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The Three Most Common Social Media Mistakes

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with RealSupport Inc.

Social media is a brand-new form of marketing, so if you’re an experienced real estate agent who is used to more tried-and-true marketing tactics, it can be difficult to grasp the concept of Facebook and Twitter. It’s hard enough learning how to use social networking sites and to understand the lingo, but when you’re not getting the results that you want, it can get frustrating. That’s why sometimes, it’s important to take a step back and yourself this: What am I doing wrong?

As real estate virtual assistants, we have adopted social networking as one of our biggest marketing tools for our clients. Along the way, we have learned what to do to have a successful Facebook business page or Twitter account...and what not to do. These three mistakes are ones that we’ve noticed several real estate agents make on their accounts.


Their approach is too hard-selling. The second that people go to your page and decide to “like” it, they know that you’re a real estate agent. They know that you’re on Facebook to have a business page and to market yourself and your brand. With that being said, having your posts push listing after listing, link back to your website constantly, and

only talk about the benefits of using your business will not spell success for your page. You do, of course, want to do this on occasion, but doing it too much and not changing up your posts will be viewed as annoying, and more often than not, people will disable your posts from their news feed and stop reading your content. Get your message and your brand out on your page, but also take the time to act as a community resource and show some interest in your fans by inviting them to participate on your page. Once you start focusing on building relationships instead of marketing yourself, you’ll find that your page will be a much larger success.

They don’t have a plan. Since most real estate agents are busy, they don’t take the time to sit down and create a plan for their social networking. Instead, they create the page, start posting sporadically, and then give up when they don’t start to see results from their page. The important thing to remember is that social networking is not a marketing medium that will give you instant gratification. You need to take some time to create your pages, build your presence, build up your fan

base, and start building relationships. In order to do this successfully, you need to sit down and create a timeline of how you’re going to build up your presence. You can start by allotting a certain amount of time to create your pages and build up your content, then allotting a time frame for building up your fan base, and from there gradually start building relationships with your fans and followers. Having a plan helps you stay organized and allows you to set realistic goals for your social media marketing efforts. One of the benefits of having a virtual assistant is that we can show you our plan and make it work for you.

They’re way too business-like in their interactions and responses on their Facebook and Twitter pages. While we understand the need to be business-like and professional on your pages, it’s also important to make your fans feel comfortable. Taking the time to show gratitude to people who are engaging with your brand on your business page, referring to each person by name as you interact with them, and acknowledging the various points of view and opinions that show up on your page goes a long way. It’s also important to take an interest in what your fans are up to and keep the conversation as casual as possible. Not every Facebook and Twitter interaction will turn into a business transaction on the spot. Building that genuine friendship and relationship over social media will make your fans remember you, and if they ever do need real estate services, whether it be five weeks from now or five years from now, your name will be the one they think of. That’s how you should approach all of your social media interactions.

Now that we’ve recognized these three mistakes, the key is to make sure that when you go about building up your social networking presence, you don’t make the same ones. Remember, the key to social networking is to be social, not only to market yourself. It can be a powerful marketing tool, but in order for it to work, you need to take a different approach. This approach might take some time on your part, but if you don’t have that, your real estate virtual assistants can help! Our experience in doing this for several of our clients has allowed us to pinpoint what works and what doesn’t, and we can help you get your social networking initiatives going.

Make it a great day!
Sarah Kay
Social Media Specialist.

Comments (5)

Mary Ellen Holleran
Holleran Real Estate - Chapel Hill, NC

This is an important post. We do have to learn to plan as we did before there was facebook/twitter.

Jun 23, 2011 11:01 AM
Alan Gross
PrimeLending, A PlainsCapital Company, Equal Housing Lender - Bethesda, MD
Loan Consultant

This is some great advice. People don't always have a need for your services so you need to keep them interested.

Jun 25, 2011 01:40 AM
RealSupport, Inc.
RealSupport Inc. - Schaumburg, IL
- Virtual Real Estate Marketing

Hi Mary Ellen- Thanks for your comment!  We completely agree that any type of marketing needs planning, no matter how casual the medium!  

Hi Alan- We always strive to provide real estate agents with up to date ideas and great advice!  We enjoy having the flexibility with our clients to use us when they need us since their needs can vary on a regular basis.  Thanks for taking the time to read and comment!

Jun 29, 2011 08:50 AM
Lyn Sims
Schaumburg, IL
Real Estate Broker Retired

Always want to know what 'not' to do. I really hate FB.

Jul 11, 2011 10:42 AM
RealSupport, Inc.
RealSupport Inc. - Schaumburg, IL
- Virtual Real Estate Marketing

Hi Lyn- Sorry to hear that!  We are always here to help if you have any questions or need someone to maintain your Facebook page!  

Jul 13, 2011 06:48 AM