Why Do You Need Social Media as a Real Estate Investor

Why Do You Need Social Media as a Real Estate Investor?

Social media for real estate investing business is a big deal. A strong social media presence can make you a successful real estate investor. You have to have a broad marketing approach to garner interest from renters and buyers. Social media sites like Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram are important marketing tools.

Social media is particularly lucrative for real estate investors because it doesn’t cost anything to be on the platforms. You may spend money on the media you share, but most of the time you can rely on organic reach. Top-tier investors dedicate time to their social media presence for a good reason. It’s proven to work.

It’s easy to get into the habit of sharing your available listings on particular sites and stopping there. But if you want your real estate investing business to grow, you have to think outside of the box and do more.

Which Social Media Platforms Are Best for Real Estate Investors?

Here are dozens of social media sites to choose from. Some are household names while others are more obscure with fewer users. Before choosing social media platforms, it’s important to know your audience and understand what they’re looking for.

Potential renters and buyers are already spending a lot of time on social media sites. When you have a social media presence, you’re taking the interest to them; not waiting for them to happen upon your listing another way.

YouTube for Real Estate Investors

Great for:

• Using videos to tell stories

• Educating potential renters and buyers

• Entertaining for brand awareness

• Establishing yourself up as an expert

• Having a more interactive FAQ
  

You can use YouTube to answer popular questions. Examples include:

• How to sell my house and make cash

• How to reduce capital gains taxes

• How to sell a property fast

• Sell a property that needs work

Videos like these benefit you in several ways. They showcase your knowledge of the industry and position you as a local real estate expert. YouTube videos also serve as an introduction to potential sellers and renters.

If you video yourself, they can get to know you and may be more likely to reach out to you over another real estate investor. YouTube can also serve as a resource library for your renters and sellers to learn more about the process.

For best results you should keep SEO in mind. Use key phrases in the titles and descriptions of your videos. When users search those key phrases verbatim, your video is more likely to appear in their results.

Facebook for Real Estate Investors

Great for:

• Connecting in a more personal way

• Engaging with your connections

• Sharing current properties

• Sharing potential investment opportunities

  
  

You an elevate your personal Facebook page by:

Posting content related to your properties

Sharing videos from your YouTube channels

Posting about challenges and sharing your “wins”

Sharing images that offer insight to your day-to-day life as a real estate investor

You can also join groups in your area that may offer an opportunity to share listings or establish yourself as a local expert. When people consistently see your name, they will remember you when they have a property to sell or flip.

Add new friends on Facebook whenever you can. Interact with your connections by liking and commenting on their posts. If you make public posts, use relevant hashtags and keywords that people may search for. Use Facebook Marketplace to post listings and gather interested leads.

LinkedIn for Real Estate Investors

Great for:

• Networking as a professional

• Establish yourself as an expert

• Offer credentials that back up your business
  

Treat LinkedIn similarly to Facebook, but on a more professional level. Share educational resources and make posts that lend credibility to your endeavors. If someone is researching you to decide if they want to reach out, your LinkedIn is like an online resume. It’s a great way to showcase who you are professionally.

Instagram for Real Estate Investors

Great for:

• Sharing static images and short videos

• Highlighting eye-catching properties

• Showcasing before and after pictures

Instagram is more about your images and less about your words. Relevant hashtags are extremely important on this platform if you want to gain new followers. Lifestyle shots are popular for real estate investors. When you gain traction on a post it can lead to Instagram boosting your image or videos for even more people to see organically. This means not having to pay for ads! For this reason, use hashtags wisely.

TikTok for Real Estate Investors

Great for:

• Sharing the fun side of real estate investing

• Posting available properties in a unique way

• Turning engagement into real leads

• Showing your creativity and setting yourself apart from the competition

  
  

TikTok is one of the newer social media platforms and it is gaining popularity – fast! There are over a billion active TikTok users so this is a great platform if you want to get attention for your personal brand. Fun content is paramount on TikTok, but it’s also a great way to sprinkle in education for you followers and push them to your other platforms.

Tips for Using Social Media as a Real Estate Investor

Now you know about each of the top social media platforms. It’s time to talk strategy. You’re most likely already on at least one of these platforms, but how do you establish yourself as an industry expert and gain a following? Success on social media can save you time, money, and lead to a very lucrative real estate investing business — you just have to know what to do.

Establish Your Presence as a Real Estate Investor

It’s important that people know who you are and what you’re about. You can’t leverage social media if you aren’t consistent on your chosen platforms. You don’t have to be on all of them, but you do have to be present and active.

Add your real estate investing information to your “about” sections and make sure you choose a profile picture that represents you professionally. After all, your social media profile may be someone’s first impression of you.

Even if you don’t have an actual business name, establish a brand for yourself. Katie Smith Investing or Michael Williams Homes are two examples. Make sure your chosen brand name is the same on all of your platforms. It’s also a good idea to make your profile pictures the same or similar.

You want to be easily identifiable on all social media channels. If someone follows you on TikTok and wants to connect on LinkedIn, it should be obvious that it’s you on both channels – especially if you have a common name.

You also want to keep SEO in mind as you fill out “about” sections. When people search for keywords that are relevant to real estate investing, you want them to find you instead of other real estate investors. Online search algorithms will prioritize your pages in search results if they are more relevant. Examples of keywords include:

• Real estate investor [your location]

• [your location] available rentals

• Buy homes for cash

Post a Variety of Pictures and Videos

Your audience doesn’t want to read long posts all the time. Lots of words may mean that people scroll right by your posts on their feed. But eye-catching photos and videos can lead to more engagement.

Prioritize your current properties as a way of getting leads. But don’t remove property photos once you rent, flip, or sell it. Instead, leave the photos up as a sort of portfolio of your work. Your friends and followers can get a feel for what types of property you usually have.

Everyone has a style or vibe, and yours is unique from any other real estate investor’s. Be authentic to yourself when sharing pictures and videos. Your authenticity will show through and attract the right clients to your posts. Even if someone isn’t looking to rent or sell right now, they will remember you in the future.

Home tours and before-and-after photos are always popular. They’re also great for showcasing who you are as a real estate investor. They offer a brief history of what you’ve accomplished so that future renters and sellers can see you have experience in the industry.

Turn off Sales Mode

You want to make money. Real estate investing is your job and it pays your bills. It’s easy to get into sales mode when you’re making posts, but avoid being too salesy. Social media is about having fun, learning a little something, and connecting with others.

It’s possible to share without being salesy, and there are huge benefits to doing so. If your friends and followers think you’re always trying to sell you something, they may keep their distance. Authentic posts that don’t feel like a sales trap are a better way to engage with your audience.