Social Storytelling | The Residential Specialist

How to use social media to breathe new life into listings

By Gwen Moran

Buyers today are driving home searches—and much of their research is being done online. And with roughly 7 in 10 U.S. adults using social media, according to the Pew Research Center, these platforms represent a significant opportunity to connect with prospective buyers and sellers.

The power of social media is that it facilitates storytelling and relationship-building—both essential for generating interest in home listings. “It’s important to use social media in a way that builds rapport with your audience and keeps the home selling and buying process human,” says Katherine Waters-Clark, CRS, Compass Boston, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Here are five ways social media can breathe new life into listings.

1. Share the story

When social media strategist Kelly Craig, founder of Social Stamina, a social media consulting firm in Red Bank, New Jersey, helps REALTORS® promote listings on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, she encourages them to find the story behind the listing. Ask the sellers what they will miss most about the home. Look for an angle that will appeal to prospective buyers, she says.

Choose the Right Platform

Confused about what social media platform is best for you? Each has its own personality and user characteristics.

“Spend a little extra attention matching your home to the target audience,” says Kelly Craig, founder of Social Stamina, a social media consulting firm in Red Bank, New Jersey. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Facebook: Two-thirds of adults are Facebook users and 68% of them use the platform daily. Users tend to skew older and more affluent than other social media platforms, according to Pew Research Center.
Instagram: Another powerhouse platform driven by visuals, Instagram skews younger. Sixty-four percent of its users are between the ages of 18 and 34, according to social media tool Hootsuite.
Pinterest: Another visuals-driven platform, Pinterest remains substantially more popular with women respondents (41%) than with men (16%), according to Pew research.

For example, a photo of the home with a story about summer barbeques with family and friends can tell a story that helps buyers picture themselves there. “That’s going to be a more emotional connection to the listing than if you only post about the exteriors and interiors,” she says.

2. Evoke a feeling

Look around the home. Is there an expansive kitchen perfect for amateur chefs or a beautiful garden filled with flowers? Capture those features in a photo or video to post on social media, Waters-Clark says. As she stages the homes she is going to sell, she keeps an eye out for unusual features, great lighting or other elements that will help create evocative shots.

“Rather than focusing only on the bedrooms and bathrooms, paint the picture of how the sun comes through the kitchen windows, or how much fun it will be to host a barbecue in the fenced-in yard. Create that home’s story in your social media so that potential buyers fall in love with the lifestyle as well as the house,” she says.

Job Hammond, CRS, a REALTOR® with Dash Realty in Austin, Texas, likes to use drone footage and photographs in his posts. He says that such unusual angles are captivating. “When they get to see an angle they have not seen many times before, they find it interesting,” he says.

3. Create a sense of intrigue

Hammond belongs to a variety of private real estate and community groups on Facebook where he shares information, listings and open house events. “I notify them of something unique, such as giving them an early showing opportunity or insight into something that is not yet on the market,” he says. This creates a feeling of time-sensitive early access that drives action.

Waters-Clark likes to offer “sneak peeks” into upcoming listings. She leaks snippets about how the house is being prepared so buyers begin to wonder about the listing and follow its progress.

4. Show relationships

Waters-Clark also likes to use social media to showcase the relationships she builds with buyers and sellers, which can also generate interest in listings. She’ll post spontaneous “sold” selfies with her clients and share buyers’ and sellers’ stories. Her fun, lighthearted approach to social media posts makes the buying and selling process seem less stressful and encourages people to want to work with her.

5. Mix it up

While the attention you pay to driving traffic to listings is important, don’t just post listing after listing, Waters-Clark says. Use your social media profile to celebrate and support your community. Waters-Clark posts a series of Facebook Live “Shop Stories” that highlight local businesses in her town of Winchester, Massachusetts, which drives more traffic to her listings.

“I post in a way that highlights me as a REALTOR®, but also highlights the work behind the scenes I do for my listings. Buyers will follow and think, ‘This is a great house,’ while potential sellers will follow and think, ‘Wow, Katherine really does a lot for her clients. Our REALTOR® didn’t do any of that,’” she says.