Experts share tips on how to gain and retain followers on social media platforms
By Lisa A. Beach
Most real estate agents use social media as part of an overall marketing strategy to reach buyers and sellers. In fact, a 2022 technology survey by the National Association of REALTORS® found that 46% of respondents pointed to social media as the top tech tool that delivered the highest number of quality leads in the last 12 months.
The survey shows 89% use Facebook in their real estate business, 59% use Instagram, 53% use LinkedIn, 26% use YouTube and 12% use TikTok. Regardless of which platforms you use, how can you increase your followers and boost engagement on social media? The Residential Specialist turned to four experts who are crushing it on social media for their best tips.
Go where your prospects are
Each social media platform requires a different strategy, but you don’t need to be on all the platforms. In fact, it’s very challenging and time consuming to successfully build and maintain a social media following on multiple platforms. The solution? Go where your clients and prospects are. “Identify what your most profitable channel is going to be,” advises Khoi Le, CRS, broker/owner with Hunter Chase Realty in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. For Le, that means Facebook (with nearly 7,000 followers), but he sees YouTube growing quickly. “Then use the other platforms to funnel people into your most successful platform and as a way to engage with your main content.” In doing so, Le says it helps your content get exposure and go viral, but then links back to your high-performing pages.
Aim for quality, not quantity
“I found it’s easy to get followers, but not easy to get good followers,” says Steven Rath, CRS, broker/owner with Rath Real Estate in Roseville, California. “I concluded that having a lot of followers is detrimental, so I whittle it down. I don’t want to be friends with just anybody—they’ve got to be beneficial to my business.” After decreasing his followers, Rath focuses on providing good information to key groups in his target audience. “The A-listers include current and past clients and hot prospects most likely to convert to customers. Those on the B-list might become A-listers that you want to engage to see if they blossom into something better. Those on the C-list are not as relevant,” he explains. “I use that philosophy to determine whom I try to engage with.”
Provide value
When Catalina Schreader, CRS, broker associate with Dale Sorensen Real Estate in Rockledge, Florida, launched a Facebook business page in 2015, she aimed to provide a service to her local community. She created Suntree Friends and Neighbors as a community gathering spot where she posts local events, things to do and recommendations for local contractors, schools and businesses, and where others share what they love about living, working and playing in Suntree and surrounding neighborhoods. “I started it as a place to get accustomed to the area,” she explains, noting the group now boasts 8,300 members. “Over the past few years, I started introducing myself and my real estate background.” Thanks to a steady stream of relevant, useful, local content, Schreader says people know her and feel comfortable with her, earning her the nickname “The Suntree Queen.”
Build relationships—online and off
“I don’t do traditional marketing—I focus 100% on relationships,” says Barbara Betts, CRS, broker/owner with The RECollective in Long Beach, California. “You can’t be afraid on social media to be friends with your clients.” Betts says the key to growing your page is to follow others. “You need to be a good community member by friending and following others,” says Betts, who runs a social media bootcamp. “Have great relationships with other people, other clients and even other REALTORS®. We like to do business with people we know, like and trust.” This includes engaging with people beyond your own business page (such as Facebook groups and other people’s posts). And don’t lose sight of connecting offline through phone calls and face-to-face meetings.
Think Beyond Posting Listings
NAR’s 2022 Technology Survey shows that 63% of REALTORS® primarily use social media in their real estate business to promote listings. But that’s just a small part of what you should be doing on social media.
Be authentic—“Be authentic—it’s about you, not about real estate,” notes Barbara Betts, broker/owner with The RECollective in Long Beach, California. “You have to market your listings, but that won’t cause someone to follow you. People care about you, your opinion on the market and what you’re doing in the community.” Betts’ most engaging content? Sharing real-time snippets of her day through Instagram and Facebook stories. “There’s a way to talk about real estate without boring your audience.” (“You’ll never guess what my inspector found!”)
Be engaging—“Don’t just be shouting ‘two bedrooms, two baths!’ You want to be listening and talking with others,” advises Khoi Le, broker/owner with Hunter Chase Realty in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. “I like funny stuff, so I post funny memes and real estate-related content.”
Be the local expert—Catalina Schreader, broker associate with Dale Sorensen Real Estate in Rockledge, Florida, sets herself up as the local expert by posting events, new construction, community happenings and walkable areas. “People start asking questions about these posts—where, what type of service—so the content is very engaging,” she says. She also incorporates personal posts, like pet photos, to help people get to know and trust her.
Mix it up—“I found a mix of financial, real estate and investment are all good—but not just straight house listings, as that gets boring and isn’t very informative or helpful,” says Steven Rath, CRS, broker/owner with Rath Real Estate in Roseville, California.
What NOT to post?—All these experts agreed to avoid posting on controversial topics like politics and religion.
Learn how to focus your social approach and develop a strategy with Digital Marketing: Establishing a Social Media Brand, available at CRS.com/webinars.
Photo: iStock.com/studio-fi
