Are You Making These Social Media Mistakes?

Are you tired of pouring hours into social media only to hear crickets? You’re not alone. Between crafting the "perfect" post, trying to keep up with algorithms, and wondering if anyone is even paying attention, it’s easy to feel like social media is a time-sucking black hole.

The good news? Social media isn’t broken—your strategy might just need a tune-up. In this episode of The Unstoppable Real Estate Agents Podcast, we break down the biggest mistakes real estate agents make online and share actionable ways to turn your feed into a lead-generation machine.

Key Takeaway

• The Social Media Trap: Why posting listings, quotes, and market stats is leaving you on "read"—and why real estate is ultimately a relationship business.
• Mistake #1: The Walking MLS Sheet: Stop treating your grid like a listing inventory. Learn why people log onto social media and how to show up as a human first, agent second.
• Mistake #2: The Feast-or-Famine Cycle: Why inconsistent posting kills your momentum and how batching content and leveraging tools like Canva can save your sanity.
• Mistake #3: Zero Engagement: Social media is meant to be social. Discover the 10-minute daily habit that builds trust and visibility for free.
• Mistake #4: Missing the Call to Action (CTA): Give your audience a roadmap. Why a "Just Listed!" caption isn't enough without a clear next step.
• Mistake #5: Shying Away from Video: Why video is the #1 trust-builder and how to start small without needing a Hollywood production crew.
• Pro Tip: Why you don't have to carry the content creation weight alone, and how delegation can free up your time to focus on closing deals.

Resources & Links:
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Read the Blog: https://www.kimhughes.com/are-you-making-these-social-media-mistakes/
Watch the Video: https://youtu.be/GZo-LDY00Hw

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Additional Resources:

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Transcript

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Are you looking for a solution to your social media because you do not see it working for you? So there could be a hundred things wrong with your social media channel. So let's kind of go over some things that to make sure that you're doing it. And if not, we're going to give you some tips that you can include to see if that doesn't drive your analytics up. Welcome to the Unstoppable Real Estate Agents Podcast. I'm your host and real estate productivity expert, Kim Hughes. Join me as we focus on real strategies and implement real solutions designed for you to achieve major success in your business and life while getting you organized. So the first thing that we always want to do is make sure that you know your profile is updated. You have a good cover for your page so that everybody knows what you do. You do have a personal page and you do have a business page. So let's make sure to keep those separated. They are not there to know about your listings. So let's keep that on your business page on Facebook. But Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, all of that would work or X. So the problem that a lot of people run into is that it's just repetition and you don't put any thought into it. And as a good social media manager, you should um create the content that sounds like it's coming from you. And that is not a cookie-cutter system. That is a customized social media marketing manager. There are several different levels of social media managers. Um, so it just depends on what you're really trying to do. If you're not trying to build your audience, then I just wouldn't do it. So one of the things that agents feel like I think is not being true to the agent is telling them, oh, if we do A, B, and C, we're gonna build your following and you're gonna get this and you're gonna get that. And um, you know, your analytics are gonna be great. We're gonna work with the algorithm and they say all the right things and they and they just get so excited for you. And social media can be fun. Um, I I enjoy the chase. Um, I post on my profile. I have a social media manager. She takes care of all my postings on my business with my input. You know, I mean, she's done it for so long now that she really doesn't have to ask for my input because she knows my personality and she knows my style and she knows what I'm offering and she knows my business inside and out. So that is going to be the key. So if you don't want to do your own social media and you want to hire someone to do it, you really need to make sure that that person knows you. Or if they don't know you personally already, then they need to understand what you're looking for. They need to understand who you are. What do you enjoy doing? Because when you put things out that you enjoy, people gravitate. So if I am a big gardener, um, I'm gonna post a lot of pictures about my flowers. I'm gonna talk about my gardening and all of that. I'm gonna attract other people that love to see my flowers. They may not be gardeners, but they love flowers. They love, they love everything that it offers. And so that's where I want you to realize that people are not just following you for real estate. They're