One House: 12 Social Media Marketing Strategies

Did you know the search term "sell a house on social media" gets over 175,000,000 results? It seems like everyone wants to know how to use the power of social media to reach interested buyers. And that shouldn't come as any surprise, with millions of prospects logging in to share, tweet and chat every day.

You know what they say: in real estate it's all about location, location, location. Here are a cool dozen ways to get your listings in all the right locations for the most exposure in no time flat.

1. Build a Single Property Website

First things first, create a single property website with social sharing built right in so your sellers can share their house with their friends and family (and so can anyone else).

2. Curate a Pinterest Board

Pinterest can drive a lot of free traffic for real estate agents, if you are able to dedicate a little time to it. Start by setting up some boards that show who you are and establish you as a real estate expert. (Need Pinterest board ideas? We've got 20 right here!) Then add boards dedicated to your listings. You can create one per neighborhood or one per listing. Just remember: vertical images perform better than horizontal images on Pinterest.

3. Join a Google+ Community

Google+ might not work for everyone, but it's a hopping place for real estate agents! Join a community that allows you to post listings (like this one) and share away. Remember that you'll get more traction if you take the time to engage with other agent's posts while you're there. Content shared on Google+ is indexed more quickly, so it will probably give your listing an SEO boost too!

4. Buy Facebook Ads

Over 1 billion people use Facebook. It only stands to reason that at least a million might be in the market for a new home, right? (We never claimed to be statisticians.) Instantly get your home in front of more eyes by creating a Facebook ad for it. Here are 5 tips to get you started.

5. Share a Home Tour on YouTube

Use your smartphone to record a video tour and upload it to YouTube. Then share your video link with the sellers (who will definitely share it), on Facebook and Google+. Bonus: if your video is less than 30 seconds, you can also share it in a tweet!

6. Create a Facebook Event for Your Open House

Market your open house for free on Facebook by creating a Facebook event. Add photos of the home and set it as a public event, making it visible to anyone on or off Facebook. Anyone can also see the event description, photos, posts and videos. Be sure to mention any food, activities or special guests that will be there. Need some fun open house ideas? Here you go!

7. Advertise on Twitter

Twitter has proven to be a powerful platform for sales prospecting and advertising on Twitter is still relatively inexpensive and easy to do. Read about the 4 styles of Twitter ads and how to make them work for real estate here.

8. Write a Blog Post

A blog post about your listing is a great way to get the word out. Interview the owners and include quotes from them about what they like about the house and the area. Share your post with them and across your social media channels.

9. Update Your LinkedIn Status

People often underestimate the power of LinkedIn for real estate. In addition to your professional profile, you can post updates that will be shown to your connections and can then be liked or shared (kind of like Facebook). Post an update about your home for sale, but make sure you take the time to make it relevant for your audience. "Check out my new listing!" is not as engaging as "Are any professionals looking for a home near XYZ company?" or "I just started making videos for my business. Take a look at the most recent one!" And that video you created for #5? Yeah, it will embed and play seamlessly on LinkedIn.

10. Instagram Lifestyle Photos

With more than 300 million users and growing, Instagram is a great way to share photos of your house for sale. Instead of focusing on classic listing photos, snap lifestyle photos of the kitchen, the neighbourhood, the pool and pair them with captions and hashtags that make sense for buyers you're trying to reach. Geotag your photos and add a link to your agent site in your profile. Just don't share too many at once! One or two a day is plenty. These Instagram apps will help you create more compelling images.

11. Live Stream a Tour

Meerkat and Periscope give you two amazing (and easy) ways to live broadcast a home tour the second your new listing comes on the market. You can share these live streams on Twitter or via email and invite prospects to tune in for a sneak peek. We've got some Meerkat for real estate tips for you right here.

12. Give a Shout-Out to Someone Else

Is there anyone else attached to this home with a sizeable social media following? Maybe it's the seller, the housing community, the landscaper or the contractor. Once you've identified their username, find a way to mention them on the channel they use most and include a link to your home for sale e.g. "Thanks for the fresh coat of paint @username! Looking ready to sell! " There's a good chance they will share your post (and your listing) with their sphere of influence.

Can you think of any other ways to market a home on social media? We'd love to hear them!

To view the original article, visit the Point2Agent blog.