It is hard to think about building a real estate business for the long-term when what you really need is leads today. The challenges of social media lie in that statement. You know that being more active now will help you connect over the long-term, but you need to see results sooner rather than later. At Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate, our strategy for success is to help brokers and agents fulfill both the long-term and short-term opportunities with social media by thinking about social media marketing as three distinct elements:

Establish and Maintain Your Digital Profile

A social media page is a digital asset. It is helpful when people research you before they hire you and can also help you maintain relationships with existing clients. The key is a high-quality look and consistent presence. Sounds hard, but it isn’t. Working with our partner Lumentus Social, our brokers and agents can establish or upgrade their page in under a half hour. Then they can use the Lumentus Social technology to publish a blend of local, professional and personal news. It takes less than 15 minutes per week to maintain great looking social media pages.

Promote Yourself

Once your digital profile is established, you want to increase your exposure to people who do not already know you. Social media offers great options to put your name in front of new clients in a highly-targeted way for very few dollars. Spending less than $25 per month on Facebook advertising can put your name in front of thousands of people depending on your zip code. You can even target by age range or income level. One real estate professional went from zero connections to almost 1,000 in one year by paying to promote her content through boosted posts with as little as $20 with a few posts per month. Each new connection is a potential new client.

Drive Leads

Real estate professionals who have created a strong presence and promote themselves through social advertising can also generate leads. To increase their lead generation efforts, brokers and agents should implement a specific lead development program that is designed specifically for their markets and expertise. As one example, if you want to reach downsizers, you might post tips to save for retirement to your social media pages and boost your posts to people between the ages of 55 and 66 in your targeted zip code. Or if you want to reach those who may soon need to move up, you can develop a webinar on preparing your home for a new baby, and then develop social media ads targeted at married women between the ages of 25 and 40. These efforts require a higher level of investment, but they are very measurable and usually deliver a higher payoff.

Don’t be intimidated by all of the social media jargon. If you think about social media in terms of these three elements, it will help you build leads today and relationships for the long-term.