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Please forgive me in advance! I do understand that there is a difference between Realtors and real estate agents, but you may catch me using those terms interchangeably since that is not my world. Pinterest can be used successfully by anyone who is seeking to expand their reach and generate leads. I’ve written this post to everyone who could benefit from using Pinterest for real estate, regardless of their professional designation.

Why use Pinterest for real estate marketing?

As a real Estate agent, you probably already know the value of making connections through social media. Chances are, you’ve established yourself on one or more of these platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Maybe you’ve even developed a substantial following! If you’re a real estate agent who hasn’t gotten around to Pinterest yet, you’re not alone. It’s the amplification channel that is most regularly overlooked by real estate agents!

Pinterest is often miscategorized as a social media channel, which gives the impression that your Pinterest marketing strategy should be similar to how you use social media for business. That’s a perilous approach to Pinterest. If you treat it like social media, your strategy is doomed to fail. Pinterest is actually a visual search and discovery platform, so it’s a search engine, not a social media channel. It’s much more like Google with beautiful images (a perfect place for real estate agents, BTW)! Your methods need to account for the fact that you’re trying to get your content seen in search results, not social media.

Since Pinterest is a search engine, you need to use it like one. Even if you’re new to the world of online real estate marketing, you’ve probably already heard the term SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Pinterest has its own form of SEO, and if you learn how to properly optimize your Pinterest profile, it can easily become the biggest source of traffic to your website. Pretty cool, right? More on that later.

Many people think Pinterest is just a medium for food, fashion, and travel. That’s a myth that just won’t die! Pinterest has easily become the number one source of traffic referrals for websites in countless other niches too. When done right, a Pinterest for Business profile can drive significant traffic for anyone who consistently creates original content. If you publish blog posts even once a week for your real estate website and create “Pinnable images” to go along with them, you will always have plenty of original content to catch the attention of your target audience on Pinterest.

By establishing your personal brand on Pinterest, you’ll gain access to a highly-valued, decision-minded demographic. Please take a moment to read this article for all the reasons that Pinterest is so unbelievably powerful for Business. After reading more about how Pinterest works and why it’s so successful at generating traffic and leads, you’ll want to open a business account before the end of the work day! In the meantime, here just a few of the statistics that have inspired so many other real estate agents to establish themselves on Pinterest:

• Your target audience is already on Pinterest, waiting for you to find them. 250 million people use Pinterest every single month!
• Pinterest reaches 83% of US women ages 25-54, and let’s face it – they’re not called the “deciders” for nothing. Women control over 80% of household spending in the US, and they traditionally have an enormous amount of input when a couple buys a new home!
• 50% of new Pinterest accounts belong to men (and that number is rising). You’ll reach this demographic more than ever too!
• Pinterest users are highly educated and have more average spending power than any social media platform. Half of all users report an annual income of $50,000/year, and 40% of all Pinners make six-figure incomes.

It’s no wonder that Pinterest is an absolute goldmine of traffic for so many real estate agents. Even though there are other agents already crushing it on Pinterest, there is still plenty of room for you to do the same! As I mentioned before, most real estate agents have not taken the time to learn Pinterest. This creates a perfect opportunity to establish yourself on the platform and capture the attention of your target audience.

Ready to start using Pinterest for real estate? Keep reading for the best ways to utilize Pinterest for reaching a whole new pool of potential real estate clients!

1. Open a Pinterest for Business Account.

When you open a Pinterest for Business Account or convert your personal account to a business profile, you’ll get access to all of Pinterest’s business-only features. These include analytics, Rich Pins, and the use of Promoted Pins. If you’re completely new to Pinterest, read this before setting up your new account. If you already have a personal account and you’re ready to upgrade to Pinterest for Business, follow these steps.

2. Optimize your profile.

When setting up your business account, post a current headshot that’s professional, yet friendly. Personal connections are so important to establishing trust with potential clients, especially when their first interaction with you is online. Your target audience would much rather see your smiling face than an old listing photo or business logo.

You’ll also have enough room to add some keywords after your name. This is a great way to optimize your profile for search, so I highly recommend taking this step. After entering your professional name, try adding a divider (like the vertibar) and a couple of keywords related to your local area or niche. This will make your profile more searchable and help you to stand out.

Finally, write a brief bio for the “About” section of your profile, letting people know what you do and how they can contact you. Here are a few examples of how other real estate agents have optimized this space:

3. Create 10-15 Pinterest boards to showcase your local area and niche.

Imagine your Pinterest boards as being the different categories of information you want to share on Pinterest. Think about your ideal client and some of the topics they might be searching in your niche. Create a Board for each topic, and fill each board with at least 10 relevant Pins. These Pins can be saved from other content creators if you don’t have any original content of your own to share yet. Your goal on Pinterest should be to serve the needs of your audience, and one way to do this is by curating content from other sources that would be of interest to your ideal client.

