A Zurple Exclusive

Social 101: for Real Estate Agents

A GUIDE ON GETTING STARTED WITH SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.  INTRODUCTION

2.  FACEBOOK 101

3.  TWITTER 101

4.  LINKEDIN 101

5.  GOOGLE+ 101

6.  PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction to Social 101

Getting Started Social Strategy

Before you dive right into building out your social profiles, it’s important to spend some time thinking about what platforms will be the most beneficial to your business. This guide will: •  Provide Data By Platform:

Learn what types of consumers are interacting with each of the four key social platforms and how they are engaging. Understanding how each platform impacts the consumer landscape will help you make well informed strategy decisions.

•  Offer Tips on Getting Started: The hardest part of implementing any new marketing strategy is getting started. This guide provides step-by-step instructions on what to do in order to start building your social brand.

•  Help You Generate Great Content Ideas:

Every social network is different, and it’s important to post content that is valuable to the types of consumers using each platform. Use our brainstorming tools and idea lists to plan your social posts.

CHAPTER TWO

Facebook 101

Facebook:  The  largest,  most  diverse  and  most  used  social  networking  pla8orm.    

The Facts: Facebook started in 2004 as a small-scale social connection platform for a select few US universities. Today, it has grown to become the world’s largest social media network.

Find  Us  On  

Agent Benefits: •  Advanced geographic and demographic targeting makes it easy to pinpoint potential leads •  Existing social connections provide opportunities to easily grow referral business •  Robust business tools allow your page to serve as a secondary website •  Budget-friendly advertising platform allows for highly effective business promotion

Important Stats: •  1.28 billion monthly active users •  Network has grown 15% year over year •  48% of users log in to their account daily •  1.01 billion active mobile users •  Mobile users have increased 34% year over year •  People aged 25-34 make up 29.7% of users

Getting Started:

Create Your Page: •  Go to facebook.com/pages/create.php •  Select “Local Business or Place” •  Choose “Real Estate” from the dropdown menu •  Fill out your contact information •  Upload a Profile Picture (180 x 180) •  Fill out the “About” section

Customize Your Page: •  Add a cover photo (851 x 315) •  Publish 3 new posts

Invite Your Friends: •  Use the “Build Audience” tool on the top right of the page to invite

friends and family to like your page via email

Monitor and Measure Your Results: •  Click on the “Insights” tab at the top of your page to see user data

and page analytics •  For best results, pay close attention to which posts generate the

most likes, comments and shares and post similar content

ü  For more tips and advice, visit Facebook’s

business page help center: facebook.com/help/364458366957655/

 

CHAPTER THREE

Twitter 101

Twi+er:    

Twi+er:  A  fast  paced,  brief-­‐content  pla8orm  that  allows  1:1  conversaBon.    

Important Stats: •  271 million monthly active users •  36 million unique monthly visitors to Twitter.com •  500 million Tweets sent per day •  78% of active users on mobile •  Average of 208 followers per user •  Average of 170 minutes on Twitter (per month per user)

The Facts: Twitter, created in 2006, was referred to as the “SMS of the Internet”. This social network allows users to send and read 140 character messages called “tweets”.

Agent Benefits: •  Monitor relevant #hashtags to discover potential clients and good content topics •  Best platform for engaging in 1-on-1 conversations with leads looking for real estate info •  Great opportunity to network with fellow agents and industry professionals •  Provides an opportunity to build credibility as an agent in a highly visible way

Getting Started: Create Your Profile: •  Go to twiCer.com/signup  •  Follow the prompts to create your Twitter profile

Customize Your Profile: •  Go to your Settings and click on the profile tab •  Use the dropdown next to “Profile” to upload your headshot

(400 x 400) •  Use the dropdown next to “Header” to upload a header image

(1500 x 500) •  Save your changes and click on the “Design” tab •  Choose a background theme or color and an overlay color •  Click on “Save changes”

Invite Your Friends: •  Use the “Find People You Know tool under the “Who to Follow”

section on the right side of the page

Monitor and Measure Your Results: •  Sign up for Twitter Analytics: analytics.twitter.com •  Use engagement stats to identify the most effective tweets and post

similar content for optimum lead engagement

ü For more tips and advice, visit Twitter’s getting started page: business.twitter.com/twitter-basics

CHAPTER FOUR

LinkedIn 101

LinkedIn:    

The Facts:

LinkedIn:  A  professional  networking  space  with  a  focus  on  industry  growth.  

The Facts: LinkedIn launched in May of 2003 and grew to 4,500 members in just one month. Today, people are joining at a rate of more than 2 new members per second.

