In an industry that has feared change for so long, change is here. The technological revolution has made an everlasting impact on Real Estate. Now, the question is whether or not brokerages can ride this wave of innovation and become more successful because of it, or fear the inevitable change and parish amongst the other non-believers
Innovation is key to a brokerage and real estate professionals’ success in the modern day. With the rise of technology, comes the advancement of marketing and branding for real estate companies. The days of print are over and the digital world reigns king. The trick is to use technology as a valued resource to strengthen your brand. Technology should not replace real estate professionals; it should empower them to connect with more clients than ever before. Connecting with clients and finding new clients has also become so much simpler through the power of social media.
Best Practices
It is no longer an option to use social media as a marketing tool for growing your personal business. It is absolutely vital to the success of an agent. Creating a network online and showcasing your brand will truly help grow your business. There are a few important practices to keep in mind when marketing through social media:
- Immediate engagement- Being responsive and creating conversation within your network
- Paying attention to what your network has to say in order to optimize the best possible content
- It’s a visual world- less words and more visuals!
- Separating personal and professional- Your account should be used only for professional purposes to help grow your business. If you want to share anything personal, you should create a separate account
- Avoid controversial topics- You want to showcase your character and personality, but you don’t want to jade your network by your opinions on controversial matters
- Every post should have a goal in mind- there needs to be a reason behind creating a post
The Platforms to Focus On
There are certain social media platforms that should be utilized as opposed to others. Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are some of the best platforms for connectivity within the real estate industry. Each requires specific content geared towards the respective platform:
- Instagram is a visual heavy platform therefore your content should be visual heavy. It’s also the #1 platform for millennials who are the largest group of homebuyers
- LinkedIn is a platform where you can create a specific professional network and content that is made just for them
- Facebook is the ONE stop shop. You can do it all on Facebook!
Another option for making a connection online and growing your brand is creating a blog. A blog is a personal website that showcases who you are, your story, your business, and what you are passionate about. It humanizes you, which instills trust in your clients. A blog is an excellent way to grow your business.
It’s exciting to see the advancement of personal marketing and branding in real estate. Collectively, when real estate professionals follow these practices along with the help and guidance of their brokerage, a successful real estate brand emerges. An excellent example of this is Realty ONE Group and the UNbrokerage. To learn more, check out www.realtyonegroup.com/unbrokerage
