Social media has changed the way we communicate as a society, and from a business perspective, it has opened up a new way to connect with current and future customers. Almost every business has greatly benefitted from this opportunity to interact with customers, and real estate companies are no exception.
Why is social media important?
A statistics by Shareablesocial.com shows that by 2020, the number of Facebook users will be 132 billion while Twitter will have more than 302 million users. These vast numbers simple mean more potential customers for you, provided you start now.
Here are some proven strategies that can help you to build a strong social media profile.
Create your own page
The first step is to shout out your existence to the social media world by creating a personalized page that includes information about your company, videos, pictures and anything else that will bring in audience. Since hundreds of real estate companies already have a presence on social media, it makes sense to come up with something interesting and innovative for your audience.
Be everywhere
The sheer number of social media sites can be overwhelming, but many real estate companies have a presence everywhere as it gives them an opportunity to convert all their fans and followers into potential customers. It also gives them access to a wider customer base spread across different regions.
For example, Corcoran Group, a prominent real estate firm in NYC, gives its customers the option to connect with any social media site of their choice. They have an active presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, FourSquare, Goawalla, Tumblr, Vimeo and more.
More Participation
Social media is not the same as static websites, so just creating an account is not enough. This is why companies have a dedicated social media team that interacts with fans and followers all the time. They engage with them, learn more about their needs and provide services accordingly. Sometimes, these companies post important tips and information related to their markets to give their customers some valuable information, and more importantly to connect with them. Such a connected environment has greatly benefitted real estate companies by way of increased businesses and higher profits.
A case in point is an apartment finder company called ApartmentHomeLiving.com. Their Facebook and Twitter pages get hundreds of requests for apartments every day, and their social media team responds promptly with listings. No wonder, it has more than 68,000 fans on Facebook and 5,000 followers on Twitter!
However, they key is not to bombard customers with listings, as the aim is to engage with them by providing useful information that will help them to make the right choices.
Tap into the power of multimedia
Good use of multimedia can bring images to life, and can give your prospective customers an idea of what to expect from a home. This is why WellcomeMat, a community of real estate agents and filmmakers, provides full-motion video tours of properties, neighborhoods and more to give customers a virtual feel of a property. It captivates the attention of customers, and delivers quality information about a place or a property, that in turn, translates to more customers.
In short, social media is a powerful tool that can transform the business of any real estate company, provided it is used well to connect with more customers.