Staying active on social media is crucial for realtors, but coming up with new content ideas week after week can be a challenge. The good news? Not only can you plan ahead, but not every post needs to be brand new. You can reuse existing posts that aren’t time sensitive.
Ways to Plan Ahead
Holidays
In my experience, a holiday graphic with a sincere message will generate a lot of engagement, such as comments and likes. While it’s not all about the likes, when people take even a moment in their day to interact with your content, it’s an achievement. And, there’s a higher chance they’ll see your next post.
You can create content for the usual statutory holidays, but if your clients recognize other holidays such as Eid, Chinese New Year, or Passover, include those as well. Don’t forget about something a little more fun. You can find a list of national holidays here, choose some that speak to you (National Chocolate Cake Day is January 27), and post those.
Bank of Canada Rate Announcements
The BoC announces these dates well in advance. Yes, everybody posts these, but you can add value by giving your perspective and letting people know how it will affect them. How much lower will someone’s payment be on a line of credit or a variable rate mortgage? How does the change impact how much somebody can afford?
Market News
You should know approximately when your local real estate association or board releases its news. You may even be receiving it in your inbox. If the board or your brokerage creates an infographic, you can use that. But always offer your own perspective. Only you know what’s happening in the particular neighbourhood, city, or property type you specialize in.
Repurpose, Reuse, Recycle
It sounds a little lazy to post the same content more than once, but the reality of the algorithm is that you’ll be lucky if your Facebook or Instagram posts are seen by more than 5% of the people who are following you. If you are posting regularly and only recycle these every six months or so, nobody is going to notice.
Client Testimonials and Success Stories
Testimonials are powerful! Turn them into visually appealing quote graphics or short videos that you can share regularly. Not only do they build trust, but they also show potential clients that your business is people-focused. If you have two dozen of these, post every two weeks! If you don’t have testimonials, this is your call to action to ask for some!
Motivational and Inspirational Quotes
People love feel-good content, and motivational quotes are always a hit. Find quotes about home, family, success, community, or anything else that speaks to you and present them in a branded graphic. Make sure to include your own thoughts about why you chose this particular quote.
Community and Local Highlights
Position yourself as a community expert by sharing posts about local businesses, events, or interesting historical facts. Not only does this strengthen your local ties, but it also makes your page a go-to resource for community information.
Next steps:
Create templates on a site like Canva. This will ensure you have something ready to go that you can just pop a graphic into. Have templates ready to go for BoC rate announcements, new listings, open houses, market news, testimonials, and quotes.
Find a social media scheduling tool. You may have something built in to software you already have access to, such as a CRM or Constant Contact. Or, find a piece of software that you like. Here’s a list.
As always, if you have any questions about how you can use social media to your advantage, please get in touch!
