With showings, closings, and client meetings, it’s easy to let social media slip. But Facebook, Instagram and even Twitter are critical tools to grow both your brand and your business. Creating content to engage and interact with followers is critical for lead generation, and it doesn’t have to drag on your valuable time.
“There are plenty of tricks and tools to help busy agents maximize their time on social media,” says Keller Williams’ social media strategist Marliese Gowin. Here are five social media marketing hacks you can use to take back time that you can dedicate to nurturing your clients and your database.
1. Plug in to Command.
One of the best ways to make posting on social media more efficient is to tap into Keller Williams’ Command platform, Gowin says. In Command’s Designs workspace, agents can create personalized and beautiful marketing materials from professionally designed templates. It’s simple to make eye-catching social graphics or pull up an inspirational quote. Additionally, with a few clicks in Campaigns, agents can set up and schedule social media ads across channels. The first of its kind, the intelligent, cross-channel marketing automator uses analytics, user insights, and KWLS listings to suggest how to spend your ad dollars . What was once cumbersome is now simple through Command. “It’s all very intuitive,” Gowin says.
2. Plan ahead.
Gowin recommends blocking out a part of every week or month on the calendar and dedicating that time solely to social. If you’re game to focus on social media once a week, spend one to two hours coming up with content and scheduling as many posts as you can ahead of time, she says. If you prefer once a month, it’s best to set aside two to three hours. Scheduling posts ensures that you won’t fall behind. “When posts are scheduled, if you get caught up – an appointment runs long, your kids get sick, or you want to take a vacation – you don’t have to worry about it,” she says.
3. Tap into Facebook and Instagram stories.
It’s simple to make content through Facebook and Instagram stories, Gowin says, and the stories function is more forgiving than a formal post: stories can be off the cuff and casual. “It’s easy to make quick content, about your values, open houses,” she says, “and there’s a little bit more room for things not being fully polished.” Make it part of your daily habit to record a brief video of yourself updating followers on what’s going on with you and your business that day. It’s as simple as saying “I’m holding an open house right now, check out this (point to an amazing feature), stop on by,” Gowin says.
4. Be strategic with your content.
Leverage everything you have, but be smart about how much you post at one time, says Gowin. If you have a series of professional headshots, for example, don’t do a photo dump and put them all on social media at once. Instead, split them into multiple posts. That way, “if you have a slow month, you can still have an active channel,” she says. Keep a list of ideas for evergreen posts, ones that you can run anytime. Possibilities include writing about a design and architectural element you love, how you specialize in old houses, or create a Throwback Thursday post where you share an uplifting story about a house you sold. “It’s an opportunity to share your expertise and your unique story,” Gowin says.
5. Get the most bang for your buck.
When posting on Facebook, Gowin has a hack to help make advertising dollars go further. Agents advertising a property on Facebook with an MLS link and photos should promote the post and run it as an ad instead of “boosting” it, she says. Posts that are promoted as ads will be seen by more people who are likely to click on your link, giving your listing more visibility. When you run a boosted or promoted post, you can also scale back since that post will be active for several days. “You’re still reaching your audience, so you can stagger your content a little bit more,” she says.
After a few weeks of experimenting with these five hacks, posting on social media should feel more seamless, Gowin says. Soon, you’ll start to see the benefits trickle down onto your business and brand.