Unlock your success with a strong social media brand
Branding in real estate used to be about your business card, your takeaways, posters and print ads. And while those are all still important elements of your brand, you can reach exponentially more potential clients through social media.
Here are 8 tips to help you strengthen your branding on social media, whether you’ve had an online presence for years or are just starting out.
Post regularly.
Making regular social media posts at appointed times does two things: 1) It conditions your audience to expect content from you at regular intervals, and 2) It pleases the algorithm; social media platforms will be more likely to promote your posts if you generate regular content for the site.
A good frequency for posts is one to three a week, always on the same days at the same times. You can create videos in batches and schedule them for the week or month. Be sure to mention at the end of your posts and videos that you post regular content, and list the days and times.
Craft a concise bio.
After someone sees your content, if they’re interested enough to click on your bio and possibly subscribe, you want them to see a brief description of who you are and why they should follow you. At the time of this writing, Instagram, just as an example, allows for 150 characters for your bio, so brevity is key. Your bio should also include a link to your website, on which the same branding elements should be present.
Select brand colors, music, and a tagline.
You want viewers to recognize you and your brand instantly while scrolling through their feed. Using the same format for each post or video, adding a logo, and using one or two branded colors for your graphics creates a visual shorthand that will draw in viewers who enjoy your content. Unless you have a design background, it’s best to consult a professional to create these visual elements.
Find some public domain music and grab one small section that is particularly memorable, and use that as an audio stinger to open and/or close your videos.
Also, consider having a catchy tagline. Something like, “For real talk about real estate, follow my page.”
Encourage engagement.
When it comes to internal promotion from the different social media platforms, virality is borne out of engagement, not views. Encourage questions and feedback in the comments and always ask your viewers to like and subscribe.
Engage with other agents and clients.
Social media is highly reciprocal in terms of engagement. If you read or watch a post that you enjoy, like it, comment and subscribe. People are more likely to subscribe to you if you subscribe to them, and are more likely to comment and like your posts if you do the same for them. Start by following your local network of agents and other industry professionals, and then branch out by following the industry pros your colleagues follow, and so on.
Learn your hashtags.
Hashtags are another key to being promoted by the different platforms. Look at the most watched real estate videos on each platform and make a list of the recurring hashtags. As you add a hashtag to your clip, the app will tell you how many people follow that specific hashtag. Focus on tags with at least hundreds of thousands of followers.
Ride the trends.
In the algorithmic world of social media, borrowing popular elements from other videos is the key to virality. These elements can be as significant as the storytelling structure of the video or as minor as the background music. It may feel uncreative to mimic what other people in your industry have done, but it’s actually one of the more crucial strategic tactics of brand building on social media.
Team up with other agents to combine audiences.
Cross-pollinating audiences with other agents is one of the most powerful shortcuts to expanding your audience and establishing your brand. Seek out agents with little or no audience overlap, and create some videos or other posts together. You’ll share the posts on your social media pages, they’ll share the same posts on theirs, and now two audiences will be exposed to them, so you’ll both gain new followers.
This tactic doesn’t need to be limited to other agents. You can do the same thing with local businesses, restaurants, contractors, and so on.
One final note: Have fun with your brand and your posts. People like engaging with the kinds of folks they would enjoy talking to at a dinner party. Be personable, speak plainly, and smile often.
A note from your lending specialist
Let me know if your clients would like to learn more about mortgage options or get started on a prequalification.Footnote1
1 Prequalification is neither preapproval nor a commitment to lend; you must submit additional information for review and approval.
MAP5821959 | 08/2023