Using Social Media for Real Estate Success: Tips From the Pros

Using Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn and/or Twitter properly can absolutely generate leads. It's not so much that one is better than the other, but you should determine which of these platforms you will use and feel comfortable engaging on, and which platforms you think your audience is on. —Cuevas

My advice would be to establish yourself as a local expert in the places where people are already talking about your market and join the conversation only when you have something of value to contribute. In my case, that was Reddit. I noticed that after posting advice, people would reach out to me for help finding an apartment. Since my reputation as a local expert was already established there, my closing ratio was around 40 percent, almost as high as referrals from friends and former clients. —L'Eplattenier

If you are running Facebook Ads then you will need a budget. An agent can do a lot of damage (in a good way) with $5 to $10 bucks a day. —Cuevas

The only cost of establishing yourself as a market expert on social media is your time and creativity. For example, if someone asked a question that was outside my area of expertise I would take the time to reach out to a colleague that knew the answer. I found that dedicating an hour a day to social media and focusing only on Reddit and Facebook yielded the best results. —L'Eplattenier

Since I was focused on establishing myself as a local expert, I very, very rarely posted self-promotional content. The only exception was when I had a unique listing that I knew my audience would respond to. Even then, my focus was on what they would find interesting about my listing, not the listing itself. —L'Eplattenier

Use this simple rule: Give, give, give, then ask. Give valuable content away more often than posting listings for sale. The more valuable content you put into the system the more return you will see. —Cuevas

The agents who use social media to create and build relationships are the ones who will win. You don't have to sell, just offer and create value. —Cuevas

It’s basically the same thing that separates good agents from bad agents. Like great agents, social media winners focus on helping instead of selling. Like bad agents, social media losers are too pushy. They view their audience as dollar signs and only focus on selling. —L'Eplattenier

The best practices for using any one of the social media platforms is to respect the platform and engage on each one properly. Don't treat them all the same. —Cuevas

On Facebook, an agent has two strategies available. First, your personal profile on Facebook should be viewed as your online database. Tell short stories using photos, videos and text of the fun, amazing and awesome experiences in your life as a real estate agent. This approach creates top-of-mind awareness, which is what database marketing is all about.

Second, your fan/business page on Facebook is all about generating 'cold lead' traffic. Facebook's advertising platform allows you to target people based on demographics and interests. Interest level targeting can get you in front of a particular audience much more effectively and cheaply than any USPS Every Door Direct campaign can. —Cuevas

On Facebook I only post content that both my friends and leads would appreciate. That means resisting the urge to post every single new listing or market change and instead focusing on content that I know people will respond to. —L'Eplattenier

For LinkedIn marketing, complete your profile 100 percent and give it a professional look. The most common mistake people make when creating their LinkedIn profile is treating it like a resume, which it is not. Make your LinkedIn profile tell ‘what you can do’ instead of 'what you have done.' Give your profile a makeover. —Cuevas

Expanding my network on Linkedin from satisfied former clients to prominent people in tech and media has helped generate leads. In many cases, I am the only real estate professional in their networks. —L'Eplattenier

For Instagram marketing, don't post flyers, open houses or new listings. Be creative and show off cool and interesting features of the homes you're selling, or get local and show off things to do in your area. Furthermore, start learning how to use hashtags properly. On Instagram, people find and follow people and brands that post interesting things via hashtag searches. —Cuevas

Even though the Snapchat user demographic is pretty young right now, it's growing so quickly in popularity that we see this platform 'aging up' in the same way Facebook aged up starting around 2007. We are also seeing a lot of businesses and brands starting to use it. —Cuevas

Pinterest is a powerful platform and is actually more of a visual search engine with a social component to it. Using Pinterest requires you to be creative with your visuals and copywriting, and create your boards strategically. One of the most powerful features of Pinterest is the ability to easily run traffic from it to your website. —Cuevas

YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine and is owned by Google. It's a very powerful tool if you use it correctly. You already have all of the tools you need to get started on your smartphone. Create videos which answers questions that your buyers and sellers have, create cool virtual tours of your listings, and most importantly remember that YouTube videos are not TV commercials. Be real and authentic, not over-polished. Just be yourself and deliver valuable content. When used correctly, video can open up doors for you and your business. —Cuevas

The most powerful element of Twitter is the search functionality. You search hashtags, and by doing so, you can gain a little bit of the 'pulse' of what people are talking about and sharing. Search your own market on Twitter. One of the other cool things about Twitter is that it's very 'open.' You can start a conversation with anyone and see everything they are about. —Cuevas