There's a new marketing tactic businesses are using to receive free marketing from their customers: it's called UGC. UGC or User generated content is rocking all industries, including real estate. User Generated Content or UGC is a marketing term used to describe any form of unpaid web content created by end users. An example could be an Instagram picture of a consumer using a company’s product.
How to Get Your Real Estate Clients to Market For You Through UGC
What is UGC?
Real Estate agents have been creating UGC for years. However, social media has increased the ability of agents to share UGC. Real Estate agents are unique in that they form personal relationships with their end users. Unlike major brands or retailers, agents meet 1:1 with each of their customers or clients. This increases their accessibility to UGC.How Agents Can Collect UGC?
When’s the last time you uploaded a buyer or seller’s photos to Instragram or Facebook? Buyers probably share photos of their new home, while sellers photos of their for sale sign. Anytime one of your clients shares a photo, ask their permission to re-publish it on your professional social media accounts. Also ask your client to tag you in the photo if they haven’t already done so. When asking for permission, send over past examples of your shared UGC content, so they know how you be sharing their personal photos online.Pro Tip: If your team or brokerage is especially social media savvy, consider creating a hashtag to collect UGC. The hashtag could include your name, your brokerage’s name, or your target market.
What are the Returns on UGC?
UGC is the purest referral out there. And an agent you know the best leads are referrals. It’s no brainer then that 92% of people trust a referral over branded content, according to Experticity. Authenticity is increasingly important. With mobile devices we have access to unbounded information at all times, meaning we seek the web first for reviews. Consumers trust online reviews, a 2013 study found that 79% of consumers admitted to trusting online reviews just as much as in-person reviews.
Pro Tip: UGC can also be re-purposed for multiple channels, not just social media. Upload crafty UGC photos to your website or lobby slideshow. You’ll prove your authenticity to leads when you share your past clients’ experiences.
You Can Still Generate Real Estate Leads without UGC
Looking for new ways to generate leads through social media? Zurple generates seller leads through hyper-local Facebook marketing services. We target seller leads in your desired zip codes. Our seller leads are also exclusive, meaning we don’t allow other Zurple agents to share the same Facebook ad space as you. To learn more about Zurple’s seller leads program, request a demo below.
