How to Make the Most of Social Media and Grow Your Business: Tips for Real Estate Agents

Curb Appeal

Episode Summary
Social media is a powerful marketing tool and can work miracles for your brand. But, many business owners — primarily those who have been in the market since before the internet and social media — are still looking for proof on the value of building a social media presence.

Therefore, we asked Maris Callahan to join us on this episode of Curb Appeal to share her experience and her clients' experience with social media. Maris is the founder of The Social Broker, a company specializing in helping entrepreneurs and real estate companies build a social media presence and grow their businesses.

Maris and our host Rachel Gombosch discuss real estate agents' challenges when considering social media. They also talk about the key elements of a successful social media strategy, how to build a community on these channels, and why being patient is a prerequisite to enjoying the delicious fruits of growing a brand on social media.

Guest-at-a-Glance
💡 Name: Maris Callahan

💡 What she does: Maris is the founder of The Social Broker.

💡 Company: The Social Broker

💡 Noteworthy: With over a decade and a half of experience in marketing, Maris is on a mission to work with real estate agents and entrepreneurs to craft social media strategies to help them build their online presence and grow their businesses.

💡 Where to find Maris: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook

Key Insights

⚡The key to a successful social media strategy is consistency. Regardless of the industry, your goal is to expand your user/client/customer base. And to achieve it, you must be where your target audience is. We live in a digital world — and especially since the pandemic — people are spending more time on social media. Therefore, you need to find a channel that aligns with your business needs, determine the time and resources you can invest, and be consistent. ''That doesn't mean posting three times a day. It means finding a cadence you can stick to and doing it. ''

⚡Building a social media presence is not a sprint but a marathon. Many business owners, especially those who got into the market before social media became relevant, find it difficult to take that step and invest in social media. But once they do it, many of them expect express results. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen in most cases. ''Social media can take a lot of time before you see results. It's the biggest frustration in my industry. Sometimes, it takes a year and a half before you see ROI. But when you get that lead from social media, that one lead could pay for your marketing for two years because we're not selling shoes here; we’re selling property. It's high value.''

⚡Clients will choose you based on your expertise and personality. Maris explains that a successful business profile on social media contains both business and personal segments. You want to be perceived as a subject matter expert, but people following you on social media would like to know you better and see who you are once the working hours are over. Things you share on these platforms — your interests, hobbies, and pets — can make a potential client choose you over someone else. Or not. ”You're not gonna be everyone's cup of tea, and that's okay.''

We've Got Deals!
Listeners can receive discounts on Virtuance and The Social Broker services!

• Use code SOCIAL0622 for 15% of your first shoot with Virtuance. Orders can be placed at Virtuance.com
• Use code SOCIAL15 for $15 off your first month with The Social Broker