As of October 2012, Facebook reached 1 billion monthly active users. LinkedIn® has 175 million professionals worldwide, including all Fortune 500 companies. Twitter users generate an average of 400 million tweets each day. And, according to the 2013 National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Member Profile, technology tools such as websites, social media and mobile apps are integral to REALTORS®’ business success. A growing number are embracing new technologies and marketing strategies to attract buyers, including social media. Fifty-six percent of NAR members are using social media while an additional 9 percent plan to in the future. The use of social networking sites is more widespread among younger REALTORS®, with 79 percent of those 29 and younger using social media.
For example, save homebuyers time by enabling them to preview potential homes online via social media, like Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. This maximizes the exposure of the home and is convenient and efficient for would-be buyers. Those that have previewed it online will be much more serious if they decide to come for an actual walk-through.
Yet the landscape is changing so quickly that it’s hard to stay current with the latest and greatest. Here are tips on how to use some new and also enduring social media tools to maximize your home sales and enhance your client relationships.
Using Instagram. Instagram is an easy-to-use and share photo service, which is increasingly used by agents to take photos of property listings, for example, using different angles and lighting filters. Agents can photograph key features of the home and share comments about the home or its features. Instragram complements other social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. Users can connect their Twitter and Instagram accounts, as well as Facebook, Tumblr and Flickr, in order to push photos out through these sites and gain exposure.
