Australians spend 1.46 hours on average a day on social media and 20.5 million of us use Facebook in this country, yet most agents have not fully embraced the power of social media as an advertising tool.
But a new whitepaper from social media PropTech, Properti – called the Selling Through Social Report – gives agents practical insights into how to create powerful and effective advertising strategies for the world’s biggest media companies.
Properti Chief Executive Officer Craig Deveson said because social media is so easy to play with, most agents assume they can learn how to advertise on the platforms in the time between opens and listing appointments.
“Social media is deceptively simple at the front end but the advertising back ends of Facebook, Google and LinkedIn are highly sophisticated marketing tools that can take thousands of hours and years to master,” Mr Deveson said.
“It’s why the take-up of social media advertising in real estate has been extraordinarily low with just 46 per cent of agents saying they feel competent at advertising and promoting themselves on the platforms.”
The Selling Through Social Report provides a comprehensive yet easy-to-understand playbook for agents to help them develop and execute strategic social media marketing and incorporate it into their other marketing activities.
Topics covered include:
- Which platforms to embrace (and in what order)
- How much you need to spend
- Building audiences strategically
- Content and campaigns
Mr Deveson said many principals still struggled to understand the need to move into social media advertising, but such an attitude ensured they were spending more than necessary.
“Social media posts are like signboards in the digital landscape,” Mr Deveson said.
“Putting money behind your campaigns makes your signboards bigger and places them in busier locations. The more you post, the more signboards you have.”
Using the strategies and tactics outlined in the report, Calibre Property in Brisbane demonstrated how they were able to attract 24 times more views for a unique property using social media advertising with a similar budget committed to traditional portal advertising.
The property was sold to a buyer in Melbourne for a record price after he saw the home on Facebook during lockdown. The campaign won Calibre Real Estate an REIQ Excellence Award for innovative marketing.
The Selling Through Social Report can be downloaded here