Realtors everywhere are wondering how to continue business as usual when the climate is anything but normal. How can people buy houses if they’re in isolation? How can I best serve my clients right now? These are great questions that can be answered with technology. Specifically, through leveraging social media.
Social media has long been aiding in realtors’ marketing plans. Right now, more homebuyers/sellers are spending time on social media and the internet in general. This is the best place to communicate, connect, and engage with your clients.
Let’s start with one of the main tasks of being a realtor: showing your clients new listings through open houses and tours.
You can still provide these services through technology. Consider filming a tour of the listing and then posting it to your Instagram feed. It’s best to film it as a story so it can be watched later. File the story in a highlights reel for current listings. Your clients can see every aspect of the home from the safety of their current dwelling.
If your client is trying to sell their home, guide them on filming a tour. Take their video and edit it. Then, send it to your network of realtors. Collaboration with other agents has never been so important. Make sure you’re connected to other realtors on social media so you can see their new listings quickly and send their videos to your clients.
It’s also important for realtors to connect with fellow agents and both current and potential customers on a personal level through their social media channels. The good news is, there are various ways you can do this. Toronto realtor Adam Weiner + Associates for example utilizes Twitter and Instagram to share “meet the team” infographics that allow all followers to get to know different team members’ interests, specialties, and more.
Should you still focus on database building right now?
Absolutely! Email was important before Covid-19 and it’s still important now. People are spending more time on their laptops and computers, many working from home, so they have more access to their email than usual. Take advantage of this by creating email campaigns that cater to your clients’ needs. One campaign could be for buyers and another for sellers. Give them tips that pertain to their goals in the current climate.
Remember, not addressing the current climate can make you seem tone-deaf and insensitive. Don’t avoid talking about the situation, be authentic and real about it.
How can you continue building your reputation?
Again, through social media marketing. Your profiles are still great places to build authority and credibility in the industry. Plus, now is the perfect time to get authentic with your audience. Show your community that you’re also being affected and that we’re all in this together. You could do this by filming a live video on Instagram or Facebook. Share how you’ve been coping with the situation and any tips you can give others.
If you can come through with effective tips and real solutions to their problems, your reputation will grow. Consider all the different ways you can be of service to your clients right now.
Can you really sell houses online?
Totally. The reasons people want to sell their homes or buy new ones haven’t changed. The process of doing the selling and buying has. Being adaptable and proactive as a realtor is key in a time like this. Use technology and social media to your advantage and support your network of realtors. If you need some guidance when it comes to social media marketing during this pandemic, we can help. Contact us today to get started!
As a lawyer, you spent years in higher education learning to be the best attorney you could be. But all those years of schooling likely didn’t teach you how to market your firm or your services.
We specialize in creating and expanding the digital presence of lawyers, firms, and other professional service providers. From our many years of experience and expertise, these are the best practices for digital marketing for lawyers.
Set Goals
Everything about digital marketing is measurable. This means that you can set very specific goals and know exactly what is working and what isn’t. So, before you start creating content, set some goals.
Do you want to find new clients?
Do you want to improve your firm’s credibility in the field?
Do you want to shift niches into a different area of law?
What is your reason for wanting to market online? Once you can nail that down, you can create an effective path to get you there.
Plan Your Content
The most common platform for lawyers to promote themselves on is LinkedIn, followed by Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. If you are new to social media, choose one platform to master before adding in others.
Consider who your target audience is online. If you are a family lawyer, you will likely be targeting parents and couples.
Think about when parents typically spend time online and post your content at those times. Create a mix of image and text posts as well as short-form video content to grow your online presence.
Measure Your Progress
Once you have a plan in place, track the metrics that matter most to your goal.
For example, if you want to generate leads to your law firm’s website, it’s important to track the click-thru-rate from your social media profile to your site.
If you want to boost your industry reputation, content marketing is key. Measure how often other professionals are interacting with your content and sharing it with their followers.
