The Dos and Don’ts of Social Media Marketing

Learn how to enhance your social media presence with these tips

By Jason Henninger

Social media, overflowing with cat videos and silly dances, is really all about business. There’s the business of data collection and analysis, as well as the business of marketing based on that data. On the user experience end, it’s more about finding connection and entertainment (hence the cat videos). Given that being a good real estate agent is all about merging a business mindset with relationship building, involvement with social media is a must for success. But as with any other kind of marketing, there are ways to do it right.

Mark Handlovitch, CRS, broker associate at RE/MAX Real Estate Solutions in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been in real estate for 26-plus years, and social media marketing is part of his success story. Read his list of dos and don’ts to make social work for your business.

DO: Know each platform’s audience

Facebook skews to an older demographic. X, formerly known as Twitter, is built for fast and frequent communication. TikTok works with a younger audience, and Instagram is pretty popular across the board. The effectiveness of email marketing also varies wildly by age. Knowing who goes where and for how long is necessary information. Handlovitch sees the most traction from Facebook and Instagram.

DON’T: Bombard your clients

Handlovitch cautions against being so rigid in scheduling that you come across as impersonal and predictable. Posting here and there at varied times of the day, he says, feels more authentic and less like a marketing campaign. “If you post irregularly, it’s better because people don’t know when to expect it,” he says. “I just feel it’s a little more organic.” Content management platforms like HubSpot can analyze your posts and audience to suggest the best dates and times to post, helping boost engagement and removing the guesswork.

DO: Mix business and pleasure

Handlovitch posts items of personal interest, such as pictures of vacations or things he finds interesting, as well as real estate content. The mixture helps his followers and clients get to know him better as a person, which in turn helps establish trust in business. “It’s a matter of putting out a lot of content so that somewhere along the line, somebody will be attracted to what you’re doing,” he says. “And you’re going to have a like-minded person say, ‘Hey, this agent was just on vacation in Montana for two weeks, camping out in the woods. I like that guy. I’ll follow that person.’” This helps attract new relationships.

DON’T: Forget it’s a business

While maintaining a variety of personal and real estate-related postings helps remind people that the agent is a real, live human being, the agent should still be aware of the business side. It pays to understand, as mentioned earlier, the varied demographics of social media platforms and approach posting business content appropriately. While Handlovitch posts his own personal content, he works with his admin on what to post on the business side and makes use of a videographer. A degree of informality here and there can be personable and charming, but it should be handled with professionalism.

DO: Educate your clients

In times of low inventory, high interest rates or other ups and downs in the market, veteran agents remember to go back to the basics of building relationships and educating clientele. Social media can be a great means to spread useful information, which in turn establishes the agent as a trustworthy and authoritative source. If the interest rates are not great, Handlovitch says that is an opportunity to educate people about the fluctuations of the marketplace or to give them a better insight into how refinancing can benefit them down the road.

DON’T: Brag about your success

Using social media to show your success is great. But remember—doing it in a way that informs the reader about how you achieved your success is more valuable. “People don’t care that you sold a house in seven days or for 7% over asking price,” Handlovitch says. “They want to know how you sold it in seven days. Where did you get the buyer from? What type of buyers are you getting? They’ve been hearing the same sort of thing from REALTORS^® for years now. They want content. They want to know the dirt.”

Take advantage of free social posts for RRC members via Photofy at CRS.com/photofy.

Photo: iStock.com/akinbostanci/RLT_Images