An essential part of every real estate agent's marketing plan should revolve around the community or communities they serve. Social media should be no exception in this approach, especially considering how important it is to connect and build your brand awareness and appeal with people inside and outside of your area. 
 
After all, if people aren't familiar with you or your brand, how do you expect to secure leads and clients? Successful agents and brokers prioritize their connection with their communities. Developing a community-minded social media marketing strategy can help you promote yourself as an authentic local expert that buyers and sellers would want to hire.
 
Here are a few things to consider as you develop your social media marketing plan with the community in mind.
 
Answer the big question
 
Answering questions comes with the territory of being an agent, but you should also be able to answer this question: what is it like to live in the community or area you serve? You're not just selling a property, you're also selling a home and the community around it.  It’s all part of the deal. 
 
Frame your content and social media strategy around providing followers with as much information as possible to give them an idea of what life in your community would be like. Not only will this promote you as an expert in your market, but it will also help show prospective clients that you care about more than just making a sale. 
 
Relatable and relevant  
 
There's a lot of information out there that you can leverage on your social media accounts, but you have to keep it relevant and relatable to your audience and market. 
 
Market data and numbers play a significant role in every agent's daily business, but it's essential to stick to digestible and pertinent information to your community. Whether you're discussing the ebb and flow of home prices and mortgage rates or comparing markets, try to frame any data or stats around your neighborhood.  
 
Going beyond real estate
 
The lion's share of your social media game plan should center around real estate, but it doesn't hurt to sprinkle something that extends outside of buying and selling homes. As you layout your content schedule, find ways to highlight things about the community that make it a unique and welcoming place to live. Talk about community organizations or events that might be happening at the time.
 
That includes tagging and sharing posts from other organizations, businesses and groups that operate in your work area. Taking time to highlight others in your community can yield various benefits, from increasing your following on social media to opening up a new well of referrals that you didn't have before. 
 
Jordan Grice is RISMedia's associate content editor. Email him your real estate news ideas to jgrice@rismedia.com.

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