27 Jan Builders Get Closer To Buyers Through Social Media

The real estate industry continues to wrestle with the use of social media.  We are almost past the discussion of whether it’s useful or not.  We are now asking more sophisticated questions about its capabilities.  The most common question asked is, “Can you actually sell a house on a social network?”

As we continue to tackle this question and similar ones, builders have begun to take a more central role in social media marketing.  According to a recent Builderonline.com article, more and more builders across the nation are actively trying to figure out how social media can help them connect with customers.  A recent seminar involving three Florida real estate companies dissected some of the recent success that builders are having with social media.  The one overwhelming piece of advice was that in order to have success in social media, you must create content that is exciting to people.  This is the only way to get followers to start exchanging information about their homes and communities.

A strong example of this was holding contests on social networks.  Included was a contest where homeowners in the community shared photos of recent home renovations.  Another was a contest of referrals where the winner received a cruise.

While these are creative and engaging, experts warn that their needs to be some means of measurement.  Social media measurement is a hot topic in itself but companies need to set some standards.  If they don’t, they will never know if they’re successful.  Having a measurement standard always helps when strategizing as well.