following you because of a personality. So let's make sure that we give them that personality, right? Because you don't want to be one person on social media. And then when they meet with you, you're a totally different person. Okay. So let's really focus on you as the agent, the brand in the community. You are, you know, you are the girl, the guy that you contact when you want to buy and sell in whatever community you live in. But you also want to use social media to show your clients how you market. So, one, on one side of social media, we are wanting to build our um following. We want to let people know that, hey, I am the real estate agent for you. I'm the authority in my area, reach out to me. But you've got to build that trust. Um, and unfortunately, there's a lot of spam and uh and and negative things that go on with social media. So the way that we're gonna build that trust with your audience is we're going to talk about things that are going on in the community. Um, yes, you're gonna post your listings, you're gonna post your closings, you're gonna post everything that goes on in the real estate life that you have. So you could have a funny story about, hey, I showed a property today, we opened the door, there was a snake, you know, those kind of things are funny. And so, you know, as long as nobody gets hurt. Um, but you want to say it in a way that's storytelling that people enjoy, you know. So um, the reason why I say snake is because I have had a snake in my house. And so um, you know, there's a it's kind of comical because you're scared to death, especially if it's a venomous snake. But a lot of us don't know the difference, so we're just scared of all of them, and they all die. And so um what you want to do is then follow people that are in your community. So if Sue Jones is following you and she's one of your past clients, you need to go to her profile, look at who she's who's connected to her, and then look at their profile and decide do you want to follow them? Don't just follow people. Look at who they are. Do they do they have anything in common with you? Um, or do uh maybe their picture just gravitated to you and you went, you know what, that person looks like a person I'd like to get to know. Then you follow them. And then you mess you you put a comment on their Facebook once they accept your invitation, I mean your request, and you tell them, say, hey, Sue, it was great to connect. I'm so excited. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better. That's all you have to say, you know, because she knows that you don't know her, she doesn't know you, but nobody else knows that. And so then when you put it out there, I'm looking forward to getting to know you better, it's now all about them, not you. You don't need to say, I'm a real estate agent. You don't need to say I have a hundred properties for sale. You just need to say, I am looking forward to getting to know you. That's all you got to say. And then they are gonna be going, oh wow, you know, and then people are gonna see that comment and they're gonna go, well, who is that? And then they're gonna click on you, they're gonna get to know you. If they like what they see, they're gonna follow you. So that's how it works. It's all about, you know, building your reputation, it's building your authority and the trust. And so that's where you need to focus. Now, you are a real estate agent. So of course you're going to promote properties, you're gonna put out your market stats, you're gonna talk about, you know, events and things that go on in the community, but you need to also make sure that your message is clear. So, for example, if you're going to put your market stats out on social media, I always say, you'll hear me say this every time do a video with the market stats on your opinion. I say this every time, and I still see nobody doing it. And it's because you probably don't feel comfortable behind the camera, and that's okay. Just do it. Just do it, okay? You will feel better and you'll be very proud of yourself that you did that. But you know what? When you're looking at those market stats, write down what you want to say and then put it in front of you so that you don't forget, you know, and it's okay to look at your notes. We're not perfect, and and I'm always looking at notes. I mean, if you could see, I've got notes over here like all over the place. I've got them on my laptop, I've got sticky notes and everything. Because I want to make sure that when I'm talking to you, that you walk away with something of value and that it's not a waste of your time. So that's the way you need to look at it when you do social media, pick up a phone, whatever it is that you're gonna do to build your audience. Um, you need a strategy. So the strategy that I'm talking about is what are you gonna post? Um, when are you gonna post? How often are you gonna post, and how consistent can you be? You have to commit. So if you, the agent, are doing your own social media, you have to be realistic in what you're gonna post and when you're gonna post. Because people want to see you be consistent. Okay. It's that is the name of the game. So it's kind of like I tell my agents if I'm sending out your newsletter, we're gonna pick