Social media has become an integral part of daily life: Globally, there are over 3 billion active social media users; in the U.S., 68% of Americans regularly visit Facebook, and 73% visit YouTube.
And increasingly, real estate brokers are taking to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and more to connect with potential buyers of high-end properties. A recent survey of marketers found that social media marketing is considered the most effective tactic in reaching clients, and the National Association of Realtors offers comprehensive guides to the best social media practices for agents.
"It has changed my business," said Betty Lee, a broker with Corcoran in New York . "I’m in it for the long term. I love building my own mini-tribe through social media."
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Brokers who incorporate social media into their marketing strategies agree that posting listings is not enough. Instead, cultivating an online presence that blends the personal and the professional entices buyers, who are persuaded by a sense of authenticity rather than an ordinary sales pitch. And creating powerful visuals through photography, video, virtual staging, and virtual tours on social media can provide an edge over those relying on traditional media.
The efficacy of social media in selling luxury homes may not be quite universal. In the United Kingdom, for instance, buyers value discretion and privacy, particularly at the high end, said Marcus O’Brien, sales negotiator at the London office of Beauchamp Estates. "They don’t use Instagram, full stop," he said.
However, Mr. O’Brien acknowledged that social media is useful in building brand awareness among the buying public, and offers a degree of permanence that is hard to find in other media. The PR team in his office, he said, will post Instagram stories of development projects and upload interviews with real estate experts to reach a wider audience. "It has a shelf life that’s long-lasting, as opposed to physical magazines that only offer a three- to four-week window," he said. "I’m sure that along the way, it does raise interest at other points in the marketplace."
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In fact, many brokers say they are reaching more buyers, negotiating with them and closing deals online. For sellers, then, working with an agency that has a robust social media marketing strategy can mean more eyes on their homes, and moving them off the market faster.
Drawing Buyers in with Powerful Visuals
Instagram is popular with many brokers for its versatility, allowing them to post photo and video tours of properties. And Instagram’s live "Stories" feature places new posts at the top of users’ feeds, where they can browse an account’s posts from the past 24 hours.
Creative use of these features helps make a home stand out from the competition, and it pays to work with brokers who are skilled at using these platforms to take would-be buyers inside properties.
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"I’ll post handheld videos I take with my phone to give people a preview of a home, or have a photographer create videos specifically to fit on Instagram Stories vertically," said Justin Mandile, managing director at Douglas Elliman. "I even have photographers make it so when you flip from story to story, one photo blends into the next. A lot of people are catching onto this, so you have to make it more interesting than what everyone else is doing."
One approach to establishing an edge on social media is to paint a portrait of not only a particular property, but also of its neighborhood. When he was preparing to sell a property in Culver City in Los Angeles, for instance, James Harris, a broker with The Agency, said he started by giving video tours of the area.
"It’s kind of an undiscovered neighborhood, so we took to Instagram and also started doing Facebook Lives about the area," he said. "We showed how Culver City has its own police and fire division, great schools, great hotels."
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Having established the area’s desirable qualities, Mr. Harris and his business partner then marketed the house itself—and quickly snagged a buyer who saw the listing on social media and reached out.
Ms. Lee also recently closed a deal through Instagram, even though promoting specific homes isn’t her main objective.
"My goal is not necessarily to post listings," she said. "The majority of my posts are about trying to give people a sense of what it’s like to work with me. I’m based in neighborhoods in north Brooklyn and my focus is about capturing some of the more iconic views in the area."
Brokers and developers are also going a step beyond still images and video by sharing virtual reality tours of properties.
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"Many property developers here use the VR model to explain what is being built with more clarity to both clients and prospective purchases," said Margie Stacey, of the Sydney, Australia-based Verge 1:10, a virtual reality business specializing in real estate.
The technology can be used on smartphones or tablets, she added, allowing buyers who live overseas to fully vet a prospective property. Social media platforms like Facebook have developed their own virtual reality applications to show videos and photos in 360 degrees, a coup for real estate marketers who want to reach a wider audience.
