GETTING STARTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA AS A PROPERTY MANAGER
10 STEPS TO START YOUR SOCIAL JOURNEY – ATTRACT AN IDEAL AUDIENCE OR CLIENTS AND BUILD AN UNFORGETTABLE DIGITAL PROFILE
I’m just going to say it, if you’re not on social media and promoting yourself or your business on there, you need to get with the times. So, let’s get with the times. I know just how daunting it can be getting started. Two years ago, I had an idea for a side hustle and didn’t know where to start, and after lots of trial and error, I have managed to grow a following, boost my profile and engage with many likeminded people in the business. It is still a work in progress and like everything in the digital world it is constantly evolving and changing. I don’t have thousands of followers, but what I do have is a small but mighty group of people who relate to what I’m doing, find value in what I’m sharing with the world, and are learning from my knowledge, the mistakes, and great experiences. That to me means more than thousands of faceless followers who couldn’t care less about what I’m doing and only care about their self-promotion.
Many people think social media is just Facebook, but it is most definitely not. Social media by definition is a “website or computer program that allows people to communicate and share information on the internet using a computer or mobile phone”. That is a pretty broad definition, right? So, social media these days encompasses platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and the latest craze Tik Tok.
The key to getting started is just that, you have to start. You don’t have to be particularly tech-savvy or even be well known in your space or industry, if you have family and friends already using social media, you have a group to help you get started. While there are many people selling courses on digital strategies and Facebook ads and how to grow your following, and yes they will all offer valuable content, but if you are just getting started here’s a few simple things you need to do. These few steps will get your social journey started, help connect you with your ideal audience, and initiate your unforgettable digital profile.
WHAT IS YOUR ‘WHY’ OR YOUR GOAL?
Why are you wanting to set up a digital or social profile? Is it to attract more clients, build your reputation as an expert or do you have a voice, and simply want to share what you have to say to help others.
WORK OUT WHERE YOUR IDEAL CLIENTS ARE
Which social platform are your ideal customers hanging out on? Do some research, jump into some communities, and see what the preferred social arena is for the people you want to engage with. If you are a Business Development Manager, for example, you are going to want to attract new clients to bring on new management. If you drill down, these clients are going to be professionals or business owners and where do most of these clients hanging out, I’m going to say LinkedIn would be a prime social platform for typical investor clients. You can still have a profile across several different social media platforms, but the one where your ideal clients or audience are is the one you need to invest the most amount of energy on.
GET SOME PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS
Book in a photoshoot and get a stock of images together. You want an array of business ones as well as ones that make you relatable to your ideal audience. Are you a mum, do you love to run or workout, are you an avid reader, whatever makes you uniquely you, share it with your audience. These don’t have to be super professional or polished, if your audience is your typical working mum or dad, and you are showing up with a perfect spray tan, glam makeup and designer clothing, you’re not going to be that relatable. That said, make sure you be authentic and always, always be true to yourself. If that is you own it!
HAVE A SCHEDULE
This is essential, you need to have a plan and schedule it. We generally plan out a 30-day calendar at the end of each month, we try and batch as much content as we can, i.e. I might spend a whole day writing 3 or 4 blogs for the month. We also try to share one piece of content across as many social platforms as we can. There are several scheduling tools so you don’t have to remember to post every day, when you are busy in the daily grind it can be hard to fit in social media.
BE CONSISTENT
This is key. You really need to post every day or thereabouts. It is about building a profile, a brand, a business and people want a relationship with you. For that to happen they need to trust you. If you show up one day and they are absent for a week, there isn’t going to be any consistency and trust will be lacking.
PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE
Go on you can do it. Ignore those voices in your head telling you, you have nothing to offer, or who wants to hear from you, or everyone else is already doing this why should I. Take a deep breath and go for it, we all have something to offer, we all do things differently and you will find your people or they’ll find you.
BE AUTHENTIC
I touched on this earlier, but you have to be yourself. People can see through fakeness and inauthenticity especially online. Understand your values, know what you are offering and why you are doing what you are doing. Let it shine through in everything that you do.
GET CREATIVE
Think outside the square, have fun with your social media. Let your personality drive what content you share, be confident, and put your twist on it. Try Pinterest for some inspiration and Canva can help you with turning your ideas into a designer template.
BE WILLING TO HELP OTHERS
This is important, you need to help others. Whether it is others in your industry that you want to share your knowledge or ideas with or Landlords who need help understanding something like new legislation, where there is an opportunity to be of service to others take it. There are more than enough clients out there for all of us.
FOLLOW OTHERS
Learn from others, support others in your field or industry. If you love something that someone else is doing, tell them. What would it mean to you if someone said the same thing back to you? You don’t need to copy others but you can certainly get ideas, learn, and support others. If you can’t build up others how are they going to build you up?
The future of business is more and more online, so starting now will well and truly put you ahead of the game. It doesn’t happen overnight and you have to be patient, but it will happen.
We are putting together a whole host of Social Media Resources at That Property Mum, so jump over to our Resources Page or if you would like our 30 Days of Content Calendar, jump over to the Shop page. We have 30 days of ideas, templates, and tips and tricks to get your social media journey started and boost your unforgettable digital profile.
KYLIE WALKER – DIRECTOR – BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING