Social media is a tool which all property investors, sourcers, property managers and, in fact, anyone who has business interests in the property sector should be utilising. It’s mostly free after all – certainly it’s a far less expensive way to promote and market your business than taking out adverts in newspapers, or organising for flyers to be posted.
Being on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn allow you to connect and network with other parties in the property sector and to glean valuable contacts which you otherwise probably wouldn’t have come across beforehand. So, not only does social media help with ‘brand awareness’ and enlarging your network but, if used properly, it can also bring you potential clients.
Fledgling social media platforms worth considering for business
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram – they’re amongst the biggest, but they’re certainly not the only social media platforms out there. There are many fledgling companies which are growing quickly too, which might be better for your business interests. Take your time to check them all out.
They include the likes of Vero (an alternative to Instagram without the annoying adverts). This allows you to easily share contents, photos and links. You can divide business and personal postings. With Anchor, you can record a high-quality podcast and easily distribute it amongst your listeners. You can ask for questions via voice message and then answer them in your next podcast.
Growth of social media
Around 66 per cent of the UK population were active social media users last year, according to a Digital18 report from global social media company We Are Social. Users spent the most time on YouTube, followed by Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, LinkedIn and Google+. Facebook alone had 44 million active monthly users last year. The biggest users were aged 26-36 (56 per cent of users), followed by 34-45-year-olds (44 per cent of users). The next biggest age groups were 46-54 and 18-24-year-olds.
Tips for using social media
- Don’t just sign up and get going. Do your research first; check out other property investors/sourcers and look at what they’re saying/who they’re connecting with etc. Are you on the right platform for the type of people you want to connect with? If it’s other property professionals, then LinkedIn is good; for the general public use Facebook or Twitter.
- Set up a schedule. List what you want to post and when you’ll post it. Some platforms allow you to schedule posts in advance. Try to keep this regular – it helps you and lets your followers know when to expect a new post (this is particularly useful if you regularly write ‘advice type’ pieces for LinkedIn).
- Consider using a social media management tool. Certainly, do this if you’re on several platforms, as it will save you so much time; you can post on all with just one click of a button. It will also keep you better organised. One of the oldest and easiest management tools around is Hootsuite. You can also schedule, so keep yourself organised.
If you’re in business, then social media is certainly an area you should be homing in on to promote yourself and your company. You will get more from the platforms if you post yourself, but if it all seems too time-consuming or too much like hard work, then you can employ individuals or companies to take care of it for you.
