As many of us know by now, social media provides doors, visibility, and engagement that real estate agents cannot access with any other marketing medium. With a tumultuous 2018 behind us, what lies ahead when it comes to our beloved social networks and marketing strategies to capitalize on their impact?
Although I love checking my daily horoscope from time to time, it doesn’t take tarot cards or a crystal ball to predict what’s on the horizon for social media in 2019:
Social Media Mobile Apps Will (Still) Dominate: Did you know that 2019 is the year that mobile screens will surpass television for attracting the most watch time in the United States? On top of that, a wide range of social media users are finding themselves reaching for their mobile devices over accessing their favorite networks on a desktop computer. That would make sense considering Facebook & Facebook Messenger remain the top two most popular apps by number of downloads on both Apple iOS and Android! There’s nothing quite like convenience when you’re on the go, so now more than ever it’s imperative to have mobile-friendly exposure!
Users Will Focus on the “Social” Part of “Social Media:” We’ve come such a long way since the early days of Facebook, when social networks were just that – connecting with your friends and family online. In the last few years, content on social media seemed to exclusively be geared towards monetization and advertising efforts rather than pure socialization. But what about 2019? Although promoting your business will always be important, gone are the days of pushy sales tactics. This year is all about sharing relevant, engaging content to spark genuine conversations with your audience. Sprinkling your feed with some non-real estate related content is a great start to this strategy. Got a great local restaurant review? Share it! Want your audience to vote on their favorite color to paint a kitchen? Ask them! These simple, but meaningful social conversations will snowball into a top-of-mind awareness and genuine interest from leads!
Video Content Will Be Vital: If you’re not already utilizing video content, you might want to start. Did you know that 80% of audiences would rather watch a video from a brand than read a blog or article? Even as someone who is an avid reader & writer, I cannot say I’m surprised. We are busier than ever, and video content is the easiest way to absorb information with minimal effort. Videos give you the opportunity to present an intimate, personalized, and behind-the-scenes look at your business. If you’re stuck on what videos you should be posting online, check out our tips here!
For Businesses, Social Media’s Purpose Will Expand Beyond Marketing: Of course social media supports brand awareness, community engagement, content, and advertising, but platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram will expand beyond those general marketing efforts to grow your business. You can leverage social media for PR by monitoring what’s being said about your business, customers, services, and more! Social media is also the perfect place for agent recruitment (brokers, we’re looking at you,) to fill open positions.
Instagram is the Place for Engagement: Although Facebook remains at the top of the social media mountain in terms of popularity, Instagram’s value continues to increase with a massive engagement rate. In fact, Instagram’s interaction rate is 100x more than Facebook! That’s huge! As an added bonus, 80% of Instagram users follow at least one business which means users aren’t shy about engaging with companies & professionals they love. This is a key platform to share beautiful photos of your listings, exciting business milestones, and buying/selling celebrations with clients!
Although time will tell whether or not these predictions come to fruition, one ever-constant trend with online marketing is “change.” A lack of consistency is the one thing that you can count on resurfacing year after year in the world of social media.
With this in mind, it’s time to put together a successful marketing strategy to make sure you’re ahead of the curveballs! Back At You Media can alleviate your social media pains by providing tools to immediately amplify the exposure of your brand, automatically market your listings, distribute engaging content, recruit top talent, and provide transparent analytics to measure the impact of our efforts! If you’re not using our full-service system yet, schedule a call today!