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Why real estate companies prevent their agents from posting on social media?
It's not uncommon for real estate companies to restrict their agents from posting on social media.
I found a story about a global real estate company that dismissed an employee over a racist tweet. Despite posting from his personal account, people were able to track him down through LinkedIn, and his employer became involved unwillingly in the controversial story.
The story proves that every employee is a brand ambassador, whether he wants it or not. People used this racist tweet to accuse the employer of endorsing this racist behaviour, reflecting the company's culture.
Due to such incidents, many companies are taking measures to prevent such incidents that don't reflect their culture, and the employees' behaviour or opinions don't necessarily reflect the company's culture or opinion.
However, I entirely disagree with companies taking a defensive approach and being passive about the topic. I have always advocated for encouraging employees to post and promote properties on social media through their personal or professional profiles.
Personal profiles are when agents use their real names. Professional Profiles, or themed profiles, are the ones like Dubai Real Estate Guru, etc.
Why?
Dubai real estate agents can grow on social media
I saw many social media success stories of real estate agents who were able to acquire thousands of social media followers organically. Today, they have more followers than the company they are working with. They built a solid personal brand, and it's fair to say they became "Role Models".
They are also considered "the company's brand ambassadors." They use their social media profiles to promote their services and the company's services and ethics, positively affecting the employer's brand awareness and image. Brand advocacy is any company or brand's best indirect, impactful, and cost-efficient marketing channel.
Dubai agents' social media presence and its impact on the brand
As mentioned above, if the agent's online presence grows, it improves the company's online presence and trust. This can save money on brand awareness campaigns. Brand awareness campaigns usually take over 30% of any company's marketing budget. Brand awareness campaigns intend to build trust, which takes time to deliver results. By increasing brand awareness through their "Social Media Brand Ambassadors", they build trust with their audience faster. This leads to more qualified leads generated organically from social media channels. More qualified leads convert to clients, converting to more successful transactions.
Establish new marketing channels to help distribute marketing material
Any real estate company tries to increase and empower its touch points with clients and reduce any friction between leads generated and their sales team. These channels not only serve as distribution channel databases for any new marketing material but also collect leads, enquiries, suggestions, and client feedback. These official channels are usually their website, blog, portals, EDMs, and official Social Media Channels.
Usually, every company has one social media page or profile on each social media platform. So, if an agent's profile grows, the company can target the agent's audience through his posts on social media. The good news is, the agent's audience is usually more qualified than the company's official social media profile or page followers, and I will explain why in another blog post.
As a result, the company will target a different audience profile, which can be the perfect buyer profile. The best part, this is free.
Company culture and talent hunting
Nowadays, employees are not just looking for a 9-to-5 job. On the other hand, employers are hunting talent, not just staff. An agent with a solid social media presence can become an advocate of the company culture. He is an excellent example of the support provided by the employer to endorse agents' passion and encourage them to create and grow their voice and brand on social media.
Now, how can companies encourage their agents and admins to use their social media channels rather than prevent them from posting?
A company can take many measures to help agents grow on social media while maintaining vital social and professional ethics and standards.
Awareness:
Any law in the world, including UAE law, prohibits discrimination. A company should include sections covering such topic in its induction session. The induction presentation should highlight how any employee's misbehaviour, even if unintentional, can affect the company and hold them accountable for the consequences
Internal social media policy:
Any employee who wishes to use or grow his social media presence and will be using the company name, logo, etc., should sign a social media policy document during the onboarding process. The policy should include the purpose, application, responsibility, brand assets and voice, restrictions and security, examples of potential breaches, and "Good practice guidelines". The induction session can also include a brief section to discuss the policy.
Organize workshops:
A "Social Media Best Practices workshop" can be offered to new joiners and a reward system for employees who adhere to the company's social media policies and achieve remarkable results in growing their audience on social media channels. The workshop can include "Share your experience", in which agents who got qualified leads through social media and converted them into clients can share their success stories and tips to inspire, motivate and help others learn from their experience.
Social Media Training Sessions & Growth Guide:
The HR department can organize a social media training session and create social media growth guides to distribute internally in collaboration with the marketing team.
The training should include the dos and don'ts and real examples. Real estate agents should also be instructed to use and follow the brand guidelines and how misusing the company's branding assets can harm the brand's image.
Restricting or encouraging social media activity has merits. The key is finding a balance that allows agents to thrive while protecting the company’s brand and reputation.
By developing thoughtful policies and providing the right support, real estate companies can harness the power of social media without compromising their professional standards.
What about you? Should real estate companies prevent their agents from growing their audience on social media, or should they educate and develop their digital marketing skills to grow on social media? Let me know in the comments section!
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