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4 Types Of Real Estate Social Media Content That Creates Engagement & “Reminds” Your Database You’re In Real Estate!

Creating real estate social media content that generates business is a lot easier than you think. Unfortunately, today it is no longer optional to be on social media, it is a necessity.

The Good News About Real Estate Social Media Content is that it’s much to create than you think. The key is consistency, which means finding the RIGHT strategy for you is very important because if you’re not excited about creating content on social media it’s very hard to do it over time. Making 1-2 posts a month is better than nothing, but it’s not going to turn you into the next Million Dollar Agent.

Do you recall one video from yesterday you saw on social media? Well, nobody is going to recall anything you created either, which is why the first step is finding a social media content strategy that you are excited about.

Some people like creating videos, while others would rather be creating graphics, but whatever that becomes for you, consistency is the only thing that works.

Why Creating Real Estate Social Media Content Consistently Creates Clients

Social media is the easiest place to constantly remind ALL your relationships you’re in real estate. The people you are connected with on social media all live somewhere, don’t they? Wouldn’t you expect to get their direct business when they do? Would you appreciate their referral business? Then start creating real estate social media content that reminds people you’re in real estate (more on this later). The question for you becomes, “how do YOU use social media to create engagement?

The more content you create, the more people you can help buy, sell, or finance real estate because of the following numbers.

10-15% of your social media connections are moving this year!
100% of your social media relationships have the ability to refer you one client.
80+% of people use the first person they meet with.
Over 74% of closed transactions were with agents they know personally, were referred to, used in the past, personally met, or ran into.

Everything I am showing you here is 100% mathematical and not based on theory. Once you understand how and why people hire their real estate agent or lender, then you know how to market them. Top

Top Of Mind Brand Awareness Is Everything In An Attraction Based Business

The reason for creating content is very simple. The more real estate social media content you create, the more engagement you’ll have. All of the engagement you create will create conversations that ultimately lead to the relationships that get you hired. The reality is that business is right in front of you! The next question then becomes, how do you stay consistent creating real estate social media content that creates engagement?

4 Kinds Of Real Estate Social Media Content Every Real Estate Agent Or Lender Can Create

The key to creating content on social media overtime is to learn how to be an effective story teller. Storytelling is all social media really is at the end of the day. Everything you do or consume is nothng more than a story. Each time you make a post, that content reminds people of your brand. When this is done over time you’ll build a brand people start to associate with real estate as long as your content is reminding them you are in real estate.

Real Estate Content Idea Content #1- Memes

There are so many funny memes that create engagement you can post all over social media. Sometimes making fun of yourself or profession is a great way to create engagement. We like to call these more lifestyle memes, but regardless of what you post, each one will remind people you’re in real estate.

Real Estate Content Idea #2- Cool Real Estate Stuff You See Daily

Real estate agents see the coolest kitchens, views, designs, etc. so just start sharing that on social media. Tis becomes as simple as taking pictures of cool real estate things throughout your week and then just sharing those pictures over time.

When I was practicing in Chicago, I had a series called #TBT, which stands for “Throwback Thursday”. When I used to show and list houses I would take cool pictures of old school furnaces, woodwork, brick, architecture, etc.. The city of Chicago has some of the most awesome architecture and each time I made a post it reminded people I was in real estate.

Real Estate Content Idea #3- Unique Real Estate News, Ideas, Concepts

The real estate industry employs roughly 25% of the work force directly or indirectly. This means there are many people interested in the topic because everyone lives somewhere. One of the best ways you can position yourself as the expert is that when you see something newsworthy or unique, you create content on it.

For example, when the recent interest rates started rising in 2022 and the market made an immediate shift from a seller’s to buyer’s market one of the best real estate social media content you could’ve have created at the time, was commenting on whether or not the market was going to crash or what the impact on inflation was. In the example above, this agent received 166,000 organic views from reporting on that content first. This is a perfect example of how news trending topics get a lot of buzz when you are one of the first to create content on it.

In addition to this you could create content on anything you want, even though it’s not your listing. Here is Ken Pozek, Orlando Realtor. He created a YouTube video that went viral because who doesn’t want to see the inside of Shaq’s house?