When you start to see the traction of your strategies take off, you know that what you’re doing is working. If you aren’t getting closer to your goal, it may be time to switch up your strategy or hire a professional.
Add Value
The most important aspect of digital marketing is the value you add to your followers’ lives. The people who see your Facebook ads, Instagram Stories, or LinkedIn posts could one day be your clients.
Some examples of ways you can add value are by sharing non-specific advice, tips for working with an attorney, and your ideas for handling a messy divorce.
The more value you provide them through your online content, the more they learn to trust you and remember your brand.
Interested in Getting Help with Your Online Marketing
SocialEyes Communications is here to take your firm’s online presence to the next level and help you grow your business. Reach out to us today to learn how we can help.
The holiday season is the perfect time of year to spread both festive cheer and brand awareness. It’s a time for giving back, showing gratitude, and nurturing your client relationships. Holiday marketing campaigns are starting to take off, and whether you’re a realtor, lawyer, or another professional service provider, you don’t want to miss out on the fun.
If you need some peppermint-fresh ideas for holiday marketing campaigns, keep reading.
Get Philanthropic
Is there a cause you and your team deeply care about? People are excited to give and donate this time of year, so fundraising or promoting a charity can easily be tied into your marketing campaign.
Consider fundraising with your team for the charity of your choice. Share your progress on social media through posts, stories, and Reels. For each fundraising milestone, share a post of team members doing a festive activity like snow angels or dressing up like Santa.
Getting philanthropic through your marketing campaign is not only fun for your team, but it shows potential clients your business’s caring personality which helps them build trust.
Collaborate with Small Businesses
Professional service providers and small retail businesses can lean on each other through their holiday campaigns. By promoting small businesses in your community, you build relationships with those business owners and their supporters.
Consider planning a “12 Days of Small Business Support” campaign. On each day, share a business you love, what they sell, and why your followers should shop with them. Coordinate with each business owner to promote you on their page too. They could post a simple photo of you visiting their store, thanking you for the business, and letting people know how to contact you if they need your services.
Make the Most of Short-Form Videos
Instagram and other platforms have expanded their short-form video features allowing you to share more with your audience and for potential clients to learn more about you.
Make the most of these features by recording and sharing holiday-themed videos. You could use one of the many festive filters available on each platform or create a branded one of your own.
Another idea is to record a 10-second clip of each team member saying what they’re most looking forward to this holiday season. String the clips together in one video and post it as an Instagram Reel.
Make sure you’re sharing user-generated content on your profiles as well. If a user commends you for your philanthropic fundraising in their Stories, share their Story to your profile and spread the love.
Share the Love
Are you able to offer a discount on any of your services this time of year? Can you host a contest for your social media followers to win a gift basket of goodies from your favourite local businesses? These are two ideas to share the love this season through your social media marketing campaigns.
Social media is all about connecting with people and building relationships with them. Why? Because each unique user could become your next client.
Need Help with Your Holiday Marketing Campaign?
If you have a lot on your plate this holiday season, allow the SocialEyes Communications team to handle your holiday campaigns. Contact us today to learn more.
There is one final quarter left in 2021 and it’s an important one. This is your last opportunity to hit your goals for the year and end 2021 on a high note. Digital marketing is extremely important for hitting your goals and having a plan for your marketing budget is equally as important.
Here, we’ll show you how to create a digital marketing budget that allows you to achieve your Q4 goals and start the new year from a place of prosperity.
Step 1: What Worked in the Past?
Have you been setting quarterly goals for your business before now? If so, analyze what these goals were and if they were achieved. Consider how much you spent on digital marketing in previous quarters.
You might notice a significant ROI from social media marketing or from updating your branding. Perhaps you invested a big portion of your budget into email marketing, but those campaigns didn’t yield the results you wanted.
Examine what has worked and not worked for your business in the past.
Step 2: Identify Your Goals
Digital marketing can take your business to new heights. It can help you expand your reach, refine your brand, increase your authority in your industry, and attract your target client to your services.
