Simple Rules for Social Media Success.
I still feel that many businesses place Social Media as one of the extra things they have to do alongside running their business, taking phone calls, replying to emails, updating their website, chasing invoices etc… But I also feel that a warning should be made that if you are not properly using the likes of LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook then you do so at your own peril.
Time and time again now, businesses are gaining enquiries and new clients via social media, they are building their brand awareness online and importantly also building their following – Going forward, in internet marketing terms, they are building their own communities which they will have available 24/7 to market to.
Taking a look at things in simple terms, success on social media is really down to two things, the quality of your presence and the quality of how you interact.
Know your Business and Know your Social Media Channels
The are now quite a few social media channels to choose from, more and more are entering the scene and some are very target to the community that you could be after. Within the UK property industry, I would recommend you take at look at Twitter, LinkedIn with Facebook, Instagram, Periscope and Youtube also worth a look over.
Remember, that nearly all of the people you are looking to target will be using social media, it is important you know your target audience and the channels they are most likely to be using.
Your Social Media Profile
Once you have set yourself up on the social media channels you feel are most suited to your agency, you need to get that right look. You may very well struggle now to get the name you wanted on social media, ie CarterEstateAgents, so you need to chose the next best or closest name and importantly, brand your social media account as per the rest of your marketing, ie logos, colours, descriptions, contact details etc.
A professional looking profile will have the edge over a standard or non branded account (many estate agents still have very poor branding on social media). Take time to make sure that you have consistency across all your social media channels, not only design, but if you can in name also so your username is the same on each platform.
Start Posting and Continue Posting Content
You’ll now be at a stage where you need to start sharing content on your channels, you can not rely on simply ‘This is my first tweet’ or ‘Yeah, we have now joined Facebook!’.
What will draw eyes to you is the content you share and how you engage with others on social media. You must ‘be social’ on social media, think about the basics such as a ‘good morning to all our followers’ or ‘interest rates stay at 0.5%, what are everyone’s thoughts?’ or if others have shared similar then comment on them, ie ‘Good morning back to you guys’ or ‘we suspect they’ll be no increase for several more years!’.
Regular content is good, people will start to rely and get to know your habits quickly, if you share regular educational, engaging and entertaining content is always best. Type of content is important, people loves photos and videos so try and use these to compliment your posts.
Build Relationships
As mentioned above, comment on other people’s content and words. Let others know you appreciate their social media presence too, retweeting, liking, sharing and more tells someone you have taken time to appreciate what they have shared and this kind of activity will help to build your own following.
Take things further by growing communities by using the likes of groups on Facebook, if you have time then the likes of a ‘Property in Sheffield’ or ‘First Time Buyers Chiswick’ will enable you to draw a highly target audience which could be invaluable to your business going forward.
Make sure you are active on social media and know when people have engaged with you. Reply to comments, thank people for their interactions even reply to those outside of your network (you can search social media channels, ie ‘problem with estate agent London’ and you can get in on conversations).
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