Sellers might consider creating virtual tours of their properties, particularly if they’re interested in attracting investors from abroad.
"Virtual tours are very much of interest, especially because our market in London draws international buyers," said Francesca Fox, letting manager at Beauchamp Estates. "Many clients may be traveling, sitting on a plane, and they’re clicking through Instagram or Facebook, so it’s important to post something that draws the eye."
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Building a Network of Followers on Social Media
When vetting brokers, sellers should consider including in their criteria a substantial social media following. Developing a wide network of followers through inventive posts can provide brokers with a pool of potential buyers and help them sell faster.
"It’s almost like blogging," Ms. Fox said, of building a unique presence on social media. "It’s not just about a property, and that grabs more people."
Attracting followers on platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook means striking the right balance between personal and professional content.
"I’m blending my personal network with my professional network," Mr. Mandile said. "I selectively post things so it’s not the same property multiple times, and I try to keep it fresh. It’s a challenge for agents not to just make another business page out of it, which I don’t think gets the same traction."
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Ms. Lee said an advantage to building a robust social media presence is that followers feel they already know her, saving her the work of having to sell herself to many buyers; instead, she can focus her energies on selling the property.
In addition to listings, she posts real estate tips and advice, as well as the occasional images from her own daily life.
"That helps me a lot," Ms. Lee said. "Recently someone emailed and said they lived in downtown Brooklyn and were ready to buy. We met and connected so well because they already knew so much about me. We ended up closing on a condo in my own neighborhood of Clinton Hill. It was one of my most pleasant deals."
With a strong enough presence on social media, Mr. Harris said, buyers will come to you, rather than the other way around.
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"We’re able to provide information through the platforms that we have, and let people come to us. The selling is secondary and the information comes first," he said.
It’s important to develop different approaches depending on the platform you’re using, he added.
"On Instagram, you can go live with video and talk to people," Mr. Harris said. "On Twitter, you’re conversing over a keyboard, using hashtags, and it’s more of a conversation."
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The Type of Buyers Social Media Attracts
Social media-savvy millennials comprise 66% of the market for first-time home buyers in the U.S., according to AdWeek, and these young buyers often prefer house-hunting—and negotiating—online.
"For them, it’s more comfortable and normal to communicate over the platforms. They don’t want to pick up a phone if they can interact through social," Mr. Harris said. "We’re very much targeting millennials."
High-net-worth millennial buyers are in the habit of "cyberstalking" properties and neighborhoods before they make inquiries, so sellers who want to reach this cohort must have a strong social media strategy.
"Social media is increasingly becoming an important part of the wider marketing mix when selling a property," said Trevor Kearney, director of Savills U.K.’s country department. "While its users are of all different ages, particularly in north Surrey we find that it’s the younger demographic—often sporting professionals and those in the entertainment industry—whose use of platforms like Instagram can genuinely influence their search for a home."
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Over the last year, Mr. Kearney said, Savills has promoted multimillion-pound properties over Instagram and Facebook that resulted in inquiries, viewings and sales.
"We carefully select the best images for social media—it can only take one beautiful shot to capture the attention of the right buyer at the right time, and it’s important we have a presence where they are spending that time," he said.
Some older buyers are catching on, too. Ms. Fox said she has found that most of the buyers drawn in by Instagram or Facebook, in fact, tend be in their 40s or older.
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"Millennial buyers, being first-time buyers, are often looking for something smaller and more affordable. We want to approach people who are interested in a £14 million, 15,000-square foot house," she said. "We’re posting to attract developers and buyers who can afford that range, and brokers will often refer us older clients through social media."
Mr. Mandile agreed that an older demographic is increasingly taking to Instagram and Facebook. And for people of all ages, the appeal in finding homes this way may be that it gives them the sense of having an edge over other buyers.
"If you feel like you spotted something off someone’s Instagram before anyone else did, it works," Mr. Mandile said. "It makes buyers feel like they’re going to get in first."
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