Realtors, Maintain Your Personal Touch in the Age of Social Media

While we often stress the importance of online marketing and social media in today’s real estate environment, it’s also useful to remember that it’s not the ONLY factor at play.

On top of keeping those SEO stats stable, being able to deal with clients on a more personal level should not be something that realtors lose sight of. After all, most realtors tend to shine in one-to-one interactions, and this personal touch doesn’t have to be drowned out in this increasingly digital age.

A lot of things online already come off as impersonal, which means that realtors need to exert a little extra effort to avoid leaving this impression on prospects and clients.

While automation is acceptable for some aspects of the business, in the end, nobody really wants to deal with a robot.

This is why we’ve put together this quick set of tips on how to add more warmth to your social media presence. Hopefully, by following these tips, it will be easier for you to break the ice online.

Keep it simple

If you’re posting great content and putting up good listings, but don’t seem to be getting the response that you’re looking for, a possible reason for this could be that your audience can’t really understand what you’re saying. When this happens, they either lose interest, or end up hesitant in responding.

To avoid this, leave out the technical details and nitty-gritty for later (like in the case of describing a listing or property). Instead, use simple, direct descriptions that would be suited for readers who may just be skimming along in their Facebook feeds. Speak to your target audience in a way they would easily “get.”

This rule of thumb also applies to other content such as your blog posts, comments, videos, podcasts, and so on.

Keep the jargon to a bare minimum (unless, of course, you know that you are speaking to other experts), and always consider the possibility that there could be someone in your audience who might not know what it means.

If necessary, take the time to give a quick explanation… you know, just like if you were speaking to other people in the same room as you.

Respond and interact

It’s another one of those things that may sound obvious, but is often overlooked.

You could be posting great content, but you also need to take the time to visit those posts, and see if there are any comments or reactions. If there are any, do your best to respond to those as soon as possible.

The reason for this is that even if your social media account is regularly updated (possibly with the help of some automation), if you don’t show up from time to time, your account can still end up looking like it’s been abandoned. To use a figure of speech, the lights are on but nobody’s home.

The comments section is a great way to interact directly with your clients and prospects. Here, you can speak to them on a personal level, maybe say hello, or see if they have any concerns you can help out with. So keep an eye on those posts, and don’t miss out on chances to say hello to your readers!

Start the conversation

Sometimes, you just need to get the ball rolling.

A lot of people on social media tend to be passive, just going about their day, and scrolling through their social media feeds… so try striking up a conversation with them!

One of the easiest ways to do this is to ask questions. It doesn’t have to be about anything major. Sometimes, simple ones such as “How are you today?” or “Did you see the game?” are enough to get everyone talking.

You can also try running polls or asking for their input (“Should we have this room painted blue or beige?”), or even turn the whole thing around by scheduling a short “ask me anything” session where they get to throw questions at you.

Once they are engaged, this is your chance to let your personality shine via the conversations you have with everyone.

Whichever method you choose, the important part is that it opens up the opportunity for you to show that YES, there IS another person behind the screen who is happy to talk to them.

Don’t be afraid of humor

Just because you’re running a business social media account, doesn’t mean that it has to be bland! In fact, a lot of successful online marketing campaigns for large brands nowadays, are known for their touch of humor (check out Old Spice and IHOP for a quick laugh).

So go ahead, don’t be afraid to post that funny cat photo that has a joke about interior designing, or that real estate-related meme. If anything, your audience will most likely appreciate a quick chuckle as they go through their feeds.

(On a side note, as with all jokes that are cracked in public, keep it clean, okay?)

  

Transparency breeds trust

Last but not least, keep your interactions genuine. As mentioned earlier, a lot of things online are already viewed as impersonal and cold, so being someone who is genuine and heartfelt, even online, is always a breath of fresh air.

While it’s nice to share your achievements with your readers and clients, in case something does go wrong within your business (delays, miscommunication, etc), it is utterly important that you own up to it. Write out a public apology if necessary, or respond in private to a client that you may be going through some rough spots with.

Though something may have gone wrong for the moment, clients will always remember the businesses and the people who helped them out and were sincerely looking out for them during the ordeal.

Again, view this as an opportunity to reach out to your clients, as well as to showcase your talents and personality. Most importantly, this is a good chance to build rapport and trust with your clients.