As real estate virtual assistants, one of the biggest aspects of our job is managing our clients’ expectations. When it comes to a new marketing tool or fresh approach to publicizing their businesses, we need to be honest about what they should expect and differentiate what the benefits of each service actually are. When it comes to a newer, more innovative approach to marketing like social networking, managing expectations has become imperative to the success of the growth of that part of our business.
As a marketing tool, social media genuinely works. We have seen a few of our clients’ fan bases grow exponentially, and all have gotten more exposure in their community due to our efforts. The clients that are most happy with our social networking efforts are the ones who know and understand what social media is for and know what to expect when they go into it. That’s why I thought I’d take some time to outline exactly what you should expect from using social media as a platform:
Time will need to be spent researching, preparing and posting content. Your real estate virtual assistant should be posting interesting, relevant content to your community and target demographic. When I say relevant, I’m not necessarily saying that everything has to be real estate statistics and buyer and seller tips. You’ll also want to post community events, seasonal posts, run contests and promotions, post photos and videos and ask questions. Relevant on social media can be classified as anything that your target demographic will find interesting or important. With that in mind, you need to make sure that whoever is maintaining your social media sites is switching up the content and keeping it fresh and interesting. It shouldn’t be one gigantic ad for your services. It should be a place where people will want to read your varied content and comment on it. They’ll want to use it as a platform for discussion. This is the way that you start to build relationships with your social network.
It takes time! I can’t tell you how many real estate agents expect that after their page is set up and posted to daily for a few weeks, they will immediately start getting hundreds of fans and leads from their efforts. That isn’t how social media works. Many experts feel that it can take over a year to start getting leads from social media. The reason for this is that you need to take time to build up your content and get fans on your page before you start building interaction and getting people to pick up the phone. If you’re going to invest in social networking, you need to keep this in mind and understand that in order to see results; it’s going to require patience and dedication to this platform. Once it starts to work for you, you will start to see your fan base steadily rise, the leads come in more frequently and you’ll find that it was worth the investment! Your real estate virtual assistant should make sure that they’re using this time to build up your content and fan base and track your results so you can see steady success down the line.
The goal of social media isn’t purely to get leads. The goal of social media is to give yourself more exposure to your community, showcase yourself as a community resource and expert in your field and start interacting more with the people in your target demographic. From this, leads can and likely will come from social media, but if you’re not seeing leads from your efforts right away, it’s important to remember not to throw in the towel. As I said, it can take over a year to start seeing steady interaction and start getting leads from social networking. If you understand the value in showcasing yourself on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ as a real estate and community resource, and using that platform to start engaging socially, then you’ll understand why getting leads from this may take longer than you might think. People want to trust their real estate agent, and one way to build that trust is by getting to know someone before calling them for business services. Social media is a great way to start building that trust, so that when down the line somebody is seeking real estate services, your name will be the first one that comes to mind. Your real estate virtual assistant should be fostering interaction on your profile and start building the trust that is needed to turn a Facebook fan into a lead!
As your real estate marketing gurus, we feel that it's important to make sure our clients know exactly what to expect when they start using any of our many marketing services! When it comes to social media, one of the most important parts of success is understanding each platform and what it can do for your business. One of our main goals is to make sure that our clients genuinely "get it."
Have a great day!
Sarah Kay
Social Media Specialist
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