In case you haven’t noticed, social media is not just a fad and it’s not going away… It’s also not just for teens and tweens. That means that there is a valuable opportunity for your title company to reach and engage with agents and other clients to market your title services.
Even if you already know this, you still might be struggling to answer this question…
Are Real Estate Agents and Lenders Really Using Social Media?
According to Statista, here’s a breakdown of the most popular social media networks, in millions of monthly active users in the US:
· Facebook: 204.9 Million Monthly Active Users
· Instagram: 154.8 Million Monthly Active Users
· Twitter: 110 Million Monthly Active Users
To break this down further, according to a study from the National Association of Realtors, 77% of Realtors actively use social media and consider it to be one of their most valuable technology tools.
· 77% of Agents use Social Media
· 97% use Facebook
· 59% use LinkedIn
The Takeaway: Your clients are active users of social media and it’s a place that every title company needs to be!
This represents a huge opportunity for title companies to get in front of clients to grow their business. Let’s take a look at Six Reasons Why Title Companies Need a Social Media Marketing Strategy:
Reason #1: Increase Brand Recognition & Trust
The reality today is that agents and their buyer/seller clients do research online before making buying decisions – the entire real estate transaction process is moving more and more online. Where do they look? Google is one of the top sites to search, but many are also turning to Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media networks to see if a company is established there.
There are 3 likely outcomes when agents look for your title company online:
1. They don’t find anything and immediately lose trust.
2. They find your social media profiles, but you aren’t active. Again, you’ve lost a few trust points.
3. They find your social media profiles, see that you’re active and providing valuable content, and learn more about the culture and values of your business. This leads to increased trust and more brand recognition because social media gives you the opportunity to connect with clients on a deeper level.
Reason #2: Increase Visibility in Google
As mentioned above, your prospects are already searching in Google to find information about your title company. One of the benefits of setting up profiles in social media is that it allows you to blanket the first page of Google with webpages you control.
For example, search your company name and review the first page of Google. If you have a Facebook page set up then chances are good that page is ranking on the first page. If you also have a LinkedIn and Twitter page then those are also ranking. The more pages you control in the search results the better because it increases the chances a prospective client will click on one of your pages.
Plus, social media marketing can help improve your website’s search engine rankings for other non-brand keywords. Social media gives your website more exposure, which leads to more links from other websites, which in turn can boost your rankings helping agents find your title company.
But social media marketing is not just about driving traffic to your website…
Reason #3: Increase Conversations From Your Website
I already mentioned above how social media marketing allows your brand to connect with prospects on a deeper level than other channels. In other words, social media gives your business a personality, which can naturally lead to more brand loyalty and higher sales conversion rates – ie, more agents raising their hand to start a conversation with you.
Plus, isn’t social media by default social proof? When users follow, like, and share your updates, then that is social proof that other people know, like, and trust your business – the keys to building a brand.
Finally, social media is a great tool for following up with prospects and customers to keep your business top of mind. We all know the importance of follow-up in the sales process and social media is another channel to stay in touch with prospects.
Reason #4: Increase Client Retention & Referrals
Of course, let’s not forget about the importance of following up with our clients!
By using social media to stay top of mind with agents, you’ll naturally increase retention, repeat closings, referrals, and online reviews. Need I say more? :)
Reason #5: Establish More Partnerships
Earlier, I discussed the fact that your prospects are researching your title company online. Well, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear that potential partners are doing the same thing…Attorneys, lenders, and the like.
Therefore, social media can either help or hurt your chances of forming referral partnerships.
Second, potential partners are more receptive to the idea of sharing content (articles, webinars, videos) than forming a referral partnership. It’s just a lot easier and less risky to share content. Then once you’re working together it’s a more natural transition to discuss referrals.
Of course, this strategy relies on content, but that’s no problem if you’re already active on social media.
Reason #6: Diversify Your Marketing
Last but not least, title companies need to use social media marketing as a way to diversify. If your business is currently relying on just one or two marketing tactics such as word-of-mouth and CTE lunch-and-learns, then you’re extremely vulnerable!
While the above marketing activities are tried and true for title companies, they are limiting. With social media, you can cast your marketing net much wider and with less effort and potentially greater return.
The Takeaway: Social media marketing for title companies represents a massive opportunity to reach, connect, engage and retain new and existing clients. Almost all real estate agents are using social media and title companies have to be where their clients are and provide engaging, educational and value-added content to start a conversation and build their brand.
Dalton Digital is a marketing agency exclusively focused on helping title companies grow their closing volume by getting their digital marketing right. Contact us today for a free strategy session to discuss your goals and learn how we can help with an effective social media strategy.
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