How to Use Social Media to Sell Homes

How to Use Social Media to Sell Homes

RECBL - Real Estate News

Rising interest rates, a nationwide inventory shortage and buyers out in full force this spring market-this is the current real estate climate most agents are doing business in.

Even with market challenges, agents also have to compete with each other, especially when it comes to open houses.

As April, Open House Month, winds down to a close, an agent can create a competitive edge by increasing open house visibility and attendance to convert more leads and sell faster.

Maintain Consistency
First and foremost, hosting open houses regularly every week will allow agents to become a household name within their community. Not only that, but constant face-to-face exposure to the general public will help them sell their listing faster, as open houses tend to be well attended this time of year. According to the National Association of REALTORS(R) (NAR) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, in 2015, 48 percent of buyers used an open house as a source in their home search process. On top of the traditional Sunday open houses, agents looking to stand out can also host on Saturdays-and for extended hours on both days.

Increase Online Marketing
Of course, attendance will be minimal without the correct approach to online marketing. Most buyers are beginning their search on the internet, and if an open house is not widely distributed throughout the most popular home search and social media sites-Zillow, Trulia, realtor.com(R), Homes.com, Facebook, Instagram, etc.-chances are, agents will not meet as many viable leads at the open house. According to the 2017 NAR Profile of Home Buyer and Sellers, 51 percent of buyers find their home via the internet.

Boost Sign Placement
Open house visibility should be augmented across the board, not just on the internet. Agents often can increase attendance-and, therefore, reduce time on the market-by promoting the open house thoroughly within the community itself. Setting up various open house signs throughout the neighborhood, especially on the corners of busy intersections, will not only attract buyers who are going to nearby open houses, but will bring in neighbors who may be looking to downsize or move up within the community, or may know of someone who wants to move into that specific neighborhood.

Obtain Contact Information
The goal of an open house is not only to sell the listing, but also to obtain buyer clients if they are not interested in purchasing that specific property. In order to pursue them as leads, agents will need to collect valid contact information. Todays modern age is setting expectations for swift technological advancement within the real estate industry, and buyers will more likely be impressed with an e-sign-in process via tablet rather than a paper form. With clients who may not have much experience with technology, this is an opportunity to assist them while also developing the relationship with them as a buyer lead.

Add Incentives
The No. 1 priority should be memorability. Adding incentives, such as a free vacation or an entry to a raffle, will make agents stand out from other open houses in the area. Doing this also increases their chances of obtaining valid contact information, which is essential to securing the lead as a future client.

Provide Refreshments
When it comes to food and drink, agents are divided. Some believe it is an added touch that buyers respond well to, while others say it introduces risk because of allergies; however, open houses typically run through lunch, and visitors will undoubtedly appreciate refreshments while they drive house to house for a few hours without pause. Baked goods do well with sweet-tooth visitors and children, and will also neutralize any odors if baked on-site. Themed food and drinks that relate to the current season or an approaching holiday are also a great way to engage visitors. To reduce liability, agents can offer a list of allergens before providing visitors with refreshments.

Set the Mood
If the home has a fireplace, agents can light it on cold and dreary days. This will warm up buyers and ensure they are relaxed when looking at the property. Additionally, adding light, relaxing music will help buyers feel at home. Agents should also ensure all lights are turned on and shades are pulled up to let sunlight in; this will open up rooms and make the home appear larger.

Prove Market Expertise
Lastly, and most importantly, agents need to prove they are knowledgeable about the market. Being able to provide pertinent neighborhood information-not only for their listing, but for those in the surrounding area within similar price points-will set them up as a community expert. Prospective buyers will also relate to the experience better, feeling as though they are receiving assistance rather than being pushed for business. According to REALTOR(R) Magazine, a broker in Denver, Colo., has had success in providing a giveaway map of the surrounding open houses for each Sunday.

