Social media strategies for newbie (almost) agent

Real Estate Agent · Saint Clair, MI · Member since 2015 · 34 posts · 6 votes

Hi everyone,

So, I am almost a real estate agent. Just have to take the exam. In the meantime, what steps should I be taking or investigating regarding a social media presence?

I have personal Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, (and now on Bigger Pockets). Do I start business-related accounts with those? Some probably are better than others...should I start a blog? Do I start looking at a website?

There is no doubt in my mind that social media is an important tool to have in my arsenal. I am just not sure of how best to proceed at this point. Thanks for your feedback!

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Trevor Ewen

Rental Property Investor · Weehawken, NJ · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 704 votes

10y

@Kelly Choate

I would be very careful to focus your efforts towards something that you are actually giving time to (and want to be good at). I think the social-media blast route just floods people with low-quality content and does nothing to improve your trust with your ideal audience (eventual customers). Also, this view is very consistent with 'The One Thing' by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. Focusing on your specific objective will provide more value for you and anyone involved.

For me, it's longer form analysis. A little bit of Youtube, but only as a companion to my blog. I use other channels (Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook) to broadcast, but spend only 20 minutes at most doing that. Buffer is a very great tool for this. Keeps your mind in the game and focuses you on projecting, not getting distracted reading.

I would survey the market a bit and find a kind of content that is very uncommon for realtors to produce. If you can fill the niche, you won't be part of the noise. Examples:

Very Common (I assume):

- Open house walkthroughs
- Articles on buying in your area
- Articles on 'great prices', 'low interest rates', etc.

A Little Less Common (in my estimation):

- A video explanation of how realtor commissions work in your market (education!).
- A video explanation of houses you would pass on, and why.
- Long-form articles about great things you see happening in the community (real journalism).
- There's definitely more.

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Trevor Ewen
Rental Property Investor · Weehawken, NJ · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 704 votes
10y
@Kelly Choate
I would be very careful to focus your efforts towards something that you are actually giving time to (and want to be good at). I think the social-media blast route just floods people with low-quality content and does nothing to improve your trust with your ideal audience (eventual customers). Also, this view is very consistent with 'The One Thing' by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. Focusing on your specific objective will provide more value for you and anyone involved.
For me, it's longer form analysis. A little bit of Youtube, but only as a companion to my blog. I use other channels (Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook) to broadcast, but spend only 20 minutes at most doing that. Buffer is a very great tool for this. Keeps your mind in the game and focuses you on projecting, not getting distracted reading.
I would survey the market a bit and find a kind of content that is very uncommon for realtors to produce. If you can fill the niche, you won't be part of the noise. Examples:
Very Common (I assume):
- Open house walkthroughs
- Articles on buying in your area
- Articles on 'great prices', 'low interest rates', etc.
A Little Less Common (in my estimation):
- A video explanation of how realtor commissions work in your market (education!).
- A video explanation of houses you would pass on, and why.
- Long-form articles about great things you see happening in the community (real journalism).
- There's definitely more.
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Roger Rustad
Investor · SSF, CA · Member since 2015 · 127 posts · 24 votes
10y
I would first worry about one thing: building kickass content!
Build the great content (top 10 lists, helpful articles for n00bs, etc) and then talk to someone about how you adapt all of that great stuff for different verticals. Above all, help other people. People who write helpful stuff rise above all of the others and typically get people working for them in the long run. One I would definitely add to your list is Quora. That’s a great way to meet fellow professionals in the space.
After you have the content (and have started expressing it on these various channels), think about building community.
Content + community = unlimited options, particularly when you want to double dip on both the buyer and seller side of a real estate transaction.
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Kelly Choate
OP
Real Estate Agent · Saint Clair, MI · Member since 2015 · 34 posts · 6 votes
10y
Great tips and thank you! Luckily I have a journalism background to help me with the content aspect.
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Roger Rustad
Investor · SSF, CA · Member since 2015 · 127 posts · 24 votes
10y
Another tip: focus on content centric sites, like Quora or StackExchange (dunno if they have real estate now). I'm part of a GIS startup (Amigocloud) and most of our referrals simply come from giving away free advice. Best way to get good recognition is to give good solid advice! If you do so feel inclined to go with ones like Facebook, Twitter, etc, try signing up for Klout. It's far from perfect, but tools like that help you quantify how "well" you are doing to engage with people on the intarwebz. Another great tool is Buffer. By queuing up posts to go out at the right time, you can ensure that more eyeballs are on them. HTH...feel free to contact me if I can help.
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Joel OwensBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
10y
People get worked up about all of this social media stuff.
Find a social media platform that has a (target rich) environment.
Meaning if you want to connect with real estate investors going on a food board by sheer numbers you may run across one but will not be connecting over and over with similar interest like a real estate board.
Years ago I belonged to a CRM that had technology where it went out to 40 social media sites with a click of a button. Seemed like a great idea at the time. A lot of these social media platforms go boom and bust. They tried to build up users and then get bought out from another company. Others do not make it and shut down.
These days I stick to basics and have plenty of business. You could do Bigger Pockets over time and You tube channel for videos and if you stay consistent results should build.
Having a clear message with using the right channel of social media and doing it over, and over, and over like brushing your teeth everyday is key.
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Kelly Choate
OP
Real Estate Agent · Saint Clair, MI · Member since 2015 · 34 posts · 6 votes
10y
Thank you Joel Owens...you are right. People get worked up about it, and as a new person it can be hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.
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Justin Hackney
Rental Property Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2015 · 45 posts · 16 votes
10y
@Kelly Choate
You should get worked up about Social Media in my opinion (It's 2016!!). It's very powerful. Especially when coupled with other things ( ie. blogs, videos, podcasts).
And at the very least it wouldn't cost you much to get started. Create your content by writing blogs first then maybe doing a video script or a podcast to go tandem with the blog itself. Create a few business pages on Google+, Facebook, and Youtube. Then start split testing your content in different ways using google ads, Facebook ads and organic SEO for only $5 a day just to see what is working and what isn't.
The great thing about this in my opinion is that unlike direct mail, you can track who clicks on your links, how long they stay, and overall engagement on your site.
But most importantly have fun with it! It's nice to create something for the world and have people receive it well. Good luck!
Cheers!
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