Tag: instagram

Hire a Realtor with Remarkable Social Media Experience

Many people believe that traditional methods of real estate marketing are sufficient. While this can be true, social media has proven to be a hugely worthwhile avenue to pursue when buying or selling a property. Social media can make a difference in lead generation and give your home a competitive edge.

Realtors are now selling homes and buildings, finding clients, and growing their brands online completely through social media. Having a presence online is one of the most important, if not the most important attributes an agent can have. Social media is the strongest marketing tool there is as it reaches people around the world 24/7. You need as many people to view your home in the shortest and fastest way possible. The more eyes you have looking at your property, the more optimal it can be in selling your home.

Hiring a realtor with extensive experience with social media is critically important. Scour your accounts to see which realtor in your location takes advantage of all the incredible opportunities to get their listings out in front of the most eyes online. Social media is a free way to advertise virtually anything anyone is selling and a realtor should – MUST – have the acumen to utilize it correctly and brilliantly.

Once a home is staged and cleared of clutter, a realtor should have the very best photographer on hand to capture the most crisp photos for online viewing. Homebuyers more times than not, begin a search for their new home online. This should be taken full advantage of. There are never too many photos or videos. They should be used for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and Linkedin as well as mailings. Always remember – a picture is worth a thousand words.

The realtor chosen to sell your home must engage with any potential buyers who indicate interest on the platforms on which your home is being showcased. By communicating and being responsive, your realtor will build trust with the potential buyer and increase the chance of closing a sale.

The Bottom Line: Social media is one of the most common and effective ways to share property listings. To attract the right buyer, your realtor needs to go beyond the basics and adequately demonstrate the value of your home. The beautiful photos should have clear and precise descriptions as well as pointing out all the unique features of your home. The marketing of your home should be exceptional and social media marketing does not require a huge budget or even a large team of people. Simply do the work of finding the best realtor with the most experience with social media.

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Live Feeds, Video, Social Media & Real Estate

Social media is a vital tool that realtors should absolutely use to grow their businesses, a way for buyers to discover home listings, show their expertise, and start developing relationships & leads. If you’re not using one or all of the social media platform options, you’re at a disadvantage, because your competitors probably are.

Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter & Linkedin are all free forms of advertising the homes you are selling. At this point, anyone with a smartphone, from kids to a retired relative is on one or more platforms. For a small price, you can have the option for boosting any post you make for the ability to become even more visible as well as have the option to reach the “exact” audience you are selling to.

Whether you’re working with an agent or selling your home on your own, how the listing is marketed is crucial. Sharing attractive, important, and relevant content daily is how to play the social media game. The images and videos you use should be of high quality.

These platforms can put Realtors and buyers in the same room together, yet miles and states away via live video. Just like an in-person showing, these live showings should be pre-staged, the walkthrough must provide the clients with a sense of the layout, and the online experience must be easily accessible to all users.

The outside of the home is important, too. It’s where you should begin your live tour as you would normally. You’ll want to make sure the buyer is getting a good look at the exterior from all angles. They will want to get a grasp of the home’s curb appeal, the parking situation, and the surrounding neighborhood as much as possible. Be ready to answer questions from viewers as they watch.

Video messages, live or pre-taped in your social media posts will enable your audience to feel like they know you and slowly want to work with you. Especially when you use the “stories” on Facebook and Instagram as a place on social that feels more authentic and real. Stories are where the viewer will discover more than what you share on your feed. You will be giving them direct access to you as you give them a visual, quick way to clearly see who you are and how you might be able to help them. Don’t be shy, just start talking and sharing. After a few times, this will become part of your routine.

The Bottom Line: All of these platforms are additional opportunities to grow your real estate brand and establish connections through fun, interactive experiences. Building your brand as authentically as possible through beautiful photos and videos is essential to the success of any business. Social media should play an important role in your marketing strategy.

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Did You Hire the Wrong Realtor?

Good and professional Realtors should be held to a higher standard with their daily responsibilities and their fiduciary duty to their clients. Unfortunately, there are plenty of “bad Realtors” out there. Have you hired the latter to sell your home or find you your dream home? Here are three important red flags to watch for.