Agents can also now rely on technology to obtain relevant information for potential buyers. There are various apps available for providing home valuations, neighborhood data and more. In addition, having a smart home speaker such as an Amazon Echo or Google Home on hand may help agents access this type of information hands-free, providing the opportunity for supplementary flyers, added eye contact, longer conversations and a solid lead by the end of the visit.



Jason Grace is AZ Social Realty's content editor. Email him your real estate news ideas at jason@cashbuyerslists.com.

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Facebook Shops Around for Its Next Business Endeavor: Rental Listings

Facebook Shops Around for Its Next Business Endeavor: Rental Listings

RECBL - Real Estate News

Once touted as the most popular and innovative internet community of its time, Facebook is now pushing to compete with trendy social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. As part of its rebranding efforts to become an all-in-one service, Facebook recently added payment capabilities to its messaging service, along with various filters to its camera settings to mimic Instagram’s photo editing settings.

It is now making a move into the real estate industry by adding apartment and home rental listings onto its existing Marketplace storefront, which so far only included household items, job postings and car listings.

Adding a social media twist to a popular Craigslist service, Facebook is transforming apartment searching into an interactive experience by providing 360-degree photo capabilities and using social media profile information to reduce the chances of scams and unsafe transactions. And while consumers will be able to search for properties based on location, price, size, bedroom number and animal restrictions-information that is provided by landlords and leasing companies-a real estate agent is nowhere in sight. So, how is this going to be impact the industry?

For many real estate agents, being fully entrenched in the rental business is a great way to transition into buying and selling. This is especially true for greener agents that don’t yet have the real estate experience, and need to build business by working primarily with renters. After all, it’s safe to assume that many of those renters will become buyers someday. Not only is it a great way for agents to familiarize themselves with the industry, but it’s vital to building a contact database that they can grow.

Not only is Facebook looking to list its consumer’s properties using Marketplace, but it is also pulling property information from partnered sources-Apartment List and Zumper-which will integrate hundreds of thousands of listings. Although only in the early stages of adoption, the industry could see this as a direct challenge to Zillow and other popular home search sites. Unless Facebook decides to go the lead marketing and agent branding route with brokerages, as Zillow does, the real estate industry may see this as an unwelcome addition. So far, it doesn’t sound great for the industry overall. But here’s why it won’t be an overnight success:

Consumers Want Simple
The more capabilities are added onto an app, the more complex it will be come. Yes, consumers expect a one-stop shop for services that make sense together, such as ordering food and getting it delivered; however, Facebook is primarily a social media site, and thats what it will always be known for. While some community aspects like groups and neighborhood tag sales are successful, trying to condense an entire rental industry into an apps subcategory may be a stretch.

It’s Free, but at a Cost
While Facebook maintains that the service is free of charge, putting a rental listing on the market is well worth the commission paid. When using a real estate agent, the rental commission goes toward listing services, such as photography and staging, as well as marketing, consulting and vetting renter prospects. While working with a real estate agent may be more expensive, the money paid goes further in providing clients with piece of mind and ensuring a quick and smooth transaction. And while the partnered companies say they are relying on brokers, agents and other property managers to fill out the housing section, Facebook has not yet clarified how it plans to involve industry professionals in the process.

Transactions Won’t Be So Easy
The problem with marketing a rental outside a multiple listing service is visibility. A brokerage will be able to promote the listing, making it visible to its own set of renters, as well as the clients of other brokerages. By using the Marketplace platform, landlords will have to settle with renters who are primarily on Facebook, which may lengthen the renting process. There is also no vetting by an experienced agent involved. Landlords will have to deal with all credit types, and will have to request and go through references and rental histories on their own. Unless landlords find renter candidates from their own friends list, they will still be interacting with strangers, regardless of being members of the same social media site.

It will be interested to see how Facebook fares in its latest endeavor. But the industry will have to keep a watchful eye for signs of this social media enterprise involving itself in buying and selling real estate.

