In today’s technologically focused world, using social media for real estate marketing is possibly one the best ways that mortgage professionals can reach customers.

The problem is, how will you find the time to learn the best use of each social media platform, actively participate in discussions on those platforms, and run your real estate business at the same time?

Here are 6 social media tips to help you boost your real estate marketing:

1) Have a content strategy.
Many complaints Real Estate Agents have regarding social media is that they don’t feel like anyone is interested in what they have to say. This is true to the extent that many people don’t necessarily want to hear what your dog ate for dinner last night, but when it comes to providing helpful real estate information, this complaint couldn’t be further from the truth. When deciding on content to create for your social media marketing, ask yourself the following questions:

• What real estate topics do I know the most about?
• What are other people talking about in my area?
• If I were a home buyer or seller, what information would I be most interested in reading?
• What fun events are coming up in my area?

Keeping each of these questions in mind will provide you with great ideas for posting content on your social media accounts.

2) Consistency is key.
As a Real Estate Agent, you can’t expect results from working only once a week. The same thing goes for social media. You will not see results if you only post once a week. “Consistency” means something slightly different depending on which social media platform you are using. A good place to start is by posting at least once a day on Facebook / LinkedIn, and 2 or 3 times per day on Twitter. If you post more than once per day, be sure to spread them out a bit.

This is where most Real Estate Agents find trouble. How can you remember to set aside time to post multiple times per day when you are running around conducting open houses, showings, and running your business? A great way to combat the time crunch is to set aside about an hour at the beginning of the week and schedule out your posts for that week. There are multiple tools such as HootSuite or TweetDeck that allow you to easily schedule social media posts.

3) Think local.
Remember that the majority of your business as a Real Estate Agent is likely to come from people in or around your local area (unless you manage offices all over the country). Also remember that buying or selling a home includes so much more than the house itself. People are interested in local attractions, parks, restaurants, school districts, etc. Including posts on these topics will go a long way in setting yourself apart from the competition.

4) Understand how each platform is unique.
People use different social media platforms for specific reasons. For example, Twitter posts can only include 140 characters (letters, spaces, punctuation). Facebook allows an unlimited amount of characters and also allows you to post photos / images. Pinterest revolves specifically around photos / images. Understanding how each is unique, and how you can leverage each platform’s functionality is a big factor in successful social media management.

5) Measure and track results.
If something you’re doing in your business is having no impact on generating new business, you likely would not continue doing that thing, right? Perhaps a specific social media platform is just not working for you for one reason or another. Understanding where and when to cut your losses will allow you to focus on the platforms that ARE producing results.

Add Google Analytics to your website and track how much of your traffic is coming from which social media site. Remember that you aren’t likely to see results right away, so don’t be discouraged. If you aren’t seeing any results after an extended period of time, research how to better utilize that social media platform and see if a different strategy produces better results.

6) Have FUN!
Social media marketing should be a fun experience. Not only does it connect you with potential clients, but you will likely learn a lot about the things you are interested as well! It’s easy to become too focused on using social media solely for a business purpose. But make sure you are coming across as a genuine human being, and interact with others who are talking about subjects that you yourself enjoy as well.

Are YOU currently using social media in your real estate marketing strategy?