Getting the Most from Social Media for Real Estate

The economic crunch has pushed many real estate agents into learning new ways to survive, and one of the best is doing smart social media real estate marketing on the internet. To augment those face-to-face skills that are so essential to any real estate agent, many have learned to add on some internet marketing skills to their repertoire.
But it isn't enough to just slap a Facebook page up and open a Twitter account, there is a certain savvy needed to navigate these internet marketing waters. Here are a few tips for anyone in real estate considering dipping their toes in the social media for real estate stream.

The Basics - Buying and Selling 

This is one of the earliest internet marketing options that opened up the field for many. When it comes to social media for real estate there plenty of industry internet marketing sites such as Zillow, Trulia and WellcomeMat along with the usual suspects like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Of course, places like CraigsList have pretty much replaced newspapers when it comes to local listings and YouTube has become the place for any kind of videos. Another internet marketing site that is becoming popular for real estate professionals is Meetup, an online organizer for meeting others locally in person. When it comes to this social media for real estate, pros will find everything from investment clubs to teaching locals how to get into the real estate market, plus of course a wealth of internet marketing networking for real estate professionals can be found at Meetup. Of course, your goal is to attract buyers looking for homes and sellers needing to list.
Being available through your Facebook page, with links to Twitter listings of recent homes and YouTube walk-throughs can make you more visible. Using internet marketing and their social network, real estate companies have been so successful with Twitter that they have had to create secondary accounts for just their new listings on Twitter, in addition to their regular Twitter account for local real estate and industry news.  Adding internet marketing accounts at sites like Foursquare that pinpoints local offerings such as business or homes for sale and Pinterest to show off style can give you more eyeballs in more locations. When planning your social media, real estate pros need to remember that each internet marketing site has its own demographics, so the more diverse a group you are in the better.

The Video Revolution

Now that we have introduced interactive social media for real estate, pros know that using internet marketing video to show off their listings is the key to higher sales. Those agents who take the time to do a professional video, with a walk through and discussion of features find they are getting multiple bids as opposed to seeing good properties languish.
WellcomeMat is the leading internet marketing site for this, with a vast community of agents and other real estate professionals along with brokerages and filmmakers contributing to the site. Don't have an internet marketing production team for your video listings? No problem, because they have over 3,000 production teams in local areas ready to go.

Balance Sales with Information

The key to all these internet marketing opportunities is balance. Blog posts and Facebook pages filled with listings that say Buy Me are not in your best interest. The golden rule of any social media for real estate is to include is one post out of four can be about selling; the rest should be good interesting information that your visitors want to see. Promote your expertise, show off what you know about your area, educate them with interesting statistics.
You know more than you are aware of, share it with your visitors and the internet marketing listings will be more accepted. Include links to your IDX page for those who are looking for listings. Not everyone needs to see the latest and greatest that just came into your hands. And don't forget to check out the Trulia Voices and Zillow Advice pages to answer home buyer's questions. Internet marketing through honest forum communication is one of the best ways to build a strong reputation and create trust. And we know that trust is one of the most important commodities a real estate professional can trade in today.

http://blog.paveya.com/bid/251512/Getting-the-Most-from-Social-Media-for-Real-Estate