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Instagram updates you will love!

Instagram updates you will love!

Instagram just released new enhancements to their "My Story" feature. Instagram was a content sharing and marketing dream before these updates were launched. Now, Instagram can certifiably say that it is a powerhouse of a social network and can quite literally, do it all. It's time you learn how to harness that power for yourself and your business!

Hashtags
Hashtags are integral to a social strategy in 2017. One of the top reasons Instagram is a premier social media network for real estate professionals is because of its vast database of hashtags. As part of Instagram's new feature rollout, searchable hashtags are now part of My Stories. This is a game changer.

Take a photo or video using the camera in the top left of your Instagram feed. Make some magic, and when you're ready to edit, select the square with the smiley face on the top right corner. This will unlock quite a few options, including hashtags. Once you have it selected, start typing whatever hashtags you want. You can also add multiple hashtags. You can also resize the hashtags and move them around the picture, which allows you to include several. The only drawback is that you cannot change the color scheme of the words, but this may be changing too, as lately Instagram is trying to do everything bigger, better, and more customizable.

 Want prospects to know your business with just a single click? Add hashtags directly from "Instagram's My Stories," and you have a powerful social tool in the palm of your hands. Use a hashtag for local places, even neighborhoods, to increase listing exposure.

Face Filters
Snapchat's claim to fame is its face filters that can alter a user's appearance. Users can add pretty flower crowns, flattering lighting, and essentially make all signs of aging disappear, or even do really silly things like enlarge your eyes or nose. Instagram's recent addition of eight original face filters is a game changer, and much more user friendly than Snapchat. On Snapchat, the user must flip the camera into selfie mode, and then hold down on the screen over his or her face. Then, a grid appears and it unlocks the filters. Not very user friendly and almost impossible to find without someone telling you how to do it. With Instagram, users tap on the face in the bottom right hand corner and it unlocks the filters. Much easier, and also faster, than Snapchat.

Something else to make note of-with Snapchat, some of the filters are for a single user, while other filters indicate if two people can use them by signaling on the filter that two faces are available. With Instagram, it doesn't matter what filter you use, everyone in your images can get in on the fun. These can also be used in a photo format, or a 15 second video.

Although the addition of filters may not seem like it's going to be helping you drive leads and business, it does serve another crucial purpose: humanizing your brand. Use them during light moments at the office; take a picture and add a funny caption about it. It makes a great break in the day and it shows your audience you know how to harness technology, and can use that knowledge to help move their listing.

Instagram has been hard at work unveiling new features over the past few weeks and months. In February they debuted the feature of adding multiple photos and videos to a single post, which helped real estate professionals add entire listings to Instagram, fully share the customer journey from closing to opening the door for the first time, and many other vital aspects of the real estate industry. Now with the updates to My Story, Instagram is proving they are truly a real estate professionals best friend.

If keeping up with your social strategy is too much for you, let us help. Homes.com Social Fuel takes care of your social strategy by providing you with everything from account setup, post creation, engagement, and Facebook Ad management. We will even manage your online reputation and monitor how your business ranks in search results so you can focus on selling real estate. Want hands-on training on the latest and greatest in social? Tune in to the HomesPro Facebook on Thurday, June 22 at 9:00 p.m. EDT for Holly's Facebook Live videos!

For more information, please visit connect.homes.com.




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VISUAL STORYTELLING: TIPS FOR MASTERING THE ART OF INSTAGRAM

Cash Buyers Lists News​

Creating and implementing a consistent social media strategy is vital for REALTORS(R) looking to cultivate online leads while maintaining current relationships. Social media has re-shaped the way business is conducted, both nationally and globally, across all industries. For real estate agents wanting to reach every type of buyer possible, social media is a resource you can't go without, or else money will be left on the table and marketshare will surely decrease.

