Social Media Musts for Every New Real Estate Agent
The obvious way to achieve success in real estate is to have a ton of experience and a huge network – basically, already be successful. The other way is to think smarter and get yourself off on the right footing. When your brand is strong enough, experience doesn’t matter.
If you’re a new agent, Jason Pantana and I are going to give you the social media strategies you absolutely need to compete with the big fish in your market.
And if you’re an established agent, you can go ahead and skip this, because you’re already doing all these things, right?... Right?... One more time – right?...
You should all watch or listen to it. Ready, set, go!
In this episode, we discuss…
00:00 – Intro
00:44 – Get matchy-matchy across the web
01:48 – Raw materials (don’t write your own bio)
03:26 – Where to start
06:15 – Strategic Networking
07:13 – The law of reciprocity
08:20 – How money walks
09:30 – Content (no drunk monkey)
11:57 – Content DJ
13:30 – Entertaining vs consistent
16:50 – Hyperlocal experts own the day
17:49 – Walk your beat
20:06 – Google level local
21:20 – Closing thoughts
For the majority of my life, I’ve been passionate and dedicated about changing lives by giving away the very best strategies, tactics, and mindset techniques to help you and your business succeed. Join me as we take this to level 10!
Keep up with me and what's new on my other channels:
Website - https://TomFerry.com
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TomFerry
Instagram - https://instagram.com/TomFerry
Twitter - https://twitter.com/TomFerry
Podcast - https://TomFerry.com/Podcast
YouTube - https://youtube.com/CoachTomFerry
The obvious way to achieve success in real estate is to have a ton of experience and a huge network – basically, already be successful. The other way is to think smarter and get yourself off on the right footing. When your brand is strong enough, experience doesn’t matter.
If you’re a new agent, Jason Pantana and I are going to give you the social media strategies you absolutely need to compete with the big fish in your market.
And if you’re an established agent, you can go ahead and skip this, because you’re already doing all these things, right?... Right?... One more time – right?...
You should all watch or listen to it. Ready, set, go!
In this episode, we discuss…
00:00 – Intro
00:44 – Get matchy-matchy across the web
01:48 – Raw materials (don’t write your own bio)
03:26 – Where to start
06:15 – Strategic Networking
07:13 – The law of reciprocity
08:20 – How money walks
09:30 – Content (no drunk monkey)
11:57 – Content DJ
13:30 – Entertaining vs consistent
16:50 – Hyperlocal experts own the day
17:49 – Walk your beat
20:06 – Google level local
21:20 – Closing thoughts
For the majority of my life, I’ve been passionate and dedicated about changing lives by giving away the very best strategies, tactics, and mindset techniques to help you and your business succeed. Join me as we take this to level 10!
Keep up with me and what's new on my other channels:
Website - https://TomFerry.com
Facebook - https://facebook.com/TomFerry
Instagram - https://instagram.com/TomFerry
Twitter - https://twitter.com/TomFerry
Podcast - https://TomFerry.com/Podcast
YouTube - https://youtube.com/CoachTomFerry
Hey welcome to a special edition of this week in marketing, specifically, five moves in social that every new agent should make. I've got my guest here, jason pantana, really host of the marketing show, but jason there's. So many people coming into the space - and one could argue someone's watching this right now they can be three years in the business. They can be 30 years in the business and they just want to become more relevant.
But i want to specifically focus on someone. That's been under 12 months in the business. What are the most important moves? They've got to make to position themselves online, so they win, so they stand out. So at least their friends say: yes, he's a real estate agent yeah.
I love that, and i think the first thing that comes to mind right out of the gate is a you have to obviously set up your different pages and profiles, but you really need to think strategically about. Okay, what's my profile image, how do i create matchy-matchy across the web? Okay, i'm going to help interpret for you. So what do you use it like across all the different platforms? So, let's go to platforms? Yes, let's go new agent, so instagram facebook, your facebook, personal profile, plus a facebook business page okay for running ads, tick, tock youtube your google business linkedin, maybe just modified to whatever your new. You know your new career versus your old career, yeah um.