a day and a time that it goes out. So maybe the last Thursday of each month at eight o'clock in the morning. Consistently, every month, that's when it's gonna go out, okay? Because then you're you're training your audience to know when you're going to deliver something. And that is what's gonna make them trust you. It's gonna make you the authority in your market. Now, if you um I I I can't say that agents really post bad content, but be very careful of what you are posting. You know, you don't want to be negative. You everything you post should be a positive. If something happens in a store or a restaurant or something in your community, don't post about it if it was negative. Don't post about, you know, negative things. Um, we can get enough of that on the news. So just don't do that. Um, and then posting habits. Okay, so your posting habits are number one is not being consistent, not uh backing up your information. So, like again, if you're putting out your market stats, you should have an opinion of that. And that's why I say do the video, because video is going to make people gravitate, trust, and look at you as the authority in their market. So make sure that that content that you're delivering is really good content. Um, and then not engaging. So if somebody is has posted, um, you know, let's say they that you're putting out a weekend event and somebody is posting about it, saying, Oh, this is such a great event, I can't wait, you know, something like that. You need to go back and respond to them. And that way you're telling your algorithm that you're paying attention to your social media. When they see somebody posting, so it looks like this. So when you post and then somebody responds and says something, and then you come back and say something, now the algorithm is looking at that as the conversation, it's picking it up, it's going to give you more um attraction. So keep that going. Um, if you have a team and you your team is not invested in the social media, you need to find out why. Because if you do have a team, they should be posting along with you. So if they have a new listing, everybody should be posting about it on the team. Maybe not the same day. Maybe you spread it out, you know, like, okay, well, Joe got a new listing. It's going on the market today. We're doing social media. Then tomorrow, Melanie is gonna post about it. Then the next day, somebody else is gonna post about it. And that keeps it going. And then people are clicking on that link to go to the website to look at the listing, and that's giving you inbound linking, which is giving you SEO on your own website. So there's this whole strategy of how it all works, but it doesn't work if your team is not gonna do it. Um, so that could be something that you probably have not implemented into your um business strategy with your team, but going forward, that could be something that you implement. You create the system. When you bring in a new agent, this is what they have to do. If they come to you and say, well, they're not doing it, well, they came in before I made my changes. You know, that's really what you do. It's your business. You tell them what they need to do. And if they're not willing to comply, then they need to move on. I have seen so many teams be so negative because of one person. You could have a 13 team, um, you know, and one person on that team can take everybody down. So make sure that we have team players. Um, like, for example, my team. My team is phenomenal. I mean, I can't tell you how phenomenal they are. They are there, whether it's business, personal. Um, if they have to go the extra mile, they're gonna do it without asking because they're so in tune to what our agents need and what we need to do to help our agents in all aspects of their business, not just social media. But if you are not invested, then your team will not be invested, nobody will care, and then you're losing out on opportunities. And, you know, when you have a team of agents, we should all build each other up. We should all have each other's back, we should be rooting each other on and, you know, celebrating the wins and being there to hold their hand when they don't win. That's what a team does, and that's my team. They, I can't even imagine what I would do without them. But I will say this in the 25 years in business, the team I have right now took a time. It took some time to get to these people. Um, I fired people after one day, I've fired people after one year. I have had to move people around in my in my company because they weren't suited in the position that they came in at, but they were better suited for this position. So these are the things that I look at constantly because I am a people person. I want everybody on my team to enjoy their job. I want them to, you know, I'm not saying they have to enjoy it 100%, but they enjoy it to where they get up every morning and they give the client and me 150%. And that says a lot to me about the people that I have on my team. Um, that is an invested team. If I wanted them to post on their own social media um things about my company, they would. I don't ask them to, but they would if I did. I don't need them to. That's one thing. Is it would not benefit them to promote my