Digital marketing is always evolving, particularly when we look at social media. As well as all the different platforms, there is a constant stream of new updates and algorithm changes that can make it hard to know which platforms will work for you. In today’s blog post, we’ve broken down 4 of the main platforms, weighing up their pros and cons and giving you a general overview of how effective they are purely with estate agent content in mind.
Pros
- Image-based, which works well for property
- Higher engagement than many other platforms
- Posts can be easily seen by those outside your network
Cons
- Engagement is declining, making it hard for newer accounts to gain traction
- No guarantee that your followers will see your posts
- Conversion is fairly low, making it unlikely to directly produce sales
Overview
Selling property naturally relies on photography and video, making image-based Instagram a great platform for estate agents. This is especially true if you sell high-end properties, as aspirational images tend to work really well .You can also use locations and hashtags to help others discover you. At the time of writing, #property has been used on almost 9 million posts.
As you don’t necessarily need to come up with long captions to accompany your posts, Instagram doesn’t have to be as time-consuming as some of the other social media platforms. However, as with all of them, consistency is key. You will also have to put in some time to engage with other users, as this will help your following to grow.
Pros
- Offers easy and affordable advertising options
- Your ideal clients are likely spending time on the platform
- Offers insights that help you see what content works for your business
Cons
- Organic engagement has hugely decreased, meaning you will likely need to spend money to get good results
- Needs a considerable time investment to consistently produce valuable content
- Showing signs of decreasing popularity
Overview
If you already have an established Facebook business page and have been posting consistent content for some time, chances are this is a platform that works very well for you. Chances are that your ideal client is spending time on Facebook, and it can be a great way to interact with them and generate leads.
Unfortunately, if you are yet to start one, you may have trouble getting any traction. Facebook have made it harder than ever before to get organic engagement through their platform. If you come in with a plan and a marketing budget, however, Facebook ads could be highly beneficial for you. That’s not to say that it’s impossible to grow your page organically. But the amount of time you will have to put in might not be worth the results.
Pros
- A business page can help improve your online visibility
- Allows you to position yourself as an expert in your industry
- Helpful for connecting with others in your industry
Cons
- Geared more towards professional connections as opposed to clients
- Few people outside of your network will see your posts
- Advertising is expensive compared to other platforms
Overview
LinkedIn is great for B2B marketing, but not so much for reaching clients. With that being said, your business network is full of people who may one day become clients, or who would be able to recommend you to others. LinkedIn is well-suited to long form content, so it’s a great place to share your blog posts along with updates about your business. This is a platform that is good to have, but not one that you should be spending a lot of time on.
Pros
- It’s easy to find people in your area
- It can help to increase brand awareness
- Videos tend to perform well, so it’s a good place to share property videos
Cons
- The character limit may make it challenging to post meaningful content
- It can be hard to gain much visibility
- Growing a following will likely take a long time
Overview
Like Facebook, Twitter is a platform that worked much better for businesses several years ago. Now, it will be much harder to gain a following. It’s really more of a platform to share your views rather than provide information, so the kind of content that an estate agent can provide is unlikely to do well. As with LinkedIn, it’s good to have, but it’s not worth committing too much time to.
Conclusion
While some social media platforms do work better for estate agents than others, it’s possible to make any platform work for you. However, if you are only just building your social media presence, Instagram will likely be the most beneficial. While organic reach is on the decline, it is still easy to find and engage with your ideal clients, and there are a number of different ways you can get your content in front of them (from your feed, stories, reels etc). What social media platforms have worked best for you?
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