Likes and followers are important, but not as vital as creating valuable content, social media guru Nathan Hoover says. Hoover is the director of marketing and social media at RGI.
“It’s important to be consistent with the content you’re posting,” he said. “Create content about your business and what you’re doing and share about what’s happening in your niche. Also, promote others to promote yourself. That will help you grow your social media engagement.”
Hoover also stresses how important it is to be authentic. “Just be you,” he said, “and people will be attracted to your content. Don’t try to be someone you’re not when creating content.”
As for other dos and don’ts of social media for businesses, he said you can start your social media journey with just your smartphone as your equipment. But as you gain steam and traction, you might want to invest in microphones, gimbals, cameras and lighting!
Hoover advises planning to spend $2,500 to $5,000 on start-up costs for building a social media department at your business. He also says having an in-house marketing expert is more affordable than continually contracting out those jobs to content creators one job at a time.
“Use free scheduling software like Business Suite through Facebook,” he said. “That lets you post to Facebook and Instagram at the same time. It’s one important tool.”
“Don’t sell your product or service,” he went on. “Sell why you do what you do. Put out there why you do what you do, and educate people about what you’re doing.”
Hoover says content for Tiktok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook doesn’t need to be fancy. And praise be, he adds that short-form content trumps long-form any day.
“People will find more interest in short content and not long, stale videos,” he said. “The shorter and more precise posts will be what people engage with and want to learn more about.”
As for what to do with content once it’s created and posted, Hoover recommends saving content to a Google Drive doc to share with other social media content creators at your business. This will help with repurposing you social media content across many platforms.
Collaboration is also huge in the social media world. Here you can mimic RGI, which posts a Weekly Market Update whereby they celebrate happenings in the local business community.
So be sure to celebrate other companies in your niche, and use relatable hashtags and geo tags while doing so.
“That draws people into the content,” Hoover said.
“Normally people think of followers, likes and views as what matters, but it’s more about the connections,” he said. “Who is following? Who is commenting? Who is sharing your content without being asked? Who is just not liking but also leaving comments and reposting your videos? Having shares, comments and likes are the baseline but it’s more about the people you meet and connections you build.”
He suggests carving out time in your day to create social media content. Having a content calendar is also key, Hoover said, and allows you to plan ahead with what’s time sensitive.
Don’t post too many times per day, as then people will likely grow bored. “You want them to want to come back for me,” Hoover said. “To stay tuned and follow up each day or week.”
“It’s like a wheel. Once you have it going, it just keeps going and going and eventually you don’t have to think about it. It’s in motion. Be a news source outlet and share things you enjoy to help bridge the connection between different audiences. Find your niche focus and grow from there.”
If you would like to watch more of the content that we create at Realty Growth click here!
Don't forget to like, follow, and subscribe for more real estate content and things happening in the Rochester and SE Minnesota Market!