6 Types of Posts to Use in Your Social

Media Strategy

JULY 22, 2021

It can mean the difference between a full client load and an empty calendar.

Although the advice to choose a niche as a real estate agent is quite common, many new professionals don’t do so. Whether it’s due to the fear of making the wrong decision, a lack of understanding of the market, or a lack of faith in the “why” behind the advice, very few realtors start off strong with a niche.

However overwhelming the choice may be, it’s well worth it. The importance and impact of strategically choosing — and marketing to — a specific real estate niche simply cannot be understated.

What is a Niche?

A niche is a subset of the market you will focus on in your business. Choosing a niche means defining the specific group of people or types of properties that you will zoom in on as a real estate professional.

Endless niche options exist for realtors because niches can be narrowed down based on the types of properties you focus on, on location, or on qualities of a subset of clients. For example, some realtors specialize in working with first-time homebuyers or clients who are actively serving in the military.

Others zoom in on luxury real estate, mountain homes, farms, or oceanfront properties. The options are endless, and there are no wrong answers; what matters is getting clear about what your specialty is and who you serve!

Why Choose a Niche?

Choosing a niche or specifying a niche is often called “niching down” and can feel counterintuitive at first. Anyone in professions meant to serve people, realtors included, naturally tend to believe that the best approach to their business is to help anyone and everyone. After all, why would you want to “rule out” any portion of the population that’s in search of a realtor?

In reality, instead of ruling people out, strategically choosing a niche means you draw the right people in. Choosing a niche helps you position yourself strategically and intentionally to potential clients — the right potential clients for you. When you get specific about who you serve and how to do so, you instantly stand out from the sea of qualified real estate agents in your area.

Level up your social media presence with these

six tried-and-true post types.

Level up your social media presence with these six tried-and-true post types.

Knowing the importance of social media marketing sets savvy real estate agents

apart from the rest. But knowing that you need to post and actually knowing what

to post are often two different things!

Fortunately, there are a few categories of social media posts you can use to organize

your thinking and ensure you’re sharing content that establishes your professionalism

and expertise.

Infographics

While they often require more up-front creation time than other content types, infographics

pack a heavy punch in establishing your authority and expertise for your audience. As

the name suggests, this type of post involves a graphic that presents information in a

visual way. Data-heavy content like monthly market updates perform especially well

as infographics since you can incorporate graphs and charts that make numbers easier

for your followers to conceptualize and understand.

Quick lists of tips or terms are also prime content for infographics because they catch the

eye in a way plain text doesn’t, and the visuals offer the perfect opportunity to let your

brand shine through. The style, tone, fonts, and colors you display on your infographics

should flow seamlessly with your luxury real estate web design and newsletters.

Knowing the importance of social media marketing sets savvy real estate agents apart from the rest. But knowing that you need to post and actually knowing what to post are often two different things!

Fortunately, there are a few categories of social media posts you can use to organize your thinking and ensure you’re sharing content that establishes your professionalism and expertise.

Infographics

While they often require more up-front creation time than other content types, infographics pack a heavy punch in establishing your authority and expertise for your audience. As the name suggests, this type of post involves a graphic that presents information in a visual way. Data-heavy content like monthly market updates perform especially well as infographics since you can incorporate graphs and charts that make numbers easier for your followers to conceptualize and understand.

Quick lists of tips or terms are also prime content for infographics because they catch the eye in a way plain text doesn’t, and the visuals offer the perfect opportunity to let your brand shine through. The style, tone, fonts, and colors you display on your infographics should flow seamlessly with your luxury real estate web design and newsletters.

Database Marketing Strategies

The Importance of Your Website as a Realtor

Why is Your Database So Important?

Your database is your key to staying in touch with those who may do business with you or who are likely to give you referrals. If you don’t have a way of keeping in touch with them and engaging with them, they will likely forget about you and their business (or referrals) will go elsewhere.

While many agents think they can keep track of those they need to touch base with by retaining their business cards, writing them down in their planner or simply remembering who they are, most are not organized and disciplined enough to do so. They need to rely on a system that involves not only building their database, but also effectively using that database to develop marketing campaigns that can include email newsletters, text campaigns, phone calls, or social media marketing strategies.

