The top source of new business for real estate agents is client referrals, according to a recent RISMedia article that cites a new report from Borrell Associates Inc.
However, while referrals do bring in new clients, in today’s world it’s vital to attract new business using a wide variety of approaches. The survey also suggests that social media has been gaining value as a lead-generation tool over the past few years.
According to the Borrell report, “The percentage of advertisers selecting social media as a leading source of new customers” has gone from 21% in 2011 to 44% in 2016. This shows a dramatic rate of growth over referrals, which grew only slightly from 65% to 66% over the same time period.
Some 88% of real estate agents now have some type of social media presence, and 74% advertise on at least one social media site—a sizeable majority of them on Facebook. The report also suggests that Facebook is likely to become the social media network of choice for agents by 2017.
However, many agents are still challenged by the need to maintain regular connections with prospects through their social media networks; many are finding it difficult to spend the time required to keep the audiences informed and engaged.
If anything, social media will only continue to grow. As it gains traction as one of the most effective ways to attract potential customers, those agents who are not social media savvy may need to adapt and investigate new and more efficient ways of using it.