5 SOCIAL MEDIA

5SOCIAL MEDIA MISTAKES Real Estate Agents Must Avoid

There is perhaps no greater marketing tool for agents these days than having a large presence on social media, but there is more to social media marketing than just opening an account and gaining followers. A lot of agents forget the social part of social media. It’s all about engagement, but it needs to be the right kind of engagement. This can often be the first impression potential clients or industry peers have of you, so make it count. There is no second chance to make a first impression, and that is especially true for real estate agents. Here’s just a few things you want to avoid.

1Using it to Vent

Social Media is a great place to complain and commiserate about things, but save that for your personal page. A real estate transaction is already a stressful ordeal, the last thing anyone wants is someone who seems like they’ll bring a negative energy to the process. Even worse? Bad mouthing other Realtors® or listings. You’re selling yourself and your skills, so don’t sell anything that shows you in a bad light. Much like marketing a property, everything you put out should be professional and inviting.

2Lack of Consistent Branding

Yes, social media is about social engagement, but it’s also about creating brand recognition. While you don’t want it to be purely promotional, you are running a business, so create a consistent branding across all social media platforms. If you can afford a professional graphic designer to help you out with this, that’s great. But at the very least, have the same profile pic, cover image and highly visible contact information, across the board. And don’t forget to share links to your other accounts, some people prefer different social media applications.

3Not Posting Enough

It’s good to create a schedule of how many times you’ll be posting per day and to pick times when you might have the most engagement. Don’t over do it, but three posts a day at the right time, tends to be a good goal. There are numerous tools on Facebook, for example, that can let you see when interactions are the highest. Stick to your schedule and adjust accordingly. It’s also important to not just post your listings. Be a resource for people who follow your page. Post community events, or other informative articles that are relevant to home ownership. Be a page they want to follow even when they aren’t buying or selling a property. They’ll remember you when the time comes.

4Not interacting With Your Followers

It’s called social media for a reason. The more you engage with your followers, the more they see you as a real person, and not just a marketing tool. Not only do you get to know your past clients and potential clients, on Facebook, engagement actually will make your posts seen by more people. So it’s a win/win.

5Not Sharing or Linking to Others

It might not seem like a good idea to not promote the blogs, pages or listings of other people, but it’s not only an excellent way to build goodwill, it will also increase your own presence when they reciprocate. So make a point to share posts and links for local businesses and even the blogs of your peers, if it’s a post that offers valuable insight into an expertise you don’t have. That will encourage them to share your posts and even your listings, which will increase your potential buyer pool. This is another incentive to create your own blog. Unique informative content is always of value, and more likely to be shared than promotional links.

SID POLISH

For more than thirty years, Richard “Sid” Polish has served as a firefighter and put his life on the line to rescue those in need. When he relocated from Delaware to Maryland, he had a poor experience with his agent that piqued his interest in the real estate industry. Seeking to set a new standard for Realtors everywhere, he decided to attain his license, and he quickly found success. This year, Sid decided to take his work to the next level and opened his own brokerage.

Today, Sid is the owner of Sid Sells Maryland Realty where he assists clients throughout Washington DC’s greater metropolitan area, the Eastern Shore of Maryland and the greater Baltimore area. Here, he has applied his passion for community service to uncover a niche market of firefighters, law enforcement and military locations. “I love guiding our local heroes and their families through the homebuying process,” he says. “There’s nothing more rewarding than giving back to those who keep us safe.”

When listing a home, Sid offers his clients a hands-on approach. Starting out, he inspects the property via a pre-listing consultation, flagging any necessary improvements and assessing what the homeowners should expect to earn from the market. After helping his sellers prepare their property, he provides them with a suite of professional photography—ranging from videography to virtual tours and 3D walkthroughs. From there, Sid shares the home through a plethora of targeted digital and social media campaigns. Sid is equally thorough when assisting his buyers. By leaning on his more than fifteen years of real estate experience, he always goes the extra mile in finding the right home for their needs. “It’s my responsibility to bend over backwards for my clients as much as humanly possible,” he says. “I’m honest and upfront throughout the transaction, and I advise them as if they were my own family.” Over the years, Sid has won an outstanding reputation in his community, with the vast majority of his volume coming from either repeat clients or referrals. Elsewhere, his background as a firefighter provides a valuable perspective on home purchases. “I examine a property inside and out,” he says. “As a firefighter, I know what safety hazards to look for when selecting a home.”

Outside of his career, Sid is tremendously active in his community. Currently, he is on the Executive Board of the local swimming pool. Since his children are enrolled in various sports around town, he volunteers and coaches for numerous local teams. Elsewhere, Sid, having recently recovered from Covid19, is donating his plasma and platelets to hospitals in the hopes of helping others recover from the virus. When he’s not assisting clients, he can be found spending time at home with his family or whipping up a batch of his signature pico de gallo.

Looking ahead, Sid has strong ambitions for the future of his brokerage. As he continues to grow his team, he intends on expanding his work across state lines. But along the way, he will continue standing as a loyal servant to those he cares about most. “If you enjoy what you’re doing, you’ll never work a day in your life,” he says. “And what better way to spend an afternoon than helping

your friends and family decide on their dream homes?”

To learn more about Sid Polish email richard.polish@gmail.com, visit www.sidsellsmaryland.com or

call (202) 528-9245

KIMELA LYNN & JAMEY RICHARDS

When the Real Estate Firm Kimela Lynn was with was bought out by a local Century 21, she met Jamey Richards and soon after they began their partnership. They have been working together as a team for over ten years. “We work really well together but we both have different personalities,” Jamey explains. This dynamic has led to many successes for The Lynn Richards Group. Their team includes seven other people who work at the office with them, and they serve Fort Bragg and Fayetteville, North Carolina, and the surrounding areas.

Kimela and Jamey’s business revolves around their referrals. They believe that what sets them apart and earns them these referrals is “We really believe in homeownership. We like helping people.” Between the two of them, Kimela and Jamey have close to 200 transactions per year. They typically market homes through word of mouth, online and social media advertising campaigns.

Their hard work is obvious, and clients of The Lynn Richards Group see that Kimela and Jamey always put their best feet forward. As one former client shared in a Zillow review, “Kimela and Jamey are very attentive and personal. They made sure we got everything we asked for and they always follow up with you. I was in a position where I was in a different state than where I wanted to purchase my home. However, they ensured that the separation didn’t change the service they provide.” Kimela and Jamey believe that when it comes to a transaction, “It’s not just like a one-time deal.” They visit all of their local past clients each Christmas with a gift and, connect through social media, sending cards and emails to check in. In order to be even more connected to the Fayetteville/ Fort Bragg community, Kimela and Jamey do their best to get involved and give back. One way in which they do so is through joining with Noonday Kitchen. They have also run projects that aim to specifically benefit people affected by disasters and children who rely on school lunches. Outside of this community involvement, Kimela and Jamey both agree that they love spending time with their husbands and families, reading books, going shopping, and traveling to new places when they have free time.

When asked what their favorite part of working in real estate is, Kimela responded, “It’s never the same thing every day, it’s a lot of work but we also have a lot of fun.” The pair definitely stays busy keeping track of all their referrals and transactions, but thankfully, they are able to help each other out and say that their clients receive a “two-for-one” when either of them serves as their agent. Recently, Kimela and Jamey began growing their business even more by working with a new partner and purchasing a property management company. Their current goal is to work on building that property management company, which should help

them serve their community even more in the future.

For more about Kimela Lynn &Jamey Richards, please call 910-491-3594 or email lrg@lynnrichardsgroup.com