What about um zillow realtor homelight? Should i go to all those as well like every possible portal? You really, you really should, and so here's the deal like we call it search engine results pages when somebody googles for a realtor and they google for you there could be any number of pages that rank, but social networks and sites like zillow yelp realtor.com. I know those were like a mix match there, but they all have tremendous seo. So i would actually just call it like it's a saturday workday you're going to go through and kind of. I would, i would think through like okay, what are the things the raw materials i need for doing this? So that's going to be.
I need a great headshot. I need a great bio i'm going to have to be prepared to kind of make longer versions and shorter versions of the bio. I typically recommend this may be hard for a new agent, but i typically recommend don't write your own bio um. I either recommend using some type of a software, like maybe an ai like jasper.ai, and it can write your by your bio and help.
You really ideate on it because it's hard to write about yourself, especially when you're new right or hire a copyright like i hired a copywriter and we had a meeting and we talked about what i wanted and then he wrote it, and i was like great. I could never have done that myself because it's tough to read the label when you're inside the bottle right it's hard, but i would get the raw material. So it's bio, it's head shots things like that and then i would literally should i have the same headshot across every one of the platforms. Or should they be? You know because, like in the past, we've talked about like yeah, you know have a different look for instagram a different look for facebook differently right, but i think in the beginning, i'm gon na actually recommend that it's to your benefit, to have it be consistent across The board, because most people they're not really paying that close of attention right and i want them to make that association. Oh, that's! That's them there! That's them there! Oh that's them there too. Yes, so i want that easy association. So just you need, like a saturday work day, get all your stuff lined up bio head shot and then just go to town home, homelite, realtor, zillow, google, business, page instagram, facebook just set up every page, every profile, every account and then call it a day. You did an amazing work that day.
That's right. The first thing i'd say so the goal is basically anywhere. Somebody could search for you they're, going to find you that's right. So so you can go as broad as you want, but but i wouldn't do is just skim a few.
I wouldn't go light on anything. Any button that should be filled out should be filled out, yeah and if you're kind of questioning like okay. So really. Where do i start, i would go look for some prominent agents.
I would google their name and i would see what ranks and i would use that. I would also do searches on google, like best real estate agents in your market right and you're gon na see. Well, who's running ads on that search phrase is home, light running ads is endorsed, local provider running ads is what's and then you can use that to kind of be a guide for. Where should i prioritize my time and attention in terms of setting up pages and then obviously the big social networks? Facebook, instagram tic, talk youtube.
We already talked about those, yes, okay, so so really step. One is be findable in a systematic way online, with the right, headshot yeah right, bio, yep um. If, if there's endorsements that could be had, there should be asking them for asking, maybe former co-workers to say, could you write a review about me? It's not going to say anything about real estate, yet unless you've done a couple leases or done a couple of buy side transactions and absolutely get those, but in your opinion a page without reviews is hard, it's hard right. So is it? Okay, if the reviews say jason pantana was the hardest working guy.
I've ever met more dedicated, more focused, something other than nothing yeah. I think when you're starting out, it's kind of like when you're getting your first job well, this job requires experience. Well, how do i get experience exactly to get that first job? That's kind of the paradox yes, and so a new agent is definitely in that kind of a position right now. It's the paradox of how do i get started, and so, yes, i would say tap into your network and look for reviews. Don't try to fake it. Don't act like you sold a house that you didn't sell, but there are soft skills that could be talked about. Like your personality, your intelligence, your track record, and i would lean into those things hard because every agent got their start somewhere. I mean i remember trying to convince someone to.
Let me list their house for the first time and i did but it's it's difficult to do when you're new, and so you would have been weird if your mom said no sorry, sorry, podcast humor, it was an open house. I had somebody had an open house, one of the neighbors exactly well. That's you know. One of the great lines is hey.