Some real estate agents decide to split their databases into two distinct groups: a lead generation group that includes only those who the realtor is attempting to gain as clients, and a sphere of influence group that includes past clients, networking and referral partners, and others who are likely to pass their names on to others who need a real estate agent. While both of these types of databases are useful, most agents find they get more business from their sphere of influence group than their lead generation group — especially if they are not using a professional, unique lead gen system.

What Mistakes Do Agents Make When Building Their Database?

Many agents suffer from “shiny object syndrome” when it comes to building their database. Instead of playing the long game and focusing on ways to slowly build their database with solid leads and close spheres of influence, they jump on the latest and greatest marketing trend and shift their efforts to a strategy they think will make them some quick sales. Unfortunately, a change in algorithm or other occurrences out of your control can easily put an end to the effectiveness of trendy marketing techniques. When you focus on building a solid database, you’ll insulate your business from external changes and reap the benefits a few years down the line when your list pays dividends and your income skyrockets.

Other agents do a good job of building a strong database, but then fail to utilize it by not creating a robust marketing strategy connected to it. Compiling the names is only part of the battle. The more important component is developing a system that consistently engages those in your database to keep them up to date and interested in what you are currently doing. Your system also needs to have “triggers” to let you know when someone in your database is at a stage where they might make the decision to work with you or pass on a referral so you can follow up with a phone call or an in-person meeting.

The Wrong Messaging

Build and Market to Your Database

As a realtor, your database is your best friend. This is your list of past, current, and prospective clients as well as referral sources who can help grow your business. A basic rule of thumb is that an effective database consists of around 1000 names and contact information. Once you’ve built a solid database, you can market to your contacts through regular email newsletters, texts, or personal invitations to events or open houses. The marketing you do to your database should follow the same guidelines as your social media marketing: keep content informational and helpful rather than salesy. This keeps your contacts engaged with your brand and ensures they will continue to pay attention to what you have to say even when they are not actively looking to buy or sell real estate.

Harness the Power of Social Proof

The theory of social proof states that people are likely to conform and copy the actions of those in their peer group or those they view as experts or who are trustworthy. When it comes to real estate marketing, you can take advantage of social proof by featuring testimonials on your site and social media, soliciting online reviews from those you’ve done business with, and by establishing yourself as an authority on the local real estate market with helpful, informative content. When you harness the power of social proof, you essentially have others selling for you and no longer have to hustle or chase leads.

2. Links to Active Social Media Profiles

Having a strong social media presence shows your

potential clients that you are up to date, active in the

industry, and committed to connecting with those you

work with. To make it easy for your website visitors to

connect with you on social media, make sure you add

links to each of the platforms you are on.

2. Links to Active Social Media Profiles

Having a strong social media presence shows your

potential clients that you are up to date, active in the

industry, and committed to connecting with those you

work with. To make it easy for your website visitors to

connect with you on social media, make sure you add

links to each of the platforms you are on.

Database Marketing Strategies

The Right Messaging

Making infographics doesn’t have to be complicated, though! Using a platform with templates like Canva streamlines the process so that all you have to do is plug in your text and graphs, then tweak your design.

Local Updates

As a luxury real estate agent, your brand success relies partially on your positioning as a local expert who’s truly “in the know.” When big events pop up in your area, make your followers the first to know and make sure they hear it from you!

Local updates can range from town festivals and parades to spotlights on small businesses or new openings. Consider what you might’ve liked someone to highlight for you if you were new in town: what restaurants should people try, and what should they order? What local retailers have the best selection of gifts?

This type of post adds value to your feed and provides important information to your followers while also boosting your name as a go-to professional who really knows the area. Win-win!

Photos

There’s no way around it: Your brand is entirely intertwined with your personality when you work as a real estate agent! If your social media feed doesn’t include your face or your personality, it will be difficult for potential clients to trust you. Take photos throughout your day to highlight the beauty of the area and what stands out to you. Highlight aspects of your lifestyle that align with your brand. Bring your current transactions into it — with the approval of your happy clients, you can post success stories or exciting pictures on closing day!

