Social Media Marketing: Get Personal to Get Business

By Jill Griffin

Recently, a status update I posted on Facebook received 66 Likes.

And no, it wasn’t an engagement or a wedding announcement and it wasn’t a post about a new job – I love my job! It was an update about my ever-growing real estate business changing from Jill Griffin Homes to The Carrera Team. Now, 66 Likes may seem a little high for this kind of news but it’s pretty common for my Facebook posts to get a ton of Likes and comments.

Why? The answer is simple:

My friends and fans are emotionally involved in my real estate career.  And an emotionally involved audience is not only just a nice asset but also an absolute essential if you want to convert your online presence into a source for generating leads.

People often ask how relationships built primarily through social media can turn into prospective clients and referrals. I always say you’ve got to first get over the fear of thinking people don’t want to know about your real estate business. They do.

It is natural for people to want to be part of something, especially if they can say they’ve been there from the beginning and seen you grow and thrive. Don’t be scared to put yourself out there. Ask your audience for guidance, for advice and for help. When you voluntarily open your doors to receive either constructive criticism or useful advice, you start building an emotionally involved audience. Your audience now becomes part of your success story.

When they see you achieving your professional goals, they feel a similar sense of accomplishment. They’ve been there all along and they feel good knowing you’re doing great things.

Of course, successful Facebook marketing is all about finding that careful balance between posting frequent – and interesting – updates and posting so much you become the equivalent of a social media gnat on the mixed salad that is someone’s newsfeed. Nobody wants to be a gnat. To give you an idea of the kind of content you should post, here are some suggestions based on what has worked for me:

1. Ask your Facebook fans for advice on new marketing materials. Which style, color or presentation do they like best?
2. Post two photos of a listing and ask your Facebook friends to decide which photo they like best. Be sure to give a few details about the listing in your description to entice prospective buyers who may not even know the property is going up for sale.
3. Post all active and sold listings but no more than one a day.

Everyone wants to work with a busy agent!

With these suggestions to guide you, revisit your Facebook page and commit to putting yourself out there. Because when you make your audience an integral part of helping you grow and succeed, they’ll end up thinking of you each and every time they hear the word “buy” or“sell.” And that’s something every real estate professional should definitely Like.

JILL GRIFFIN is an agent at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Real Estate of the Rockies in Denver, CO, who says she knew she wanted to be a real estate agent since the age of six. Visit Jill on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jillgriffinhomes.