Unraveling the Mysteries of Facebook and Instagram: How Real Estate Marketers Can Harness the Power of Ever-Changing Social Media Algorithms to Maximize Reach, Engagement, and Conversion
Academy Content Team
Understanding social media algorithms for real estate marketing is crucial. Without a solid plan based on these algorithms, your social media efforts may be fruitless and waste resources. It’s like sailing in uncharted waters without a compass. One might argue that the results will naturally follow if we post quality content. However, the premise of ‘quality’ can be deceptive:
It’s not merely about what we perceive as quality but what aligns with the specific rules set by social media platforms.
An essential part of this process involves conducting diligent research and understanding how the gears of social media work. This task is far from easy, considering the fluid nature of social media algorithms in a constant state of flux.
Deciphering the Code: Understanding Social Media Algorithms
Social media algorithms are rules that determine what content users see on their feeds. These algorithms prioritize content based on engagement, relevance, and recency. While each social media platform has a unique algorithm, they all share one goal:
To provide users with content that aligns with their interests.
Facebook
Facebook, for example, ranks content based on signals such as the type of content, who posted it, and the engagement it receives.
Type of Content
Facebook prioritizes different types of content based on what it perceives users prefer. For instance:
Video content, especially live videos, has been favored in the past due to its high engagement levels.
However, this is subject to change and can vary from user to user based on their personal usage patterns. Understanding your audience’s preference for certain types of content—photos, videos, or text-based posts—can guide you in creating content that aligns with these preferences.
Who Posted It
The identity of the poster plays a significant role in Facebook’s algorithm. Content from friends and family is generally prioritized over content from businesses or news outlets. You might face challenges in organically reaching your audience as a real estate business. Therefore, it’s crucial to encourage engagement to increase the chances of your posts being seen. This can be done by creating interactive content, such as asking questions, posting surveys, or encouraging users to tag friends.
Engagement
Facebook’s algorithm values posts with high engagement, including likes, comments, shares, and reactions. The logic here is that if a post receives a lot of engagement, it’s likely to be interesting or valuable to other users. For real estate marketers, this means creating content that encourages interaction, such as open-ended questions, calls-to-action, and content that taps into trending topics or popular culture.
Instagram
Instagram’s algorithm focuses on user interest, relationship with the poster, and timeliness. Understanding these nuances allows real estate marketers to craft a strategy that ensures their content has the best chance of reaching their target audience.
User Interest
Instagram’s algorithm uses machine learning to predict what content a user will care about most. It does this by looking at the historical interaction behavior of the user. For example, if a user often likes or comments on real estate images or follows several real estate accounts, the algorithm will rank similar content higher in their feed. As a real estate marketer, understanding your target audience’s interests and what they engage with can guide your content strategy.
Taking this into account, it can be advantageous to incorporate more personalized content into your business page. Users tend to interact more with posts that resonate on a personal level, those that tell stories or offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your business. This could range from showcasing your team, sharing customer testimonials, or even discussing your company’s values and initiatives. This strategy can help foster a sense of connection and community around your brand.
By posting content that encourages interaction, not only are you strengthening your relationship with your audience, but you’re also positively influencing the Instagram algorithm. The more your audience engages with your content, the more the algorithm is likely to identify your account as valuable to them. Consequently, this increases the chances of your future content appearing more prominently in their feeds, thereby enhancing your visibility and potential for further engagement.
The Instagram algorithm prefers posts from accounts that users interact with regularly. If a user frequently likes, comments on, or shares posts from a particular real estate account or has tagged them in their own posts, Instagram will rank content from that account higher in their feed. This factor underscores the importance of building strong relationships with your audience to improve the visibility of your content.
Timeliness
Instagram’s algorithm prioritizes recent posts over older ones.
This means regularly posting content is crucial to appear in your audience’s feeds.
However, it’s not just about frequent posting; knowing when your audience is most active on Instagram can help you decide the optimal times to post.
The Implication for Real Estate Marketing
For real estate professionals, understanding social media algorithms can help you tailor your content and optimize your posting strategy to reach the right audience. Being mindful of the algorithms can help you boost visibility, engagement, and, ultimately, conversions.
For instance, knowing that engagement is a key factor in how algorithms rank content can guide you to create more interactive posts, perhaps running polls or asking questions to invite comments. Leveraging algorithms’ “recency” aspect can help you determine the optimal times to post your content, ensuring it doesn’t get lost in the sea of other posts.
Adapting to Algorithm Changes
Social media platforms often update their algorithms, so your strategy must adapt accordingly. Staying up-to-date with these changes can help you adjust your approach and remain competitive in the digital space. This might involve experimenting with different types of content, like videos or interactive posts, to see what garners the most engagement and aligns with algorithm preferences.
The Power of Quality Content
While algorithms play a significant role in determining who sees your content, they do not replace the importance of quality content. Real estate is a visually-driven industry, and stunning imagery, virtual tours, and informative blog posts are what will ultimately captivate your audience. Algorithm-savvy posting should complement, not overshadow, your commitment to high-quality content.
Social Media Algorithms for Real Estate Marketing: Conclusion
As real estate marketers, we must never forget that our ultimate goal on social media is to build relationships and establish trust with our audience. Understanding social media algorithms can enhance our efforts, but our authenticity and commitment to serving our audience will truly set us apart. By combining an algorithm-aware strategy with quality content and genuine interaction, we can make the most of the opportunities social media presents.
