How to Succeed in Social Media

Social media is an ideal space to create a personal brand, engage with your audience, generate contacts and ultimately grow your business. But it’s not always easy to figure out where and how often to post your content or even what to put out there to attract buyers.

Here are some best practices to help builders like you win at social media. If you’re new to it, you’ll learn how to avoid common pitfalls. And if you’re a social media expert, you’ll pick up a few pointers for launching campaigns on platforms you haven’t tried yet.

Find the right social media fit

There are dozens of social media platforms that can attract an audience to your content, but it would be a mistake — and virtually impossible — to include all of them in your marketing strategy.

Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat are all viable channels, but before you commit to any of them, identify the ones where your target audience spends most of their time and which you are most comfortable using. That way, the engagement is more natural for both of you.

Remember: What works on Facebook might not garner the same results on Twitter. No two social media platforms are the same, and buyers expect a different experience on each one, so tailor your approach differently for each platform.

Be the local expert

People already have new homes on the brain: Wherever you look online, you’ll find buyers searching for, discussing, designing and buying homes. Why not become the local expert buyers go to when inspiration strikes?

You have something valuable to add to the discussions buyers are already having on social media, so jump in and keep the conversation going.

Engage often

You can’t post photos of your newest model home and expect buyers to drop everything and stop by. You must give them compelling reasons to continue exploring your homes and business, right up to the point when they’re ready to buy.

Don’t spam your followers with listing photos. Divide your content evenly into three categories:

• Personal interests: Interesting news, neighborhood facts and community events
• Eye candy: Listings, new home and community photos, and shots of your team
• Industry knowledge: Tips and advice, market trends and housing data that draws buyers into your world

Reply to every buyer who comments on your feed. Social media is all about building relationships, and personal responses are key to achieving that. Also, don’t send automatic replies that mean nothing to the commenter. If you can’t personally reply to the comments, reduce the number of platforms you use so your engagement with buyers is authentic, personal and relevant.

Invest your time

The key to winning at social media is planning — and that takes time. Get into a content rhythm that builds your brand with sensible, compelling and timely communications.

Start an Excel spreadsheet to plot your ideas and balance self-promotional content with buyer-centric information. For example:

• Monday: Local news or happenings
• Tuesday: Something more personal, like a review of a restaurant in or near one of your communities
• Wednesday: Property tour video
• Thursday: Trivia or throwback
• Friday: Home buyer spotlight
• Saturday: Show and tell with a current listing
• Sunday: Open house

Once you establish your social media strategy, spend one hour every day building your brand on your primary platforms. Use timesaving tools that allow you to schedule posts when you’re away, and try innovative tools that engage your social media audience in fun and clever ways, like a home-related poll or quiz.

Caution! Don’t use too many channels to evangelize your brand. Limit yourself to as many as you can handle without allowing them to grow cold or die for lack of regular content. It’s better to skip the Twitter or Instagram account if you don’t have someone who can dedicate the time it takes to keep it fresh and engaging.

Pay for play

Although you can achieve good visibility and engagement with just time and creativity, you can make an even bigger impact for a relatively low cost. For just a few dollars a day, social media advertising can increase your reach, buyer awareness and amplification.

Explore other social media platforms

When you’ve mastered your primary social media platform, identify others that will help build your brand and engage buyers. Consider these best practices for some popular channels.

Facebook

Your business page should warm up cold leads with messaging that’s specifically targeted to your buyers, based on their demographic and interests. Don’t post anything and everything — only post what your audience appreciates and responds to.

LinkedIn

Make your LinkedIn profile a sleek, professional page. Talk about what your business can do for buyers, and include satisfied customers in your network.

Instagram

Focus more on your home features and less on the 10,000-foot views. Zoom in on the terrific features inside your homes, or showcase some of the fantastic experiences your communities offer.

Pinterest

Be strategic when creating and curating your boards: Share the kind of photos and ideas that home shoppers would want to pin to their dream-home boards. Pinterest users see the platform as a visual search engine and can be demanding when searching for specific content.

YouTube

Your smartphone already has what you need to create exciting and compelling videos, and YouTube provides the rest: distribution. Make smart, brief and insightful videos for buyers, and you can significantly grow your audience and business.

Twitter

Twitter’s most powerful feature is the hashtag. It’s how people find and share information that resonates most with them — and how you can start conversations of your own.

Mastering social media is a moving target because platforms and audience preferences change. It takes testing, adapting and reconfiguring to get it right. Use these steps to get started, and keep monitoring for ideas to further engage your audience.