Some of the most useful tools for a real estate agent in the modern world are unquestionably the internet and social media platforms. These platforms offer so many benefits for agents who choose to use them and it’s no surprise that nearly every successful agent has a significant online presence now.

We've recommended these sites in the past as the main place where agents can practice social media marketing. With social media marketing strategies, you can stay in touch with your audience and clients, work on lead generation, and do even more business as a result.

However, while social media is easy to get started with, these different social media platforms also offer a lot of different opportunities, and oftentimes, require their own unique strategies from site to site to truly make the most of them. No single strategy will work the same from platform to platform and some things that work well on one platform may be a hindrance on another. Furthermore, not every platform has the same utility to agents. Some are best for reaching clients and growing leads, some are great for networking, and others are best as part of a content strategy.

This all may seem overwhelming if you are just starting but don't get discouraged. All things considered, the work you put in to understand these sites will be far outweighed by the benefits to your real estate business. And, since social media strategies are easy to get started with but can scale from there, it’s ultimately up to you how far you want to take your social media presence. You may want to focus deeply on just one site, spread your reach broadly across many social media channels, or just casually post on occasion. There is no such thing as too little, but the more you do the more results you will see.

With that in mind, we want to make it easier for you to understand exactly where you should be focusing your social media efforts online. In this article, we will go over some of the most popular sites for real estate agents, what sorts of benefits they can offer you, and some strategies to get the most out of your time online.

Best social media platforms for real estate agents

Instagram

Instagram is a platform for users to share and view photos. However, the site offers so much more than that. The platform also offers a variety of communication tools through things like comments and direct messages as well as community building features like hashtags, followers, photo tagging and more.

The site also offers various means to share content be it through photo posts, short and long videos, and temporary 'story' posts. All these features in combination are responsible for the huge popularity of the platform as well as its utility for social media marketers.

Instagram is best used as part of an inbound marketing strategy. After all, most people come to Instagram for entertainment rather than to see ads or search for real estate listings. By creating quality content to share on the platform, as well as pursuing opportunities for engagement with your audience through means like live videos, you can generate a large and interested audience quite easily. This audience will then come to see you as an authority on whatever you do and will be more likely to pursue your services when they decide it’s time to buy or sell.

Instagram users can also run sponsored posts on the platform which can draw a lot of new users to your content and your business.

Here are a few tips when working on Instagram.

• Use all the options at your disposal. There are so many ways to reach your audience through Instagram and you should take advantage of as many as possible.
• Keep it short. Most people come to Instagram for quick bites of entertainment or information. If you post videos or captions that are too long, you risk having people scroll on by. Keep your content direct and to the point.
• Create eye-catching visuals. Instagram is primarily a visual platform so you should try to make your posts not only informative and interesting but also nice to look at. The app has a suite of built-in editing tools that can help you easily make the most of your photos.

Facebook

Facebook is one of the original giants of social networks so it should be no surprise that they are still very relevant in today’s world. Facebook offers many similar communication features to a website like Instagram.

Facebook is even more flexible in terms of communication and content options, allowing you to communicate with your direct network and a broader audience easily. The site offers the ability to create both business pages and groups which can act a lot like a website and represent your brand in the online space or as a discussion board for like-minded users. Business pages can also be used by the public to post reviews and testimonials so they can serve as a great advertising tool all on their own.

One of the powerful features of Facebook is its robust advertising capabilities. The platform has been a major focus of online advertisers for years now and they have built tools to make their platform super accessible and powerful. Facebook lets users scale their ad campaigns whether they’re a small or massive marketing plan and you can easily get started for a small amount of money. And, thanks to the large amount of data that Facebook collects on its users and their preferences (ethics aside), it makes it very useful for tailoring your ads to reach your target market.

Here are some tips for working on Facebook:

• Don't just use Facebook to find new leads. You can also use Facebook to keep in touch with past clients which can help with referrals.
• Facebook offers a ton of data on performance when you run ads with them. This data can be hugely useful to help tailor your further efforts.
• Identify your target audience and do your best to appeal to them. Not only will this generate better leads, but it can help the Facebook algorithm to make you visible to your audience.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is unique among social media sites because it is much more business-focused and formal. This is a strength rather than a weakness. In a world where social media is so focused on connecting with friends and family, LinkedIn presents the social network for the work side of our lives.

Like the other sites mentioned, LinkedIn presents options for both advertising and communication. On LinkedIn, people tend to form networks based on their careers, so it can be an effective way to reach other real estate professionals in your local real estate market and beyond in the real estate industry. It can also serve as a professional portfolio of sorts for people searching for an agent. You can use LinkedIn as a platform to learn more about your industry and your peers and it can't be expressed just how important it is to build your network to find new work and referrals.

Here are some tips for using LinkedIn:

• Think about your tone. LinkedIn tends to be more professional and have a formal audience, however, that doesn't mean you need to be completely straight-laced and emotionless. Finding the right line between professional and personable can be key to gaining attention on LinkedIn.
• Keep your LinkedIn up to date by regularly updating it with your positions, achievements, and any other information. This helps you stand out with an impressive profile and can also help potential clients find you better. Also, regularly add professional colleagues as connections so you can expand your network.

YouTube

Among all of the sites mentioned, YouTube is, in some ways, the least social of them all. In general, users spend most of their time consuming content on the site and the avenues for communication are limited. However, YouTube is a powerful tool for those looking to find success with content marketing.

YouTube is one of the most popular video-sharing sites online and it allows users to easily share high-quality videos that they have made. Not only are they shared on YouTube, but they can be easily embedded on other sites where videos may be harder to upload. And, since YouTube is owned by Google, videos on the site are often featured prominently on that site's search pages.

Agents can choose to use YouTube for virtual showings for local listings, to share informative content, or even for things like video podcasts. It’s one of the most highly viewed websites on the internet and many people enjoy watching content rather than reading it. Due to the slightly higher barrier of entry to producing videos for the site, you will have less competition and can easily target your niche audience and gain a lot of attention.

Extra tips:

• Making videos can be a bit more complicated than other content, so consider outsourcing video editing if you're not experienced with that skill.
• Since YouTube does not have quite as many social features, be sure to cross-share your videos to other sites to increase your views and audience.

Want to get more from your social media marketing?

While social media can be an extremely powerful tool, fully taking advantage of all the possibilities may take more time and effort than you are willing to provide. That's why many agents choose to outsource their social media marketing needs to a digital marketing agency.

An agency can provide you with expert knowledge of the digital space and handle all your real estate marketing needs to maximize your online performance. For many, the results speak for themselves and are well worth the costs.