Online Reputation and Presence
The question isn’t whether you need to be found online - you do, it is rather what kind of online reputation and presence do you want to have. The choices these days are endless and range from being a social media influencer to having a YouTube following to having your own branded website that may or may not also feature IDX search or home valuations. (I cover whether you need a website here.)
There’s a few inescapable facts these days:
Wherever you go, chances are that everyone around you is engaged with their phone on some app, texting, Googling, or in rare instances ever talking. But most are in some social app.
The first thing most Buyers and Sellers do when they meet an agent is to Google them. Google yourself. Do you like what you see? Does it show that you are an active top producing agent.
Let’s Google me. Here’s what a search on Ellis Posner turns up.
So what do we see? My website, some social media sites and Real Estate portals. The “message” is pretty consistent on the results. I’m a Broker and I represent Buyers and Sellers in the South Bay Beach Cities and Silicon Beach.
What doesn’t show up in the results is any PR - public relations articles written about me or videos. If you go to the video tab, you see the results from YouTube and Vimeo. They sometimes also show up in the search results.
As a “must - have”, the results of a search for you have to firmly establish your bona fides as a Real Estate agent and be consistent in what they say about you.
If the results come up with you partying with your friends on your last trip to Cabo, it might not have the desired effect as to your business.
Consider the results that people find when they search you as your “reputation”. Your online reputation is definitely boosted by having reviews show up, whether they are on Zillow or one of the other portal sites or Yelp.
But that’s only good when people search for you. How do you increase your presence so that potential clients who aren’t aware of you might discover you?
That’s where social media comes in.
For free advertising there has never been anything so valuable in history and many agents are using social media to build their online presence and attract new clients.
Here’s where many agents tell me “I post on Facebook and Instagram all the time and have never gotten any leads.” You can also add to that those who have boosted on these platforms or done paid ads. Here’s why you haven’t gotten any business: what you are posting sucks.
Typically what I see from agents is the Just Listed or Just Sold or Open House post that reads like their MLS listing or something they would have used as a print ad.
No one cares that you just listed a “charming 2/1 bungalow that needs TLC for only $1,499,000” and are holding it open this weekend. If they are looking for a property like that, chances are they already got a notification from whatever app they use.
And when you post “we beat out 57 other offers and my wonderful amazing clients could get their dream home” or “my listing sold for $510,000 over the asking price” all the public thinks (if they even read it) is that a) you pushed your buyers to overpay and b) you listed the house for too low.
Either way it doesn’t show the public what they really want from agents: someone who is knowledgeable and they can trust to help them with a real estate transaction and even more crucial someone who they will feel comfortable working with.
Here’s some things to focus on for the best results.
BE AUTHENTIC AND KEEP IT REAL
The social platforms provide an excellent opportunity to show who you are with pictures, text and videos. The key is to be yourself and not too self promoting.
OFFER INFORMATION TO SHOW YOUR EXPERTISE
Most working agents have a wealth of institutional knowledge about Real Estate that the public is searching for. Show off a little of what you know.
BE PLATFORM SPECIFIC
Each platform is different. You need to make sure that what you are posting is optimized for that platform.
That means don’t post the same thing on Twitter that you put on Facebook or Instagram. And I try to make some of my IG and FB posts different even though sometimes the exact same post appears on both.
If you post on LinkedIn, the audience there is different than on TikTok. You might do something different on YouTube than Vimeo. Speaking of which….
DO VIDEO
Whether you shoot videos on your phone or use a professional photographer or both, you are missing out on a huge part of the market if you are not using video.
KEEP YOUR MESSAGE CONSISTENT
One of the ways to develop authenticity is to have a consistent message. If on one site you are talking about being a luxury agent and the next place you are a foreclosure expert, people don’t know what you do.
DON’T TRY TO BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE
Because you will wind up being nothing to anyone.
DON’T OVER PLATFORM
Find the ones you like and be consistent on those. Posting to IG today and then again in 3 weeks will not be helpful. How many platforms should you be on? As many as you can be consistent on.
WHERE SHOULD YOU POST?
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube at a minimum. If you use TikTok, might as well post there too. If the Nextdoor app is in your neighborhood, check that out. Pinterest works for some as does Houzz