Introduction
Several businesses credit their growth and increasing online connectivity with customers to the effective use of social media platforms. Real estate businesses are no exception to this trend, and several social media platforms have become a permanent part of real estate commercial companies and their marketing plans. According to a recent study from the National Association of Realtors, 77% of the realtors use social media for real estate in one way or another. In comparison, 47% of real estate businesses report that social media results in high-quality leads compared to other sources. These statistics show that social media plays a significant role in connecting buyers and sellers with the respective agents and vice-versa.
How Social Media Platforms Facilitate the Online Real Estate MarketPlace?
Most real estate buyers search for houses or potential property online before contacting an agent or advisor. According to NARs, 99% of millennials and 90% of baby boomers begin their home search online instead of in-person referrals, which shows the importance of online property portals. As a result, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have become relevant in promoting property listings.
These developments have debunked the age-old method of first looking for an estate agent to search for a property and empowered property buyers to research property attributes by themselves. Social media platforms like Facebook are extremely user-friendly and thus offer the most convenient ways to search for properties. Today, homebuyers use relevant hashtags and explore their social media feeds for property searches and transactions.
Prioritising Amongst Social Media Platforms
A real estate investment advisor needs to prioritise their time and effort based on the social media platform to maximise reach and engagement leading to sales. According to a study by NARs, the top social media application for generating leads and engagement is Facebook (97%), followed by LinkedIn (59%) and Instagram (39%).
Optimise Social Media Accounts
Optimising social media accounts and published content is key to putting a good impression on potential real estate buyers. Optimised social media accounts and content attracts potential buyers amongst the large social media user base. Besides regularly posting content, real estate advisors need a social media marketing strategy to succeed in the competitive real estate market. Moreover, it is crucial to understand that real estate companies and advisors need to adapt content based on the platform they are posting on. For instance, an infographic must be tailored to the dimensions of different social media platforms to increase readability. Similarly, Instagram should focus on visual content, compared to Facebook, where description and written detail is appreciated.
Best Social Media Platforms for Real Estate Marketing
Facebook is essential for marketing potential properties. Its users have a wide demographic range, with people from every income level, age, gender, and ethnic background using the social media application. This allows real estate companies and agents to leverage this aspect of Facebook to target potential buyers of diverse backgrounds through their social media marketing strategies. The business features of Facebook allow agents and advisors to get insights into what their audience prefers in a house, restaurant, or shopping mall. Facebook is perfect for real estate businesses. It allows them to publish listing-related updates and content, book appointments, communicate with customers and derive insights from the recommendations through a single platform. In addition, Facebook ads allow agents to directly target demographics and users who show specific interest in buying a house or any other type of property in a particular area.
The second most used platform by realtors and real estate buyers is LinkedIn. Primarily, LinkedIn is a business-to-business (B2B) networking platform and is not specific to spotting potential clients. However, it is a social media platform to connect with fellow realtors and showcase the real estate industry experience. The platform acts as a digital resume for individual realtors. As a result, potential real estate investors can measure the credibility of an agent through their LinkedIn profiles. Therefore, real estate agents need to use LinkedIn to supplement their online presence.
Instagram for realtors
Instagram is a great platform to attract potential home buyers and real estate investors. High-resolution images are a significant part of the content shared on Instagram. Luxury real estate is increasingly becoming a priority social media platform. The highly personalised Instagram stories allow real estate agents to provide quick updates immediately.
Individuals would now opt for virtual agents that can help create property listings with lower fees as compared to traditional agents. Another trend that would dominate the real estate market in 2022 would be online closings of home transactions through e-signature applications and the online notarization processes.
This revolution would help streamline the back-end processes of the real estate industry. You can then close deals win the comfort of your home, without having to physically visit the property.
Conclusion
Social media platforms have proven to be revolutionary for the real estate business. Many real estate buyers search for potential properties online, and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn facilitate these online searches. Real estate companies and agents must optimise their content for different social media accounts and platforms for effective social media marketing.
