Real Estate IT Solutions- IT Blog

Many searches for real estate now start online: Whether it is for rentals or home purchases, consumers thoroughly enjoy that they can browse the Internet as they please and get all of the information that they are searching for. From Zillow to Trulia, most people will browse online before even considering seeing a place in person. This is why it’s important to have a strong presence on not only these 3^rd party real estate search engines, but additionally to have a strong social media presence. Having social media profiles allows you to quickly establish who you are, what is available and gives you the ease of answering questions quickly. Consumers like having control, and social media gives them just that. The better your social media presence, the better your website’s page rank is, thus the more likely you are to show up for specific search queries.

Personal interaction before you meet face to face: Nowadays, people even use dating apps before they meet up with someone in person. The world is changing and you have to change with it. Many consumers prefer not only finding their apartment online, but are even more likely to rent from you if you develop some kind of relationship with them before ever meeting face-to-face. When they do eventually meet with you, they feel as if they already know you and what you stand for. So, instead of just meeting up with a random agent, they feel like it’s more of a friend showing them the property than someone trying to make commission. This directly correlates to your brand identity, which is reason number 3.

Brand identity: Did you know that 80% of US social network users prefer to connect to brands through Facebook?(State of Inbound Marketing) Consumers use Facebook every single day. It’s easy to have everything gathered in one place (their family, friends, and favorite brands). Developing a brand identity used to be a bit more difficult, but now with social media and all of the interactive capabilities, you can utilize these outlets as a way to not only define your mission, but attract customers that prefer a brand or real estate company with your identity.

Hashtags, hashtags, hashtags: So many people are utilizing the hashtag whether it is on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, or even Facebook. Take a look for yourself- search #apartmentrentals on Twitter. You will see that many real estate agents and companies are already utilizing this hashtag, and point blank; people are using this hashtag to find places. People are also using hashtags to find pictures of their city, homes to buy, and simply local business. From there you have the chance of getting retweeted or “favorited” which leads to reason number 5.

More visibility: As you most likely know, visibility is a key to your success. Not only should you have ads around the area you are targeting, but you should additionally have some kind of visibility on the web. Social media helps in boosting this visibility in ways that are almost effortless to you. Simply answering questions to individuals on social media gives them an everlasting impression that you are responsive. Many times, these consumers will share their experiences with others- whether it be through word-of-mouth or actual reposts, favorites, or retweets.