You know most consumers, they go the very first agent that they meet and you could argue and they like yeah. I had to pull a couple of tricks because it's a whole different story. Yeah, sorry, we'll save that for another show, that's another show! Okay! So that's number one. What's what's number two assuming they've done, that they've checked that off or maybe they just need to go back and audit? I'm just saying all my friends out there: maybe you need to go and audit and make sure that everything is modernized, new, matchy-matchy etc.
What's number two yep, so i would say, and by the way one can i have one more thing sure on the headshot, because this is just me leaving no detail left behind right. Yes, don't do like the full body shot because most people, when they're scanning instagram or some app, they can't see your facial features. So we need a closer crop shot of your face where i can actually see your face. Yes and don't and don't hide yourself if you don't like the way, you look that's just weird right.
Just you are who you are take the photo up close. Let him see the features, try to connect with your eyes, you're going to say i really like her smile like that stuff happens and that's that's the first step of engagement totally totally okay. Next, one on my list is i'm going to talk about the importance of strategic networking on social media, so what i would do is do some major slower one more time, i'm going to talk about about strategies yeah exactly. I can't remember what i said: yes, uh strategically networking with other top producers in your marketplace or outside of your marketplace on social media.
So, like, i think about our ecosystem of our amazing coaching members, and we have so many who agent influencers, where they're just crushing it on instagram or tick, tock or youtube or whatever it is. I would do some major reconnaissance and figure out who are the players whose content do i really like? I really love what they're doing. I really connect with that yeah. It resonates and be bold, be brave, send them a dm comment on their stuff, and a couple of things are going to happen.
One you're going to start to take in some inspiration on what you like about what other people are doing and we call it in your famous words, r d, rip off and duplicate. That's right! That's the first thing that sets in the second thing is the law of reciprocity. As you comment on their post and engage and become somebody, they know on social media uh, two things happen. Actually one human nature is reciprocity. They're gon na start to reply and comment on your stuff as you, post and so forth. So it's really really important on social networking to social network right. It's really important to get on people's radar yeah and the other thing is like this is maybe a little bit tmi, but algorithmically. Every major platform is algorithmically primed that hey.
If i comment on your stuff, it's going to take that as a signal that you're likely to comment on my stuff and so in your feeds, you're, going to start seeing my stuff and that back and forth happens when there's interactions right. So it's actually algorithmically intelligent to social network on these platforms, so say that one 12 times faster, so it's actually algorithmically. Actually i couldn't even do it all day. I don't have it okay, so so number one is get your get.
All your profile set up correctly. Number two is identify people in or out of your marketplace that they should be engaging with i've heard about them. I googled you know top agents in this marketplace. I saw somebody on tick tock i was like wow.
I want to follow him. I want to follow her. That makes a ton of sense. Should they be a little more strategic and potentially go to hellmoneywalks.com and actually say hey here i am in phoenix arizona cook county illinois, aka chicago has the highest number of people moving into my area.
Should i try and network with agents in chicago as an example, even as a brand new agent that feels advanced it? But here's the deal? It's i mean i don't know the quote, but it's like be bold. If you want to, if you have high intentions, high aspirations for yourself, be bold, i would look at how many walks. I would even look at like some of the van line services produce, data right, um atlas and others they produce data. You can also go to census data and figure out where people are moving to and that's a hard website to get around.
Yes, it's called the census flow mapper. Google, that! Yes! Yes, good! Luck! Good luck! Click! Let me just get my profiles done. Okay, i got that step step one step two, but i think there's i think, there's something to it like. Okay, am i gon na just kind of guess arbitrarily about? Oh i'm gon na network with agents in this market, or am i gon na try to network with people who are in feeder markets where there's actually a level of actual business synergy going on? Of course, that's totally a smart way to kind of figure it out.
