Just a quick look on the web on Real Estate marketing is enough to see hundreds of channels to recommend social media marketing. It seems like everybody is talking about the idea. You might not be a fan of social media yourself and still are looking for more convincing reasons about why social media marketing for Real Estate is necessary. In that case, you have opened the right page. In this article, we will talk about facts and reasons why social media marketing for Real Estate is something you should take seriously for your business.
Why Social Media Marketing for Real Estate?
In order to tell you why social media marketing for Real Estate is a good idea we have to talk about facts and benefits:
Facts
Here are some stats from NAR (National Association of REALTORS®) about how agents and users see social media for Real Estate:
- 77% of Real Estate agents use social media for Real Estate to some extent.
- 47% of Real Estate businesses believe that social media results in the highest quality leads compared to other sources.
- 99% of millennials (and 90% of baby boomers) start their search for homes online.
The facts above show us that both agents and prospects consider social media a valuable tool. Agents use social media as a gold mine of leads and users use social media to find homes and more importantly to find agents in whom they can trust.
Join the Bandwagon
As mentioned above, 77% of Real Estate agents are on social media where Facebook is by far the most popular platform, followed by LinkedIn and Instagram. You may choose to opt out and leave social media for other agents but you will miss out on a lot. When most agents use social media, there should be a strong reason to do so. You may think that since everybody is on social media, you will not gain an advantage. Maybe, but you sure will lose a lot.
Allow Your Audience to Trust You
Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial transactions most people will ever make in their lives. Therefore, they take their time making every single decision along the way. One of these decisions is choosing an agent they trust. After all, we all do business with people we think we know and can trust.
Social media provide Real Estate agents, like many other businesses, with a channel to talk to their audience and prospects. You need to talk to your audience to create value, educate, and finally gain their trust or somebody else will. Most of your contacts will be on top of your marketing funnel and will not be ready to buy or sell a home. Through social media, you can start a meaningful conversation with them, nurture them, and move them along your funnel.
If applied correctly, social media can be an awesome avenue to open a dialogue, share advice, and develop an ongoing relationship with buyers, sellers, and renters.
Enjoy Extra Leads
Social media can effectively be used as a part of your marketing effort to generate leads. According to a report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 47% of real estate businesses have found that social media results in the highest quality leads as compared to other sources! The report also states that millennials aged 22 and 40 make up the largest share of home buyers – which also overlaps with the age group that makes up the largest demographic of Facebook users with over 58 million people. And guess what, most of these millennials enjoy spending time on social media. They say you should be where your customers are.
Not All Agents Use Them Properly
AS mentioned above, many of the agents are already present on social media and try to use its benefits to their own advantage. You might think that social media are already used up and there is no more room for new agents to being. However, most agents are struggling with social media. According to an agents’ survey, 82% think they need to improve their social media presence.
It is true that social media marketing for Real Estate is not the blue ocean it used to be, but you need to consider the fact that many are failing on making the most out of the platforms. Social media marketing like many other aspects of the business is a science and art. You can gain an advantage if you properly put it to use.
Take Control
The benefits of using social media marketing for Real Estate is too many to count. Here are some of the extra key benefits of using social media for real estate are:
- Cost-effective reach to your audience
- Hyper-targeted ads
- Brand Awareness
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Quick Engagement