Not Understanding How People Use Social Media
- The Orange Stack
- Feb 26, 2018
- 3 min read
Social media is in use by hundreds of millions of people in the United States alone. These are people from every race, background, religion, etc. What is it about social media that brings this diverse set of people together on one platform? Why do they use it so devotedly?
As a real estate agent, getting the answers to these questions will be the difference between connecting with your audience and getting ignored.
Luckily for you, we have prepared some answers to these questions that will show you why people use social media. These answers come from a study conducted by researchers at Berry College. Here are the top ten things people use social media for:
Social Interaction: Of the respondents, 88% said they use social media to interact socially with friends, family, colleagues, and old and new acquaintances.
Seeking information: Another large chunk of respondents, 80%, used social media to look for information. This is information related to sales, deals, promotions, etc. They also sought information about birthdays, events, parties, etc. Information about businesses also factored together with instructional information such as how-to tutorials.
Passing time: 76% of respondents used social media as a pastime.
Entertainment: 64% of respondents used social media as a source of entertainment including games, videos, memes and pictures, comments, etc.
To relax: In addition to using social media as a pastime, 60% of respondents said they used the social media platform to relax. This was through watching videos, reading posts and comments, etc.
Express opinions: Slightly over half of the respondents, 56%, used social media as an avenue to express their opinions. This was through posts, comments, shares, etc.
Talking points: 56% of respondents used social media to find things they can talk to others about.
Convenience: 52% of respondents said they used social media simply because it was easily available to use at any time and any place.
Sharing information: 40% of respondents said they used social media to share information about themselves and others. This could be about an upcoming wedding, birthday, relocation, etc.
Surveillance: 32% of people used social media to surveil or watch other people and things. This could be celebrities, brands, news networks, etc.
Of all the reasons above, six out of ten were relational uses of the platform. What does this mean for you? It means all your content must be tailored to relational utility.
If you post information about an upcoming open house, don’t post it as an ad on a messaging board. Instead, think of how you would talk to a bunch of friends and ask them over for lunch. This kind of relational messaging is what works on social media. Unfortunately, most real estate agents mistake social media for a messaging board and spam their followers with endless generic (spam) messages.
To get a genuine following a build a community around your brand, recognize social media for what it really is, a place people go to have relational conversations with each other. A good place to start is by listening to what people are talking about.
Scan your network for posts related to real estate, then figure out how to deliver value through a personalized and relational post of your own.
Running fun quizzes and competitions are also a terrific way to engage your followers. If you just remember to keep it relational, then you will be using the platform in the right way.
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