Create your Pinterest boards with the interests of your ideal client in mind. Build your boards around topics that are related to real estate, your local area, and other associated subjects. If you converted from a personal account, this might mean that you have some personal boards that are not going to help you attract the right people to your profile. Don’t worry though… you won’t have to delete all of those baked oatmeal recipes! Any board that doesn’t align with your real estate business can be moved to “Secret.” Your Pinterest audience won’t be able to see these boards, but you will.

Because real estate is a very location-specific business, it’s important to establish yourself as a local expert with Pinterest boards that highlight your area. Show people what it’s like to live in your community by creating locally themed boards for categories such as restaurants, outdoor adventures, and kid-friendly activities. Make it known to potential clients that you know the area better than anyone else.

While there is no magic number of Pinterest boards for optimal engagement, it is definitely possible to have too many. You do NOT need hundreds of boards. In fact, there is evidence that the ideal number is somewhere between 50 and 60. There is really no benefit to having any more boards than that. In fact, having too many boards can overwhelm your audience and make your account more difficult to manage. You should definitely aim to build up your profile from your initial 10-15 boards, though.

Try to add a few boards every week until you’ve covered most of the topics that would interest your audience. If you need some inspiration or are looking for more ideas about what kind of Pinterest boards real estate agents should create, you can get a free list of over 100 Pinterest board ideas for real estate agents by opting in below.

Please don’t use all of those 100+ boards, though! Keep your profile manageable by choosing the boards that would best suit your ideal client and limit your number of boards to 50-60.

When you name new boards for your profile, you’ll have the opportunity to write a brief description for each one. This is a great chance to use the power of Pinterest SEO to target your ideal audience. For each board name and description, select one or two specific keywords that will attract the right type of person to your profile. Create some local boards using the name of your city or metro area, so that your boards will appear in local search results. The selective use of hashtags is another Pinterest-approved method of helping people find your content. I recommend including just a few hashtags in your board descriptions, including one branded hashtag.

Pinterest SEO is a pretty complex topic of its own, so I won’t get into too much detail here. If you’d like a more in-depth guide to optimizing your Pinterest profile and all its content, you’ll find everything you need to know over here. This guide to Pinterest SEO is definitely worth a read, but if you’re just trying to get your account set up in a hurry, Pin it now and read it later. You can always go back and give your profile the heavy-duty SEO treatment once you have it set up. You definitely don’t want to skip this important step if you’re hoping for people to find you on Pinterest!

4. Create at least one Pinnable image for every blog post.

Because Pinterest is a visual search engine, creating stunning images will become an indispensable part of your Pinterest marketing strategy. While it’s true that keywording strategies can get your Pin found in search results, it’s up to your image to stand out in the feed so that other Pinners are compelled to click through to your website. Luckily for you, real estate agents have access to some of the most beautiful images around. With the right text overlay, tasteful branding and a compelling call to action, you can transform your photos into the type of Pins that get a lot of attention on Pinterest.

The first rule of Pinterest image creation is to go long! Create long, vertical images for Pinterest, because they get significantly more engagement than landscape and square Pins. This means that for each one of your blog posts, you’ll likely need to create a smaller horizontal image to be featured on your blog in addition to a larger vertical image to be optimized for Pinterest. Canva, the photo-editing tool that I use to create my own images, offers a Pin template that measures 735px x 1102px. This template fits the recommended aspect ratio of 2:3 and will keep you within the acceptable limits of Pin sizing.

Like your boards, each Pin you create will need a description as well. This is (you guessed it!) another opportunity to add keywords and make your image more searchable. If you read the Pinterest SEO guide I recommended, then you already know how to write a captivating, keyword-rich Pin description. The easiest way to attach Pin descriptions to your images is by using a plug-in like Social Warfare. The same hashtag recommendations we discussed for board descriptions apply to Pin descriptions as well. Do use them, but don’t go overboard.

If you don’t have any graphic design experience that’s totally fine! Believe it or not, this is a skill you can develop with practice, even if you’re not artistically inclined. If you’re interested in designing your own Pins, read this guide for everything you need to know about creating click-worthy Pins. Have a little fun creating some practice images and finding an aesthetic that suits your brand. You may surprise yourself and uncover a hidden talent for graphic design!