business because we live in different parts of the country. So um the the thing that I want you to walk away with is, you know, um, you got to give your audience something to think about. So, like maybe give them a problem, you know, like um, you know, my air conditioner quit working. Well, what's the first thing that you do? You check your air filter, you know, and let me show you how to change that air filter. So, what you might do is show them a video of you changing your own air filter, um, how to look for the right air filter. You know, these are simple things that you and I take it for granted, but we had to learn, somebody had to teach us. So, you know, what if this new homeowner doesn't know how to do that? So these are the little things that you can make videos on. You could link to articles or other people's videos to learn how to do these things. So this is where you want to be a problem solver. So you want to look at your social media as, you know, who are you connected to? What services are you giving them? Yes, you're a real estate agent, but there's more to being a real estate agent than just posting listings. Um, what is your procedure? Do you have a system in place for posting? Um, you're gonna post personal and you're gonna post business. So if you're out jogging and you've got your dog and, you know, and everything, take a picture. I mean, take a video of you jogging down the road. You know, if um if you're at the baseball game with your kids, you know, um, you don't have to videotape the kids, but you can videotape, you know, kind of scan over the the bleachers and the the um concession stand and the parking lot and make a comment that, you know, what a great evening to be at the ballpark. You know, little things like that you can post that will just do so much for your social media and people will gravitate to it. So, what are three things that you can do today? Um, you can define what you want on your social media. So you can give, say, five things that you want to be content pillars and you know, focus on that. And then, you know, um create a calendar, batch it, and then create it. So, like with me, I know my team will laugh when I say this, but with me, I my goal is to do four videos every week. Um, and you know, so what I'm doing is I'm creating videos, turning them into a podcast and then a blog. And I'm that is one of my batching things that I do every week. And I try to stay ahead. And so, you know, it is good to get ahead to batch because when you really think about it, if you batch, you know, um, say you do 10 videos and you batch them, they're there for you. So you may have a something emergency comes up, you may be sick, you may have to go out of town unexpectedly, you may be doing, you may have gotten swamped in the business and you just haven't had time to video. You have 10 sitting right here. So let's go in there and pull those and put them out there. So always stay ahead of yourself, okay? Um, that is going to give you a lot of relief. Um, because when you're trying to do things at the last minute, there's a lot of stress, and sometimes you get, ah, you know, and it doesn't come across the right way. So think about what you're posting and create that calendar so that it will keep you accountable as well as you can see that routine along with that system. And then if you're not using Chat GPT, I highly recommend that you do. Um so you can train Chat GPT to know who you are, what you do, talk about your market, ask it for, you know, things that are going on in your community, um, it can help you a lot and save you a lot of time. Um, I always say get the free version. I don't think an agent would really need to pay um for chat GPT unless you were looking into some deep, deep um content things and all that. But if you have someone doing your social media, then they will have the chat GPT. Like with us, we pay for it. Um and so that way my whole team has access to it if they need it. And, you know, but I'm not saying the to pay for it, I'm saying try it out for free. And then um, you know, the four things that you can do every day, and that is to share your content. Um, share your content to your personal and to your to your, I'm sorry, um, share your content to your page and then do a story, um, something like that. Post your stories of single edited photos and then respond to all the comments. Um, you can do that daily while you're having coffee. Um, share the business content to groups on your personal page. So some of these things you can really take advantage of. And um, if you're in any any groups on Facebook, um, I would highly recommend that you get into those groups and make yourself known. Um, it could be real estate groups, it could be community groups, especially the community in your area, because you want people to notice your name. They you want them to see you, they want you want them to hear what you have to say. And then um, other agents in these real estate groups, they would be great to network with. Um, you never know where somebody's moving from. And then learn from them. You know, I mean, we're we're not gatekeepers. We don't need to be the gatekeepers. Um if you have a great tip that helps you in your business, share it with these groups