Social media can be a utopia for REALTORS® or a dystopian wasteland. Having and employing a strategy is the determining factor of success. It’s typically not enough to simply put a sign in front of a house and expect it to sell quickly. In the same way, just “showing up” on social media will not result in increased referrals or sales. You must show up consistently and build relationships.
Use Tech Tools to Research Prospects
Whether you want to find the perfect customized housewarming gift for an existing client, connect with a referral partner or find out more about a prospect, technology and social media specifically make it easier to get the answers that you need.
If you want to learn more about a contact’s preferences, a quick search on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest will help you discover:
- Their alma mater (for a nice customized home mat).
- Their favorite sports teams (for a customized team mug with their name).
- The charities that are near and dear to them (perhaps make a donation in their name).
In this age of mass customization, understanding the preferences of your clients and prospective clients can be the one thing that sets you apart from your competitors.
Connect with Referral Partners and Clients
Social media and apps provide REALTORS® with the opportunity to network with clients and peers to build relationships and increase referrals.
To connect with fellow CRS Designees:
- Connect on LinkedIn and Facebook, and comment on at least five of your connections’ posts per week.
- Use Zoom to co-host videos for Facebook Live, YouTube and LinkedIn.
- Co-author articles or blog posts and share them.
- Tag each other in social media posts to share the spotlight.
To connect with clients:
- Use Facebook lists to post information on your profile visible only to specific audiences.
- Invite current and prospective clients, along with influencers, to various functions.
- Offer giveaways that benefit both parties.
Merge Online and Offline Interactions
Just because you’re connecting on social media doesn’t mean that all interactions should live in that space. One of the most powerful things you can do is send a customized card to a person who wrote something nice about you on a social network. Two of my favorite tools for crafting customized cards are TouchNote and SendOutCards. Both allow you to create cards in moments from screenshots, uploaded pictures or one of their pre-designed cards. When someone shares a kind post that can potentially result in business, send them a card with a picture of their post and thank them—by name—on the front of the card.
