CONTENT CREATION IS KEY 🔑

Social media is the center point of everyday life. Especially with the lockdowns over the past year, the whole world has gone essentially virtual. Users have turned to social media to continue to connect not only with friends and family but with businesses and brands the ways they used to be able to in person. The average social media user is active on six different platforms, and spends roughly 2 hours and 29 minutes of engagement per day.  If you don’t want your post to get lost in the crowd while your audience is scrolling, you NEED to be creating content that stands out, makes sense, and has a purpose. Sure, it’s a great ego boost to have a post go viral but nothing compares to captivating your audience and keeping them coming back for more. We took the time to speak to three top agents who are all total pros at keeping atop the trends of social media: Glennda Baker (@glenndabaker), Brad McCallum (@brad.mccallum.remax), and Ryan Garson (@ryangsellsnyc).

Here’s a hot tip! You don’t need to be on every single social platform. Social media is about quality over quantity. Show up where your customers are and show up with quality and consistency. ⁠You can even cross-post your content across multiple social media platforms. That one TikTok that did really well on your page two weeks ago? Repost it as a Reel to your Instagram page. A story that sparked tons of questions in your DMs? Turn those questions into a Q&A-style video and post it to your page. Not only will cross-posting give your branding and marketing more chances to perform well, but the repetition of your content plays a crucial role in establishing firm brand recognition.

Glennda Baker is a pro at cross-posting her content. Her Instagram story engagement is up 1032% just from reposting her own TikTok videos to her IG stories. When she’s not dominating the Atlanta real estate market, Glennda spends her time as a forensic analyst! Okay, okay, so she just is really good at analyzing her insights and analytics on her content, apologies to all of you hoping for CSI: ATL. Glennda has a really good understanding of the variety of platforms she utilizes and creates her content accordingly but is never afraid to shake it up. By looking into the analytics of her posts, Glennda figured out that the TikTok videos she reposted to LinkedIn did better on LinkedIn than the videos she intentionally shot for the platform. Having this information, she’s able to pivot her content strategy and keep producing stellar content across the board. Glennda keeps it real and is always her true and authentic self and her audience CANNOT get enough!

So now we know content is important, but how do we go about creating it? The first key element of content planning is putting together your content pillars. The main role of a content pillar is to make sure what you’re posting has a purpose and will be of value to your target audience.These pillars serve as the foundation of which you base your entire content strategy around. ⁠Remember when I said every post you have in your feed needs purpose? Content pillars make sure that purpose isn’t too repetitive. ⁠Take the time to list out 3-5 areas where your expertise overlaps with the needs of your target audience… that sweet spot will be your pillars. Once you have these general topics down you can start to build off of them and really target exactly what your audience finds valuable with every post.

Content pillars for real estate may include:

1. New listings, closings, and/or open houses
2. Local businesses, restaurants, and/or attractions
3. Personal posts: recent events, family and friends
4. Market reports, real estate infographics, business statistics
5. Client testimonials

Utilize content pillars to your advantage—solidify your audience and create the right content!

Brad McCallum is the master of all things long-form video (long for social media that is!) With 1.5M views on his YouTube channel and over 14K subscribers, Brad is definitely the perfect person to inspire your first vlog. His biggest piece of advice for utilizing YouTube? Know your audience. It’s important to be consistent and it’s important to produce quality videos but if you don’t understand your audience, there’s no point in making content. Brad’s channel is built around one key idea. What is in it for a customer to work with Brad McCallum and his team? By picking this singular lane and sticking to it, Brad has found continued success on the platform. While you may know Brad from the stunning home tours he posts to his channel for every listing, he does vary his content with some lifestyle posts as well as market posts. No matter the video, the central message of showing what hiring Brad as your agent looks like stays the same. Brad has his channel so optimized that he has eyes on his content whether he’s sleeping, with clients, on vacation or out filming a new video. His videos average 150k views per month with each view lasting 3-4 minutes—that’s over half a million minutes. Every minute of a 24-hour day he’s getting 10-12 minutes of his content watched and therein lies the value of an audience of YouTube. You can even use your Instagram and TikTok to post previews that redirect viewers to your YouTube channel for more.⁠

Ryan Garson is our resident expert for all things Instagram video. Utilizing Reels, IGTV, stories and in-feed video posts, Ryan is always coming up with a fun and exciting way to entertain his audience. He sees video as an opportunity to really connect with his following. These days, social media is the best place to foster the client/agent relationship. By showing clients that you are more than just the person who bought or sold them a house, you can start to establish these connections. This is Ryan’s sweet spot. His lifestyle videos range from NYC bagel reviews to fun behind-the-scenes moments with friends and family. By incorporating his interests, Ryan is able to garner an audience much broader than those just looking to buy or sell. People return to his page to see if he’ll rate their favorite bagel joint, or when they know a new season is approaching and there’s a shopping spree Reel in the works. They come back because they feel connected to the person, not just the agent. Ryan really puts it best when he says that while yes, we’re real estate agents, we’re so much more than that! We’re community leaders, we’re thought leaders, we’re down to earth and love to have fun and social media gives us the platform to showcase all of that.

Video marketing has taken these three agents to the next level on social media. More than 99% of people who use video for marketing say they’ll continue using video in 2021. And 96% of people will either increase (67%) or maintain (29%) their spend. 85% of people would like to see more videos from brands in 2021. This is the digital age and video is more accessible than ever. Don’t be afraid to start your first pieces of content just by filming on your phone. No matter how you start, you have to stay consistent. 

You know the importance of effectively building your social media presence, but putting in those crucial hours and building up the skills to make your profile a success just isn’t your main priority—being a lucrative agent is! Let our Very Social team of expert copywriters, designers, and community managers take the work off your hands, so you can focus on running your business.

Get started with our exciting new package that will bring your real estate business to the next level. For just $1500 per month, you’ll get a monthly calendar with 16 posts (copy, images, and relevant hashtags) and 16 Instagram stories complete with peak-hour posting and engagement. This package also includes 1 Reel edit per month—how great is that?

Click here and mention that you are an LCA member in the contact form. The first FIVE people who fill out this form will get a free Reel edit from Very Social!