If you test your Pin-design skills and aren’t happy with your results, or if it’s taking you too long to create your Pins, or if it’s just not fun for you, don’t despair! Pin design is actually one of the most affordable areas of Pinterest marketing that you can outsource. You can easily hire a Pinterest Virtual Assistant to create your Pins and it will save you so much time. Pin design is one of the services I offer. Head over here to learn more about how I can take image creation off your plate!

5. Develop a Pinterest marketing strategy that works for the needs of your business.

Now that you have your profile optimized and you understand what’s involved in creating high-quality images for Pinterest, it’s time to talk strategy. It’s important to create a plan that ensures your Pinterest marketing strategy will strengthen your brand. A successful Pinterest marketing strategy will include goal setting, workflow development, and data-driven adjustments based on your analytics. For a complete guide to developing the best Pinterest marketing strategy for your business, read this.

Your Pinterest marketing strategy is the plan that will help you to reach your Pinterest marketing goals through strategic, deliberate, and consistent Pinning. By consistent Pinning, I mean 15-30 times a day. This sounds like it could become overwhelming pretty quickly, but Pinning consistently at peak engagement times is essential. Thankfully, there are scheduling tools you can use to automate this task. I use Tailwind, and I don’t think I could do Pinterest without it. If you’re not already using Tailwind to schedule and automate your Pinning, you can give it a try for free! Head over here to sign up for a free trial.

6. Make connections with other Pinners.

Despite the fact that Pinterest is a search engine and not social media, it is important to understand its social aspects too. Although you don’t need to have a huge following to do well on Pinterest, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a highly engaged bunch of followers! Unlike certain social media platforms, there is no expectation to “follow back” everyone one who follows you. At the same time, it’s a good idea to go through your new followers every week and see if there is anyone you should follow back. Look for anyone who lives in your local area or other power Pinners in related industries.

Other than your local followers and Pinners in related industries, who should you be connecting with on Pinterest?

• Local professional organizations
• Past clients
• Current clients
• Potential clients
• Local business owners
• Other real estate agents who work outside of your target area and are not in direct competition with you
• Local charities
• Local power pinners

In addition to following your Pinterest connections, you can also collaborate with them by joining their group boards or by creating your own group boards and inviting others to collaborate with you. Group boards can be a great source of relevant content that you can curate for your audience. When you share your own content on group boards, it has the potential to be seen by a wider audience, including all the followers of the other group board members.

If you’re using Tailwind to automate your Pinning, it has a feature similar to group boards called “Tailwind Tribes.” You can join up to 5 Tailwind Tribes with the free trial and collaborate with your Tribemates to share each other’s Pins on your Pinterest boards. Like group boards, Tribes are a great way to help fellow Pinners and to get more eyeballs on your content.

Conclusion

Although many real estate agents will stick with only the most traditional methods of marketing, those who take the time to develop a Pinterest presence get results. Real estate agents who go the extra mile and commit to doing Pinterest right really stand out from the crowd. When you actively engage with your ideal Pinterest audience, you can raise brand awareness in a way that builds trust with potential clients who may have never discovered you otherwise.

Ninety percent of home buyers begin their home search online, and many of them report finding their real estate agent online. If you’re not using Pinterest to generate leads, these future home buyers will connect with your competition instead of you! Pinterest users are planning for their futures, and many of them are dreaming about upgrading their living situation. If you establish a Pinterest presence, you’ll capture the attention of this valuable audience while they’re in discovery mode.

I realize that I’ve given you a lot to take in here. You’ve just read a 3,000-word article, not to mention all of the other information I linked to. I know it seems like a lot, but please don’t be discouraged or overwhelmed. You can begin using Pinterest for real estate today and then grow your profile at the pace that works best for you and your business. You don’t need to do everything right now. Your Pinterest profile doesn’t have to be perfect from day one (or ever, for that matter)! Just having a Pinterest profile can give you a leg up on the competition. The important thing is to get started, and you can learn the rest as you go. Like anything else, the more you do it the easier it will become!

If you decide that managing your own Pinterest account is too overwhelming in addition to the other demands of your work, you’re not alone. About half of all real estate agents report that keeping up with technology is the single most challenging part of their job. As a Pinterest Virtual Assistant, Pinterest management is one of the services that I offer. I can establish a new account for you or take over your existing account. I can take Pinterest off your plate altogether or manage only the parts you don’t enjoy. If you have any questions at all about using Pinterest for real estate or if you’d like to know more about how I can help you with your account, contact me for a free discovery call today!

Are you currently using Pinterest for real estate marketing? I’d love to hear more about your experience with the platform! Share your biggest challenge or greatest success on Pinterest in the comments below, and don’t forget to grab your list of 100+ Pinterest board ideas for real estate agents! Sign up here:

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