that are also real estate agents because when you share something, they're gonna remember that and they're gonna share back. Um, people will remember. And so just know that. I had a client, oh gosh, I think it was like 2007, and she was in some, it wasn't on social media, she was in a community thing, and she was introduced to her, and I forget the whole story, but you know, she was very nice, met the lady. Um, you know, she gave her her card and said, if you ever need any help, you know, with your real estate needs, I'd love to be able to talk to you about it. And so that I think was in 07. And then in 2020, she that woman reached out to that agent and was ready to list her property. And guess how much that property was? It was over five million dollars. So, what you may do one day, you may think nothing about it, like, you know, no big deal, never probably see them again. And then all of a sudden they call you and they have a listing for you. And that was the reason was is because. Because the impact that this agent made on this woman, she wasn't pushy, she that's just not her personality anyway. But she um, you know, she listened to this woman and she talked to this woman, but she let the woman carry the conversation. And that is what I want you to look at when you're on social media is create the conversation, get people to gravitate to it and to get them to take a call of action on it. Um, you know, so if you're posting a video on how to put in an air filter, you know, you might say, Well, what funny stories do you have to share about your air filters? You know, something like that. Because everybody's got a funny story. And um, so, you know, when it comes to social media, there's a lot to learn, but I don't want you to feel overwhelmed by it. It is going to be there. It's a it's a great thing to have, but it's also a bad thing to have. And I don't want you wasting your time going down the rabbit hole. Get on, check your messages, check your um for people that have commented, for anything that you need to take care of business on, and then get off and go on. Okay. That's what I'd like for you to do. Now, if you want to take some actions that I've talked about, but you're like, I don't have time, I don't know how, then reach out to me. I am offering a uh free social media audit um up to three accounts. So if you would like to take advantage of that, click on the link below. Let's schedule a call. And then um, when we get on that call, I would like for you to um have your three social media accounts that you want me to review. And I can either look at them while we're on the phone or I can do it when and send you my report on it. Um, the next thing is that if you want to have someone help you with your social media, we're here. We're experts in social media. I mean, there's so many of us on that. And then, you know, if you are questioning anything, just let us know. We'll be happy to help you. But the thing that I want you to do right now when you get finished listening to this podcast or watching this YouTube video, is take action. Um just go over to your, you know, wherever you gravitate to, whether it's Facebook, Instagram, whatever, and look at your followers and see who's following you. And then are people commenting? Are people liking? Um, what's going on with the with the um with the going, you know, the communication. If you don't have a YouTube channel, I highly recommend that you create one and start putting your videos on there as well. And that will give you a lot of traction. I literally um I'm doing a test on YouTube, and I have a YouTube channel that nobody knows that I have. And so I'm testing it, and I put a video up the other day, I think it was Sunday, and by Monday, I had over 1.4 uh thousand people who had watched my video. It was just the strategy that I put in there. So the strategy is working. I've just got to play with it and tweak it a little bit more. But you know, these are the things that we do. We are always playing around with what works, what doesn't work, because social media is changing every day. And so just stay on top of it. Find somebody that is really good at social media and follow them and learn from them and learn from YouTube. YouTube is an educational channel, and I would rather be on YouTube than anything. So go over there, look up some things, and kind of start thinking about a strategy if you don't already have one. And if you do, what do you need to do to tweak it to make it better? Okay. So hopefully you've walked away with some tips here. If you have any questions, please feel free to let us know. I really would appreciate it if you would give us a thumbs up on our YouTube video and follow us. And I would love for you to give me a review on the um on the podcast. So thanks so much. I look forward to seeing you next time. Have a great day. Bye. Thank you so much for tuning in. And if you know someone, and I bet you do, who would appreciate this podcast, please share it with them. As a reminder, this podcast can be delivered directly to your favorite device by using the subscribe links you can find in the show notes below or over at unstoppable realestateagents.com. Remember, it takes as much energy to wish as it does to plant. Have a great day.