By BDX Guest Blogger, Carol Morgan, mRELEVANCE
Is your home building business overwhelmed by social media? Many of you probably didn’t even hesitate before you answered, “Yes!” And, that’s completely understandable. In today’s society, builders now have to worry about more than just their website and sales center looking good. You also have to worry about Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest and every other social media site that your customers could possibly be looking for you on. However, just because a social media site is the latest and greatest or you have one or two potential customers on it, this does not mean that your business should actively use it. As with everything else you do as a home builder, social media takes time and dedication to build a product you can proudly put your name on.
Contemplating joining that new social media site you just read about? Stop! There are a few considerations you need to take into account before loading your profile picture. First, are any of your buyers actually using this new network? If the site is popular among your customers and competitors, then it might be worth your time, but if not, don’t waste your valuable time and resources. Second, is the site suited to your content? For example, joining YouTube won’t do you any good if you don’t actually have any videos of your communities or ads to share. Next, is there any SEO benefit to being on the site? Finally, do you think this site will actually last or is it just a passing fad? Not every single social network is going to stick around, so make sure the ones you choose are unique and simple enough that they stand a chance of survival.
Ultimately though, your company blog should remain at the center of your social media marketing strategy. Blogs provide a stable syndication hub for content. Additionally, they allow for better search engine optimization, help you to reach a wider audience, are more controllable and ultimately have a longer shelf life than other social media sites. Essentially, blogs are the starting point from which the rest of your social media content should come from, which means social media should never become more important than maintaining your company’s website or blog.
Social media is worth the time and effort as long as you know that the audience you are trying to reach is there to hear you. If you are a homebuilder looking to improve your social media marketing strategy or need help getting your blog up and running, contact Marketing RELEVANCE.
Carol Morgan Flammer is managing partner at Marketing RELEVANCE and author of BuilderBooks best-selling Social Media for Home Builders 2.0. Find her on Google+