How Well Do You Know Your Social Media Audience?

It’s apparent that the key to having a successfulsocial media presence is by having a strong following. It sounds simple enough, but this is something that several agents struggle with when they start their social media marketing campaign. Agents with large followings and a successful online following don’t have any special secret or trick that they use to obtain success, they just know the golden tip for building up your following: you have to know your audience.

 The reason that social media is successful as a marketing tool is because it allows businesses to interact with their consumers. The only way, however, that you can get the interaction you need to have a successful social media presence is by knowing your audience. What interests them? What information will they want to read about on your page? What will spark their interest in your page enough to get them to interact with you?

Using some of these tips will help you get to know your followers even better:

Know who your target demographic is. Who are you targeting? Buyers? Sellers? First-time homebuyers? Empty-nesters? What age group are you trying to interact with? What geographic location are you targeting? It’s important when you’re maintaining both your Facebook and Twitter accounts that you post information that is relevant and interesting to the types of people that you’re trying to engage with. If you try to post information for too broad of a scope of people, you end up having a page that is too general and won’t get any interaction. Before you start setting-up your page, make sure you know the answers to some of these questions. Don’t make your target market too narrow, but narrow it down enough that your page will be engaging for the types of people you’d want to be your next client.

First impressions are key. If someone becomes a fan of your Facebook page or follows you on Twitter, make sure you thank them! When someone decides to follow you in some way online, that’s their way of making the first step to interact with you. The best way to make a good first impression on your new follower or fan is to send them a message on Facebook or mention on your Twitter page thanking them for deciding to follow you. We suggest that you try to personalize these messages because then you’ll seem more genuine and people will be more willing to interact with you. On Twitter, it’s okay to mention someone on your page, but if you see a new follower who could be a lead or looks like somebody you’d be very interested in interacting with, you should send them a direct, personalized message thanking them. This is something that is easy to do and can be done every day in a short period of time! You never know what types of interactions can begin just by thanking someone.

Don’t be silent-join the conversation on your page! When someone comments on something you post on Facebook or re-tweets one of your tweets, don’t just ignore them! Respond to them and start engaging them in conversation. The more you interact with people on your social media pages, the more comfortable they’ll feel coming back and talking to you more. It’s also a great way to get to know your audience more and what types of content they respond to.

Ask questions!! The best way to encourage your fans and followers to give you their input or engage with you is to ask questions. For the holidays, ask your fans what their gift ideas for Mom and Dad are. On Friday, ask your fans what they’re doing that weekend. Doing this frequently shows that you care about your following and what they have to say. When you’re on Facebook, you can use the Discussions tab to ask questions and start conversations with your fans, and you can use your wall to direct fans to the discussion tab. This tab is a fantastic resource to use because people can engage and talk with people who are also interested in that topic, whereas conversations taking place entirely on the wall can sometimes be overlooked. This is another way to make people feel more comfortable coming to your page and interacting. Remember, the more approachable and engaging you seem on your profile, the more comfortable people will feel using social media to begin a conversation with you.

Follow back. This sounds simple enough, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t take the time to follow people back on Twitter or fan back a page or local business that liked them on Facebook. Besides the fact that this simply makes you look more friendly, the best way to get to know your online following is to look at their profiles. It’s also important to remember that if you find a fan or follower that you’re interested in, REALLY follow them! That is, if you found them on Twitter, try and interact with them on Facebook as well. Read their content, read their blogs, and start engaging with them on their page as well as your own. Taking the time to get to know the online presence of a potential lead, business contact, or interesting fan will help you get to know your overall audience much better, and you can converse with them on similar interests that you both share in terms.

Check out their following. This might not be something you’d initially think to do, but think about how much you could learn about the interests of your following by looking at who else they’re a fan of on Facebook or following on Twitter. You could also see potential new leads and fans by doing this. Remember, people are more likely to respond to you in the social media world if they feel you have common interests or a common friend, and so looking at your following’s audience and picking the ones relevant to you could help you not only build your online presence, but engage with more people as they feel that you’d have something else in common.

We know it sounds as though these initiatives take a lot of time, but in the long run, it is worth getting to know your audience. The more you get to know your online following, their interests, and what they’re looking for, the more likely they are to interact with you. If you don’t have the time, ask your Real Estate Virtual Assistant to manage your social media presence.

Make it a great day!

Sarah Kay
Social Media Specialist