Another excellent use of photo posts is to highlight your active listings. A single listing can become fodder for plenty of posts since you can call attention to each standout feature of the home to generate interest! This not only positions you as an excellent seller’s agent but also serves the obvious purpose of helping you and your clients earn top dollar on the sale.

On many social media platforms, posting text with no photo won’t perform well. People simply don’t stop scrolling for a chunk of plain text. When you set out to share your ideas on social media, include a quick photo to go along with your text so that people are more likely to stop and read!

Videos

Just as sharing photos you take can help your audience get to know your personality, video can serve that same purpose and more!

Now that you understand that talking yourself and your accomplishments up on your site is the wrong messaging, let’s take a look at the content that works. Here are some tips on creating messaging that resonates with your target audience:

Content that is helpful. What are the issues your ideal client is dealing with? Are they attempting to buy and sell homes at the same time and need assistance with financing a down payment? Are they struggling to find a home they are interested in due to low inventory? Are they trying to decide if they should relocate or buy a second home now that they are empty-nesters? Identify the pain points in your target market, then address those points through blog posts that you then share on social media and in newsletters that go out to your database.

Content that establishes you as an expert. Those looking for help buying or selling property want to work with the best. To show that you are an expert in your local community and industry, develop content that revolves around neighborhood events, local real estate news, and other industry issues.

Content from experts and past clients. When you use the power of social proof to develop your website content, you let others do the selling for you. Social proof is the phenomenon where others copy the actions of people they see as peers or as trusted individuals. If they see your past clients talking about your high level of customer service in a video testimonial or read reviews from experts in the industry who have worked with you, they will be more likely to choose you as their realtor.

Content that stays ahead of the game. Your ideal client wants to know what’s going on in the industry as soon as possible. They also don’t want to read the same old content on your site that they’ve read on all your competitors’ sites. To address these needs, stay on the cutting edge of the industry and share information your visitors can’t get anywhere else.

Components of an Effective Lead

Generation System

How the Right Messaging Increases Conversions

Additionally, choosing a niche allows you to optimize your time and deep-dive into the knowledge and skills needed to best serve your clients. There are countless nuances, specialized documents, and small bits of information that are pertinent to any niche, and trying to serve all niches equally well can quickly lead to burnout.

For example, realtors who specialize in helping military families can serve them best by learning all there is to know about VA loans and the best local lenders. On the other hand, if you’re a “generalist” and only take on one or two military clients each year, it’s likely that you’ll end up doing research on VA loans on the fly without being able to do a true deep dive. Choosing a niche frees up your time and energy while also allowing you to provide the very best service to your clients.

While remaining general and marketing yourself as a great real estate agent can work to bring in clients, you instantly cut through the noise when you position yourself as a specialist for a particular type of transaction, home, or person. Many people know what they want out of their real estate experience, so quickly identifying yourself as someone who can provide that specific result will go a long way in filling your inbox with qualified leads.

Choosing a niche and producing online content focused on that niche will also boost your SEO considerably, making it much easier for anyone searching the internet to discover you. SEO for realtors can work as an ongoing source of leads and revenue without much manual effort.

Once you’ve narrowed down your target market and begun producing content relevant to them, your web content will rise to the top when prospects search the internet for the solutions to their problems! As great as it feels to receive a referral or recommendation from a former client, optimizing your web presence will prevent you from leaving money on the table when clients without connections go to search for an agent.

Beyond that, niching brings some ease into your marketing and processes. It’s much easier to create relevant content and provide value when you know who you’re talking to! You’ll quickly establish yourself as an expert in your niche, even if you’re new to the real estate profession.

Making infographics doesn’t have to be complicated, though! Using a platform with templates like Canva streamlines the process so that all you have to do is plug in your text and graphs, then tweak your design.

