How active are you on social media? Are you an influencer? A casual observer? Something in-between?
Social media has become an integral part of everyday life for billions of people around the world. Whether they’re providing a status update on Facebook, going “live” on Instagram, or sharing a story on Snapchat, the tenants you are hoping to reach are very much online, and they’re probably spending most of that online time visiting various social sites.
If you own rental properties and manage them as a business, it’s not difficult to recognize social media’s important role in marketing your rentals effectively. This is very much a digital age, and while those online rental platforms are great for getting out a listing, social media is where you’ll really be able to have an impact when it comes to renting your property quickly to the best tenants. You can expand your reach exponentially.
We can understand any hesitancy you may feel. Social media is where political arguments break out, right? It’s where the latest lip gloss is sold. Why does it have to be necessary in the successful renting of your property?
The truth is, a consistent presence and engaging content on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube can provide major benefits when it comes to finding and connecting with quality tenants. If reaching the largest possible audience of potential renters is a priority for you, then tapping into the power and reach of social media should not be overlooked.
At Real Estate Gladiators, we have a keen understanding of social media and how to leverage it when we’re renting out homes. Follow along as we explain some of the key ways social media can help your rental property profits. We’ll also provide tips on getting started or improving your existing social media marketing strategy.
An Argument in Favor of Social Media
According to Forbes, around 4.9 billion people across the world used social media in 2023. Experts in the know expect that this number will bounce to 5.85 billion users in 2027. It’s a difficult statistic to ignore, no matter how apprehensive you may be about those social sites.
Here are some quick things to think about when you’re deciding whether or not it’s a good idea to market your rental property on social media:
| The average person spends 145 minutes on social media every day. | The most popular sites across the board are Facebook and YouTube. | Short form videos represent the content that users find most engaging. |
| Most people access social sites on a mobile device. | More than half of internet users go on YouTube at least once a month. | 77% of businesses use social media to advertise their products and services. |
Social media is where you want to be.
As you surely understand without us telling you – social media expands your audience.
Your presence on the social sites gives you a place to reach more people, and even better – you can engage with your audience in a way that you cannot on sites like Zillow and HotPads. Who knows, you might even begin building a relationship with a future tenant right there in the Facebook comments.
BUT … you have to know how to use social media in order to benefit from it. To be effective on social media, you’ll need to be strategic with what you post, you’ll need to be consistent, and you’ll need to be willing to invest the time and resources that are required to engage with the people who visit your post or your page.
It Starts with an Engaging Profile for You and Your Monroe Rental Property
A good social media strategy starts with a good profile.
If you’re new to this, we’re basically talking about branding, which is an essential part of marketing – even old school marketing.
With that in mind, we encourage you to be intentional about how you present yourself to the potential renters who will view your page and what you have to offer. First, decide whether you want to share your listings on your own personal page (assuming you have one), or if you want to set up a separate profile strictly for the rentals you’re offering.
- If you’re posting homes for rent on your personal social media page, you can easily include all of the people you already know in your network. However, you also want to make sure your personal page is professional and open to everyone who might be interested in renting from you or knows someone who might be interested in renting from you.
- Option Two – You can also establish a separate profile for the work you plan to do sharing your rentals. This is a good way to narrow your social media postings to the rental property or related topics. Visitors won’t get confused, and they won’t have to scroll past photos of your pets and vacations in order to find the homes you offer for rent.
This is your first decision, and once you’ve made it, you can decide how your profile should look and what you want to include that’s representative of who you are and what you have to offer your prospective tenants.
Before you start posting about your available rental properties, you’ll want to make sure you have all of the pertinent information on your profile. There has to be:
- Updated contact information
- Include an email address and a phone number
- Decide how you want people to get in touch with you.
- Is texting best?
- Would you prefer a direct message on the platform itself?
Make this information available in your profile.
There’s also the matter of a profile photo. This has to be credible. Your cats are cute, we have no doubt, but there shouldn’t be a picture of your furry friend where a photo of YOU or your rental property should be. Even a picture of the neighborhood where your property is located will work. Or, a photo of the state you’re in. Make the photo professional and informative in some way.
The Audience is Different Here
When we talk about social media marketing, we have to talk about the target audience.
According to the Pew Research Center, more than 72 percent of Americans use social media on a daily basis. That’s a large audience. If you’re wondering about the most popular platforms, here they are:
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YouTube
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Those are the most popular sites, but they’re not the only sites. We’re also renting properties on the other social media platforms, sites like X (formerly known as Twitter), Snapchat, TikTok, and even LinkedIn.
We can offer you some more information from that Pew study that might be useful as you plan your social media marketing strategy:
It turns out social media usage is also somewhat dependent on economics. Only 68 percent of Americans earning less than $30,000 per year identified as regular social media participants. However, 83 percent of people earning between $50,000 ad $75,000 per year reported being regular social media users. And, 78 percent of people earning more than $75,000 reported using social media regularly.
So, you can infer that you’re reaching a generally well-qualified pool of tenants if we’re focusing on income.
Let’s Talk about Your Listing
The listing is going to matter.
Photos will easily be your most important asset when we talk about posting your rental listing on social media sites. Videos, especially. This is the type of content that gets attention, and it’s what prospective tenants want to see. You need a walk-through video at the very least.
Text plays an essential role in social media, and you’ll use it to share details such as:
- Rental amount
- Move-in target dates
- Rental qualifications
Images are especially crucial. You’ll want to upload clear and crisp photos of your property (inside and out). And, you’ll want to make sure that they render well on the mobile devices that people are using to access their preferred social sites.
