Property Collective
10 min read
Expert tips – How to utilise social media to create a successful audience as a real estate agent
As we are starting to rely more and more on the internet to do business, it is important to make sure your clients and future clients can easily find you on the social media platforms they use. Having a digital presence is a must in these times and doesn't look like it’s going away any time soon.
That is why we teamed up with Sharna Salthouse from Telos Group to give us some direct insight into her experience on using social media as a real estate agent. Her social network stood out to us as she has great engagement, an awesome balance in the types of posts she creates and is branching out to new platforms that most professionals haven’t considered.
We asked Sharna the following questions to find more about her real-life experiences in the social media world:
You don’t need much in terms of hardware to start utilising social media. A phone with a decent camera will do the trick, which most phones have these days.
Generally, Facebook and Instagram are the most used platforms for agents as the bulk of their clients are active on these platforms. They are also super easy to set up and use directly from your mobile so you can be in contact with your clients and audience at any time.
When initially setting up your pages, you want to make sure people can find all the information they need to know about you. You’ll need to include: the area you service, links to your website, contact details, do you specialise in a niche target market? Let your audience know this so you can attract quality followers. You want quality followers so that you can keep your engagement up and they are more likely to convert into clients if they haven’t already.
I find that posts with either me or my clients gets the most engagement as people like to see other people. Posting images or videos with people create more of a connection with your audience and pulls more emotion into the message you want to convey.
Audiences love to see ‘day in the life’ posts showing the ins and outs of working in real estate. People feel as if they are more involved when they know what’s going on behind the scenes. This is a great way of showing how much effort and dedication you put into your work and clients. An audience also engages really well when talking about topics such as how to get into your first home and how to navigate the current market.
The main benefit is brand awareness. People buy and sell with people. This means when your audience recognises you and becomes familiar with your work, they’re more likely to work with you. People love familiarity and like to know they are supporting someone who aligns with their values.
Social media is also a great way to get engagement on listings. Creating hype around your new listings can be a really great way to create a connection between your listings and audience. They may feel more invested in wanting to know more information and following along in the journey.
The ease of platforms like Facebook and Instagram makes it super-efficient if anyone wants to ask a quick question. That way I can respond easily wherever I am and I feel like this adds to the value my clients are getting from me.
TikTok is a very interesting social media platform to talk about. It is a super-fast way to consume content as an audience. As this is how most people consume media these days due to attention spans become shorter, TikTok has really taken off by tapping into the changing market.
This is a platform that is really untouched for real estate. There is plenty of scope for agents to get on this fast-growing trend but not many are. What Sharna has done really well on TikTok is tap into the first home buyers' market by giving tips on how to enter the market. This demographic really benefits from learning directly from real estate agents and our experiences working with other first home buyers for example.
In January 2021 social media users make up 82% of the population. This is huge stat and means you can connect with a massive proportion of the population directly from your mobile phone. This will open you up to more opportunities such as getting to know your client base. Being so connected to your audience and clients will allow you to learn their likes, dislikes and interests which will help you tailor your customer experience and lead to success.
Get to know Sharna more by following her on Facebook, Instagram or Tik Tok.
Want to know more about digital marketing? Check out our similar articles:
How To Maximise Your Real Estate Success With Digital Marketing - The Ultimate Guide
Your Guide To Digital Marketing For Real Estate Agents
How To Create Social Media Strategy To Grow Your Real Estate Business
That is why we teamed up with Sharna Salthouse from Telos Group to give us some direct insight into her experience on using social media as a real estate agent. Her social network stood out to us as she has great engagement, an awesome balance in the types of posts she creates and is branching out to new platforms that most professionals haven’t considered.
We asked Sharna the following questions to find more about her real-life experiences in the social media world:
Where is the best place to start when creating your social media pages?
You don’t need much in terms of hardware to start utilising social media. A phone with a decent camera will do the trick, which most phones have these days.
Generally, Facebook and Instagram are the most used platforms for agents as the bulk of their clients are active on these platforms. They are also super easy to set up and use directly from your mobile so you can be in contact with your clients and audience at any time.
“Social networks represent the digital reflection of what humans do: we share and connect.” - Jeremiah Owyang.
When initially setting up your pages, you want to make sure people can find all the information they need to know about you. You’ll need to include: the area you service, links to your website, contact details, do you specialise in a niche target market? Let your audience know this so you can attract quality followers. You want quality followers so that you can keep your engagement up and they are more likely to convert into clients if they haven’t already.
What topics generate the best responses?
I find that posts with either me or my clients gets the most engagement as people like to see other people. Posting images or videos with people create more of a connection with your audience and pulls more emotion into the message you want to convey.
Audiences love to see ‘day in the life’ posts showing the ins and outs of working in real estate. People feel as if they are more involved when they know what’s going on behind the scenes. This is a great way of showing how much effort and dedication you put into your work and clients. An audience also engages really well when talking about topics such as how to get into your first home and how to navigate the current market.
What benefit have you seen from using social media?
The main benefit is brand awareness. People buy and sell with people. This means when your audience recognises you and becomes familiar with your work, they’re more likely to work with you. People love familiarity and like to know they are supporting someone who aligns with their values.
Social media is also a great way to get engagement on listings. Creating hype around your new listings can be a really great way to create a connection between your listings and audience. They may feel more invested in wanting to know more information and following along in the journey.
The ease of platforms like Facebook and Instagram makes it super-efficient if anyone wants to ask a quick question. That way I can respond easily wherever I am and I feel like this adds to the value my clients are getting from me.
We first discovered Sharna on TikTok... so we were curious as to why Sharna has used TikTok for business use?
TikTok is a very interesting social media platform to talk about. It is a super-fast way to consume content as an audience. As this is how most people consume media these days due to attention spans become shorter, TikTok has really taken off by tapping into the changing market.
This is a platform that is really untouched for real estate. There is plenty of scope for agents to get on this fast-growing trend but not many are. What Sharna has done really well on TikTok is tap into the first home buyers' market by giving tips on how to enter the market. This demographic really benefits from learning directly from real estate agents and our experiences working with other first home buyers for example.
Why you should be present on social media:
In January 2021 social media users make up 82% of the population. This is huge stat and means you can connect with a massive proportion of the population directly from your mobile phone. This will open you up to more opportunities such as getting to know your client base. Being so connected to your audience and clients will allow you to learn their likes, dislikes and interests which will help you tailor your customer experience and lead to success.
Get to know Sharna more by following her on Facebook, Instagram or Tik Tok.
Want to know more about digital marketing? Check out our similar articles:
How To Maximise Your Real Estate Success With Digital Marketing - The Ultimate Guide
Your Guide To Digital Marketing For Real Estate Agents
How To Create Social Media Strategy To Grow Your Real Estate Business
