Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. The social media channels — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat — may change over time, but the medium itself has secured a spot among the ways the public engages in information.
How to drive more traffic, leads and sales with social media marketing was the topic of a seminar offered through the Northeast Florida Builders Association at the University of North Florida’s University Center.
The workshop was presented by Meredith Oliver, president and creative director of Meredith Communications, a digital marketing agency in Raleigh, N.C.
About 30 NEFBA members attended, a mix of novice and advanced social media users.
Oliver’s directive is what she has coined “the fan factor.”
It involves giving your social media followers or “fans” what they want. Instead of blatantly trying to sell yourself or your business to your followers, aim for posts that involve things that will be of interest to your target audience.
“If we make it about them — whether we’re selling face-to-face or we’re marketing to them on social media — if we make it more about them and not about us, people will rave,” Oliver said. “They will follow. They will jump in. They will come running.”
To use or not to use
According to a 2016 Pew Research Center study, roughly 79 percent of people in the United States use Facebook, the most popular social media platform.
How does that translate to influence on consumer purchasing power?
It’s estimated that Facebook influenced more than half of all purchases in 2015, Oliver said.
“People buy regularly from brands, from people, from posts that they see on social marketing channels,” she said.
Ask clients what social media sites they use, or recognize the demographic you are trying to target.
The younger, first-time homebuyer may be more likely to use Instagram, whereas Facebook tends to be favored among the older generation and women. Twitter, she said, is usually geared toward the younger, tech-savvy crowd and has a strong male following.
Oliver said it isn’t necessary to use every channel. She suggests picking a channel that your clientele routinely use and one that you enjoy using.
Instead of setting up a community or company profile, use a personal profile. Use a professional headshot across all sites, use a consistent tone and always keep the content professional.
Oliver’s rule of thumb: If you wouldn’t say it or show it to your grandma, do not post it on social media.
What to post
For content, Oliver suggests using a ratio of 80 percent non-sales messages to 20 percent sales content.
Answer frequently asked questions and turn them into content. Ask a satisfied customer for a testimonial that you can post.
Take photos of people at events, such as an open house, tag them and thank them for coming. The post is still about your business, but it’s not directly about you. The goal is to make the post about someone else whenever possible, Oliver says.
She also favors themed weekly posts. It helps her stay on track with what she needs to post for each day. Posts can be planned and pre-scheduled to post on any given day.
For instance, you could have a Monday theme of #ModelHomeMonday or #Monday TipOfTheDay.
For #ModelHomeMonday, you could feature a new model home, but instead of just posting a photo, post a virtual tour, gallery, or answer a frequently asked question, Oliver suggests. For example, answer a question about the neighborhood the home’s in. The posts will be more engaging.
Holiday posts and community event posts are another favorite of Oliver’s. A seasonal “how to” post about a topic your target audience would enjoy is ideal.
For example, at Easter you could do a post on seasonal tips for busy moms on the go who need an Easter basket and have forgotten to buy supplies, Oliver suggested.
Other tools and tactics
Facebook ads are another tool used to reach a bigger audience. For a fee, users can “boost” their posts to reach more people. Only three of the 30 or so people at the seminar had prior experience with Facebook ads.
The more money you spend on a Facebook ad, the more people you can reach.
If political or religious posts are in your news feed, and it’s turning you off to social media, as it was to at least one person in the workshop, Oliver suggests using tools such as Facebook’s option to hide a single post. If you “hide” a post, it will no longer appear in your news feed.
Alternatively, you could choose to unfollow a person altogether, meaning you will remain Facebook “friends” and they will continue to see your posts, but you will no longer see their posts.
Blending personal and professional social media accounts into one account can be tricky.
Oliver suggests using a feature on Facebook to make custom lists with whom you want to share a post.
Posts can be shared to a group, such as close friends or family. Business-related lists also can be set up.
The “tagging” feature on Facebook can be set so that you must approve posts you’re tagged in before they are posted to the page. If it’s something that could be viewed as unprofessional, don’t post it.
Make posts about someone else, Oliver advises.
Anytime you can find someone else to talk about for your posts, use them.
You’re still talking about your business, but it may be received better if you are not directly talking about yourself. Instead of saying “I just sold a home,” for example, say “Congratulations to the Smiths on making their first home purchase.”
In this and other types of messages, it’s also an opportunity to tag other businesses or people associated with the sale. In real estate, for example, it could be the builder, contractor or homestager.
Tagging can build relationships. Other ways are to like, comment and share other users’ posts and celebrate or congratulate.
For example, wish a client a happy birthday or happy anniversary. These types of posts don’t have to take up a lot of your time — spending just 10 minutes a day should be sufficient, according to Oliver.
“One of the most powerful ways you can use social media is to recognize and appreciate and thank other people,” Oliver said.
Kristy Ondrey, Servpro of Jacksonville South and Servpro of Arlington sales and marketing representative, attended the workshop to find a different way of branding the company and to help get the word out about other services they offer.
“We’re missing out on a lot of different opportunities to reach different audiences,” Ondrey said.
One of her biggest takeaways was the idea of highlighting other people and businesses in posts.
Marnee Oehmann, new home sales consultant for Riverside Homes, wanted to attend the workshop to get a new twist on how to market herself and what she does.
She liked the idea of sharing customer testimonials.
“I learned more about asking people for their feedback and not to be shy about that. To go ahead and ask, what was their experience and then ask them for permission to share it,” Oehmann said.
But her biggest takeaway from the seminar was the spotlight on building a following.
“My biggest takeaway was to make sure I’m getting fans and that people want to be my fans. I have to make it interesting and appealing,” she said.