Communication

Does your real estate agent return your calls, text messages, or e-mails in a timely manner? If not you may have hired the wrong real estate agent. Time is of the essence in real estate, so if it takes your agent hours or days to get back to you odds are you might miss that new listing, an important deadline when you’re under contract, or a potential buyer if you are selling your home.

Financial Advice

When it comes to setting a home-buying budget, the best person to determine how much mortgage you can afford is you. Of course, your lender may pre-approve you for a certain loan amount, or your agent might run some numbers and advise on a price range to stick to. But at the end of the day, you are the only one to set a price range for buying a home. If you present that number to your real estate agent and they don’t respect it, then it’s time to move on. Don’t be pressured into buying a property that isn’t right for you or selling your home at a lower price than it’s worth. You have little to gain by working with a real estate agent who isn’t doing his or her job well and doesn’t have your best interests in mind.

Technology Skills

Technology is a big factor in real estate today.  Your agent should be doing everything possible to market your property. Whether it be blogging on the internet, using social media, taking high-definition pictures and video, using scanners, drones, sending documents for signatures electronically, or something else if a real estate agent is not up to speed on the latest tech they run the risk of slowing you down and losing out on deals. Only half of real estate agents use social media to market listings, a new NAR survey found. Find the one who does by looking at websites, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc.

The Bottom Line: Successful agents are those who are passionate and enjoy what they do for a living. They have a passion for serving and helping people by showing them excellent properties within their budget. Real estate agents that do well are enthusiastic about what they do, are always presentable, and take care of their appearance. They are in the business to help clients find or sell their homes. Take your time to research and find the best in your area.

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Real Estate and Social Media

It’s critically important, whether you’re working with an agent or selling your home on your own, to market it online. Especially now, during the COVID pandemic where there are limits on visiting homes. Using the MLS will get you the most exposure but you must put your best foot forward. Find the best Realtor and interview her to see how she will take advantage of all the opportunities to get your home in front of people. A good Realtor will have access to the best indoor photographers and understand that photos are more important than ever and they must be showcased on all social media platforms. Most American adults are online. More than 1 billion people in the entire world log in to Facebook on any given day. The potential to reach a huge number of people is exceptional.

On the subject of photographs:  The very best Realtor will help you to stage and prepare your home for professional pictures. All rooms should be clear of any clutter. The pictures MLS displays are usually grainy and of poor quality. Homebuyers more times than not, begin the search for their new home online. Take advantage of this. Stand in the doorway to rooms and snap the photo shooting into the room.  There are never too many photos!

Facebook business page:  Now those beautiful photos need to be posted and announced, showcased, and marketed. The Realtor your choose should have a strong Facebook page with a good following of people. The posts should be shared, linked, and even made into an ad. They should know how to target the ad and pinpoint people by location, interests, behaviors, age, and more. Realtors might even host open houses via Facebook LIVE and interact with people that are watching.

Instagram:  The world’s largest photo-sharing platform is the perfect place to showcase the photos taken of the home.  Instagram Stories are gaining in popularity and selling homes. A powerful and fun way to get information out. The great thing about Instagram Stories is that they are automatically featured at the top of a user’s homepage. The poster can expect their story to generate more exposure than a post in this case.  

The Bottom Line: Everyone wants a Realtor that can be trusted and will do everything she can to get the most money for a home in the least amount of time. The Realtor is the homeowner’s advocate. The marketing of the home should be exceptional.  Beyond using the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) there should be professional pictures to use on websites and every social media platform available.

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The Visual Marketing of Instagram and Real Estate

Realtors: Instagram should be a part of your social media business marketing plan. While you may not land your biggest home buyer or seller, using this platform to market your business, the culture of your business and the value can absolutely improve your reputation and help you to reach people others can’t. Set up a business account separate from your personal profile and use the analytics you will have access to.

Learn exactly who likes your posts. You will have the ability to reach out to potential leads just by seeing who “liked” your post. Expect 10x more engagement on Instagram than Facebook. Don’t be afraid to be personal.

One billion people use Instagram every month. And, 500 million users login and use the Instagram platform every day.

Instagram is a free form of advertising and almost everyone knows about it. Right now anyone with a smartphone, from kids to a retired relative is on the platform. However, for almost nothing, another option for advertising your real estate listings on Instagram is to promote individual posts. When you have a business account, Instagram gives you the option to reach more people by promoting posts.