The point is that you can create real estate social media content on anything. The key is not making it about your or even “them”, but more on what’s going on in the community or your life. Believe it or not, you may be more interesting than you think and people want to get to know you. Think of social media as a way to date for future business. The more content you create, the more you flirt, which ultimately leads to you getting lucky with a new client.

Real Estate Content Idea #4- Real Estate Case Studies

Every time a real estate agent posts, just listed” or “just sold” you are doing nothing more than bragging about how much money you made. There’s no other industry that does this where it would be acceptable, but in real estate. The only people who comment on those posts are those that are trying to get your business.

The video above is nothing more than a case study a client of ours had with our video marketing services. I can tell you how awesome we are or I can let someone else do it for me, which is far more powerful.

Once you start telling stories of the people you served, your engagement will triple. HGTV is nothing more than a giant case study. Regardless of what side of the transaction you are on, there is also a journey, which is a great way to showcase your expertise WITHOUT feeling like you have to brag or making a post that nobody comments on. If HGTV can create an entire TV channel on “our profession”, why can’t we just document our own story? If you don’t have any stories start commenting on public “moves” by following channels like TMZ, etc..

Don’t overthink creating real estate social media content. The key is not creating content about your business per se, but rather reminding people in what business you are in.

This Real Estate Marketing Strategy Attracts Clients With Content Creation

The reason why 87% of agents fail within five years is because most of them start in real estate chasing the wrong people with NO real estate marketing strategy. Everything you are about to read is not rocket science, but common sense when it comes to real estate marketing vs. advertising. My goal is that you will learn how important it is to immediately establish an ongoing real estate marketing strategy. Creating real estate content creates top of mind brand awareness or what Gary V. would call “Attention”.

Prospecting For Real Estate Business Is Difficult

I recall as a brand new agent in 2002, cold calling my first six months because I was told to prospect, prospect, prospect instead of how to market my own brand.

One of the first lessons I learned my first year in business as a real estate agent was that prospecting through cold calling or other “old school” sales tactics was unsustainable for me. I was getting burned out fast, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t make it in real estate, it just meant I had to find another way.

You don’t get referrals or business from strangers, you get them from people you know. The key is staying on top of mind when a referral opportunity arises.

Let me ask you a question….

If nearly 61% of business is generated from referrals and repeat clients, what should be your most important real estate marketing strategy?

Facebook ads?
Buying Zillow leads?
Cold calling FSBO’s or expired listings?
Direct mail farming?
Door knocking?

These are all great ways to prospect new business, but it’s a fact that over 80% of a real estate agent’s business comes from referrals, repeat clients, people you already know, or run into?

Consider This…

If I were to open up a taco stand in San Diego and I found out that roughly 80%+ of my customer base were from a certain area or demographic, what should be the first thing I do? I would focus the majority of my marketing efforts to that specific group of people. I would first determine how I could reach them so they know I’m open for business.

Over 80% of business comes from people you know, worked with in past, are referred to, or personally meet! These aren’t statistics created by me, these are facts reported from NAR. A real estate agent who is not marketing their relationships is like me opening up my taco stand without putting a sign in the window saying I sell tacos.

What real estate marketing strategy keeps you in front of people WITHOUT always having to talk about buying or selling real estate? You create content.

What Do I Do First?

Many real estate agents rely on chasing leads vs. creating and maintaining relationships that produce referrals and repeat business. We are told to believe that we should be prospecting vs. marketing and building a brand. Prospecting strategies are great, but they should come secondary to setting up a system that generates referrals and repeat business.

I am talking about farming your relationships with content in multiple channels, so let me explain.

We all know direct mail farming works. It’s been a real estate marketing strategy since the dinosaurs ruled the world. You pick a neighborhood and then consistently mail it over a period of time. After about 6 months or so you should start seeing some results(if not sooner). The longer you maintain a presence and build a brand in your farm area, the better the results over time. The reason this takes time to build is because it takes a while for people to remember who you are. Over time, direct mail farming creates top of mind brand awareness.

So if direct mail farming a bunch of strangers still works, imagine if you started farming your relationships?

Why Your Real Estate Marketing Needs To Be Put In Front Of Your Relationships

You must market your relationships because when you are out of sight, you are out of mind. Trust me, people don’t remember what you for a living as much as you would like to believe. Top of mind brand awareness keeps your brand at the forefront, nurtures your relationship with your database, and makes it easier to be remembered when a referral opportunity rises.

