Facebook and Instagram are the go-to platforms now for real estate marketing.
There is no denying the extensive reach and influence of social media nowadays. An increasing number of renters and buyers are turning to social media to look for property listings and find their dream home.
According to a study from the U.S. National Association of Realtors published in 2020, all generations of home buyers start their search for homes online and would walk through the homes viewed online. The visual and interactive quality of social media drives web traffic and page views and allows users to easily share their favorite listings with their friends and family.
Which social media platform should you use?
Different social media platforms have their own advantages. Realtors need to have a good understanding of the merits and demerits of each social media channel and how to use them effectively.
The Facebook Marketplace can be utilized to list properties at no cost and to promote listings using cost-effective Facebook advertising. It targets people on-the-go with mobile-friendly listings and delivers useful property information, like housing type, price and room features.
Realtors can benefit from the ability to directly respond to questions or inspection requests from interested buyers with the help of Facebook Messenger. Messenger makes it possible for realtors to communicate in real-time with interested buyers before they lose interest or decide to move along and browse other products.
This visual-driven social media platform is a popular choice for real estate marketing. Realtors can set up Instagram ads targeting users within a specific zip code and radius. The carousel format of Instagram posting (posts with multiple photos or videos that can be viewed by swiping left) can be utilized to pull in new leads through aesthetic imagery. Viewers can ‌zoom in on the pictures, observing the listing at a closer angle and in greater detail.
How should you make use of social media?
We all know the huge active audience base is something that Facebook and Instagram can offer. But how can you leverage these tools to boost your real estate business?
Craft an intriguing caption and description
To appeal to your potential buyers, it is crucial to write up unique descriptions that convey sincerity and warmth and provide important information, such as particular features in the house, the neighborhood and the property’s pricing.
Also, you should add five to ten targeted, relevant hashtags in your caption; any more will be overwhelming to the audience and can be mistaken for spam. Avoid using generic hashtags like #Property or #NewApartment—posts with hashtags like these may be lost among millions of similar ones. Try and make an impact using a targeted hashtag strategy that’s followed by your audience, like #HongKongApartments or #SingaporeFlats.
Actively communicate with interested buyers
In your captions, you should include your contact details, such as name, email address, mobile phone number or website, so that interested buyers can communicate with you easily. You should enable Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct Message so that social visitors can reach you. Don’t forget to activate push notifications and emails on each social channel so that you don’t miss your potential clients’ messages. When talking to prospective buyers, you must be inviting, considerate and helpful.
Post beautiful, high-definition pictures and videos
Stunning, high-resolution property photos are central to so many real estate business’ social strategies. Facebook and Instagram nowadays allow you to display several images in a listing in a catalog-like format. It allows your audience to easily scroll through and see multiple rooms or properties in one go. Never limit your advertisement to just one picture or one angle of a room.
To help them visualize themselves living inside the property, get creative with different perspectives to show your audience the full picture. Aside from pictures, you can also post videos of you walking around the house or even in the neighborhood using drones to pull in prospective buyers.
Header image courtesy of Unsplash
