Importance of Social Media

When I first started my International Real Estate business I quickly became aware that my major challenge would be how to market properties outside of the United States.  As a real estate agent I know that most buyers will look online when they first think about buying a property and that most domestic real estate franchises would not allow marketing of global real estate. The benefits of social media and the importance of a good social media plan became apparent.

In the past couple of years it became evident that social media was fast becoming the best way to market online because it is a blending of technology and social interaction. Implementing social media marketing strategies is the key to success.

Social Media Facts

I have found that Facebook, Twitter, Linked In,  You Tube,Google + and Pinterest are now considered the best social media sites to use in your social media marketing plan.  Marketing on these social media sites vary in method but each have their own unique value.  Targeting your key online audience and demographic is vital to your online marketing success.

Facebook offers the use of free business web pages call fan pages where compelling content can be used to help brand your product. The new Facebook Shop application is proof that social networks are emerging as channels for branded marketing. You can feed your post stream to Twitter via Facebook applications. It is not suggested to use your Facebook profile to sell your product.  This is considered a faux pas!

Twitter is difficult to master but can create large amounts of indirect business leads that you can target based upon the use of advanced research tools. The key is to only follow relevant people within your market and provided added value service.  Figuring out the best strategy is vital to your success and it does require a large amount of loyal followers to prove worthwhile.  You can build your following quickly but be careful to always stay involved in the online community that you have targeted.

LinkedIn is the most trusted source among professional individuals and thus is the best for high quality leads.  This is the site that you can really build your credibility.  Make sure to join and partipate in groups so that when you are ready you can share your product to everyone in those groups.  You can reach the masses in that manner.

You Tube is one of the most visited sites on the internet by millions of users everyday! Create your own You Tube channel to build subscribers.  Create a hub by linking your website to your Facebook fan page, Twitter profile, Linked In profile and You Tube channel.

Viral marketing is created through the use of networking in social bookmarking, video (You Tube) and photosharing websites.  Create a buzz related to your online business by creating contests and surveys.

Social Media Optimization (SEO) and attracting online traffic to your website is key but is not limited to marketing and brand building.  Today’s intelligent businesses are integrating social media participation into all aspects of their organization such as recruiting and customer satisfaction.

Day to day upkeep of your social media sites can be daunting but is very important to your success.  There are tools such as Hootesuite and Social Oomph prove to be invaluable. I use these products on a daily basis to manage my time.

Building your brand trust online is the most difficult thing to achieve but once you start to receive mass amount of Likes on Facebook, mentions and retweets on Twitter and referrals on LinkedIn and subscriptions to your You Tube channel all directed toward your website (your hub) is the strategy to use and  you will be on the path to success.

Even though I’m not a social media specialist and I know the learning curve can be daunting; I believe it’s very important to the future of real estate marketing.