Pinterest is great for Real Estate
If I were a Real Estate Agent I would be taking full advantage of the power of Pinterest. A “Pin” is worth a thousand words, seriously. So what is Pinterest and how can Real Estate agents leverage this quickly growing platform?
First it is a social network, known as a Virtual Pinboard.
Pinterest lets you manage, arrange and share all the things that interest you on the web or on other people’s pinboards. It is a great tool to find, save and share favorite recipes, get wedding ideas, home decorating and DIY projects, and to save beautiful pictures of homes they want to buy!
It’s a very addicting discovery tool…trust me. It’s also very appealing because of its simplicity, you pin an image you like to your board or repin someone else’s pin to your board.
- Pins are images/graphs that are added to Pinterest,
- Boards are categories of pins that users build usually around a particular interest, topic or theme.
- Repins happen when a user adds an image they find while looking around in Pinterest and they pin it to one of their boards (think of it as a facebook like that they keep on their page)
- Following a Board is an option when you are only interested in seeing pins from that specific Board (maybe a Board about condos in Chicago)
- Following a user is the same concept except you will see everything they pin and new boards they create.(Following your favorite Real estate agents)
Starting to see how this could be very beneficial to a realtor?
Now that we know what Pinterest is and what is does let’s get into how it can help grow your business and how you can use it to your advantage. Humans are visual creatures which is why this platform is appealing and growing, with that being said your first ammo is great pictures. Beautiful images of homes, parks in the area, flower gardens, and landscaping. Organize them into Boards as you would categorize them in the office; 4 bedroom homes, houses on the lake, by price point etc. Remember it is social so do not make it all about selling, selling, selling. Create boards that will teach or inspire;
- how to clean your gutters,
- maintenance plan for house(furnace maintenance, air conditioner etc,)
- great tips for your home.
- financial programs or incentives for first time buyers,
- Who we are (headshots and bio of your team)
- Family Homes in Chicago
- Must see house of your dreams
Anything that shows you are an expert in your field and that you care about your clients. Once you have a small "showpiece" and it can be small, you will build as you go then you can move on to how to get followers. The key here is to gain brand or personal recognition, be seen as an expert in your field, trustworthy and drive traffic to your website, which is more likely to lead to "the sale".
The best way to get followers and the fastest way is to promote through other channels. Those who are interested in these topics will find you and follow you!!
- add Pinterest follow buttons to your website
- promote through facebook, google + and linkedin
- launch a contest
- promote on a blog
- Don’t forget to interact with your followers
You already have the product and content, you just need to capture it into a visual selling piece and organize it. It is a great enhancement to any and all of your current online marketing strategies. There are many other ways to use Pinterest that will help with link building and SEO but I really need to write a book. Actually I think I will write a book and when it is finished I will add a link here!
