5 Tips for Keeping Social Media Social
June 7, 2016
Would you go to a party and provide everyone with a laundry list of homes that you recently sold or have listed? I sure hope not. While there is some boasting that will naturally go on, we would hope your topics of conversation kept a healthy balance between work, news, and your personal life.
The question we often get is: how to keep that balance? People seem to either post too much or not post enough. The best advice I can give? Treat social media like a party.
Below are five tips to help you keep social, well social:
1. DON’T JUST ADVERTISE- LET’S BE HONEST
No one cares about your products/services that much — well, maybe your parents. With that said— if you exclusively post your just listed homes, people will not hesitate to block you. At a party, this is where someone moves to other groups with the excuse of going to get a drink, but never returns. At a party, the consequences might only affect you and a small group, but in the social arena every person that blocks your feed is lost reach. Every Facebook like gives you access to that person’s “circle”. This doesn’t mean never advertise, but have a healthy mix.
2. BE INVOLVED, BUT OUTSOURCE
There is nothing wrong with outsourcing your social media, unless you are paying your hard-earned money to someone who automatically inserts copy for you and for 1,000 other agents. Generic content doesn't help make you social. On the other hand, if you invest in a reputable company to handle your social media, you’ll get unique, custom content and real engagement. But it isn’t ONLY up to the company you hire; you should also participate on your own social media. The company you hire will help you create a marketing strategy and teach you how to improve your social media presence to ensure a healthy balance.
3. BE CONSISTENT
Consistency is key with everything! If you have a set-it-then-forget-it mentality, you can’t be social. If you make new friends at a party and never call them or see them again, chances are you will lose those friendships. The same is true of social media. If you create an account and then you never go back to it, you can’t expect people to engage.
4. BUILD ONLINE GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES
Building a loyal community of followers will make the difference between an ever-growing fan base and becoming more online noise. When you have a community of people that want to be connected to you, they will remain interested in what you post and will engage often. By using hashtags and creating groups, you can carry on conversations in real time. There are currently 891 posts on Instagram for #bocaratonrealestate. By using that hashtag, you can find others discussing real estate in Boca, and participate in conversations that might be of interest to you.
5. INVEST ON ADVERTISING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Everyone loves the fact that social media is free, but that is a misconception. To build a strong community, particularly at the beginning, you should invest in a sound social media marketing strategy. If you have a good post and you want more people to see it, boosting to the right target audience will help build your fan base. Furthermore, if you have a special event or something in particular that you’d like to get more exposure for, advertising on social media is a great tool. It is easy to track conversions, and you can get really specific on the audience that sees your advertising. It’s a great way to increase awareness.
Always remember to treat your social media presence as though you were at a social event. If you wouldn’t say it at a party, keep it off your social media. If you have questions about how to excel in the social media scene, give our South Florida marketing agency a call.