Old, tired, out-of-style: 5 mistakes that are ruining your social media

Having a strong and strategic presence on social media is a must for real estate agents today. Most people begin their real estate journeys online — whether it’s looking for a new home or seeking an agent to assist them in either the buying or selling process.

Many of these searches can start or transition over to social media — particularly when it comes time to select an agent, as consumers want to make sure that their representative can relate to them on a personal level.

Creating a strategy for social is key to success, but so too is maintaining your platforms and keeping up with current trends and topics to ensure you present as an agent who is in tune with current social media best practices. Below, I’ve outlined five elements that can make your social media channels look dated. 

Being a ‘Master of None’

Having a presence on social media is important, but it’s even more important to select a few platforms to start and truly master them before branching out to others. Having a presence on all but being a master of none can make your social media look outdated, as your audience demands the very best and will be sure to unfollow if the content isn’t on point.

Try starting with Instagram and Facebook and see how those platforms perform for you. Adding LinkedIn can be a great next step, then Twitter and Pinterest, and then a blog or YouTube page. Of course, no matter which order you decide to start with and grow from, make sure you are giving each 100 percent. 

Not curating your content for each platform 

Once you have mastered your craft with your initial social media channels and want to add more to your repertoire, maintaining multiple channels is not as daunting as it sounds. Done correctly, you can grow your audience. But if done incorrectly, it can make your social presence look dated.

When maintaining multiple platforms, it’s important to curate content for the type of audience that subscribes to each. Don’t worry; if you can master the art of repurposing content, your social channels will be cohesive and engaging and will take a lot less time for you to execute. 

Too many tags

Incorporating three to five hashtags in a post is a great tool when it comes to making sure your content is discoverable by those seeking a specific topic. Hashtags allow similar content to become part of a collective conversation, and they make it easy for the audience to find exactly what they are looking for.

However, if you tend to use more than this, you could find that it is not only detrimental to your reach, but it also can make your social media look dated as it’s not part of today’s social media best practices. 

Setting and forgetting 

One of the most telltale signs of an outdated approach to social media is scheduling your posts and then forgetting about them. If you are using a scheduler, be sure to interact in real-time with the people commenting on your posts.

By its very name and nature, social media is designed to spark conversations and connections. Ignoring those who want to communicate with you is a surefire way to make your platforms look outdated and for you to miss great opportunities. 

Skipping the spring clean 

Periodically, content needs a little spring cleaning in the form of refreshing dated references, hashtags and adjusting SEO. If you are posting very frequently — say once a day or every other day — you will need to do this exercise less because your content will have moved down your page, and your audience is less likely to scroll down so far. If they do, they will understand that what they are looking at is older content.

Those who post less frequently should spring clean more often, and if you are including a blog in your media strategy, then be sure to take the time to refresh and adjust as needed. This is a great way to repurpose content and also make the best use of SEO. 

To keep your social media content looking up-to-date and relevant, you should start by mastering your strategy on one or just a few platforms before taking that next step to maintaining more. Once you have a handle on your initial platforms, focus on curating content for each specific channel, and don’t be afraid to repurpose content strategically.

Don’t just set and forget your posts. Make sure you are staying social and not missing opportunities by letting comments go unanswered or unacknowledged.

And lastly, don’t forget to spring clean your content if you post less frequently. If someone visits your page and immediately sees dated content, they will likely move on. Make sure your social media is looking current with curated content, and you will be well on your way to having a great strategy in place.