How Homebuilders Can Leverage Social Media

How New Homebuilders Can Leverage Social Media

Homebuilders are jumping on the social media bandwagon left and right, but after setting up accounts on Twitter and Facebook, many of them wonder to themselves, "Now what?”

Let’s say you have a Twitter account with hundreds of followers, a Facebook page with some fans, and a fresh new blog on your site. That’s a great start, but from there, you need to come up with compelling content to share and promote. Many new homebuilders aren’t sure what kind of content they’re supposed to post on their blogs.

Prior to exploring content production, there’s one important thing you should know about social media marketing: it’s a dialogue, not a monologue. Approaching social media as you would approach traditional marketing methods is a waste of time. Social media is a completely different medium with a new set of rules. Many ignore the fact that social media is a two-way conversation, so it’s hard to find homebuilders using the medium effectively.

What NOT to do with your social media efforts:

Let’s talk about what NOT to do in social media marketing. Social media isn’t all about you and your business. Everybody who comes across your profile will know that you build homes and have homes for sale. If you want to attract attention, talk about something else. It’s safe to say that social media users don’t care about your "home of the day.”

You have to provide social media users with value to encourage them to share your content. So, if the higher ups in your company raise their eyebrows and say that you should talk more about the company, they just might not be cut out for social media marketing.

The aim of social media marketing is to connect with the right people and establish yourself or your company as an expert in a particular area. Once you figure out the areas in which you’d like to position yourself as an authority, it will be easier to determine what type of content to create.

Following are some social media ideas:

Real Estate

Think about what local realtors would like to know and create content about it. You can post content about anything interesting that’s happening in the local real estate market.

Local Economy

The housing industry depends heavily on jobs and the local economy, so highlight what’s going on in your city, preview upcoming developments, and report on the good news affecting your city/county.

Green Building

Green building is currently a major trend, and an increasing number of homebuilders are Energy Star-certified or use an assortment of Energy Star products. Some homebuilders are even LEED certified. In order to position yourself as an authority in the green building sector, talk about new green products and get people excited about green building by showing them how much money they can save and how much of a difference they can make by going green.

First-Time Buyers

A high percentage of people buying homes right now are first-time buyers and they need to be educated about the home buying process. In order to create content that attracts first-time buyers, talk about the benefits of "firing” your landlord and paying yourself instead. It’s also important to note that first-time buyers tend to be the most active social media users.

Talk about Your Employees

Feature your employees and highlight their work in your content so that potential buyers can get to know them better. This is a great opportunity to talk about the work your team does without blatantly "selling.”

Financing

Financing is a major issue right now, and it’s also one of the best closing tools available. You can position yourself as a financing expert by sharing financing data and statistics on both the local and national level and breaking down the data so that average buyers can understand it. It’s a great time to buy a home because of record low interest rates and the $8,000 tax credits, so let your readers know about it.

School District

One of the major factors that families consider when choosing a new home and community is the school district. To help parents make a more informed decision when buying a home, share information about events and issues affecting the local school district.

Local Events
Make your community look like a fun place to live by sharing information about local events and happenings. Content about local events often gets a significant amount of traffic and views.

Talk about Your Business

It’s okay to talk about your business on occasion, but you have to do it right. Only mention your business when there’s something newsworthy to talk about. Some newsworthy topics include community openings, events, sponsorships, press mentions, and awards. Just avoid telling your followers repeatedly that you build and sell homes.

Photos and Videos

In addition to promoting written content, consider embedding photo galleries and videos into your website. People love to look at photos, especially if they’re considering buying a home, so it’s a great way to promote your business. Enhancing your content with images and videos can also help to increase exposure and drive more traffic to your website. 
 

Hopefully, this has given you some new ideas and a better understanding of what types of content are ideal for sharing on social media platforms. Just don’t forget that in addition to promoting your own content, you must engage and connect with others by commenting on their blogs, retweeting useful information, and engaging in conversation. Also, remember to add social media links to your website, so social media users who stumble upon your website can connect with you more easily! Ultimately, social media marketing is all about engaging with others.

Attract More Homebuyers with our Social Media Marketing Services

In addition to creating professional home builder websites that integrate with your social media presence, efelle also offers a full range of social media marketing services. We can brand your social media sites, create profiles for you on all applicable social media networks, teach you social media best practices, and devise a social media strategy and campaign for your business. For more information about our social media marketing services please call 206.384.4909 or fill out our online contact form for more information.