So, for Q4 of 2021, what are your goals?
Here are some examples we’ve seen businesses set in the final quarter:
Increase visitors to your website’s contact page by 33%
Expand your online presence to a new social platform you haven’t tackled yet
Double your click-thru-rate
Maximize client retention through an effective email marketing campaign
Step 3: Set Your Budget
Now that you know what goals you want to achieve in Q4, it’s time to assess how much hitting them will cost you.
According to the BDC, B2B businesses should spend between 2-5% of their revenue on marketing efforts. For B2C businesses, that number jumps to 5-10%.
On average, small businesses that have less than $2 million in annual sales spend nearly $34,000 on digital marketing. Per quarter, that’s $8,500.
If you’ve never created a budget for online marketing before, use the guidelines above from the BDC to decide how much you want to allocate to these efforts quarterly.
Step 5: Create a Digital Marketing Plan
You have your Q4 goals for digital marketing and you know how much you want to spend. Where do you invest that funding to achieve those goals?
Some businesses choose to do digital marketing in-house. This typically requires hiring a full-time employee who specializes in digital marketing. Some business owners attempt to master this field themselves, only to find they no longer have the time to work on other aspects of their businesses.
The most cost-effective and goal-effective option is to hire an experienced digital marketing agency that understands your industry and your business.
We’ll Take Care of Your Digital Marketing So You Can Run Your Business
Here at SocialEyes Communications, we have years of experience helping service-based businesses and professionals grow their companies, increase sales, build reputations, and improve industry authority.
With our help, you will hit your Q4 goals, stay on budget, and experience a substantial ROI. Contact us today to learn more.
Social media is constantly evolving with new features and tools that make marketing your business more effective and efficient. We are committed to staying apprised of all social platform updates to ensure our clients get the most ROI from the time spent on them. Here, we’re sharing some platform updates that may affect your digital marketing efforts.
No More Swipe Ups on Instagram
Prior to recent updates, the Swipe Up function allowed users to access your website through an Instagram Story that used the Swipe Up tool. Users would swipe upwards on the screen during a Story and be taken directly to your website or online store.
Instead of swiping up, users can simply tap the sticker on your Story which opens your store or site. You can customize how you want the sticker to look on your Story by size, font, colour, and placement.
Turn Instagram Stories into Reels
Instagram is competing with TikTok to capture user attention through short videos edited in-app. One way of doing so is through a feature they are currently testing internally called Montages.
Essentially, users can splice together clips from their Stories to form a reel, or montage, of the clips and add music.
This feature will be especially useful for business owners who want to create a montage of their product demos, a behind the scenes montage, or a day-in-the-life montage.
Facebook Introduces Reels
Facebook is also trying to compete with the video-sharing features of other platforms by launching Reels. It is currently only offered to US-based users but will eventually be available globally.
Like on Instagram, Facebook Reels will allow users to create short videos with annotations and music that can be shared.
Facebook Prevents Ads Targeting Teens by Interest
Facebook has recently ruled that businesses cannot target teen users by interest when creating ads. Businesses can only target by interest to users 18 years and older.
This rule will also be applied to Instagram which could affect businesses that cater to a younger demographic on both platforms.
Twitter Is Catching Up
Where is Twitter in the world of video marketing and useability? It seemed like Twitter was falling behind the curve until they announced plans for upcoming changes.
Videos posted on Twitter are notoriously low quality, an issue that has been reported for years. That is one change in the works- less pixelated videos to encourage more video posting and sharing.
Another issue users have had with the Platform is disappearing tweets. The algorithm refreshes the main page, causing some users to lose the tweet they were reading. Over the next couple of months, both of these issues will be resolved.
How Will Your Business’s Marketing Plan Adapt to These Changes?
To get the most out of your marketing budget, you need to be aware of all platform updates and how they could affect you.
We are experts at staying on top of all social media platform changes and ensuring our clients’ marketing plans update alongside them.
If you want help with this, our team is here. Reach out to us today to find out more.
