Living in a Digital World: Five tips to rule the digital world

Sarah McNurlin

Realtor

Green Arizona Best Real Estate

Social media can be overwhelming, you may love to hate it or hate to love it. Regardless of your personal comfort level, social media is here to stay, so let’s embrace it and find ways to make social platforms work for us and not against us.

Be genuine. I cannot stress this enough, people want to work with people they feel a connection with and feel comfortable with; let’s be honest, your clients are checking you out on social media to see if you’re trustworthy, professional, and knowledgeable. You do not want to appear one way online and a different way in person. If you’re a comedian in your spare time, even if you’re just getting your kids or dog to laugh, make sure that shines through on your social media.

Offer market stats, everyone loves to be armed with knowledge. By offering statistics on the market, you become the expert in your audience’s mind. If you’re consistent with your monthly stats or day of the week stats, your audience will make sure they are tuning in to see what you have to say. You can do this in a fun way with videos if that is in your comfort zone or you can create a simple post on your page or stories, it does not need to be elaborate or a big production. Create content that people value and want to share, whether that’s by sharing your post or verbally at the dinner table or water cooler.

Highlight your favorite neighborhood spots. Your audience wants to see where you go and what you do, but you don’t need to overshare or hire a camera crew to keep people informed. Let people in on the best-kept secret spots to grab a drink, enjoy some ice-cream, or go for happy hour. Do you have a favorite patio or place to take your kids or dog? We can all get set in our ways and frequent the same places over and over, this is a great way to get out and explore new places that you can share with your audience. You might be surprised to find something new or it could be a total disaster, feel free to share that, too. Remember, people like honesty.

Keep it fresh with a mix of personal and professional. Don’t be afraid to put your face out there and share what you do when you’re not killing it in the real estate market. The general rule is 80/20, allow 80% of your posts pertain to your business and the other 20% to be about you. Mixing in a personal picture or sharing a recent adventure helps people connect with you and want to work with you.

Pick the best platform that works for you and don’t spread yourself too thin. There are endless platforms out there and your audience is on the one that you can navigate and feel comfortable with. I am not suggesting to stick to one and be done, you need to try out different platforms and see what works best for you. Who is in your demographic? Which platforms are they aimlessly browsing throughout the day? If you’re great with design and style tips, Pinterest might work best for you. Do you work with professionals that shy away from social media? You may find your audience on LinkedIn.

Be yourself, show off how hard you work, offer something of value, and don’t forget to have fun with it and not make it a chore. Push yourself to try new platforms or new features on your favorite platforms. Let’s continue to encourage each other to be better.