By Giselle Ugarte

Social media is one of the most important lead-generating tools for real estate humans (and one of the few that can actually help you drive business while you sleep). However, a lot of you aren’t seeing the results that you’d hoped for. In this article, I break down some of the most common mistakes you’re making and, most importantly, how you can start turning your efforts around.

You’re not showing your face
If all you see are cookie-cutter templates and pictures of houses on your profile, that’s not giving anyone any reason to want to hire you for your services. Business is personal. What you see on social media should be an online representation of who you actually are offline.

You’re not using video
You want someone to be able to get to know you and your expertise as quickly as possible. Video allows for someone to both see you and hear you (and at scale, with no additional energy from you picking up an actual phone to get to know each other) to determine if you’re the right expertise and personality fit. Social media is a search engine, and people are more inclined to look you up on Instagram before reaching out to you, even if you’re referred by someone they trust.

You have too many calls to action or no calls to action 
You shouldn’t have your phone number in your bio or even in your captions, when people are already naturally scrolling and typing. That first point of contact should be as simple as possible. Tell them what to do. For example, rather than simply posting your website as the link in your bio, send someone to a contact page where they can schedule an appointment. Take it a step further by telling them what to do in that bio section with something like a finger emoji pointing down at the link and “Let’s invest in your first rental property together.” Once they click, you’ll also have the ability to collect their phone number and email address, putting control back into your hands for making the next moves. 

You can’t be found
There’s no reason you should have more than one profile, and that profile should be as easy to find as possible, which is why I encourage you to use your full and real name that people know you by. Nope, not a cheeky brand name or a team name or a neighborhood name. Remember, you want people to know you and trust you as quickly as possible. When you try to hide behind a brand, you’re adding one more barrier for people to feel like they already know you. 

You’re stuck on vanity metrics and not meaningful ones
The most valuable metrics to watch are your bank account, the health of your team (especially if that team is just you)  and how excited you are to wake up each morning. There are plenty of professionals who are great at getting views, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to sales or growth. Establish metrics that equate to where you’re trying to take your business. Some of my clients with less than 5,000 followers generate more business and get more engagement than some of my clients with more than 50,000. Likes, views and followers are just that. Your goals online need to convert into growth opportunities offline. 

For more tips like these, be sure to follow Giselle on Instagram @giselleugarte. She also has a five-week coaching program for real estate professionals kicking off on August 17th www.giselleugarte.com/signup