News

Main article content

We hate to break it to you, but the answer’s probably yes.

Is your business on social media? Many real estate agencies are in some capacity. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest, it’s the done thing to have at least one platform in your marketing repertoire. 

But just how effective is social media?

The video above – we highly recommend watching the whole thing if you can spare 30 minutes – is a take on social media that you may not have heard before … and it’s very relevant to any business that uses it. Mark Ritson, a Professor of Marketing at Melbourne Business School, has some unnerving points to make for those of us who’ve invested vast amounts of time and staff resources in managing our social media accounts. 

Your social media audience is smaller than you think. A lot smaller. 

Ritson revisits the tweet that become something of a modern marketing legend; Oreo’s clever ‘you can still dunk in the dark’ image, posted during the 2013 Super Bowl blackout. For all the hype and media coverage, here are the cold, hard numbers:

• Oreo had 65,000 Twitter followers that night
• This is back in the days when images didn’t automatically display under the tweet – users had to click on a link to see the photo
• The average click-through rate on Twitter is a measly 1.64%
• For brands with 10,000 plus followers, that drops to an even more measly 0.45%
• If we’re generous and assume the click through rate was 2% (because the lights were off and people were bored) – we can calculate that 1,300 people saw the tweet
• The image was then retweeted 15,000 times
• The average twitter user has 208 followers
• 3 million people saw the tweet, but we know from our 2% click through rate that only 60,000 people clicked the link to see the image
• Add that to the 1,300 initial clickers, a total of 61,300 saw the tweet that night
• 40 million Americans buy Oreos each year. In other words, a tiny proportion of their customer base saw the tweet.
• Oreo had 18 staff in their social media team that night. That’s a lot of resources for a miniscule result

While the amount of media coverage that ensued may have made this one tweet a worthwhile endeavour for Oreo, think of all the brands out there that that don’t get the same media attention for their own witty efforts.

Compare that to the Budweiser television spot

You can watch the full 60 second (and heart-string tugging) ad early on in the video.

• 108 million Super Bowl viewers
• 47% watch the ads
• 50 million people saw the Budweiser ad – more than the number of people who buy Oreos in a whole year

Ouch. The numbers don’t even compare.

Let’s look at some local examples.

The situation at home is underwhelming, to say the least.

• Woolworths is Australia’s most valuable brand. It has 21 million total customers and just 721,0000 facebook fans.
• NAB has a social media team of 6 people, yet if you break down the numbers they have just 270 engaged fans on Facebook 
• The Twitter numbers are even more dismal; ANZ has the highest percentage of engaged followers there, at a pitiful 0.7%.
• 68% of Australians aren’t actively following any brands on social media
• Of those who are, they follow less than seven. And that’s true across all age groups – social media-savvy millennials aren’t more likely to follow brands than Gen Xers or Baby Boomers.

People want to connect with humans, not brands.

The harsh reality is this – people aren’t interested in following or listening to brands on social media. 

According to Ritson, if you were to pull up a list of the most-followed Australian social media accounts, the first brand comes in at number 43 (it’s the Australian Open). The first 42 are living, breathing humans. 

So, what does it all mean for real estate agents?

Social media’s not going anywhere. It’s revolutionised the way we all communicate, and for most businesses it’s good practice to have a social media presence. It’s a quick, effective way to demonstrate that you’re tech-savvy and understand your market and industry.

But it’s important not to overinvest in social. We’re yet to meet an agent who’s won a listing purely off Facebook. 

• Choose one platform to concentrate on.
• Update it regularly. A couple of tweets per day or a few Facebook posts a week is probably enough
• Don’t simply self-promote (remember, users just don’t care). Post interesting links and interact with other users. Show some personality
• A social media team of one is probably more than enough for a small business

What it all boils down to is that social media is just one, tiny element of your marketing mix – to get real results, the bulk of your time and efforts are best spent elsewhere.

What are some of the strategies you’ve developed for using social media effectively? Does it have an impact on your business?