It shows off real estate listings. Post stunning photos, video walkthroughs and anything else that might sell the home. Beyond the photos, show your personality. The homes may be fantastic, but sell them YOU so they not only come to see your listing on your page, but your personality and let them learn if you might be someone they want to work with.

Hashtags are the new SEO. As a Realtor, you can rank higher in an Instagram search with the perfect hashtag than you may be ranking with your traditional SEO approach to search results pages. Do the research and find other Realtors that cater to the same audience you want to find. Learn the hashtags they use, the calls to action they include, the captions they write and the content they share.

Make your post beautiful and post often and enjoy the rewards of more engagement and traffic. Posts with a lot of likes will be at the top of the users’ feeds, thanks to the Instagram algorithms. Be sure to use video in your social media marketing strategy. Right now it is the most powerful way to connect with anyone who follows you and their friends. Right now, Instagram allows you to post 15-second videos to your Stories and 60-second videos to your feed.  Use it.

The Bottom Line: Like it or not, the internet has become the go-to resource for would-be homeowners as they prepare to purchase a home and all real estate agents need to be using Instagram to market to potential clients. Using Instagram for real estate takes time and effort, but the process of creating posts and engaging with others online can be rewarding. Have an Instagram presence that you work on daily, even if briefly, and get users engaged in what you have to offer. While running ads on Instagram can be a useful step when starting off, the momentum comes from continued social engagement.

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Real Estate & Social Media Marketing

Homebuyers used to open up their newspaper and look for properties for sale. Now, using social media platforms are an absolute must.

Instagram: Agents have the ability to generate leads, sales, and referrals from Instagram. Believed to be the perfect social media platform to showcase a property. There are over 700 million active users who like photos about 4.2 billion times per month. Predominantly accessed on a mobile phone enables the user to be engaged virtually anywhere, all day long, plus it’s user-friendly.  Using the right hashtags is also very important, as people use them to search for a particular topic on Instagram.

Twitter:  Another easy platform to use not only on a desktop computer but on a smartphone. Realtors can not only share their listings but other content, such as links to advice articles, news and anything that has to do with real estate (moving, adding value, advice, renovation and the location). It’s a good place to get into conversations with other Twitter users to make connections in the community.  As with Instagram, using the right hashtags is important, as people use them to search for a particular topic on Twitter.

Facebook:  More than 2 billion users worldwide and easy to set up an account. Post on a variety of topics – there is no need to only post photos. Do something different every day. Only post a “sales” post once every few days. Provide value to the person scrolling by. Every day, Realtors can connect with prospective home buyers and foster business relationships with peers. Most of all maintain these relationships by commenting on other pages, liking other pages’ posts, and never use an auto-scheduler to post on your behalf. Be authentic.

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Marketing Your Home to Sell

The MLS will grab the largest exposure for homes on the market because it reaches other websites and the most people online. However, anyone selling their home should interview and find the most aggressive Realtor that will take advantage of all the opportunities to get the home in front of people.  It is now more important than ever that the person hired to sell any home utilizes the internet and social media for promotion. 70% of American adults are online. More than 1 billion people in the entire world log in to Facebook on any given day. The potential to reach a huge number of people is exceptional.

Photographs:  The very best Realtor should help stage and prepare the home for professional pictures. All rooms should be clear of any clutter. The pictures MLS displays are usually grainy and poor quality. Homebuyers more times than not, begin the search for their new home online. Take advantage of this. Stand in the doorway to rooms and snap the photo shooting into the room.  There are never too many photos!

Facebook:  Now those beautiful photos need to be posted and announced, showcased and marketed. A good Realtor might even host open houses via Facebook LIVE and interact with people that are watching. Another option is to make a targeted ad and pinpoint people by location, interests, behaviors, age and more.

Instagram:  The worlds largest photo sharing platform is the perfect place to showcase the photos taken of the home.  A good Realtor should know how to use hashtags because that is how Instagram helps users find relevant content. Spread the pictures throughout the day.

The bottom line: Everyone wants a Realtor that can be trusted and will do everything he/she can to get the most money for their home in the least amount of time. The Realtor is the homeowner’s advocate. The marketing of the home should be exceptional.  Beyond using the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) there should be professional pictures to use on websites and every social media platform available.

 

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