The online presence and the use of social networks have become essential allies for all types of businesses, including those in the real estate sector. But, which social networks are the most suitable for a real estate agency? What types of content should be shared? Who should manage the accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or YouTube? And how should you interact with other users through these platforms? We have spoken with Erasmo López, Social Media, and Content Manager at foto casa and professor of online reputation at La Salle and at the Online Business School (OBS), to review the key aspects.
What are social networks for in the real estate sector?
The presence in social networks serves, above all, to achieve visibility and build trust. “Selling on social networks is very difficult, what can be achieved is being visible, competing for a share of attention in the market, taking into account that this is decreasing because there is a lot of competition and a multiplication of the content that arrives to the users ”, indicates the expert.
“The important thing is to be on the minds of potential clients and build trust, transmit security, which is one of the foundations of real estate management. Social networks can help to humanize the brand, to show the company’s values, what you do, and what you have achieved. And from there perhaps a contact can come out that will later generate a potential sale, but of course, this is not the primary objective of social networks. ”
Step one: define goals
Choosing the best social network for a real estate agent will depend, above all, on your objectives and the audience you want to reach. “We must be clear that resources are limited: you cannot be in all of them and do it well, you must choose the main ones or those that directly target the objective set,” says Erasmo López.
Among the possible objectives of the presence in social networks of a real estate agency are the following:
- Have a presence, that people know the company
- Show products
- Achieve visits to the agency’s own content and website
- Position yourself as an opinion leader in the real estate sector
Not all social networks are the same
Each social network has a different type of audience, different content needs, and specific immediacy. The recurrence of Facebook or Twitter is not comparable with the number of times LinkedIn is used or Instagram is viewed. All these factors, together with the objectives set, will determine which social network should be used in each case.
Social networks, one by one
“Regarding the real estate market, the social network in which you must be essential is LinkedIn. This will allow us to generate a network of contacts and to interact with other professionals in the same sector ”, explains the Social Media Manager of foto casa. The second social network, in terms of priority for a real estate agency, would be Facebook, “where all the people and the vast majority of brands are; you almost have to be there because everyone is there. But, in addition, it is necessary to be present with specific contents regarding the objective set ”.
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Twitter already works practically as a means of communication, so the most important thing is to share useful content. “If you don’t have a lot of your own content or you can’t spend a lot of time on social media, Twitter would be in the background, it wouldn’t be so necessary.” Similarly, to have a presence on YouTube, it is a basic requirement to offer original video content: “if you are not able to generate audiovisual content on a frequent basis, it is better not to have a YouTube account,” says the expert.
Regarding Instagram, it offers the possibility of showing a different face of the real estate agency, but “it is difficult to do business through Instagram; Although this social network is evolving to facilitate contact with the companies that use it, it is even more complicated than with the others ”.
Contents: beyond the real estate offers
“Most of the time we see that the presence of real estate agencies on social networks is limited to publishing their own real estate offer: their properties for sale, their new construction, etc. And they simply indicate the square meters, the location, and the price. Unless they are very interesting offers, this type of content is not more effective, “says Erasmo López. “To be visible, to be on the minds of potential customers, you need to offer content that is both interesting and innovative.”
You start by sharing
“In social networks, there is a basic premise: first you have to be interested and then you have to be interested. That is, first you have to see what other users say and share what others have published and we find it interesting. In this way, we will be offering content that may be useful to our followers. Social networks are based on sharing, on transmitting, and we will not be able to have someone share our content if we do not do it first. It is a win-win for everyone ”, in the words of Erasmo López.
This exercise in generosity, however, has certain limits and we must pay attention to what content is shared: “you do not have to share everything and, above all, you must avoid sharing the content of direct competition. But you can find quality and interesting content for our followers, such as those published by industry influencers. On the one hand, we can echo their content, and share it on our networks. And, on the other hand, we can look at what are their sources of information in order to, in the future, be the first to spread new interesting content and become a reference. “
A complex universe, a professional job
Social networks are increasingly fragmentary and, therefore, it is increasingly difficult to reach the interested public. In addition, ” we must not forget that Facebook, Twitter, and the rest of social networks are businesses and are increasingly promoting their visibility tools: that is, you have to pay to be visible, to reach more users, ” says the expert. As a consequence, it becomes necessary to increase investment to achieve a good presence on the networks.
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“If you bet on social networks, it must be done seriously and with a budget. It is not worth it that a person of the secretariat dedicates himself to updating the Facebook of the company at times, or that the management of the corporate Twitter is entrusted to the employee who is most active in this network. You have to professionalize these tasks and bet on having professionals dedicated to managing these social networks. In addition, some budget must also be dedicated in order to create specific content or contract campaigns ”,
Fotocasa’s social networks
Fotocasa is present on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and also on Pinterest, and Google+. “Fotocasa has understood that social networks are not only a space in which to publish properties, but they are the platform from which to offer another type of associated value”, indicates its Social Media and Content Manager. “We want to offer content that can serve users. Real estate agencies can join in sharing these contents and thus deliver quality and transversal content to their users. Similarly, foto casa shares those quality content generated by real estate agents or specialists in the sector. Because if you give value and I give value, who wins is the user, and, after all, that is what it is about ”.
