Social Media for Home Builders

Social Media for Home Builders: 8 Proven Strategies to Get Leads

As a home builder, you may think social media is better suited to other types of businesses, such as those that sell products or brands with large followings. However, this idea couldn’t be further from the truth. The right social media strategy can be a highly effective way of tapping into your local client base and connecting with real people in your area.

In today’s post, we’re going to take a look at how social networks form a vital part of any marketing strategy and discuss some best practices for home builders. Without further ado, let’s jump right in.

Why Is Social Media Important for Lead Generation?

First things first: what’s the point of marketing your services on platforms like Google+, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Houzz? Ask any successful business owner, and they’ll tell you one thing–because it works! This (mostly) free opportunity makes it easier than ever to get the word out about your business.

Perhaps the most critical function it serves is allowing for direct interaction between brands and consumers/potential leads. This one-on-one contact not only builds relationships, but its public nature also serves another purpose–it allows everyone who views your social media pages to see firsthand how you handle feedback, both positive and negative.

Additionally, you create a space for homeowners to ask you questions about your projects, which ups your chances of working with them in the future. It’s also an ideal way to show your customers that you care, by sharing content that’s beneficial to them and occasionally rewarding them with a giveaway.

8 Social Media Marketing Strategies for Getting Leads

Now that you know why social media matters, let’s dive into 8 proven strategies that home builders can use to generate leads.

1. Showcase Your Work

Consider this: if you want to build a new home, what do you want to see from the potential home builder? Examples of their work, right? For this reason, a home builder’s portfolio is an invaluable asset in attracting new customers, and social media platforms are the perfect place to showcase your work!

You’ll want to take stock of any photos and videos you have of your projects and share these with your audience for a behind the scenes look at what your home building business does. Make sure to highlight exceptional projects, and you’ll see that this method of home builder marketing helps potential leads engage with you.

How you share examples of your work depends on the platform. For example, Instagram and Facebook are excellent for posting photos and short videos. YouTube, on the other hand, is better suited for longer videos, where you could show in-depth content about how a particular home was built.

2. Foster Engagement

An effective social media marketing plan is one that allows you to communicate with your customers. Remember, the point of social media is to engage–and engagement doesn’t have to be rocket science.

It can be as simple as including a call to action when you share a video, image, or post with your followers. Ask them to comment, like, or share the content, and ask for their opinions on it. You can also create a quiz or design a poll. Use your creativity; the options are endless!

Another strategy to foster engagement is to ask questions directly that may help you attract new customers. Try eliciting information such as:

• What are you curious to know about the home building construction process?
• What is keeping you from buying a new home?
• How did you find us?
• Tell us about your dream home.

These questions, aside from revealing a great deal about potential customers, can also help you identify any marketing difficulties you may be having. Plus, they create an avenue for interaction with leads, which helps people remember you and increases the likelihood that that person will contact you in the future.

3. Highlight Testimonials

In today’s day and age, social proof is critical. Most people consider reviews and testimonials before purchasing a product or service, and word of mouth is a powerful tool in decision-making as well.

So if you have lots of glowing reviews from customers, what better place to highlight them than on social media? Testimonials are relevant brand content that can be the deciding factor in getting potential customers to choose you.

And if you don’t have any, make sure to start eliciting them at the end of projects.

4. Have a Giveaway

Homebuyers invest a lot in your business, and it’s nice to give back to your customers from time to time. A giveaway or a contest is an excellent way to do so, and it’s also a common method of fostering engagement online.

Some businesses prefer to have contests, which require more involvement from the customer. Others enjoy hosting giveaways periodically, which ask users to engage in some way to enter, either with a like, comment, or follow. These strategies are an ideal way to make your customers happy and grow your online following at the same time.

5. Position Yourself as an Expert

Who is the home building expert? Your company, right? One way to establish yourself as an authority is to demonstrate your expertise. Social media is an excellent place to do that, by providing your audience with plenty of educational content.

The point of these educational posts, whether you’re sharing from others or curating your own blog, is to offer beneficial and reliable information. In this way, you develop trust with your audience, which is essential for converting leads and getting referrals. (Plus, it’s crucial from an SEO standpoint.)

Educating your audience on social media is an excellent way to make people remember you when they’re looking for a home builder. It’s also an ideal place to tell potential clients about your demonstrated expertise. If you’ve got certifications, endorsements, or awards that you worked hard for, be sure to share posts about them.

After all, home building requires plenty of trust. People will be living in the house you build for them, and they want to know that you are good at your job.

6. Tap Into User-Generated Content

Though the importance of content cannot be denied, creating it can become tedious and time-consuming. Luckily, home builders have a fantastic way to engage users without having to always create posts and blogs. You can simply tap into your customer base and share user user-generated content.

User-generated content refers to anything that customers create. It can be photos, videos, blogs, etc., that you share to build brand awareness. The beauty of this strategy is that you don’t  actually do any work yourself. Most homeowners are thrilled to be in their new home and are willing (and eager!) to share photos.

7. Link to Your Various Social Media Pages

If you’ve got profiles on more than one or two social media platforms, make sure to link to them periodically. It’s highly likely that your customers may only follow you on one or two, so let them know that you share different content across your platforms–and your clients won’t want to miss out on it!

For example, from your Facebook page, let your base know about all the exclusive content they can only find on your Instagram account.

8. Be Friendly

Finally, our last digital marketing strategy is always to try to keep the human element at the forefront of everything you do on social media. And by that we mean be friendly!

It should go without saying that your pages should be a positive, welcoming place. You want your business to have a nice, real feel–not a cold, corporate image. Get personal by sharing stories about your employees, post about holidays, and feel free to share a joke now and then.

All of these ideas help people see the human element behind your business and allow others to relate to you.

Suggested Reading

• Home Builder Marketing: 7 Proven Strategies to Get Leads
• SEO for Home Builders: 13 Proven Strategies to Get Leads
• Web Design for Home Builders: Design Services that Get Leads