Have you ever seen incredible homebuyer reviews on social media and wondered how to turn them into referrals? Over the last 10 to 15 years, social media use has gone up by leaps and bounds across the globe, with Pew Research estimating that at least 72% of the public uses social media to communicate and stay in touch with friends and family. The COVID-19 pandemic has made us more reliant on it than ever before, with around 50% of American adults saying that they’ve been using it more since early 2020.
For potential home buyers, social media is a key part of how they research and obtain information. As of 2018, more than 44% of homebuyers said that they did research and looked for properties online first.
With social media use on the rise, the homebuilding industry must learn how to harness its unstoppable power or risk planning projects with inaccurate insights that put them dangerously behind the curve.
Builders Have an Opportunity to Innovate and Improve
Fortunately, harnessing the power of social media gives builders endless opportunities to innovate and improve.
Today, the team from Constellation Homebuilder Systems is bringing you some of our social media best practices that we distilled from our webinar ‘Homebuilder Referrals in the Social Media Age’. With our best practices, we’ll show you how to capitalize on social media to connect with buyers on a much deeper level.
To go further in depth, don’t miss our live webinar on November 24th.
The Best Social Media Practices for Homebuilders
Buyers and homeowners are talking, but if you aren’t leveraging social media, it means that you aren’t there to hear their opinions or learn about their needs. Opinions on social media circulate with lightning speed, and even the mildest comment or criticism can influence a potential buyer’s opinion.
To an unprepared builder and their team, this might seem intimidating. However, once you learn how to capitalize on these trends, you can make social media work for you, giving you the up-to-the-minute information you need to serve your customers.
At Constellation, we’ve learned that leveraging social media can be simple, as long as you follow these best practices.
- Always Listen
Customers won’t always come to you when they want to talk. More often, they’re talking on social media, whether you’re there to join the conversation or not.
To be able to hear what they’re saying, you should be proactive in following buyers, monitoring hashtags, and joining as many industry channels and groups as you can. Great builders need to be working with accurate information to provide the best possible customer service, and social media continues to be the place where most people go to share this information with others.
- Learn to Anticipate
Instead of waiting for customers to come to you with an issue, learn to anticipate what they’re going to say. With social media, even a small negative comment can quickly attract attention, so it’s beneficial to learn how to spot issues in advance and address them before they get put online.
A post-purchase survey can help, especially if you incentivize responses with a small gift, coupon, or giveaway. By inviting direct feedback – either in person, or on social media – you’ll make it easier for buyers to share their thoughts so you can address them head-on.
- Address Issues Proactively
If you’re continually spotting negative sentiments across your social media pages, it’s a warning sign that should not be ignored. Even one or two people venting their frustrations online can quickly turn away prospective buyers.
Instead of letting this ill will fester, work with your operations, marketing, or customer service departments to address it directly. People appreciate candour, and may be willing to overlook mistakes if your company proactively takes responsibility.
Learn More from Our Webinar on November 24th
There are so many different ways to build your business, connect with customers, and get valuable information on social media. We’ll cover more social media best practices, as well as how to get better referrals in our upcoming webinar, ‘Homebuilder Referrals in the Social Media Age’.
Sign up on today to secure your spot. Then, tune in on November 24th to gain practical tips to solve the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities you’ll find on social media.