Best social media platforms for agents

By Ryan O'Grady • Posted on Feb 25, 2020
3 minutes read

We all know that we now live in a digital world, and it’s never been more important to your reputation, your business and your success to have a strong online presence.

Believe it or not, as an agent, your digital footprint says a lot about who you are, how trustworthy you are and what style and level of service people can expect when they engage with you.

So, to help you get it right, here are some of our top tips for leveraging your online presence to attract more attention and in turn generate more leads and conversions.

SOCIAL MEDIA

According to GlobalWebIndex, the average Australian in 2019 spends 91 minutes on social media platforms each and every day. That’s 33,215 minutes for each Aussie across the entire year.

Those numbers are hard to ignore, and you shouldn’t. Old school agents who matured in the industry during a different era may argue, but let’s face it, getting active on social media is an absolute must.

Best Types of Social Media for Agents

There are a host of social media platforms, but not all of them are going to be appropriate for an agent. The options of most relevance for agents are:

  • Facebook
    • The demographics of active Facebook users have shifted slightly over the last few years with the array of other options now available but make no mistake – Facebook is enormous. Roy Morgan state that in any four-week period during 2019, 17.1 million unique users login to the platform. It allows you to post all manner of multimedia content, which is a big advantage.
  • YouTube
    • 15.3 million Australians visit YouTube every month and embedding your YouTube videos into other forms of social media – and your website – is as easy as cutting and pasting a line of code. YouTube is a great platform for agents, as you can not only show off one of your properties, but also the local attractions and the lifestyle an area offers with location shoots and drone footage thrown in for good measure (source: Roy Morgan).
  • Instagram
    • Instagram has grown in leaps and bounds. The profile of users has always been skewed towards a younger demographic, but older Australians are embracing the platform too. Stats from Hootsuite indicate that over 9.4 million domestic users visit Instagram regularly, with 58% of all Australians in the 30-45 age bracket active. The focus is on imagery and, with the addition of Instagram TV, videos gain a great deal of traction on the platform too. For these reasons, placing pictures or videos of your premium listings can attract a great deal of eyeballs. So, go ahead and “do it for the gram”.
  • Twitter
    • Twitter is brief and to the point – ideal for use as a type of “push notification” for new listings. While there are only 4 million twitter accounts in Australia according to the Queensland Government, they are prolific users who share Twitter posts on other forms of social media. This enhances the reach significantly, with the platform serving as a type of unofficial newswire and open source for info on the latest and greatest of everything.
  • LinkedIn
    • Contrary to popular belief, LinkedIn is not Facebook for professionals. It is however an extremely powerful network and an excellent tool to establish a strong profile and enhance your standing as a go-to agent. You can get clients and colleagues to not only recommend your services, but also endorse you for your particular areas of strength. This can give you a healthy advantage over other agents who do not have a highly visible professional profile, and you can join groups that are ideal for extending your reach to the audience you want. Plus, with 4.5 million Australians who are potential clients using the platform every month, it is a good option for agents.

Stay tuned for Part Two of this article in which we outline social media best practices for agents to help you make sure you’re getting the most out of your efforts.