Elevate Your Real Estate Marketing Strategy!

Using Social Media To Your Advantage With Proven KPI’s……

When it comes to real estate marketing strategies chances are you already know how important it is that you stand out from the crowded marketplace. The truth is, there are a lot of real estate agents out there and with no real restrictions on where an agent can work you might be even competing with agents from across the province! Don’t be overwhelmed. At Dufferin Media we have a number of tips and tools to help you not only stand out but also, to measure the ROI of your social media marketing campaign. We help to ensure you really are getting the most “bang for your buck!” 

CREA, The Canadian Real Estate Association, estimates there are about 78,000 real estate agents across the province of Ontario. Almost 130,000 homes have changed hands (YTD) in our province. That’s an astounding number of homes, and an astounding number of folks trying to sell them! That means the task of differentiating your brand is huge. The key word in that last sentence is BRAND.  To gain traction and visibility in the real estate market, you need to create a personal brand that is memorable and you need to saturate the market like a sudden rainstorm on an otherwise dry day. There are a number of ways to go about doing so.

Using Social Media to your advantage:

• BRANDING – Who are you and why are you different from every other realtor? 
  • You might choose to specialize in a specific neighbourhood or community, perhaps even the one you live in and use that to your advantage. “I live here too….” will establish a certain amount of credibility when it comes to claims of knowing the area, recommending great places to dine out or local parks and schools for the kids. 
  • Perhaps your area of expertise is condos and you can share that you help buyers to understand not just the purchase and sale price but condo fees and what they mean and how to get involved on a condominium board.  
  • If luxury homes are your niche you’ll want to ensure that everything about your brand shouts “high end” and that means all your photos, references to products, even your profile picture and font style on your social media pages reflects the image of style. 
• VISIBILITY – You need to everywhere. 
  • You’ll want to secure the rights to every available social media channel and get your name and brand out there and being seen. If you think Pinterest isn’t the place for you – you’re wrong! Pinterest is where you share tips and tools on how to make a house a home, design strategies for small spaces or the importance of neutral tones. Facebook is where you share listings and Instagram is a place to highlight stunning photos. Tweet out microblogs sharing fun facts, get a YouTube and Vimeo account and establish a profile on LinkedIn. 
  • All of this is important not just in terms of market saturation but it also helps to establish your credibility. If you are easily found you can be easily referenced and easily researched by buyers and sellers looking to ensure you’re the “real deal.” 
• CONSISTENCY – Wherever you are, don’t deviate from your brand. 
  • Make sure your messaging, your profile and your pictures along with your branding are the same across all social media channels. 
  • As well, pay attention to the details. If you are “approachable” and “family-oriented,” share a picture of you with your own family and dress casually for your headshots. 
  • If you specialize in luxury, take the opposite approach and ensure your social media doesn’t accidentally include a photo of you in cut-off shorts downing a fast-food burger! 
  • Finally, know that you are “in it for the long haul.” Nothing is more frustrating for buyers and sellers than to see your posts, start following you and then when it’s time for them to buy or sell you’ve gone missing. Just like nurturing a relationship in real life, your online presence will take time to create, build and foster trust. 

KPI’s and LEADS:

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Never (and we mean never!) confuse the KPI’s of social media with lead generation. LEADS are an entirely different conversation and one we are happy to have with you – perhaps another day. This blog is focussed only on how to be successful and increase awareness of your brand on social media. Ultimately, we’re talking about establishing and maintaining your reputation, trust in your brand and generating more leads. 

For the record, KPI’s are your Key Performance Indicators. Here’s what you need to look for when it comes to KPI’s for social media:

1. Social Media Followers 

While some folks in the business might think of this as a “vanity” metric (think high school – “I have more followers than you,”) it’s not that simple. It is a completely relevant statistic as each follower adds potential value to your business. 

2. Social Media Reach or Impressions.  

This number is literally a measure of how many eyeballs saw your business and/or your business posts. Everything is tracked. If you produce videos, those too will be measured and the more media you are on, the greater your social media reach. Ask us how to improve yours. 

3. Engagement 

This is an important one. Engagement refers to how many people actually interacted with your content. This includes how many people liked, commented or shared your content (and therefore extend your reach) and is usually measured in a number or percentage. For details, contact the team at Dufferin Media. It’s what we do – every day! 

4. Traffic to your website 

This too is another KPI that you can use to measure the success of your social media marketing efforts. You may even want to create opportunities for email subscribers if you have newsletter signup. If you do – make sure you actually publish a newsletter and while we don’t suggest you flood inboxes, establish a regular schedule of publishing dates so people will come to expect and perhaps even look forward to its arrival!

5. Other KPI’s 

Finally, other key performance indicators that might be relevant include getting “mentions” by others, new reviews on your Facebook profile or connecting with folks via a direct message on your social media accounts like Facebook messenger or through your LinkedIn profile. 

It’s time to elevate your social media strategy and then track results using the KPI’s we’ve shared here today. If the task seems overwhelming or you’re busy with a focus on your business, Dufferin Media can help establish your brand, online profile and increase your social media reach. Real estate is about developing relationships both online and in person. We’ll do the online part – creating more and more opportunities for you to meet buyers and sellers so you can focus on the in-person relationships!