What’s The Return On Investment In Marketing Your Database?

This is mathematical marketing, not theory. You can literally get a good estimate on your referral opportunities for the next 12 months simply by determining the size of the audience you are marketing. According to MelissaData, the annual statistics in the United States show that 10-15% of the population moves every year. This includes everyone you know or are connected with through social media or walk past each day.

Marketing your relationships consistently will generate direct business, but that’s not why you should be marketing it primarily.

You market your relationships because 100% of them knows someone who is moving that they can refer you to!

If you were to to “Farm” 100 people over a 12 month period, roughly 10-14% of them are going to be moving this year. If they know you, they are more likely to call you first when they need to buy or sell real estate. Over 80% of homebuyer and sellers hire the first person they speak to.

If I had 200 people I was consistently marketing, roughly 20-28 of them will be moving this year. The best part is that 100% of the people you stay in front of have the ability to refer you at least one client because they all know someone who is moving this year.

The question becomes if they will refer you or not. This is why top of mind awareness is crucial to your business.

You create top of mind brand awareness through creating content consistently through direct mail, video email, and social media.

The Exact Direct Mail Referral Marketing Strategy We Used To Generate A 500% ROI

Believe it or not, but using direct mail is an amazing referral marketing strategy for anyone in a referral based business. Direct mail is NOT dead, it’s alive and well and one of the most effective way to stay in touch and nurture your database.

“Referrals don’t come from strangers, they come from people you already know”

In the real estate, over 60% of business comes from referrals and repeat clients. Instead of spending tons of money on tech or other “noise” 90% of people never take action on, start by marketing the people you know first.

Referral marketing is all about keeping in touch with past clients, friends, prospects who aren’t ready yet, and anyone else who has the potential to send you business. It’s about keeping your brand in front of them with CONSISTENCY so you are not forgotten about. The only goal is when people think of “real estate” they think of your name.

Why Direct Mail Should Be An Important Part Of Your Referral Marketing Strategy

A good referral marketing strategy will involve multiple touches, but here’s why direct mail is very effective.

100% of the people you send direct mail to will receive it. Secondly, everyone who receives it has to physically engage with you. If they pick up your postcard or letter, they still have to interact with it. You cannot say that in any other form of marketing. If they pick up your direct mail and throw it in the trash, they still physically engaged with you. That’s powerful for marketing.

Direct mail going to have one of the highest ROI of any referral marketing strategy you implement as well. As much of the world has gone digital, direct mail is still tangible. Don’t underestimate physical interaction.

if you have 100 people part of your relationship marketing list you are sending direct mail to, 10-15% of them will be moving this year. At the same time 100% of them have the ability to refer you at least one person this year. This isn’t theory it’s mathematical. It will cost you about $12 a year to farm each relationship you have.

Do the math…

Everyone gets direct mail, but not everyone sees every email, or social media post you make.

What do you send them?

Your marketing does not have to be about real estate. As a matter of fact it shouldn’t. You are nurturing people you already know so trying to sell them a house every time you communicate will put you on the stay away list really fast. You are not trying to convert them to a client, but more to to encourage their referrals. Sending out things like Holiday greetings, party invites, fun facts, recipes, local events, restaurant openings, newsletters, or anything else would be appropriate. You DO NOT need to talk business, you need to remind them about the business you’re in.

Here’s a simple checklist you can follow to get your direct mail marketing to your database automated with Referral Sweet.

Build A Direct Mail List First

Referral marketing is not about sending content to strangers or a farm community, but more to people you know, worked with in the past, or would expect to get primary and referral business from.

Determining if you have someone worth marketing to comes down to a very simple test. If you were at the grocery store and came across someone you know, would you stop and say hello to this person? If that’s the type of relationship you have with them, then you should be be part of your referral marketing direct mail list.

If you were at the same grocery store and saw someone you recognized, but turned and walked the other way, then that person should not be on your list. It’s not about the quantity, it’s about the quality of relationship you have.

The back of my postcards always asks for referrals. We call this referral programming. You cannot expect people to always remember what you do for a living. It also thanks the recipient of sending referrals ahead of time. Your company logo, headshot, title and information will all go on there, which is where you infer you are an agent. This is why you don’t need to communicate about real estate, it will be known.

