With smartphones, tablets, apps and 4G networks all available at our fingertips, it’s not hard to see how drastically our world has changed in the last 5-10 years. Technology is rapidly advancing and has been pivotal to the real estate industry at large, changing the way we read our news, list homes and communicate with clients. For consumers, it has forever altered the way they search, buy and sell their homes. Even word of mouth has changed, taking off like rapid-fire across the pages of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more. Though the real estate business may be quickly adapting, utilizing technology to truly connect with the next generation of homebuyers is the new challenge that’s presented to many REALTORS® in the market today.
“There’s no better way to show how technology has driven the real estate industry than to look at what social media enables real estate professionals to do,” says Mark D’Andrea, social media consultant. “We are in a business of relationships and relationship management. Social media is the perfect platform for doing that. It’s almost as if social media was custom-built for the real estate industry in many ways.”
Understanding the importance of social media is a great starting point, but knowing how to truly leverage it for your business could make or break your success. That’s where Social SolutionsSM, a social media marketing program offered by The Personal Marketing Company, can help. The Social Solutions program helps real estate professionals connect to their audience like never before, providing fresh industry news and local content on a daily basis that members can auto-post to their social media pages or blogs. By maintaining updates consistently, brokers and REALTORS® can keep audiences interested and grow their businesses, thanks to industry-rich content and increased Search Engine Optimization (SEO) rankings.
“It allows me to not only stay engaged with my audience, but to keep them up-to-date with helpful content offered through the Social Solutions program,” says Bill Barrs, a REALTOR® with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers in Atlanta, Ga. “From weekend events coming up in the area to what’s going on in the market and how it’s recovered, I can keep my clients abreast of this rapidly changing market.”