Hello

Hello,

and welcome to my blog.

My name is Zachary Rivenbark and I am a English major studying professional writing. My love for traveling comes from growing up overseas and getting to see a lot of other cultures and countries from a young age. When I was younger, I saw the work that NGO's can do to help with humanitarian aid and the difference it can make. I hope to be able to take writing skills I learn here and use them to help people less fortunate than I.

In this blog are a few of my projects from this semester, and my reflections on them, critiquing myself in hopes to further hone my craft.

Real Estate Research Question

Buying a house is a pretty big investment for most people; so being able to connect with your Real Estate agent is crucial when someone is looking for someone to help the find a place to live. This is where being able to get someone to trust you enough to help them make such a crucial decision is key for this business. Many are doing more and more advertising and client base building through social media and virtual channels.

Using Social Media is a relatively new concept for the industry, as many Real Estate agents are very good at face-to-face sales and know how to engage their clients and build a relationship with them in person, but often struggle with doing the same thing in a virtual environment.

So what are the best social media platforms for Real Estate and how do you use them?

Facebook and Twitter seem to be the main social media sites being used for Real Estate marketing. These allow for both photos and links to be posted effectively.

When using these, the most important principles are

1.     Post about the neighborhood being advertised

Familiarizing people with the neighborhood will make them feel like they are at home when going to look at a house their. It also gives the audience a chance to see how nice the neighborhood is, and what living their would be like. It also shows ones knowledge of the area.

2.     Use Images

Images are good for catching peoples attention when they are scrolling through their feed, and people are more likely to stop and look at a pretty picture and read the caption, than just a big block of text.

3.     Show you care about your clients

Social media is a great way to build one’s reputation in an industry. By posting about what you are doing in an industry one can position themselves as an expert in the field likely to draw clients. This is also an opportunity to show oneself as someone who not just sells houses, but helps people find their home. Posting about helping someone closing on their first house or finding their family’s dream home is a good way to build a reputation as an agent who will help people find what they are looking for, and not just try to sell them what will make the company the most money.

4.     Post your listings

Social Media marketing should follow the 80/20 rule: 80 percent of the content one posts should be to connect to the customer through postings about lifestyle, customer interests, and other updates; 20 percent of the posts should be about the company and it’s product. This helps to keep the social media face of the company or agent social.

Sources 

"Social Media for Real Estate Agents: 21 Tips." Wishpond. 21 Aug. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.

"Why Real Estate Agents Need Social Media - Social Media Content Creation & Lead Generation by Branding Personality." Social Media Content Creation Lead Generation by Branding Personality RSS. 22 July 2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.

Analysis of Nest

Nest Realty manages their Facebook page very well. They keep their page updated with what is going on with the agents and pictures of Wilmington. Their use of the hashtag #livewhereyoulove is an exemplary example of a catchy hashtag that ties many of their posts together.

This post, with a picture from the bridge to Wrightsville beach, shows well the area that the company sells in. It appeals to the audience of potential buyers by giving them a nice picture to look at, and then implying that they could live their if they bought a house through Nest.

This post actually follows one of the principles that I outlined in my research blogs. Posting something like a picture of a client getting their house if a great way to show that you care about the people you work for. This post does this even better. It is basically showing a review from a client who thought that the agent went above and beyond and did a great job in helping them close on a house. This is even more effective than the agents trying to show that they care about their clients because it shows that a client was so happy with the service they sent a thank you gift. Going this far to say thank you to the agents implies that they are among the best.

This post shows the Wilmington area as a fun place to live in the summer. Marketing like this familiarizes people with the area, allowing them to feel more at home, and see what living in Wilmington could be like.

Nest uses their Facebook page very effectively. Posting a variety of material helps them to keep the audience interested and engaged with what they are doing. Posting about events and people in the neighborhood gives them a more personal tone, making the audience feel more of a personal connection with the company and their agents. Keeping their posts about the houses they do have for sale also helps them keep there tone personal, rather than just becoming like a sales pitch.