For agents merely tolerating social media or for newbies wanting to dip their toe into the pool, Facebook is probably still the number one place to start. But if you want to target a younger, savvy audience, one with an itchy trigger finger, Instagram should be your new best friend. Instagram can help you connect with the millennials and first-time buyers that your business may be lacking. Though trite, the ol' saying still rings true: "A picture is worth 1,000 words." With Instagram's photo and video sharing capabilities, you can easily share the unique amenities your listings have to offer, while also displaying snapshots of your own life to help buyers and sellers get to know you, building trust.

Keep in mind that out of its 500 million users, 70 percent check Instagram at least once a day?, with half of those checking multiple times per day. Get in front of these prospective leads with these tips:

#Hashtags
Sure, we cringe when people use hashtags in spoken dialogue (#worst, right?), but don't let the informal culture of hashtags turn you off from their intended purpose: to organize, draw attention and promote. Using hashtags on your Instagram posts will help your target audience find you, and may even double your click-through rates, according to research from Buddy Media. Use hashtags on every Instagram post, if possible, such as #luxury, #kitchenremodel, #losangeles (insert your market here), #realestate, and #openhouse to help pinpoint your message and connect your post with other similar posts and the users browsing that topic. If you don't use hashtags on Instagram, you might as well not use it at all (but spoiler alert: you should!).

Get in the Grid
Using your phone's grid feature will help you take much more attractive photos. Go into your smartphone's camera settings and turn on the Grid feature. This splits your camera view into nine blocks (aka, into thirds). You can now abide by photography's Rule of Thirds by aligning the subject of your photo with the four guidelines and their intersection points. These intersecting points are the areas where the eye is naturally drawn to. The grid will help you get the perfect off-center shot of that waterfall feature tucked away in your new listing's backyard. You may not be a professional photographer, but you can still post heaps of quality photos that will really wow your followers.

http://blog.rismedia.com/2016/mastering-instagram/

Edit Before Filtering
Ideally, you want to be aware of natural light when taking photos of homes. With the right natural lighting, a photo will need very little editing and filtering, hence, the #nofilter hashtag (go ahead and brag a little!) Also, be aware of how different artificial lights affect a photo. Some may give off a yellow-y glow.

If you want to improve a photo without drastically changing it, click "Edit" and adjust things like contrast, warmth, brightness and saturation first. Once your colors are popping just the way you want, click on "Filter" and fiddle around with different looks. Always opt for natural light first, if possible; otherwise, Instagram's sharp editing and filtering features can help you polish your masterpiece.

Be Consistent with How Often You Post...
As with other social media platforms, consistency is key. According to studies by Union Metrics, most major brands post an average of 1.5 times a day to Instagram. To start, try posting once a day. Once your routine is set, try expanding to twice a day. Reports also indicate that some popular brands that post as much as 10 times per day did not notice a sizable loss in engagement as long as quality was still present.

...and Also with What You Post
Whether you're a part of a large real estate franchise or a small boutique firm, consider what your own personal brand is. Are you known for luxury listings? Certain neighborhoods? Working with first-time buyers? Move-up buyers? Your Instagram feed should represent both who you are and how you operate. Prospective buyers and sellers should be able to get to know you (albeit, virtually) via social media. Instagram photos are a huge component to that.

Sharing Is Caring
Instagram should be one element of a larger social media plan. A cog in the wheel. Using Instagram's Share feature, you can post your beautifully edited and filtered photos to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Flickr. You can also email them or quickly copy a link. Connect your social worlds by posting photos on your other pages. This will widen your reach by helping your Facebook friends, Twitter followers, etc., find your page on Instagram, which in turn will fuel engagement across the board. In the end, it's all about engagement.

Instagram is a unique and wildly addictive social media platform that allows agents to promote themselves in a creative way. With a little bit of time invested, agents can make new connections and start turning leads into dollar signs.

This post was originally published on RISMedias blog, Housecall. Check the blog daily for top real estate tips and trends.

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