We have interviewed many Real Estate professionals in the past few months. Almost all of them agree that they feel that social media is time-consuming!
In fact, some of them further complained that they chose to become Realtors mainly because of the time freedom they can enjoy.
How can you, as a social media savvy Realtor, manage your SMM time effectively and boost your productivity?
1. Start With the End in Mind!
I firmly believe that social media can seem overwhelming to Realtors who don’t have a preset marketing plan or those who try to sell to everyone!
Do NOT be one of them! Spend adequate time narrowing, defining and understanding your target market. This way, you will ensure creating a solid social media marketing strategy that will boost your business profitability.
Key Takeaway: Having a crystal clear plan will help you focus on the right marketing channels and will make every minute you spend on social media worthwhile
2. Do NOT Reinvent The Wheel!
Social media made it super-easy for you to spy on your competitors and your success role models. Do NOT reinvent the wheel! See what’s working for them and tailor it to your own needs.
For example, I recently received a comment from a Realtor complaining about how it is very hard to create a blog that stands out in the midst of the Real Estate blogs avalanche!
You CAN turn your blog into a masterpiece by carefully analyzing successful blogs of other Realtors and following their tracks.
In addition, you can create Twitter lists of key figures in your industry and check out their Twitter updates regularly for a healthy dose of inspiration.
In addition, it is perfectly ok to include third party content in your own blog. For example, we have a monthly tradition of creating top 20 posts of our social media picks. When we publish the post, we use Twitter @mentions to notify people:
Thanks @UserName! Your article is featured in #Gariouscom top 20 SM picks for Mar. 2012
Featuring third party content in your blog has 3 great benefits:
- You will save time writing blog topics
- You will generate more traffic to your blog because the people you feature will be happy to share your blog post with their network
- This can be a great way to initiate conversations and build relationships with the people you feature
Key Takeaway: Start where others ended. Do NOT reinvent the wheel!
3. SMM On The Go! Let Your Cell Phone Do The Work
I am not a big fan of multi-tasking! For example, eating or watching TV while working on your computer will hinder your productivity instead of reinforcing it!
Studies have shown that doing many things simultaneously will dilute your concentration and results in poor performance.
Having said that, you can still take advantage of the time you spend on long queues or while waiting for a client appointment. Use this “waiting” time efficiently by tweeting or sending Facebook updates from your cell phone.
Key Takeaway: Take advantage of waiting time and NEVER multi-task!
4. Consistency Rules: Take 10!
I have seen so many deserted social media profiles of Real Estate pros and the problem is that you can NOT hide the last time you have been there.
People who see that you haven’t tweeted in weeks will feel discouraged to initiate conversations with you.
If you are super-busy, try the “take 10″ approach. Make a commitment to spend 10 minutes on each of your major social networks on daily basis. This way, your network will feel your presence.
I strongly advise against having mediocre presence on a zillion social networks! Instead, focus on being active on a select few. Needless to say, your choice of social channels will largely depend on the social habits of your target market.
Be consistent in your social media interactions. Commit to dedicate at least 10 minutes on each network!
5. Ask The Experts!
I always love to learn from the source! Subscribe to the blogs and mailing lists of productivity experts and consult them if necessary.
As the Middle Eastern proverb goes: “Give the bread to the baker”. Asking an expert in the field can be very helpful, especially if you are unhappy with your current productivity level and wish to take a quantum leap.
And The List Goes on and on…
I have barely touched the surface here. I also recommend delegation of SMM tasks and using social media automation tools intelligently.
Delegation and automation are the perfect pair that can help you become very productive in achieving your key business goals.
Do NOT forget Stephen Covey’s 7th habit: “sharpen the saw”. Make sure to dedicate enough time to fuel your productivity by doing more of the things you love. I hope social media marketing is one of them by now!
Am I right or right? Please correct me if I am right by commenting below. To your success!
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