Social Media and Facebook

Social Media The author of this brief response has been tasked with giving ideas related to social media and what methods and messages get the best return on investment (ROI). The social media arenas in question are Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Constant Contact. Of course, there are other social media outfits that could be considered and used. These include Yelp and a few others. Regardless, there are most certainly ROI-rich methods that can and should be used so as to garner more business and referrals from the same.

One site that has a wealth of information is a blog offered on the Wishpond website. In total, they offer twenty-one tips to increase and improve ROI when it comes to social media and realty. They include the following: Facebook • Post pictures of the surrounding neighborhood. Of course, Facebook is a great place to do this (but not the only place) • Generally speaking, images should always use images when doing "updates" in Facebook.

The idea is that posts that get more likes, shares and comments, the more that the items will appear in the news feeds of the people that are already liking and following your page. • Facebook and other sites can also be used to share when there are events in the neighborhood. For example, if there is an event for the kids at a nearby park, publicizing that event can bring positive attention to the realty firm or person that is doing the promoting.

• When it comes to realty, it is a huge thing to show concern and care for the people you are serving. It is useful and helpful to do this in a public way. For example, if someone buys a house and is taking possession, sharing well wishes to the new owners by posting it on their wall in Facebook can be a way to wish them well while at the same time getting the attention of any of their Facebook friends.

It is a win-win for everyone involved as you are showing that you care but you are getting some free advertising at the same time • The use of contests and such can be a great way to get on the radar of people that are not currently clients. Facebook in particular has built in apps that facilitate such contests. It can be as simple as a photo contest or something else that is based on user content.

This is also a mostly free way to get a good idea as to what customers like, what they do not like and so forth. • Of course, posting of listings is a huge part of using social media to your advantage. Twitter, Facebook and such are all prime spots. However, the advertising needs to be done in the right way. The "golden rule" is 80/20. 80%. If the listing needs to be based on the product and 20% needs to be based on you.

When one is speaking of product, that means the photos, the portended lifestyle of living at the home and so forth. Examples of the latter would be pictures of the decadent kitchen, the hardwood floors, the landscaping outside, the community amenities and so forth. • Facebook and other social media sites make use of what are called "geo-targeted" ads. Rather than casting the same wide net on all listings, people can use Facebook to only target people in a certain geographical area.

In other words, if you only wanted to target people in a five mile radius of a home listed for sale, then you could do that. There are other ways to target people. However, wasting time and money on ads that are hitting people that are nowhere near the home being sold is something to be avoided, of course. Twitter Twitter is also a great resource when it comes to realtors and the selling of their properties.

Good tips when it comes to Twitter are as follows: • Tweet tips about staging of homes and moving from one home to another. The messages can be brief with a link to the relevant story. This keeps the tweet within the proper length and the hook used in the tweet needs to be enough to get people's attention. • Tweeting can also be used to share news about the area. For example, if a school in your selling market is getting revamped, one can share the news.

It is a low-profile way to show that the neighborhood is improving and that you care about the same • As an addition to the last one just mentioned, charity events are something in particular that should be shared and talked about. Focusing on events like this can be seen as a way of showing care and compassion for the neighborhood and for the beneficiaries of the charity work.

To tie this to the Ganten strategy, this can show awareness, engagement and loyalty to the people in the area and this can pay huge dividends. • Realtors can post questions in the name of trying to get a response. Just like the similar Facebook methodology above, this can be used to get a fix on the aspects and facets of the people in your working neighborhoods. A good question would be how often someone renovates their home.

• The use of hashtags, as one might expect, is an important thing to do on Twitter. For example, if the name of a neighborhood is College Hill and it is an area that is highly sought after, then #collegehill would be a good hashtag • Just as was done with Facebook, the use of contests, sweepstakes and group offers can and should be used on Facebook. Twitter does not quite have the framework and production options like Facebook...but it's not that hard to get one going.

• Tweeting of listings should be done just like on Facebook...80/20. The same holds for Instagram. Other Tips • Constant Contact and email marketing have their place and can be useful, but social media is far superior and many people lament spam/sales email • Pinterest is another social media site that can be used to find out.