If you want to be more impactful with how you market homes for rent on social media, using videos is an essential inclusion. We mentioned the necessity of a walk-through video. As you’re creating this, make sure you focus on the property’s layout. Each room should get some airtime. This is good marketing because you’ll be able to show real-time room sizes, give viewers a close-up of amenities, and provide an idea of the property’s location.
When you have special features to show off, such as walk-in pantries, garden tubs, smart home technology like video doorbells, and fenced backyards, video is a great way to show those things off while giving viewers an idea of what it’s like to actually be there.
Plenty of social media platforms are built for video; you can use Instagram reels, Facebook and Instagram live videos, Snapchat story updates, and of course YouTube.
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In Praise of Hashtags You may know them as the pound sign # Hashtags are essential when you’re posting on social media sites, because these are the things that will allow your content to get the attention of your target audience. Using hashtags on your posts makes them more accessible because when people search for a particular hashtag, your post will be there, ready for them to view. Use specific hashtags that identify your location or the type of property or the neighborhood name. |
It’s All About Promoting Your Monroe Rental Home
Simply posting the listing is a great first step – you’ll get some attention for your property.
Even better? When your post starts to gather shares, likes, and comments. That’s when you know you’re having an impact. It also increases the audience.
Should you pay for social media advertising?
You can. This takes you another step further, and allows you to really maximize the site you happen to be using. Compared to other forms of online advertising, this is not too expensive, and it can result in a wider audience and faster leasing results.
- Social media advertising works by letting you pay to get your message in front of people who aren’t already in your network.
- If they don’t follow you or your page, they’ll still see your listing pop up as they’re scrolling through their own feeds.
You won’t have to invest a lot of money when you market your property this way, and with social media advertising, you’ll get the chance to create custom advertisements specifically for your rental.
How it works is:
| You can set a budget for what you’re willing to pay. |
| You can be selective about the audience you’re hoping to reach. |
| You can also target multiple ads within the same group of targeted users. |
Here’s an example: Create one ad that targets retirees who are looking for low-maintenance housing, and then create another ad for prospective tenants looking at rentals in a good school district.
Which Social Sites Should You Engage?
You don’t want to simply paste your Zillow listing into a Facebook status update and hope for the best.
Different platforms will require different kinds of content.
Increase engagements and potential renters by utilizing the following social sites in the following ways:
| Facebook
This should be your first stop because it’s the most widely used social site across the board. On Facebook, you can post updates, talk to potential renters, collect reviews, and leverage the Marketplace feature to quickly list any properties you have for rent. You can also stay in front of people by sharing news stories relevant to your location, creating open houses for your property and inviting your followers, or even conducting polls and surveys. Another great Facebook tool? Groups. There are specialized groups that you will want to be part of when you’re renting out a home. Look for them. Love it or hate it – there are many great ways to use Facebook when you’re marketing a rental property. |
YouTube
This is where you’ll place your videos. Did you know that YouTube is the second-most popular platform (after Google) for searches? When people are looking for content, they’re often looking for videos. Make sure your videos show up when someone enters “rental homes in Monroe” into a YouTube search box. There’s no need to worry about creating and uploading a super-professional video. You want it to be a good video, but the jazzy music and the advanced art is unnecessary. As long as users can get a clean look at the home you’re renting out, you’re making good use of your YouTube airtime. Once you have a YouTube video created, you can use that same video and share it on other platforms. |
Twitter, aka X
There’s less community on this site, where you only have a limited number of characters with which to share a message. That doesn’t mean you cannot make good use of marketing. We see a lot of residential listings on X, and they’re usually able to incorporate links from other sites, such as YouTube and TikTok. It’s also pretty easy to share the posts that others are making on this platform. When you’re willing to throw some likes and shares at content that you find interesting and engaging, you are increasing your own presence on the site, and that’s likely to get you and your own posts more attention. You can reach a lot of potential tenants, as long as you can keep your posts short and utilize the necessary hashtags. |
| Pinterest
This is a visual platform that’s often used to share recipes, home ideas, designer trends, and other personal stories and vision boards. One of the benefits to this site is that it can make your photos look great. A lot of people come to this site for décor and design ideas, so you’re likely to connect with people inside of the real estate industry. You may encounter a pool of renters looking for ideas, so don’t be afraid to share your listing with them. |
Instagram
Known by the young people as “insta” you’ll want to make sure you’re on this site, because it seems to be where everyone is gathering these days. It’s also another deeply visual site, which means your photos will really hit. Be smart with the captions you’re using, and don’t be afraid to ask outright for likes and shares. You might get some interesting engagement, so check the platform frequently to avoid missing messages from potential tenants. |
TikTok
Like YouTube, this is a social media platform that’s very much video-driven. It provides comic relief for a lot of users, but you’ll find there’s some interesting and educational content out there, too. It doesn’t take much for a video to go viral on TikTok. When you post something that’s especially charming, you’ll lead people to your rental property, and you’ll be astonished at how many views and likes you get. |
The most important recommendation we can make when talking about social media marketing is to always engage with your audience. If someone leaves a favorable comment about your listing, don’t leave it hanging. Say something back, and invite them to schedule a showing.
We can tell you more. Please contact us at Real Estate Gladiators. We serve owners and investors in Monroe, Issaquah, Bellevue, Everett, Lake Stevens, Kirkland and other cities in and around King and Snohomish counties in Washington State.
