How to Leverage Social Media in Your Commercial Appraisal Business

Since many people don’t think about appraisals until it’s time to hire you, it can be tricky for commercial appraisers to stay top-of-mind. But social media can be a surprisingly effective way to attract potential customers. Utilize social media platforms through videos, images, and text to educate people about how commercial appraisal works and why they should hire you. The best part about social media is that it doesn’t have to require too much extra effort on your part.

Below are a few easy ways to effectively use social media in your commercial appraisal business. By carving out an hour or two each week to dedicate strictly to growing your business through social media, you should be able to easily incorporate into your daily workflow.

Keep in mind that each social media post should highlight what makes you different from other appraisers. Offer insight into your process and show how your potential customers could benefit from hiring you. For example, you could create a short video for Instagram Live showing how you use Valcre to efficiently and accurately manage the appraisal process.

Here’s how to get started using social media for your appraisal business.

Choose the Correct Platforms

Where is your target audience spending time online? You might find potential clients on Twitter discussing recent news related to real estate. Your future clients might also be on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

Every platform has a unique tone and format, so choose wisely. Commercial appraisers should consider establishing a presence on both LinkedIn and Instagram at a bare minimum.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a business platform built to facilitate referrals and networking. If you work to create a professional presence on LinkedIn, you are increasing the chances that a satisfied client will refer you and tag your professional page as social proof. Remember, it’s easier to retain an existing customer than snag a new one, and LinkedIn can help you leverage this. LinkedIn is also a fantastic platform for publishing think pieces and other industry-related commentaries. If you want buyers and sellers to know who you are, then you need your content to reach them in their professional networks.

Instagram

?Instagram is all about relationships and visually impressive images. Commercial appraisers often get to visit incredibly beautiful properties as part of doing their job. Even if you can’t show specific photos of the properties you have appraised, it’s smart to curate a public image related to buildings and real estate. You could create a feed that mixes lifestyle with educational posts, such as a drone shot of a skyscraper followed by a graphic that educates people about how landscaping affects property value. Instagram is about being personable and accessible. If you can present yourself as both knowledgeable and interesting, then you’ll easily stand out from the competition. 

Present the Correct Content

Some content converts better than others. Commercial appraisers should be careful not to get caught up in the aesthetic appearance of their social media platforms. Instead, make sure you are thinking about your potential customer’s perception.

For instance, when a potential new client arrives at your page, they should immediately know that you are actively accepting new clients. It should also be clear that you are an expert in your field. Visitors should not have to work hard to understand how your appraisal services can benefit them. 

Every piece of social media content on your page should invite viewers to take action. It could be a simple invitation to take a poll on Instagram Stories about whether they know the value of their property. You could also offer an exclusive walk-through tour or behind-the-scenes experience of an appraisal process to help demystify the process. 

It is easy to create content yourself with a simple selfie stick to hold your smartphone. When you are creating content, make sure the lighting is good and that your hand is steady so that the content you capture isn’t hard to see or too wobbly. Another thing to keep in mind is the sound quality of your social media content. Poor sound can make you appear unprofessional. You can get around this by simply replacing the original sound with a voice-over or a music track. 

Finally, a hidden benefit of social media platforms is their automated response mechanism. Many platforms allow you to pre-write responses to commonly asked questions. This makes it possible for you (or rather, your social media profile) to automatically reply immediately after a client makes an inquiry. 

Reducing the time between inquiry and response is a great reason to use social media to improve your commercial appraisal business. But social media is also essential in order to stay competitive. No matter how good your appraisal process is, you need a way to tell the world about it so that new customers can find you. Social media can do that for you, and so much more.?

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This article first appeared on the Valcre blog at valcre.com/blog/how-to-leverage-social-media-in-your-commercial-appraisal-business.