Agent Benefits: •  Easily optimize your profile with real estate keywords to ensure visibility in search results •  Organize connections into groups (buyers, sellers, etc.) to easily follow-up with past clients & leads •  Link to your website to drive traffic and generate new business leads •  Grow your network of local industry professionals to provide more client value

Important Stats: •  259 million active users •  Growing at a rate of up to 38% year over year •  Responsible for 64% of all visits from social channels to corporate sites •  84 million US based users •  38% of all visits are made via mobile •  47.6% of users spend up to 2 hours on the site each week

Getting Started:

Create a Company Page: •  Go to

business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/company-pages/get-started.html •  Follow the on-screen instructions Create a Profile: •  Go to www.linkedin.com •  Follow the instructions on-screen to sign up and create a profile Customize Your Page & Profile: •  Edit your company page:

help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1591/~/editing-your-company-page

•  Edit your profile:help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5/~/editing-your-profile

Grow Your Network: •  Personal:

Hover over “Connections”, select “Add Connections” and follow the prompts •  Company:

Share your page on social media or add a follow button to your website: help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/15496/~/company-follow-button---overview

      ü  For more tips and advice, LinkedIn’s business page help center: business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/company-pages.html  

CHAPTER FOUR

Google+ 101

Goo:    

The Facts:

Google+:  Highly  visual,  relaBonship-­‐based  space  with  mulBple  ways  to  interact.  

The Facts: Google+ grew to 10 million users during their private beta launch in 2011. Today, the platform serves as an integrated communication space that incorporates multiple tools from Google’s vast product suite

Agent Benefits: •  Join real estate communities to share ideas with other agents and industry professionals •  Show up higher in search results by building a presence on Google’s social network •  Use keywords to target specific geographic areas or topics relevant to your business •  Create a Google maps location and link it to your Google+ profile for enhanced local visibility

Important Stats: •  300 million monthly active users •  22% of all online adults visit Google+ at least once a month •  1.2 billion+ monthly page visits •  Most highly correlated with search rankings •  Allows users to create vanity URLS for business pages •  +1 button is clicked more than 5 billion times per day

Getting Started:

Create a Brand Page: •  Go to plus.google.com/pages/create •  Follow the on-screen instructions Optimize Your Brand for Search Visibility •  Make sure your brand is discoverable on all of Google’s social platforms:

google.com/business this site will guide you through SEO, maps & more

Customize Your Brand Page: •  Upload a profile photo and cover photo (use this size guide for image specs:

plus.google.com/u/0/100699381549321545925/videos) Grow Your Network: •  Open Google+ •  On the top left corner of the main menu, click “People” •  Browse the suggestions and place your cursor over the Add button to add

people to your circles (they won't know which circle you added them to). •  To find additional people, click Find coworkers or Find classmates.

Measure & Adjust for Success: •  Use these instructions to view page analytics:

support.google.com/business/answer/4570078     ü  For more tips and advice, Google’s brand help center: google.com/+/brands/thebasics.html

CHAPTER FIVE

Putting it All Together

Social Media Content Ideas:

The Golden Rule: Your  social  content  should  be    

80%    relevant,  useful  &  educaBonal    

and  20%  business.  

Content Guidelines: Always keep your clients and prospects in mind. Think about their experience in a real estate transaction and post about things that will be useful, educational, interesting or entertaining to them.

Post Ideas: Educational •  Current market data and trends •  Upcoming neighborhood events •  Links to real estate tools •  Interesting industry news

Engaging •  Questions about local events or topics of interest •  Photos unique home features or home improvement ideas •  Information on the best schools, parks, restaurants, etc. in your area •  Answers to common buyer and seller questions •  Actionable tips (home improvement projects that pay out, home staging, etc.)

Social Strategy Worksheet:

eBook  Sources:  hCp://upcity.com/,  facebook.com,  twiCer.com,  linkedin.com,  hCp://www.cmo.com/,  hCp://expandedramblings.com/,  sproutsocial.com,      

Answer these 7 questions to develop your social media marketing strategy:

1.  What would you like to accomplish with your social media marketing? (capture more leads, expand your network, get more business visibility, share listings, etc.)

2.  Do you already have a personal presence on any social networks / are you familiar with any social networks? (if so, list which networks and how active are you on those networks)

3.  How much time do you have to spend on social media marketing each week? (be realistic and remember social can be broken up into several small time investments per day)

4.  What platform(s) would you like to have a business presence on? List in order of priority. (facebook, twitter, linkedin, pinterest, google+, youtube, etc)

5.  What business related things will you be posting about? (write down anything business related that you’d like to get more exposure for – listings, referrals, etc.)

6.  What local interest things are you going to be posting about? (write down anything that comes to mind that will be interesting to locals – new restaurants, events, etc.)

7.  Do you have any other resources that can help you create a social media marketing strategy? (think about any friends, family or professional resources you can trust that can help you with your marketing)  

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