Has the property industry woken up to the potential of social media?

Recent figures show that Millennials spend on average 2 hours and 38 minutes per day glued to social media, so whether they’re searching for their next dream home, aspiring to get their foot on the property ladder or looking for their next rental property, it’s clear social media is the perfect platform to reach them on. Far from just a method for brand awareness marketing, these platforms can be used to attract, nurture and interact with buyers, landlords, tenants and vendors, in a more time and cost effective way than ever before.

According to Zoopla’s ‘State of the Property Nation’ survey from early 2020, over 53% of agents intend to spend more on marketing their listings through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in 2021. With such a sizeable investment being made by these organisations, agents are faced with one big question - how exactly can they turn the UK’s 45 million social media users - that’s 66% of the UK’s population - into customers?

To an industry that’s used to traditional contact channels - such as telephone calls and emails - this may seem a bit like rocket science. But with the right tools and knowledge at hand, it can be as easy as pie. There are solutions out there that make it simple - such as Orlo, an all in one digital conversation management tool. Not only do these platforms empower you and your team to engage and grow your audience across digital channels, but also help you to identify, interact with and convert your future tenants, buyers, vendors and landlords. 

So what are the top three things estate agents should look out for in a tool to manage customer relationships on digital and social platforms? Read on to find out:

#1 - In their world 🌍

With a true digital revolution well underway, you need to meet and interact with your customers - both vendors and buyers - on the channels they choose. Between 92 and 95% of millennials in the UK have a smartphone so if you’re looking to tap into that market, having a presence on channels accessible on mobile is a must. So whether it’s WhatsApp, SMS or Social Media, be sure to find a solution that makes things easy and brings all your digital conversations into one unified inbox. 

#2 - Keep an ear to the ground 👂

With years of raising brand awareness and building customer relationships under your belt, maintaining your reputation is top of the list of priorities. Ensure the tool you deploy has the ability to carry out social listening, so whether customers are tagging your organisation in their posts or talking about you without a direct mention, you can identify those conversations and respond appropriately. Filter out the noise and monitor what matters most to you so you can protect the brand people know and love - you never know, you could stop a Twitter storm in its tracks! 

#3 - Keep an eye on ROI 👀

Taking on new channels for lead generation can seem like a risk, so monitoring success is essential - and the numbers never lie! Invest in a tool that has a powerful suite of analytics built in, it’ll just make life easier. And if you want to be able to attribute a return on investment to your digital activity, ensure there’s the capability to join the dots between social clicks and traffic on your site. It’ll enable you to see what content is driving enquiries from buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants, empowering you to effortlessly attribute ROI to your digital initiatives - it really can be as simple as that! 

The Orlo platform is jam-packed with so many more features designed with you in mind. If you and your team of busy agents want to take an omnichannel approach to marketing engagement and customer service, why not find out more? Click here to request a demo today.