How to Choose a Niche

First, it helps to take the pressure off by remembering that the niche you choose doesn’t have to be the end-all-be-all. It can change and shift over time, you can adapt as you grow and learn, and you can always pivot. Choosing a niche early and tweaking it later on always leads to better results than waiting to niche because of a fear of making the wrong decision.

Local Updates

As a luxury real estate agent, your brand success relies partially on your positioning

as a local expert who’s truly “in the know.” When big events pop up in your area,

make your followers the first to know and make sure they hear it from you!

Local updates can range from town festivals and parades to spotlights on small

businesses or new openings. Consider what you might’ve liked someone to

highlight for you if you were new in town: what restaurants should people try,

and what should they order? What local retailers have the best selection of gifts?

This type of post adds value to your feed and provides important information to

your followers while also boosting your name as a go-to professional who really

knows the area. Win-win!

Photos

There’s no way around it: Your brand is entirely intertwined with your personality

when you work as a real estate agent! If your social media feed doesn’t include

your face or your personality, it will be difficult for potential clients to trust you.

Take photos throughout your day to highlight the beauty of the area and what

stands out to you. Highlight aspects of your lifestyle that align with your brand.

Bring your current transactions into it — with the approval of your happy clients,

you can post success stories or exciting pictures on closing day!

Another excellent use of photo posts is to highlight your active listings. A single

listing can become fodder for plenty of posts since you can call attention to each

standout feature of the home to generate interest! This not only positions you as

an excellent seller’s agent but also serves the obvious purpose of helping you and

your clients earn top dollar on the sale.

On many social media platforms, posting text with

no photo won’t perform well. People simply don’t stop scrolling for a chunk of

plain text. When you set out to share your ideas on social media, include a quick

photo to go along with your text so that people are more likely to stop and read!

Videos

Just as sharing photos you take can help your audience get to know your personality, video can serve that same purpose and more!

Finding the Balance

Successful marketing requires an investment of time, money, and energy. It also requires the know-how to choose the permanent asset-type strategies as well as temporary expenses that will create a robust and diversified plan to give you the leads you need. Once you master this, you’ll become known as an authority in your market, get more clients without having to work for it, and enjoy sustained success.

One of the best examples of balancing investment-based marketing with temporary expenses would be to do a pay-per-click campaign (temporary) for a quick return to boost your numbers quickly and combine this with a content marketing strategy that may not give you any leads in the short-term but will begin building your authority for the future.

Are you tired of wasting your money on marketing campaigns that never seem to deliver? Instead of throwing in the towel, change your mindset to view marketing as an investment rather than an expense. Work with an expert like those at Luxury Presence who can help you combine fixed-expense advertising with long-term marketing investments to rise above your competition.

If you find yourself trying to capture a concept as

an infographic and getting stuck, that’s a sign that

the concept may be better explained as a video;

some things are just too complex to be captured

in a few quick words and graphs! Creating pre-

recorded videos of yourself explaining real estate

terms, tips, or processes is a simple way to

distribute knowledge, gain followers, and build

up traction in the social media space.

If you find yourself trying to capture a concept as an infographic and getting stuck, that’s a sign that the concept may be better explained as a video; some things are just too complex to be captured in a few quick words and graphs! Creating pre-recorded videos of yourself explaining real estate terms, tips, or processes is a simple way to distribute knowledge, gain followers, and build up traction in the social media space.

Not only does personality shine through on video the way no other medium can match,

but video formats are exploding in popularity across social channels. Instagram Reels,

for example, make your profile and content more accessible to anyone scrolling the

social platform, so posting there is an excellent strategy for growing your following

while providing value.

Use pre-recorded video for posts explaining strategies or concepts in-depth. Many

realtors set up recurring series, like a monthly video explaining the state of the

market or a longer series walking the audience through parts of a buyer’s contract

or similarly dense document.

For less formal and less planned content, opt for live video. Facebook and Instagram

both include options to “Go Live,” and doing so will often trigger the platform to alert

your followers and encourage them to tune in! This format is perfect for sharing quick

insights or tips, hosting Q & As with your community, helping people tune in to a local

event, or giving short updates on new construction or similar processes. These shouldn’t

be completely scripted, which is why they’re such a great way to help followers get to

know and trust the authentic you!

