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How to generate leads through social media

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The importance of social media in today’s real estate market shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Savvy agents already know the necessity of harnessing social media platforms to get more eyeballs on their listings, but the next step is generating real leads through your social media contacts.

During a February Connect Now session, social media marketing guru and the creator of the Instagram Power Method course Michelle Berman discussed the steps real estate agents need to take to turn social media followers into leads and referrals.

The power of email

While Realtors may not think of it as social media, email marketing can be the most efficient way to steer people to your social feeds, according to Berman.

“If Instagram goes away, if Facebook goes away, if all of these social platforms just vanish into thin air, where do we make money? What platform do we have that can allow us to stay connected to our community?” she said. “Your email marketing is that place.”

Berman recommends agents use a call to action button in their emails that takes readers directly to one of their social media feeds, be it Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or TikTok.

“You can definitely create a lot of excitement around something you’re doing on social media through your email,” she said.

The personal is professional

It may not come to mind as a tool, but your personal social media feeds can be one of your most useful referral generators, Berman said.

“Your personal Facebook page content is something that people need to take more seriously,” she said. “Those people could potentially be our biggest referral sources.”

The key is in the cross-posting of content from one platform to another. When you make a post on your real estate Instagram, drop a link of that same post into your personal feed. Dropping the link instead of just posting the same photo and caption will bring more traffic to your professional feed.

“If someone taps on it or wants to read it, it’s going to send them your Instagram, creating that cross-pollination that we’re after,” she said.

Stay connected 

Berman said her third piece of advice may sound tedious but is super effective.

She recommends keeping inventory of all the clients and vendors you work with, then going through that inventory once a month and connecting with those clients and vendors on Instagram.

Connecting with as many people in your orbit as possible will keep your name fresh.

“This is super, super effective for staying top of mind with people that are in your current pipeline, with people who are past clients, with vendors partners, strategic partners,” she said.

Email Ben Verde