How To Use Pinterest In Real Estate – Realtors® Guide To Pinterest

Killer Pinterest Tips For Realtors®

How To Successfully Use Pinterest In Real Estate – Realtor Guide To Pinterest Success

If you’re in the real estate industry you’ve definitely heard the buzz surrounding social media and how real estate professionals are killing it on social media.  With the abundance of real estate marketing techniques to choose from, it’s important that real estate professionals put their eggs in the right baskets.

One of the most underutilized social media network by real estate professionals is Pinterest.  I’m often asking myself why Pinterest is so underutilized by real estate professionals and often come up with the same likely reason.  Pinterest isn’t a social media network that is going to generate dozens of buyer and seller leads so real estate professionals assume that it’s a big waste of time.

This assumption is wrong for so many reasons, many of which you’ll learn about in this article.  Pinterest may not result in dozens of buyer and seller leads, however, there are so many benefits that Pinterest can provide real estate professionals.

In this article you’ll find out some eye opening statistics about Pinterest, why Pinterest can be beneficial to real estate professionals, some of the best tips for using Pinterest in real estate, and also some real life success stories of real estate professionals who are crushing it with Pinterest.

If you’re more of a visual learner there is also an excellent infographic below and you can also find me on Pinterest to see how I’m leveraging Pinterest.

All About Pinterest

The majority of real estate professionals who don’t believe Pinterest is worth their time and effort don’t realize the type of users that Pinterest has.  Below are some eye opening statistics about Pinterest.

Please note that many of these statistics are directly from Pinterest, while others are being delivered from reputable digital marketing agencies, so there maybe slight variance from source to source.

• Founded in 2010, Pinterest has grown to over 150 million active monthly users
• 70 million of these 150 million active users are within the United States
• 67% of Pinterest users are millennials
• 14.2 minutes is the average time spent on Pinterest per visit
• 18% of Pinterest users have an average yearly income of $75,000 or greater
• 93% of active Pinterest users say they use Pinterest to plan for purchases with 87% actually purchasing something because of Pinterest
• Each Pin results in an average of 6 visits to the respective Pins website

The above statistics are just a handful of the unbelievable statistics regarding Pinterest.  As you can see, Pinterest has seen a huge growth in users since it began in 2010 and the projected growth numbers are incredible.  There are tons of other Pinterest statistics that are eye opening and can easily be found by completing a simple Google search.

Why Pinterest Can Be Beneficial To Real Estate Professionals

Exclusive Realtor Guide For Crushing It On Pinterest In Real Estate – Infographic

As mentioned above, if you’re thinking about getting started with Pinterest and you’re a real estate professional, don’t expect that using Pinterest will result in boatloads of buyer and seller leads.  If that is what you’re expecting, Pinterest is sure to disappoint.

There are many benefits of using Pinterest in real estate though.  Below are some of the top benefits you can expect to receive from Pinterest if used properly.

Improve Online Visibility

One of the greatest benefits of Pinterest in real estate is that it can greatly improve your online visibility.  Pinterest provides real estate professionals another website where they can be found.

One of the smartest steps for a prospective buyer or seller to complete while beginning their home search or sale is to inquire with family members, friends, or colleagues to see if they have any recommendations to a top real estate agent.

The internet has drastically changed the way referrals and word of mouth work in real estate.  The days of getting the name of a real estate agent and picking up the phone to call the agent are over in most cases.  The majority of consumers will now receive a referral to a service, in this case a real estate professional, and head right to the internet to investigate before contacting the referral.

Using Pinterest in real estate is yet another website that your name will show up when someone searches for you.  If you’re active on Pinterest, the consumer is going to see boards and pins providing great information about buying and selling real estate and your local community.

Actively using Pinterest in real estate will not solely justify why a consumer should hire you as their real estate agent, however, it can provide excellent social proof that you know your industry.  The tried and true method of knowing how to interview real estate agents is still the number one tip for selecting the right real estate agent, but being active on Pinterest will absolutely increase your online visibility.

Drive Insane Amount Of Traffic To Website

The number of real estate professionals who still do not have their own website is startling, however, that is another discussion in itself.  If you’re a real estate professional who has a website and one who actively is providing quality content, Pinterest is a must.  Arguably the biggest benefit to using Pinterest in real estate is the insane amount of traffic it can drive to your website.

The number of visitors to a real estate website is important.  The more traffic to your real estate website, the greater the chance your quality content will be shared with others.  The more shares your content receives will result in a greater chance that it’s found in the search engine result pages (SERPs).  This is a common SEO concept calling social signals.  According to Moz, the question is no longer if social signals impact the SERPs, but how much they impact the SERPs.

Further on in this article, you’ll find out some real life Pinterest success stories where we’ll explore the impact Pinterest has had on the traffic to Rochester’s Real Estate Blog.  Also we’ll review the impact Pinterest has had on the traffic to Bill Gassett’s website who is killing it on Pinterest as well.

Pinterest Can Drive Insane Amounts Of Traffic To Your Website!

Prove You’re The Local Expert

Pinterest provides real estate agents the opportunity to showcase their local communities.  This is an excellent opportunity to prove that you’re the local expert in your local communities, which is a huge benefit to using Pinterest in real estate.

As one of the top real estate agents in Rochester NY, Pinterest has allowed me to show off not only the City of Rochester but also the surrounding communities that I do business in.  Pinning attractive photos of local establishments, landmarks, and other points of interest is social proof that you’re in tune with your local community and furthermore proves you’re the local expert.

