Selling on social media includes two concepts. Selling and being social. The key to success on social media is the latter. Unfortunately, many try to sell rather than share on social media. You might wonder if you are not supposed to sell, why bother with social media, and waste your valuable time. Well we said not selling is the key, we never said it is not the target. Simply put, to sell on your social media, you should avoid pitching. In this article, we will discuss common mistakes that stop you from selling successfully on social media.
Social Media Mania and Sales
Everyone is talking about social selling, but few are doing it. Those who do it, sometimes do it wrong. At the end of the day, people wonder if social selling works or if it is worth the trouble. Sales teams are incorporating social media into their marketing efforts. This excitement is a great thing for businesses, but it can be dangerous if you are not sure how to make use of it.
A Backward Tactic
Social media is supposed to be social. All the other perks like sales and brand awareness are the rewards you get for sharing on social media. Think of it as an investment where you invest your time and efforts, hoping to get something valuable in return. You need to be patient and motivated.
Unfortunately, many salespeople are skipping this step. To sell on social media they are selling on social media, rather than being social to sell. They have chosen a great tactic for their business by using social media to improve sales. But they are going about it the wrong way.
Sharing is Caring
Why do people love social media? The long and the short of it is this: it connects people to other people or to information they need. For your business, you need to make it easy for your target audience to access the information they need. It makes you more popular and needed, ultimately growing your audience.
But why do all that work when you are not even trying to sell? Revisit the last sentence of the previous paragraph. You grow your network and the number of people who follow you. You make yourself a source. Someone who knows a lot about real estate and can be trusted. When you do not even try to sell you show good intentions and that the content you are sharing is for your audience’s knowledge and benefit.
This is where the magic happens. Provided that you have introduced yourself and your business well, allowing your audience to get to know you, they will approach you for business. You are an authority in your field and for your neighborhood and you are ready to help. That’s what people are looking for.
Desperate, Pushy and Annoying Salespeople
Going with the sales notion rather than the social aspect, will ruin your chances. This makes you an annoying nuisance on someone’s feed, jumping up and down, waving, and yelling: “buy from me! I am the best you could ever find!”
The most optimistic reaction from a random user will be: “Okay, thanks but no thanks”. We have all seen desperate salespeople pushing their luck and trying to sell with grand claims and no proof. No social proof, knowledge, information etc. They repeat the same thing over and over, which ultimately will bore people and eventually make them annoyed enough to click the unfollow button.
How Not to ‘Sell’ on Social Media
In order to enjoy the benefits of being on social media, you need to avoid selling and instead try to:
Educate
Social media is all about sharing and the best way for you to share your knowledge is by educating your audience. Real estate is a complicated and intimidating business most people face once or twice in their life. This makes real estate a mystery for most people. As an agent, you know the business and can help others navigate it.
Identify common questions shared by your community or your target audience and provide answers. In addition, be selective about the information you share. Information should add value to the audience and be something they likely don’t already know. Target the worries that keep them awake at night regarding real estate. The educational content you share should not be something commonly found on social media. It should be unique, or else you will be another face in the crowd. You should aim to address common problems in a unique way. And share insider tricks and tips.
Engage
The content you share on social media should encourage people to voice their concerns, ideas, and thoughts. The easiest way to engage with people is to start a conversation. Share valuable information through professional videos that encourage engagement. New algorithms consider content more valuable when it has higher engagement including, likes, shares, and comments. The more people engage the more important your content will be rated by social media platforms and ultimately the more it will be discovered by others.
Many salespeople constantly request people share their content or comment. While asking people to engage is not a bad idea, begging sounds desperate. Ideally, the content should be good enough to make people want to share. Think about what content you usually share, like, or comment on. And aim to provide that to others.
Create Tutorials.
Tutorials are one of the best ways to teach and educate people. Try to teach your audience how to do something related to real estate. It doesn’t have to be related to doing business in real estate. As long as it is related to homes before or after buying/selling, you are fine. For example; teaching your audience how to prepare their home for an open house. Teach them what they need to do to list their home themselves. Go through the process of buying or selling step by step in the simplest terms.
Behind the Scenes
To engage people with your account on social media you need to let them see what you do in your business. Allowing your audience a peek behind the scenes will show off your personality, your passion, and the effort you put into your business. This can encourage people to ask questions and get more information. Pulling back the curtains can go a long way.
Ask Questions
How do you get people to talk? Well, you ask them questions. Different social media platforms have developed features that allow accounts to ask questions in ways where it is even easier to encourage audience participation. Polls, multiple answer questions, etc.
And, of course, there is still the old standby of requesting an answer in the comment section.
Entertain
While sharing on social media you do not have to remain formal. Social media is supposed to be entertaining. You need to enjoy creating content and a part of that enjoyment will be reflected in your content. While delivering informative and valuable content, keep in mind that you are there to entertain as well. Avoid looking serious all the time. Connect to your audience and entertain them. A sense of humor works well on social media (though you don’t want to force this). People will want to follow you if your content is fun and they are learning from it. Ultimately, if they need to do business, they will think of you.
Stop Selling on Social Media to Start Selling: Final Words
Social media sells not by trying to sell, but rather trying to live up to the purpose of sharing information. The process will ultimately introduce you as a helpful person who shares valuable information with good intentions.
Do what you are expected to do on social media. Share your knowledge, solve problems, entertain your audience, and encourage engagement. This will build your brand.
Enjoy what you are doing, the passion you put into your social media content will be reflected in what you share. It won’t work if you don’t believe in it.
Read More: 14 Ways To Stand Out On Social Media As A Real Estate Agent And Win Leads