Good um, so i would say: that's the second one number three: is you got to make content so we talked a lot about setting up your profiles. Doing kind of the initial foundation work, but now you got to create content and it needs to be video content, and i know for a lot of new agents. There's going to be a mindset often times that i've encountered where they're like, but i'm new, who would want to listen to me um? What do i know - and i got to tell you like that's a mindset you'll eventually get over, but the sooner the better right reality. I would tell everybody: go to liz novello right just happens to be gary vaynerchuk's little sister, long time, coaching clan of ours. She went out of the gate and just started: creating content non-stop, telling the story of being new also and her businesses absolutely flourished yeah. Not just because of that, because of so many of the things she did that were right, but the first one was. She was honest about it, i'm brand new. This is what i'm doing.
I'm going to my first open house: hey i'm touring houses for the first time, it's so different to look at houses as a real estate, agent versus a home buyer home shopper, and she just she talked about her experience and her sphere were like. I love it because it's like hgtv yeah, it's like million dollar listing when the new agents get on there. It's the same exact thing and and generally speaking, most people want you to succeed. So, like we have our own head talks, but most people want you to succeed.
Yes and i had a conversation with a coaching client the other day on the team of one of the teams. I coach about being relatively new and feeling under qualified for making videos telling people about real estate in any kind of an informative way. And i was thinking about a video of byron lazines that i watched, which he went through. The 87 percent of agents.
Stats, yes, which which for those listening the stat, is basically in the first roughly four years of being in real estate, 87 of agents fail, which may not be that encouraging. Given the context of today's topic but or it's super encouraging or super encouraging right depending on do the right stuff do the right stuff. But what he said was is agents oftentimes, get a really bad reputation and if you're a new agent, you may not know that. But welcome to the industry, real estate agents often get a bad reputation and byron's logic was it's because the odds are.
Consumers came in contact with one of the 87 percent right, not the 13, who were the great successful agents, and so it's really incumbent, in my opinion, on every smart, capable agent to start spreading the word and really vocalizing. What they know about real estate fact is: if you're licensed in the u.s, for instance, you are licensed by your state. You have a license wherever you are, that says: you are eligible and professional and an expert to talk about real estate, so whatever drunk monkey, there is that's telling you otherwise, yes, and so i'll flip. It too, there's also um, like being a dj of everybody else's content using an old school social strategy which is hey. I'm reading this article from you know our mls or from our association or our broker just released this or i'm reading this article from one of the top real estate, coaches, jason, pantana, and he says as a consumer. I just wonder what do you think and comment below yeah, so you can use everyone else's content. You could read headlines, you can read stories and then ask your listeners for their opinion. There's a lot of power in that because you're not saying this is my information.
Here's this on human news - this is bloomberg. Bloomberg said this, but i went to my broker and i asked five other top agents in my office, this question and we all what am i assuming there yeah five other we all yeah. We all came to the same conclusion that the answer is x: yes right and now all of a sudden you're you're over that story, but we should also tell them there's another cool site called answerthepublic.com. Yes, answerthepublic.com, three free queries.
I think it is three or five something like that, so you could literally go there and say um. You know real estate are interest rates in houston, causing home buyers to be nervous or something like that. Just real estate interest rates houston and it will go out and search the web for all the questions that people are asking related to those keywords. And then you could go back to that jasper.ai and put in video script and it will write the script for you and just like that, we've removed all of your excuses.
I mean absolutely so like there's, actually a few things just to kind of synthesize. What you were saying like one is touring properties out in the field. Just use your phone document, everything right as a new agent like hey. This is the perspective of a new agent.
In the field - and i got to tell you - people are going to want to go along for the ride with you on that and your stories and your reels and your content. You should be doing that the other, don't i have to be remotely entertaining um you. You have to be yourself um, so i mean because we know some people that are dry and boring yeah and they kill it on video because they just are who they are like attracts like you have to be. You have to be like wildly consistent and here's.
