Don’t Make Decisions In The Dark

Don’t Make Decisions In The Dark.  A simple but profound statement.  Most real estate agents don’t plan their business strategies let alone their social media strategies.   Trust me when I say, “Agents don’t plan, strategize, or have a vision.” Many have heard the statement, “Write Your Vision and Make it Plain”.  Do you have a vision? Do you have a plan?  Is it written down?

If you don’t have a plan,  you have planned to fail.

Making a decision in the dark is just doing something to do or  jumping from one idea to the next.  I’m going to try that new idea because it works for a different agent.  When most agents have no real idea what that agent does everyday to be successful.  So how to you keep from, “Making a Decision in the Dark?   How do you start with Social Media Marketing Plan?  For every agent the Social Media strategy will be different?

1. Know who your friends and follows are – If your family, friends and  followers are on Facebook know who they are.  Know the age group.  The habits of that age group, then go where they go.   Engage your group in conversation based on this information.   If most of your friends are having coffee every Wednesday at Starbucks then go to Starbucks.   This isn’t Rocket Science.   Posting on your wall when everyone is at a coffee house won’t bring in LEAD!  Basically use social media but know your customer personas.

2. Know the trends.  What’s the fastest growing demographic in social media?   The fastest growing group is 55 to 64.  However, they are not the most active users on social media.  So just because a group is growing doesn’t mean it’s the best group to target for your social media marketing plan.

3. Post Real Estate specific information for your market area.  It’s OK to post on a National Level but most of your buyers and sellers only want to know what’s happening in their marketplace.

4. Yes, It’s ok to share your listings.  Just remember Facebook doesn’t want you to sell anything you don’t own on a personal page.  That means, you can sell your own car, your own house or your own stuff. But if you are selling something that’s not your personal item like your clothes, your car or your house, you need a Facebook Business Page.  (Watch the short video on the top menu bar under videos.)  Creating a page is easy.  Just make sure you have a business photo.  A photo of you not your Dog, and I love my dog, just sayin!

By the way, if you are sharing your listings on a personal page, your friends may have hidden your posts.  Don’t be hidden to find out your marketing efforts were useless.

5. Schedule social media marketing time.  Yep, schedule your Social Media Marketing in your Google calendar.  Make it a reoccurring event so you stick to the date!  Learn how to schedule your social media posts.   “Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment with your marketing.” – Mike Volpe

7.  Sixty Four percent of marketers are using social media 6 hours or more per week.  Thirty Seven percent are using it 11+hours per week.   Age is a huge factor.  The younger the marketer the more they use social media.  Check out www.socialmediaexaminar.com for the annual report.

Now that you know that you need social media marketing plan take time to integrate it into your current marketing plan.  You don’t have to make it so intense that you won’t achieve success.  Keep it simple.  Use your handout to get started today!  Check back often as I provide more tips on how to integrate social media into your business.