Except for aliens, everyone’s heard of Facebook and Twitter by now. Instagram is so 2014. Did you know there is another social media website that is growing by leaps and bounds, especially among women?
Here are some interested stats:
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1 in 5 women are on it
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It’s the 3rd most popular social media website in the U.S. according to Experian
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The fastest standalone website to eclipse the 10 million visitors per month mark, ever, according to PR Daily
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It has more referral traffic than Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube combined (Shareaholic)
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25 million unique visitors go to it every day
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A ‘Call-To-Action’ on the site increases engagement up to 80% (Pinerly Study)
Think this might be a good site to advertise your real estate business on? You have probably heard of it. If you’re a woman, you’ve probably used it. Now it’s time to use its power to increase your real estate business.
“It’s Like Fantasy Football for Women”
That’s how one lady described the website Pinterest. Pinterest works on the idea that you ‘Pin’ interesting information, photos and videos to your ‘message boards.’ Then you can either recall them later, or let people who follow you see them.
Just like other forms of social media, if you want to use Pinterest, just set up an account for yourself. You can use your other social media accounts such as Facebook or Twitter to create your Pinterest account. It’s a good idea to link accounts because:
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It’s easier.
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It keeps your profile consistent across various social media platforms, so business associates can keep track of you.
Once you have an account, you can start setting up your ‘boards’ and ‘pinning’ information to them. First you select a board category, and then you set up a custom message board within that category.
Check out what the most popular board categories and board names:
Think this site might be a good research tool as you rehab a flip or rental? Or maybe you can see what to look for in houses to flip or wholesale that would appeal to potential retail buyers (and hence, investors)?
Use Pinterest to Grow Your Real Estate Business
Just like the other social media websites, everything you ‘Pin’ becomes integrated into search engines. As people look at pictures of your wholesale houses, your flips, rentals and other properties, you will generate more exposure for them.
As you set up your account, think of different board names you can use to promote your business:
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Your Staff and Partners – Build some credibility for your business. Show people like your contractors, title agent, property managers, mortgage brokers, partners and others who help you.
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Showcase Properties – Not just the finished flips, current rental vacancies and/or wholesale deals you have available… put some past deals on there so you can highlight your experience level and are able to close.
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Customer Testimonials – Once again, build your credibility. Show people it’s good to do business with you. Put up some photos, videos and copy. Maybe a motivated seller is searching Pinterest, and they want to know they can trust you.
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Property Inventory – What was that paint color you used on your rental two years ago? Who gave you that great deal on windows again? What was the serial number of your tenant’s washing machine? You can Pin all sorts of information about a property to a message board. Tenants, contractors or buyers can then access that information to help them fix things.
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Area Amenities – Put up lots of information specific to the area where you do your investing. Tenants and buyers love to know about bus routes, restaurants, attractions, schools, crime rates, etc.
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Real Estate Investing Advice – If you’re a wholesaler, you will be working with other real estate investors. Show them you care. If you come across a great technique or idea, share it. Or I should say ‘Pin it.’ Maybe you could find some decent advice to Pin when you read Real Estate Mogul…
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Blog Post – If you run your own blog, Pin all your blog posts to attract attention to them – in addition to linking to them on Facebook and Twitter.
These are just some ideas of message boards you can create. If you have other ideas, we would love to hear about them in the comments section below.
When you Pin an item, Pinterest will let you put a photo, a description and/or a link. The Pins can be a great way to link people back to your website, or listing on other websites.
Be sure to put a ‘Call to Action’ on each of the Pins you do. It will greatly increase the rate people contact you to do some business.
Make it easy for others to Pin stuff from your website onto their boards. Just add the Pinterest button to your website. It’s just like a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn icon buttons that you see everywhere.
Pinterest also uses hashtags like the other social media sites. Using high-level hashtags like ‘Sell My House Quick’ coupled with hashtags for very specific areas will help generate the kind of traffic you want as an investor.
As a real estate investor, you know the importance of getting your advertising out to as many potential buyers and sellers as you can. Although it’s tough to keep track of all the ways to get your marketing out, consider Pinterest as another tool in your arsenal.
Pin Much?
Have you used Pinterest? Tell us about it.
Learn Social Media – Many people have been able to sell and/or rent houses strictly through websites like Facebook. Adapt your marketing to what is trending.
Step Up to the Plate, Guys – Pinterest isn’t just for girls. Don’t let pride get in the way of using effective tools. After all, which retail buyer makes the decision on whether to buy your house? Women do.
Track Your Results – What works, what doesn’t? Do more of what works – less of what doesn’t.
JP Moses
is a real estate investor in Memphis, TN, with experience ranging from land lording to note buying, rehabbing, and wholesaling. However, wholesaling is the area that he enjoys most and where he bring the most experience and expertise to his students.