Realtors: Use Pinterest to showcase your properties
When carrying out marketing plan strategies that focus on engaging consumers and using social media, Pinterest is a must use. Travel and lifestyle are two of the top searches for Pinterest users and this presents a terrific opportunity for realtors when trying to bring a property and a destination to life. Is there anyone who hasn’t heard the phrase… location, location, location? We all know that when buying property whether a home or commercial property, the location greatly contributes to the value. But when you are searching the web, either on premier websites like realtor.com, or a specific realtor’s website, it’s hard to visualize where the property is and whether the location will work for you and your family. Often in the property descriptions, you will find a listing of schools and sometimes area attractions, and a general map to show the property’s location, but buyers need more.
Pinterest offers the opportunity to change this. Below is what I recommend. First, I’ll tackle this idea using residential properties and then I’ll move on to using it for a commercial setting.
1. Create a Pinterest page for your destination. Don’t use your real estate company name. You will have a greater chance appearing in search results using a more creative name focusing on your destination. Your name should be centered around the destination. For example, sunny coastal Florida hideaway or quiet North Carolina mountain escape.
2. Build boards that showcase the destination and lifestyle that residents in the neighborhood enjoy. Your board titles should follow themes like, favorite local restaurants, attractions that only locals know about, or 20 things to do while in town. Create boards for restaurants, attractions, schools, shopping, hotels (for visiting family and friends), etc. On your hotels board, include a pins linked to the area convention and visitors bureau website, and local chamber. Put yourself in the mind of the buyer and create boards that answer the typical buyer questions and then some. Pin local businesses with links to their websites. Reach out to your sellers and ask them to share the secrets about why it is so great living there.
3. Create boards that show use of the destination. This is where you take the time to help your buyers imagine themselves living at this house. Spend a Saturday morning filming a spotlight property, and then film a typical Saturday with activities like visits to the farmer’s market, the beach, a local coffee shop, a long bike ride. What does living in this house offer? Your sellers and neighbors should be your main source of content. Include how close these great entertainment ideas are to the home. You can paint the picture with narration like, “This morning we grabbed a cup of gourmet coffee at Kiva Koffeehouse which is just two minutes from the featured home. Then we took a short three-minute drive to the local Farmer’s Market for some fresh produce….” Get the picture? Pun intended.
4. I recommend featuring one property on your Pinterest page. You can include a board titled, More Great Hideways, and in it pin links to other properties on your primary website. I don’t recommend featuring more than one property in the way I’ve described because the information can become convoluted and confusing. Another idea, is to rotate the featured properties on a two week or monthly basis. By doing this, you become known for fresh content and a ‘go to’ resource. Your Pinterest followers will turn to you for ideas, and more importantly, turn to you when they are ready to buy.
5. For commercial property use, in the property description where you state the property is a prime location for a business, use Pinterest to prove it. Create a board with neighboring businesses, and create a benefits board with pins linked to whatever unique benefits this property offers.
A key to this strategy’s success is using all the media options that Pinterest offers. From video to pictures, you truly can put the buyer right at the property. You also have a rotating marketing piece (your Pinterest URL) that you can and should feature on all other marketing assets, like your brochures, direct mailings, websites and even billboards. If you are a Pinterest novice, reach out to your friends and family for help creating the page. With Pinterest’s users nearing 15 million, I promise you know someone who loves using Pinterest and will love helping you.