Why that's because every algorithm like instagram, in particular, if you're super consistent making videos, even if they're, dry, sarcastic and boring it's going to find an audience for you as soon as its algorithm learns? Oh jason makes content like this, for people like that right and this is going to go shopping, my content and explore pages eventually to help me find a following. Now i'm somewhat like it's going to happen, you have to be wildly consistent and, as far as how consistent is consensus is consistent. Well, i'm easy for me to say: yeah i like what david schwartz is doing so david schwartz is doing a real deal, he's killing. It he's doing a real every day. He literally just grabs his phone. He started that in october at the summit and he hasn't stopped, and here we are in whatever month we're in he's at like a day he's almost at 200, now 200 days straight so his deal was he committed to answering a question every day as a reel? He had his phone like this vertical style. Instagram reel he's gon na answer, one real estate question using sites like answer the public to kind of source, the ideas and google trends. Answer the public.
Ask your friends whatever read the comments of other people's videos right, get the questions out of there all the like. He had there's plenty of questions about real estate. Yes, just google, it there's plenty of questions yeah he committed to 30 days and now he's like day 200 plus or right around that mark, because people have been so intrigued at what he has to say and his insight and man he's gotten really good at it. Too right he was good from the get-go, but he's gotten really good.
You know, i think he stayed in his lane. He would comfortable easy questions. I don't want to say all softballs, but like easy stuff, so stuff that you get asked anyway at the soccer field or with your friends or at a dinner party or at church right. You answer those questions.
First and then you start to figure out your chops yeah, your cadence yeah. Should i pause yeah? Should i add music? Should i add text you start doing some of the other little all platform, specific stuff that really make it sing yeah. So, are you recommending that as well? I, i am so it's like again doing the new agent touring properties i'm going along for the ride. That's a great video strategy, the reactions you talked about where here's, what this news article said or here's, what like? That's a huge way of doing video or like what david schwartz is doing, which is basically i'm gon na answer a question as a reel every day, um you, you cannot over index on video content, no and whatever hallucinations you may have i'm making an assumption here About it's too much content is too much of me.
I'm like let the algorithm worry about. What's too much of you and you just make the content, and it will go, find you the audience for that content. So man, i actually just thought of a cool, show. It'd be like bloomberg versus you know: buckhead, like you, take bloomberg versus the actual city that you're in what does it say so bloomberg says this or cnn says that or nbc financial.
Whatever says this, and then here's what you're saying right, yeah on the streets, that'd be a really good show. Somebody should capture that you should do that, show right away as a brand new agent yeah. Okay tours. No doubt, let's talk about um hyper local experts rule the day right. They look at all the consumer data they want to work with, like i like jason, because he's not just from nashville he's actually from franklin and he's actually at this church with his kids at that school and he's like me, that's who i want to work with What should someone listen to this do to become online that person? Okay? So let's talk about the simplest way. First, you should make video content, that's specific to those like neighborhood tours. If you do walking tours a lot of agents, do that in the beginning, and it's actually really great practice for learning areas go to our newer construction in the area get permission from listing ages. The tour properties where you have the consent to basically say hey, here's.
What 650 gets you in x, neighborhood right and you make content that is super focused about those areas, be the person who knows what the zoning change means and they're going to build a new dealership or whatever it is okay. I got ta interrupt one of our clients and sorry she's from houston, and when you see me next, you can punch me. I was on that little tour last summer. She walks up and she's like listen baby.
I am all in on video. I go. What are you doing? She goes. I sold 52 houses last year, i'm like all right.
How long have you been in the business like 18 months? I'm like wow, tell me what you did. She said i would go to the new construction developments and i would say to the builder or the side salesperson. Are you guys? Okay, if i walk around and shoot a live on facebook and show people what this is and what it's all about and how much it is right down to like here's, the brochure and here's the pricing options she's like and my friends would just go. Can i afford that? I want that.
Where is that yeah she did that over and over and over so it's kind of sean gerald did the same thing right so shawn gerald queen city house hunters in charlotte. He goes live like every day, oftentimes touring properties and it's basically like remote control. Sean hey walk over there and show me that again because he's live, he's, reading the comments and he's in the field and people start tuning in because he's consistent, he's wildly consistent and then it turns into something so i'd say like you've got to create video content That is super on top of everything happening in your local community. Should they should they go as deep as like drive drive communities where i go online and i research who are the developers what kind of product are they all three bedroom two bath? Are they all quarter acre lots whatever you know whatever it is, have that level of detail and then drive through and explain all of that i mean that would be amazing, but i would say i mean i don't want to create a barrier where it's difficult, but I think, if you're going to go after new construction, i think it's incumbent on you to have some kind of knowledge of i'm not just walking around like a consumer, i have some kind of optics on what's going on in the marketplace. So what about schools? What should they do with schools? I think they should interview principals teachers and i think they should be anybody - who's, credible, yeah parents. They need to be careful that they're not steering or doing anything like that. But if they interview understand, fair housing, make sure you, google, that also as a brand new agent yeah. But if you go to the actual officials of the school you're going.
To probably i mean i'm not i'm not giving legal advice, but you should be safe in doing that, but i think that's going to be massively valuable. Like imagine interviewing the principal of an elementary school and say: hey, i've got your numbers printed off from greatschools.org. Can you talk about what these numbers, how you? What did you all do to get to these numbers and do a video interview like that? That's hyper local content. The other thing i would say to being positioned to be discovered in your key neighborhoods is going to go back to like google stuff so on your google business profile that we told you to set up in step, one which, by the way, a lot of agents Who are not new are like this is good stuff, whether i'm new or not, because this is just the stuff of digital marketing right now.
But you should be really key in saying what are the service areas that i provide real estate services to and list them off in your profile? Just make sure you have those keywords: yes, if you're in brentwood tennessee spell it out you're in brentwood, tennessee or whatever it is, it should be all of your google business page all over your website. It should be in your bio. It should be on everything you do, because people are searching for things like actually they just extended on instagram. They just extended the character limit of your display name, and so now you can be a lot.
Even if you have a long last name where you have limited characters, you can be really clear on where i do business, because imagine somebody met you at an open house and they're like who is that real estate agent i met they were so great and they Searched for realtor and then the name of the city in instagram. Well, now you have a really high likelihood of actually popping top of the list because you have it in your display name. So just keywords, keywords, keywords and all the markets. You service on your google business page and your instagram profile on your website.
Love it love it closing thoughts as we as we wrap this one up. There's we covered a lot of real fast. Yes, we did. We did um closing thoughts.
Are it's one step at a time everything you do is gravy at this point in time i mean right now we're starting from scratch. It's it's zero to one, and so, if everything we said, total was a lot start with the first one. Just take a saturday workday set up your profiles and then, when that phone rings and you because hey i read your reviews, you look at really great aging. We want to go look at this property. You're gon na be like oh this works, and then you can double down. Do the next thing and the next thing and build it over time? Yes, and what i would remind you of is this is just one piece of your business. It's this piece: it's knowing the contracts, it's knowing the neighborhood, it's kind of killing, two birds with one stone by the way doing that which i love yeah and it's also understanding sales skills and negotiations. So this is a critical piece.
It's 2022, as we're recording this. The world is on social, it completely rules the environment and it's a big part of how people are deciding today so yeah. So don't miss this. Take action on the five or six steps we talked about here, make sure you follow jason and thank you so much for being on the show and then hey.
Do me a favor leave a comment. Let us know if you think, if there's another question, if you want jason, to talk even faster during these interviews, i can speed them up you. Let us know jason thanks. So much carter i'll see you guys soon.
You.
Just got my license, signing w/ my brokerage today
Great information!! If you are a new agent, you should be doing this today!!