It’s common to feel nervous or intimidated at the thought of creating and sharing video

of yourself online, but the benefits are truly worth it! Higher engagement, more trust

from your community, and increased name and brand recognition can all result from

video posts.

Not only does personality shine through on video the way no other medium can match, but video formats are exploding in popularity across social channels. Instagram Reels, for example, make your profile and content more accessible to anyone scrolling the social platform, so posting there is an excellent strategy for growing your following while providing value.

Use pre-recorded video for posts explaining strategies or concepts in-depth. Many realtors set up recurring series, like a monthly video explaining the state of the market or a longer series walking the audience through parts of a buyer’s contract or similarly dense document.

For less formal and less planned content, opt for live video. Facebook and Instagram both include options to “Go Live,” and doing so will often trigger the platform to alert your followers and encourage them to tune in! This format is perfect for sharing quick insights or tips, hosting Q & As with your community, helping people tune in to a local event, or giving short updates on new construction or similar processes. These shouldn’t be completely scripted, which is why they’re such a great way to help followers get to know and trust the authentic you!

It’s common to feel nervous or intimidated at the thought of creating and sharing video of yourself online, but the benefits are truly worth it! Higher engagement, more trust from your community, and increased name and brand recognition can all result from video posts.

Announcements

From upcoming events like open houses to online happenings like a new blog post to your website, announcements involving your business make timely and interesting social media posts.

Announcements

From upcoming events like open houses to online happenings like a new blog post to your website, announcements involving your business make timely and interesting social media posts.

It’s always best practice to cross-promote your content across your web and social

media accounts. For example, if you write a new blog post, it makes sense to share

the link to it on your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts so that you drive

more traffic to your website and into the landing pages that will ultimately collect

email addresses and follow-up information that solidifies your leads!

Any networking events you plan to host, open houses you run, or big shifts in your

business also deserve quick announcement posts across your social channels. No

need for anything fancy: just attach a photo, type up the update, and voila!

Testimonials

Just like many agents are nervous about going on video, some also shy away from the

idea of sharing testimonials and reviews on social media. A natural thought is that it

feels too much like bragging or feels inauthentic. However, the very best way to show

followers the quality of work you do is to share past clients’ words about you! As much

as it might make you blush, it’s critical for your business that you build an online presence

centered in trust. Buying or selling luxury real estate is a huge decision and financial

undertaking; why would someone work with someone they have no reason to trust?

Sharing the words of happy clients goes hand in hand with sharing educational, personal,

and valuable information with your followers because it helps your audience form a full,

honest, comprehensive view of you based on your online presence — which is often all

we have to go on when we’re deciding who to work with!

Considerations When Posting

With a bank of posts that includes all six of these types of content, you’re ready to

impress your dream client with your social media presence! Before you hit “post,”

consider a few key elements:

■ Choosing platforms

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by how many social media platforms and options

there are! In general, business or education-related information (announcements,

infographics, and some photos and video) belong on LinkedIn. Post every type of

content on Facebook, and most of it on Instagram; just leave it off of Instagram if it

relies on a link, since Instagram doesn’t support those in captions. For example, if

you’re resharing a local news story, no need to post it on Instagram. Twitter loves

quippy one-liners and quick tips — let that personality shine!

■ Posting times

Research the latest findings on the best times to post on each social media platform.

They change constantly! Putting in these few minutes before scheduling your posts

can get you the most engagement for your content creation efforts.

■ Frequency

Set reasonable goals for yourself and your business. Consistency is key! Each social

platform comes with its own recommendations for how often to post, and sometimes

the expected frequency can feel unsustainable, especially if you’re doing all your

marketing alone. Get realistic about how often you can post, and consider bringing

in help so that you can best leverage social media to attract clients!

Whatever strategy you adopt, make your content true to you and let your personality

shine through! If you’re having fun, being yourself, and sharing what you know, you’re

doing it right. Reach out to marketing professionals like those at Luxury Presence today!