Should Agents Outsource Social Media? 5 Questions to Ask

iPad with Social media on it

Social media is a marketing tool that every real estate agent should use to establish their personal brand and grow their business. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat (and more) are platforms that agents can use to establish themselves as thought leaders and a top resource for clients and prospects. With the heavy workload agents take on, some question whether they should outsource their social media.

5 Questions to Ask Before Deciding to Outsource Social Media

1. Do you have time to dedicate to social media?

First and foremost, you need to determine if you have time to dedicate to social media efforts. A good social media agency will schedule and post social media updates on a regular basis and will keep you relevant. Whether it is a photo of a property you are listing, an announcement about an open house, or even sharing an article you have been quoted in, a social media agency will make sure to send out posts to gain engagement. If you don’t think you have the time to dedicate to a solid social media effort, outsourcing may benefit you.

2. Do you feel you know enough about social media to be successful at it?

If you are new to social media, you may want to outsource social media to gain a better grip. An agency will offer support and answer questions you have regarding social media for real estate agents. If you are hesitating about posting something or you just want to make sure it fits your current marketing strategy, an agency will be the source for all of this information. This kind of support can help you avoid costly mistakes that could be detrimental to your brand and reputation.

3. Do you know where to find high-quality content?

While social media certainly isn’t a real estate agent’s only job, it should be a big part of their marketing strategy. An agency’s sole job is to handle social media accounts, which means they have more time to find top-notch content that will resonate with an agent’s audience. If you always find yourself slammed with work and you aren’t putting out content that is truly of quality and just what you could find quickly, then you may want to think about outsourcing your social media. You won’t have to spend time searching the web for great articles that your followers will be interested in because an agency can find all of this for you.

The only con to this is that you may lose a bit of authenticity if you aren’t the one putting the content out, although a good agency will know how to tailor the content to exhibit your brand and avoid coming off as inauthentic. Just keep in mind that the more personality you let shine through social media, the more engagement you will have and the more relatable you will be.

4. Do you have the budget to outsource social media?

Outsourcing your social media will come at a price. Some agencies can be quite costly depending on your expectations of them. If the agency isn’t yielding the results you want, and your social media accounts aren’t seeing healthy engagement or gaining followers, then the money you’re spending won’t be justified by the return on the investment. You should consider handling your own social media accounts if you feel you know where to find content, have the time to post, and want to save on marketing expenses.

5. Do you trust someone else to handle your social media?

Real estate transactions are sensitive topics and require a closer look at what content is being shared on social media in order to avoid rocking the boat with clients. There have been a lot of situations where a business or company posted something on social media and received a lot of backlash for it. A big question to ask yourself is if you trust someone outside of your company to manage your social media accounts.

To really determine which option will work best for you as an agent, you need to figure out how much time you have to dedicate to managing your social media accounts, if you feel confident in the content you find (or create), and whether you have the budget to outsource it. The bottom line is that you need to weigh the pros and cons of outsourcing to see which option is the best fit for your business and your real estate goals.

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