do not see the connection between real estate and social media are missing a great marketing opportunity.
If you haven’t already, like/follow me on Facebook.
First published by Gerhard as his
July 2017 View from the Street Newsletter.
