It’s important to stay on top of what’s happening in the world of digital marketing because sometimes there’s a dramatic change (such as Meta doing away with fact-checking) and sometimes it’s less seismic (Instagram changing optimal photo sizes).
Here is what I think you should know, going into 2025.
Meta recently announced that it will no longer hire companies to fact-check posts, but instead will rely on community notes, as Twitter/X does. There’s been a lot of complaining about this, not to mention some funny memes featuring Mark Zuckerberg, but I suspect that there won’t be a mass exodus away from the platform seeing as how it’s integrated into so many websites. However, it’s worth keeping an ear out for and keeping track of whether your clients have started to use other platforms.
One thing that’s definitely changing with Meta is how people interact with content: a lot of actions are taking place behind the scenes.
If you check your Facebook analytics, you may see that people are clicking the links you’re posting, but not commenting or reacting. You may also notice that people are sharing your content privately.
As well, a lot more interactions are happening in the DMs, which makes it critical that you have notifications enabled so that you know when someone sends you a message.
If you’re looking to get more out of Facebook and Instagram, not only should you be liking and commenting on posts, but sending people private messages.
Personalization
As consumers, we’ve become accustomed to receiving marketing that’s tailored to us, whether it’s supermarket offers, ads and emails from clothing companies and other retailers. As a real estate agent, you can’t get quite that personal, but you can tailor your emails.
One easy suggestion, just start using people’s first names in your email. You may also want to start separating your database based on location or neighbourhood so that if you have an item that’s neighbourhood specific, you can send it only to those contacts.
Artificial Intelligence
If you haven’t started using AI, it’s time to start. If you are using it, you can always find ways to use it better. When it’s used well, AI tools like ChatGPT can help you do your job faster. Though it’s tempting to depend on it, I would recommend using it for first drafts and then humanizing the copy it spits out. It’s also a great tool for generating ideas that you can take and run with. It will continue to get smarter. I didn’t use it to generate this post, but I did use it to write the headline (which I edited slightly).
Video
People are spending more time watching video online. If you’re not yet using video in your marketing, make 2025 the year you start! Short of being in person, nothing conveys your personality, your charm and your charisma (and I know you’ve got it) like video. Click here for a past article with some tips.
Whether it’s a market update, a profile of a local business, or a walk-through of your latest listing, video is content that keeps on giving. You can put your video in an email, on a YouTube channel, on your website and on your social media.
Bonus tip:
Instagram photo sizes
Instagram now supports three different file sizes, including square, landscape, and portrait. So it’s nice to have some flexibility. It isn’t a seismic change, but your photos no longer have to be square. Here’s a guide to how to use the new sizes.
If you have any questions about digital marketing, please get in touch and follow us @mbdcto on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
