Are you ready to expand your outreach on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter? Optimizing publicity and posting dynamic content will help establish your position as a leader in your community with appreciated local knowledge, from the best nearby small businesses to the current status of the housing market.
Having a presence on social media is a must for entrepreneurs these days. But it takes a bit more than simply creating accounts to foster a relevant and engaging space for consumers.
Consider these seven tips to help curate your personal brand, making your social presence stand out and increasing user-engagement across platforms.
1. Promote (other) local businesses
Do something unexpected. Use your digital voice to boost other businesses and position yourself as an expert on local culture. By promoting what other small businesses have to offer and tagging them in posts, fans and followers of these companies can find you through new roundabout ways.
The businesses you promote may even share your posts on their own social media accounts, making for wider-spread viewership. And, you can form relationships—online and in-person—with business owners, opening up the potential for partnerships and referrals.
2. Use geotags and hashtags
Geotagging content promotes interconnectivity and helps spread your posts farther on social media. Whether it’s the neighborhood of a new listing, your favorite spot for coffee or simply the name of the town, adding a location to photos, videos and stories makes your content accessible to those curious about the area.
Like geotags, hashtags are another free mechanism that disperses content into digital buckets in order to reach new audiences. While adding hashtags to the end of a posts’ caption is a quick way to promote your content online, implement strategy when using them.
Try a blend of hyperlocal or hyper-specific phrases along with broader topics. Bear in mind that using more general hashtags means your content will end up in more saturated categories. Local buzzwords, real estate terminology and locations are typically foolproof hashtags to use.
3. Get comfortable being on video
Video can be an agent’s greatest digital asset—especially amid COVID-19—and helps clients build trust in your business.
The best way to overcome the fear of being on camera is to pick up the phone and start filming even if it makes you uncomfortable. Begin by recording yourself reviewing a new restaurant in town or sharing insight on this month’s housing market trends in your region. The footage can be informal and taken from the angle of a selfie.
More than a stagnant photo, recording yourself on video shows authenticity and pairs a persona with a familiar face. Get in front of the camera, even if it’s just a short Facebook Live or Instagram story, on a regular basis.
4. Mix personal with business
Your presence on social media platforms is curated to reflect the values and professionalism of your business. Interested clients, however, may like to see that you are more than just a salesperson. From time to time, and with best judgement in mind, consider sprinkling in personal posts to show that you’re human and better connect with your audience. Sharing lighthearted content about family, hobbies, pets and sports depicts you as an approachable neighbor.
5. Track metrics
Investing in a service that tracks social media activity and engagement on your channels can be a valuable way to determine what type of content performs best and is worth putting more time and energy into. Plus, you can track growth over time and use data to set achievable goals.
Technology platforms that provide analytics are especially useful as you fine-tune your content and grow your following.
6. Find your niche
You want to become a unique and memorable “follow” for social media scrollers. Finding your voice through photo style, video content and written words solidifies your social media account as your personal brand.
Mimicking the material and style of competitors does not prove effective in fostering a genuine and trust-worthy presence. Instead, focus on exhibiting what qualities make you and your services unique.
7. Be consistent
Being inconsistently active online leads to followers losing interest—or sometimes, wondering where you’ve gone.
Staying consistent, posting with regularity and finding a routine that works best for you ensures consumers get a dependable experience by following your accounts for information. The best way to stick to a schedule is to plan content ahead of time, such as the beginning of each month, and still have the flexibility to pepper in new listing photos, infographics or stories as they arise.
