Real estate marketers often miss the simple fact that social networks are the first platforms that are actually a two-way conversation and therefore are the perfect places to invest time and money.
This was just one of the golden nuggets of information delivered by Gary Vaynerchuk in Homes.com’s Secrets of Top Selling Agents webinar, “How to Use Social Media the Right Way,” which showed why sharing your story matters when it comes to closing more business.
Vaynerchuk, co-founder of VaynerMedia, is a New York Times bestselling author and social media expert. In the webinar, he touched upon everything from why micro-storytelling matters to some of the latest and greatest social media platforms real estate pros should be using.
Whether you’re working in a real estate business or doing something else, Vaynerchuk believes that too many people are spending time and money following principals from a time that society no longer lives in.
“It is my belief that in 2014, most people who are running their business are not marketing it correctly,” Vaynerchuk says. “Most companies are spending money on billboards, direct mail, print, radio and TV, both local and national, and they are not getting the same return on investment they were only five years ago.”
Become a Smart Marketer
Regardless of what social media sites you are using, the goal is to become a strong storyteller and convince someone over a Facebook page or Instagram photo—just as you used to over a cup of coffee—to go with you over someone else. “It’s our job to tell our value preposition,” he says. “You need to become educators and provide more value.”
A great way to do this is by creating posts, tweets and photos of more than just the homes you are listing. Instead, deliver “Did You Know” type content, providing information about mortgages or the neighborhood or even tips on home inspections.
According to Vaynerchuk, once someone has fully decided to buy or sell a home, it’s already too late in the process. He compares it to someone already in a supermarket walking down the aisle to get food. You want to attract the customer before that decision is made.
“You should become the local newspaper in your town,” he says. “When you are a real estate agent, the number one thing is to become the authority. If you blog and Facebook and use Twitter and Pinterest correctly, providing value for the people in your town, you’ll have every housewife, retiree and kid in town following you.”
For example, he suggests interviewing the local high school star or the owner of the sub shop or the superintendent of the district to write up or film as social media posts.
“The days of just being the real estate agent are over. Everybody can become a media agency,” he says. “You are all a product of your expertise in a town. The person who interviewed your daughter on the track team is going to get that business when she goes off to college and the parents decide they are going to move down to Florida.”
This will also help your name pop up first when people considering moving to the town Google it to find information.
