As a Realtor, when you post to social media (specifically for your business) the intent behind your posts are most likely a mixture of one of these topics: promoting a listing, getting leads, educating your followers, or showcasing you and your brand. Social media is a powerful free tool that, when used right, can be an entire salesforce for your business. Have you ever wondered why some people's post get all kinds of engagement, while you put yourself out there and get minimal responses? If so, we're here to help you refine your social media posts by explaining the process behind intentional caption writing and purposeful content planning. With these simple tips, you'll be able to ramp up your engagement and leads in no time!
We see many Realtors posting content without a solid strategy in place. It is important to determine your plan prior to posting. I'm sure you've heard the terms content planning and content strategy used interchangeably, however, they're very different!
What is a content plan?
A content plan is simply a schedule you intend to follow throughout any given length of time. This is the easy part! You can do a quick Google search to learn the best post-scheduling times for each social media platform, or you can join the waiting list for our Online Course called Intentional Marketing for Realtors, where we break down the exact tools and processes we use for our content planning. And as a bonus for joining our course waitlist, we will send you a FREE content planning calendar!
What is content strategy?
Content strategy is the step before the plan, where you determine the why behind your posts. AKA - "Why am I posting this"? To be completely honest, our purpose behind this blog post is to educate our audience (you) and explore the opportunities you have in front of you to grow your brand. We are also introducing you to our upcoming online course designed specifically for Realtors who want to enhance their online presence. This is the difference between planning vs strategy. When you sit down to post to social media you should ask yourself "who is going to be reading this?", "How will my ideal audience find this post?", "What are the results I'd like from this?", And "how will I ask for said results in non-sales-y way?". This brings us to the next piece of content strategy, defining your call to action.
What is a call to action?
A call to action is simply how you ask your audience to participate in your post. What is your goal behind what you're putting out there online? Do you want potential leads to message you? Do you want people to comment on your post?
Try some of these options when asking for engagement (depending on the context of your caption)
Add contact buttons in your bio and ask readers to contact you
Paste a link in your bio and ask them to visit it
Ask a question and ask them to respond in the comments or private message
Create a hashtag and encourage them to use it on their posts
Connect with your followers and encourage them to tag you in their posts or stories
Create valuable content they can save for later
Remember that not everything you post is meant to lead to a sale. If you're using social media properly, your main focus should be building relationships. Even relationships need a little nudge from time to time. Your call to action can be anything that encourages your audience to react to your post. Did you know that on Instagram different reactions are valued as more important than others? According to the Instagram algorithm (as of 2021) a "save" is the best type of engagement, followed by a share, then a comment, then a like. Be sure to create some educational content that inspires your audience to save your post!
BONUS TIP: Follow your ideal clients and your current followers. Since Instagram prioritizes relationships, when both parties follow each other, the algorithm will make your posts appear more frequently in their feed and vice versa.
Caption Writing
Now, let's take it back a few steps. Before you can have a successful call to action you must first have a compelling caption that grabs the reader's attention along with a strong visual that will get users to stop their scroll. Instagram prioritizes posts and ads that get engagement, so the stronger your visuals and captions are, the more likely users will comment/like/share/save which will get your brand in front of more people.
Since Instagram shortens captions to the first couple of sentences you want to lead your post with a hook something that will encourage the viewer to click "more" to continue reading. Be sure to infuse your captions with your brand personality! Captions are a great way to establish relationships, build authority, and encourage engagement.
Does it include details about you, your company, or your services?
Is your caption in alignment with your brand? Does it match your company tone/style?
Is there a clear call to action encouraging engagement?
Is it easy to read/comprehend?
Does your caption share valuable information with your ideal client?
Is it written in a way that builds relationships?
Thoughtful strategies, intentional captions, a clear call to action, and purposeful content planning will get the right people in front of you and your brand. If you're ready to take your online marketing to the next level, download our free content planning and social media strategy guide to get started today! Don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for the launch of our Intentional Marketing course coming soon!