Is it time for your conveyancing business to ‘like’ the world of social media?
Conveyancing may not be the most attention-grabbing topic on social media, but licensed conveyancer Sarah McDonald of Safety Bay Settlements says a social media presence is very useful for conveyancers as part of their overall marketing strategy.
Building your brand awareness
Sarah started a Facebook page for Safety Bay Settlements in early 2010 after she noticed not many settlement agents in her region were on the platform.
Fast-forward to 2016, and Sarah continues to devote about one hour each week to Facebook. She says that while it’s a slow burn in terms of results, Facebook is an effective way of engaging with people and branding the business.
“The aim is to get people to remember us, even if they may not need us for years. We want to be the go-to business when they need something to do with settlements.”
Promoting a ‘boring’ business
Sarah admits the conveyancing industry is less welcome in people’s Facebook news feeds when compared to some other businesses. It’s not like conveyancers offer half-price pizza on Tuesday nights.
Her advice to those wanting to build a social media presence in a less glamorous industry:
Make it relevant
Sarah shares a lot of third-party property-related articles she thinks her audience will find interesting. Examples could include posts about interest rate changes or a sale on a million-dollar property.
Balance the business and personal posts
Sarah has found that her audience likes personable content, posts about herself and what’s going on with Safety Bay Settlements, but she makes sure to include a mix of business-related content and general-interest content.
Don’t post offensive material, unrelated emotive posts or bad language
Online, your personal and professional personas become one and the same, so it’s important that you promote quality content that you won’t later regret sharing.
Don’t post too often
Sarah aims to post once a week. If she finds there’s more than enough relevant content to post, she’ll spread it out by scheduling to post content at different times.
Choosing the right platform
Sarah says her personal LinkedIn profile generates a few leads and “is great for networking”. She’s also a personal user of other social media platforms.
But when it comes to a presence for Safety Bay Settlements, Facebook is her platform of choice. It’s where her customers spend a lot of time.
Sarah herself also spends a lot of time on Facebook. Aside from her work as a settlement agent, she’s busy within her community managing Facebook pages for Go Kiosk at Warnbro and Kwinana train stations, Wendy’s Kwinana, Coogee Beach WA Surf Life Saving Club, Kwinana branch of Bendigo Bank, AICWA and Coogee Cycling Crew.
Monitoring your audience activity
Instead of tracking shares and likes for each post, Sarah looks at general engagement trends over time. If engagement is decreasing, Facebook marketing options can be effective, she says.
Facebook lets you boost posts to your audience to increase the number of people who might see them. Sarah often pays to boost posts that are both relevant and include a personal angle.
Earlier this year, Sarah received an award at the Australian Institute of Conveyancers’ Ball for outstanding contribution by an individual to the conveyancing profession. She posted a picture of herself with the award on Facebook and paid to promote that.
“Those kinds of posts are successful. It puts a face to who’s behind the business, and people can relate to that.”
Sarah is convinced the benefits outweigh the negatives when it comes to Facebook for business. And if you’re thinking it’s just another hassle you don’t need, a Facebook business page needn’t be complicated.
For conveyancers contemplating the idea of getting active on social media, Sarah has one final piece of advice: “Just start! Have a play. Realise that’s where a lot of your people are and don’t be scared about it
