Real Estate Agents Can Leverage Social Media to Nurture Professional Relationships – Here’s How

We totally get it. Social media is out of hand lately!! If it seems like your feed is loaded with nothing but advertisements, the shameless self-promotion of colleagues you hardly know, and your teenager’s sporting event selfies, then you’re in good company. We’ve all been tempted to uninstall the apps and go back to the sanity of 1994. But if you’re a realtor, you might not want to delete those social media accounts just yet. 

Ask any business owner, and they’ll tell you that it’s not what you know. It’s who you know. Think of social media as a constant, ongoing networking luncheon. The right people who can help you build your business (and whose businesses you can help to support) are out there! The more you network, the more you make the right connections. But here’s the key… don’t just send friend requests with no plans to nurture those relationships. Network with people you genuinely intend to interact with… and then start engaging with relevant posts and comments.

With that said, here are a few tips for social media engagement.

Don’t “Post and Ghost”. 

If you’re anything like me, you’re thinking, “Fine. I’ll post something. But I won’t look at social media again until next week.” If that’s your mindset, we’ve got a bit of bad news for you: Your network isn’t fooled. When comments go unanswered, you inadvertently communicate to your colleagues that your interactions aren’t genuine. Treat conversations on social media the same way you’d treat an in-person conversation. If you wouldn’t ignore someone face-to-face, then don’t ignore them online.

Educational Posts are Fan Favs.

Remember back in the day when grandpa used to offer “a nickel’s worth of free advice”? In today’s world, good advice usually costs a lot more than a nickel. Now that half of the educational content that your followers want to read is hidden behind a paywall, you have a distinct opportunity to shine. Educational posts are viewed as free value-adding content, and most audiences can’t wait to click and read. 

Focus on Engaging With and Supporting Existing Clients

Go ahead and follow your current clients – and don’t forget to engage with their posts! Social media is intended to be, well… social. It’s a space where we can gather to support one another and interact. So don’t neglect to like and comment on the posts of others. In fact, we would argue that this should encompass 80% of your time! Leave the other 20% for talking. Do this, and odds are good that your clients will want to support you in return.

The bottom line? Keep it genuine. Be a real person on social media, and treat others as the same.