One Post Card Or Greeting Card A Month

You can send one postcard a month. Your content doesn’t have to talk about work, it can be anything. You want to send your database content they will actually read like fun facts. The more interesting the piece, the better received and I’ve tested just about everything. One example is a postcard I send about the world’s most expensive house.

These are short, sweet, cute, and fun to read. Remember all I want it to do is keep me on top of mind.

9 Holiday Cards Touches

I also send out holiday-based postcards. They follow a very similar format. Each postcard cites a fun fact revolving around that holiday.

I send my postcards out on the following holidays.

- Groundhogs Day

- Valentines Day

- Patty’s Day

- April Fools Day

- 4th of July

- Labor Day

- Halloween

- Thanksgiving

- Happy Holidays
- 2 Client Party Invites
- Greeting Card

That’s and additional 12 touches a year. These cards are very simple and cute. They allow me to stand out and do not sell at all. The purpose is to wish a happy holiday in a cute way and to not be forgotten about when a referral situation comes about.

Why Email Video Marketing Is The Best Way To Nurture Your Database

If you’re in a referral based business, email video marketing is one of the easiest ways to nurture your database for referrals and repeat business. We are increasing the open rates 300% using email video marketing vs. traditional text based email we used in the past. In this post, I’m going to walk you through how video email marketing works.

Many people get fed up because of dismal results from their email marketing, but it’s not because it doesn’t work, it’s because of the way they are using it. If you want to see a better results with any of your email marketing results then you MUST at least attempt email video marketing.

What is email video marketing?

Email video marketing is incorporating video within the emails you send to your email lists. Typically it involves using some kind of software like Referral Sweet or Bombbomb, but regardless of what you use, it’s the concept of consistently communicating through video within your emails.

Why does email video marketing work?

Video email marketing is a more impactful way to communicate with your email list in a much more personal way. There are many ways to use email in your business, but when your goal is top of mind brand awareness, I have found that “farming” your database of relationships, past clients, and relationships through video email has increased my open rates to an average of 40%+.

Here is why marketing your database with video is one of the most impactful ways to build your brand. Video is the most impactful way to stay in touch and create top of mind brand awareness with email video marketing.

- 60% of the impact your content makes is based on your tone.

- 30% of the impact your content makes is through the body language you use.

- People will only retain 10% of what you say, but will remember 90% of how you did it.

This is why I love email video marketing for my database.

What’s The Right Amount Of Email Video Marketing To Send Your Database

Over the last 5 years we’ve sent thousands of video emails on behalf of our clients and in just about every single case, it increased engagement. Many times we forget the point of sending an email in the first place. Unfortunately, many of us feel that we must send something that nobody opens or engages with. If that’s the case, what’s the point of sending it in the first place?

You only need to send 1-2 touches a month, but it’s important you put some thought behind your email video marketing strategy. Think about what you are going to send ahead of time, but don’t overthink it as well. The goal of sending these emails is to remind people you are still available for their referrals and direct business.

“10-15% of your email recipients will be moving this year, but 100% of them have a referral for you”

Who do you think has a better chance of generating more referrals and repeat business, the agent who is sending 1-2 video emails a month, the lender who is sending 1-2 templated emails a month, or the Realtor or lender not sending any emails at all? It’s not rocket science it’s common sense. Email video marketing creates more attention, which is the entire point of marketing your database in the first place.

What Kind Of Content Should You Create?

Let’s first talk about what NOT to create. Don’t talk about your business unless something newsworthy is to be talked about. For example, in real estate when the interest rates rose and the market began to shift would be considered a newsworthy item to report on. What is not newsworthy is sending your database market updates when they might not be interested in receiving them.

If you talked about work with your significant other all the time, you would eventually go your separate ways. The same principle is going to apply to marketing your database in general. You don’t have to talk about work, but you do have to stay in touch with them.

Your video emails should just gently remind them you’re in real estate with content thy may find useful. One of the best parts is that you do not need to constantly talk about real estate if you don’t want to.

The easiest strategy to implement is just holiday greetings. There are different holidays each month and a simple holiday greeting is an easy video to create.

Over 90% of what comes out of your mouth will be forgotten in 24 hours. People only retain 10% of what you say. but 100% of them will remember how you said.

The only time this works is when you are consistent with it. You want to invest about 30-60 minutes each month on video email marketing strategy once you begin.

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