What are the big four social networks?

First it was Facebook.

Then, everyone you know joined Twitter.

Now Instagram is blowing up our mobile phones.

Also, whatever happened to Vine? 
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Why are there so many types of social media and why should we all use them? They each have very specific purposes.

I’m not here to tell you to drop everything and go make 10 new social networking profiles because it’s very, very important to be where you can be present online.

You’re better off having one active real estate social media profile than you are having 27 dormant ones.

But, if your 2019 business goals include lead generation, audience engagement or brand awareness then you need to be doing social media marketing for your real estate business.

If you're new to the game, here is a quick cheat sheet for you.

​This might get a little long, but hopefully will be helpful as you build your real estate business online.

The Big 4 

The social networks that I hear most often in conversation are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Twitter: Think of having everyone you know (and some that you don’t) in one room, talking to each other about different things. That is Twitter in a nutshell. Twitter is an interactive, and conversational social network where engagement is critical. 

Twitter is not about pushing out an endless stream of your own content. It's about making connections with people who could become future leads or referral sources for your business. 

What Twitter is great for: 

• Making personal connections with brands and individuals that you admire.
• Sharing your expertise and “thought leadership” with the general public. 
• Keeping up with industry trends. 
• Joining conversations relevant to your brand and business.  

Instagram: If you can get past all of the wannabe Kardashians, you'll find that Instagram is actually quite useful for brand building. Your brand is who you are and using Instagram, you can communicate that in a very visual way that appeals to the voyeuristic side of human nature. 

In an industry where visual content -- beautiful design, smart advice, bright clear photography and engaging video -- is paramount to your online success, Instagram is a great opportunity to position your brand creatively and show off what makes you you. 

What Instagram is great for: 

• Sharing media:  bring an event to life with Instagram Stories. It's social media's answer to live streaming (RIP Periscope). 
• Leveraging clever hash tags to promote your photos to new audiences. 
• Get to know your community -- going "live" can help you bring your brand to life in ways that still images cannot... 

Facebook: Friends, friends of friends and high school friends who were never actually your real friends.  Everyone is on Facebook, right? I like to think of Facebook as the modern day version of the address book: for some people it's an intimate list but for others, it's a catalog of people you have crossed paths with in life. 

​The social network boasts more than 2.3 billion active users daily, is home to 40+ million business pages and over a billion dollars in advertising revenue every quarter. That is a huge opportunity -- it means that not only are brands buying ads, but people are clicking on those ads and it’s generating leads and revenue.

What Facebook is great for: 

• Six degrees of separation. Make connections with clients, prospects and partners.
• Joining open/public groups for local recommendations and community discussion.  
• Targeted paid content distribution -- set flexible budgets and choose exactly who sees your content. 
• Drive traffic to your website. Facebook is a huge source of referral traffic for brands and businesses. 

LinkedIn: This is the "grown-up" social network - the professional one. It's where you post your bright and shiny headshot and find out what is going on in your industry.

LinkedIn is most commonly used for business-related networking, including job searches. Approximately half a billion people worldwide are using LinkedIn for professional networking. Those people are all prospective clients. They might not be coming to LinkedIn to search for listings, but it is where they will go to validate your professional expertise and acumen. 

Think about it -- people probably search/Google you before they hire you, so if your LinkedIn page ranks in that search you'll want to be certain that it is up to date and accurate. 

What LinkedIn is great for:

• Finding groups of likeminded people with your same professional interests. 
• Connecting with professionals in your industry and adjacent industry. 
• Sharing and discovering content relevant to real estate. 
• Blogging! You can post long-form content on LinkedIn if you want to try your hand at writing blog posts, but are not ready to commit to your own domain, website, etc.  ​​
  

So many more! 

Even though Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram might be all the rage right now, it's almost a guarantee that they won't stay that way. There are so many other sites out there where people spend time, and it's only a matter of time before something new emerges. 

Pinterest: The official social network for "pretty things" Pinterest is basically a visual, digital Pinboard. It it a good referral traffic source and hub for sharing and gathering ideas and inspiration -- especially for food, fashion, home and DIY.

Snapchat: I think of it as Instagram's little sister. It enjoyed some early infamy with over 200 million users in 2015, but the company is losing money, losing talent, and Instagram scooped most of the features that make Snapchat what it is, and in my opinion they are doing it better (minus the filters that let you give yourself sunglasses and unicorn ears). 

YouTube: A massive video content platform with a highly influential digital marketplace, YouTube is used most effectively with Facebook and Twitter for content amplification. If you're making videos, a presence on YouTube is non-negotiable but take the time to study up on video content optimization and structure for max results. 

Tumblr: Intended for short-form blogging, Tumblr can be a good stepping stone to blogging. It's also a fun place to discover new content, with some recently updated filtering options.  While there aren't any major downsides to Tumblr, I think most people have moved on to different platforms and it isn't the quirky, creative destination it once was.  

Overall, I believe that instead of jumping ship from the tried and true platforms to the newest, sparkliest social networking site, a better strategy is to pick a few that you can focus on and spend time there, stay current, and adapt as new features roll out. 

A version of this post originally appeared on my portfolio site.