PROPERTYSPARK ARTICLE

Social Listening and Sentiment Analysis: Predicting Real Estate Trends on Social Media

With the continuous changes in the social media landscape, understanding and responding to conversations on these platforms has become increasingly important. Social listening and sentiment analysis are two powerful techniques that help businesses gain insight into consumer trends and make informed decisions about their strategies.

The real estate industry is no different. Agents have continued to find new ways to utilize social media to connect with potential and existing clients. From using research to guide their marketing to focusing on how to best serve their community, keep reading for ideas on how to effectively use social media in the real estate industry.

What is Social Listening?

Social listening is when a company monitors social media for specific mentions about them and anything else relevant to their business. In real estate, it’s important for teams to stay on top of what clients are saying about their experiences. Through an analysis of conversations on social media, agents can gain insights into:

• The types of properties that people are searching for
• Whether there is an increase or decrease in demand for certain property types
• How people feel about a particular neighborhood or market area
• What factors could influence buying decisions

Real estate agents can stay ahead of the curve by monitoring conversations related to their team, competitors, and the overall real estate market and understand what buyers and sellers are looking for in their next transaction.

For example, by tracking conversations about green construction initiatives or confusion about new laws, teams can identify areas where they may want to focus marketing efforts and understand what people in the market are interested in.

What is Sentiment Analysis?

Social listening is when a company monitors social media for specific mentions about them and anything else relevant to their business. This allows companies to see how their marketing efforts are being received and make any necessary adjustments rather than relying solely on intuition.

In real estate, teams can monitor how people feel about a neighborhood or city. Positive sentiment towards a certain area could indicate potential growth in that location’s housing market in the near future — agents can jump on this and highlight their nearby properties and what makes the area stand out. Similarly, negative sentiment could be an early indicator of a declining area or market trend.

From an advertising perspective, if your team has just launched a new campaign to attract sellers, you can monitor how people respond. If most comments seem to find the ads annoying, it’s a good sign you might want to rethink how you’re communicating.

Potential Real Estate Social Media Trends

From the growth of TikTok to the continued power of Facebook, social media platforms are a key tool for real estate agents. These sites, along with an overall increased focus on videos and positive client experiences, are likely to play a huge role in upcoming trends.

Continued Growth of TikTok Use

TikTok’s popularity is skyrocketing, and real estate agents are taking note. As more people turn to the social platform for entertainment, real estate agents can leverage the platform’s wide reach for marketing purposes. TikTok has become an increasingly popular tool for businesses of all types, allowing users to create short-form videos that can showcase products or services.

For real estate agents, this provides a great opportunity to engage potential buyers and renters with content that is both educational and entertaining. Popular ideas for using the app include short and dynamic video tours of listings along with more personal snapshots of the team.

Increased Focus on Videos

n part due to TikTok’s growth, there’s an increased focus on videos as a primary source of content. Videos are more engaging than still photos, so they’re an easy way for real estate agents to catch a potential client’s attention. As mentioned above, video tours are popular ideas, but there are other ways to use videos as well, including:

• Market updates
• Answering frequently asked questions, whether ones that agents already knew of, or ones they’ve picked up on through social listening
• Video tours of communities, not just properties
• Speaking about the agents/team as a whole

As with most ideas for social media, the possibilities are nearly endless. Agents can experiment with video ideas and then use their research tools to see how they’re being received.

Facebook Isn’t Going Anywhere

Despite the rise of TikTok, Facebook remains a major presence in the social media landscape. It continues to add more users every year, so there’s no reason to step away from using it just because it’s not as new as other platforms.

Facebook offers an effective platform for real estate agents to connect with potential and existing clients. And while agents can post videos, it also opens up opportunities for photos ranging from listings and event advertisements to fun notes about the group and local interest topics.

Emphasis on Client Experience

By leveraging the potential of social media, real estate agents can emphasize client experience, creating meaningful connections with prospective buyers and sellers. This connection allows agents to build a trusting relationship with clients, understanding their needs and providing tailored solutions. Using humor in some posts while being understanding in others can go a long way.

To grow these relationships, agents should remember to put a personal touch in any direct conversations with clients, potential or existing. Plus, timely responses to questions on social media and providing smooth online experiences may give agents an edge over competitors as clients feel heard and valued.

Making the Most of Your Social Media Use in Real Estate

Social listening and sentiment analysis are invaluable for real estate agents. By gathering data from various angles including social listening, teams can pinpoint what clients are saying about their brand and act accordingly to stay competitive. Meanwhile, sentiment analysis can provide deeper insights into customer feelings, allowing agents to better understand how they should modify their strategies. With the right decisions, social media can be one of the best tools in an agent’s toolbox for getting clients.