Pins Are Evergreen

One of the best things about Pinterest is that Pins are evergreen.  Evergreen in the content marketing world means that a piece of content will remain relevant forever.

Since Pins are evergreen, they will continue to be shared by others as the number of shares rise solely because other peoples followers will be able to discover the Pins.  This is not the case with many other social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter.  A Tweet has a very small window of opportunity for others to discover your content as it gets buried further and further in a persons Twitter feed.

For example, an article discussing what to expect from a real estate agent when buying a home that I published in June 2015 was originally shared on my real estate articles worth reading board and since has been pinned over 850 times.  There are millions of real life examples of Pins being evergreen.  Since Pins are evergreen, they will continually reap benefits for your quality content.

Tips For Using Pinterest In Real Estate

After learning about some of the benefits to using Pinterest in real estate, if you now understand the importance of using it, it’s now time to learn how to use it properly.

Below are some of the best tips for using Pinterest in real estate.  By following these tips, you’ll be on your way to creating a huge presence on Pinterest and you’ll be reaping the benefits soon!

Create Memorable Graphics

In order to be successful on Pinterest in real estate, you need to create memorable graphics for your content.  Since Pinterest is all visual, no graphics results in no opportunities for your content to be pinned.  Graphics that are poor designed or easily forgettable will result in poor results and a quick exit from Pinterest.

It’s vital to your success on Pinterest in real estate that you create at least 2-3 memorable graphics that relate to the topic you’re writing about.  There are several user friendly websites and programs that are available that make it easy to create great, eye-catching graphics.  My favorite website to create graphics for my content and other marketing pieces is Canva.

Canva is a free website that allows you to create graphics of all sizes and also purchase photos to use within your graphics for only $1.00.  As you’re creating memorable graphics for your real estate content, keep in mind that generally the longer the graphic, the better it’ll perform on Pinterest.

All of my articles are accompanied by at least 3 graphics that are 800px x 1200px and perform very well on Pinterest.  A real life example of this is the article discussing why Realtors® ask for a pre-approval letter.  These three graphics have been pinned almost 1,000 times, which is almost half of the 2,100+ shares.

It’s important to remember as you’re creating your graphics that you’re paying for the photos you’re using within the graphics.  There are a handful of websites that allow you to get free graphics and others that offer graphics as cheap as a couple dollars, such as Canva.  If you don’t have the rights to use a graphic, you’re opening yourself up to potential legal problems.

Create Local Boards

As mentioned above, Pinterest provides an excellent opportunity to prove you’re a local expert.  As you’re building your Pinterest presence, you need to make sure you’ve created local boards.

Your local boards shouldn’t only be filled with your greatest and latest listing.  These local boards should provide people who are interested in learning about your communities some helpful information.  On my Greater Rochester NY Pinterest board, I’ve pinned graphics regarding the local dog parks in Rochester, local real estate market reports, information for people who are moving to Rochester, Rochester NY landmarks, and other helpful Rochester related Pins.

In most cities there are many surrounding towns, villages, and neighborhoods which you can also create boards for.  14 of the 62 boards on my Pinterest profile are local boards which provide information regarding the Greater Rochester NY area and the surrounding towns, villages, and neighborhoods.

Top Notch Tips For Real Estate Agents On Pinterest – Focus On LOCAL

Join Powerful Group Boards

One of the best ways to effectively use Pinterest in real estate is to join powerful group boards.  There are dozens of excellent real estate group boards on Pinterest.

The primary reason group boards are so beneficial to join is because they improve the reach of your pins.  For example, if a group board has 10,000 followers, any Pin you share with the group board will now have the ability to reach these 10,000 followers.

I belong to and have the ability to pin on over 15 group boards related to real estate, which allows my pins to reach way more than the 2,300+ followers I have on Pinterest.  It’s a numbers game, the more possible reach your pins have, the higher the number of Pins your graphics will receive.

Follow Other Successful Real Estate Professionals On Pinterest

Regardless whether you’re looking to build your Pinterest presence or another social media network, it’s highly recommended that you follow those who are having success.  One of the best tips for using Pinterest in real estate is to seek out and find those professionals who are killing it on Pinterest.

There are several resources and articles that discuss who the best real estate professionals on Pinterest are.  As you discover these real estate professionals on Pinterest, evaluate how they are using Pinterest.  In most cases, these professionals are more than happy to answer questions you may have about Pinterest.

“If you can’t beat em’, join em'” is a great saying to keep in mind as you’re building your Pinterest presence or your presence on other social media networks.

Don’t Be A Super Sharer

One of the most common reasons why real estate professionals don’t succeed at Pinterest is because they are a super sharer.  You’re asking yourself, what is a super sharer?  A super sharer is someone who publishes a piece of content, shares it all over the place right away and never shares it again.

A super sharer on Pinterest will Pin their graphics on their own boards and all of the group boards they belong to at once.  This is a huge missed opportunity to reach the a large portion of the potential followers of these boards.  Unless these group board followers happen to log in to their Pinterest account in the near future, your pin will likely go unseen by them.

A great tip for Pinterest in real estate is to sprinkle your pins over a long period of time.  For example, once I publish an article, I’ll share one of my graphics on a couple group boards immediately.  For the next several days, I’ll share the same pin to a couple different group boards, keeping in mind to space the Pins apart a few hours.  This greatly improves the chances that more people will see my graphics, which will hopefully result in them Pinning my graphics to their own boards.

Real Life Pinterest Success Stories

Real estate professionals are often very skeptical when it comes to marketing and advertising.  This certainly is acceptable since we are often solicited to pay for leads and different advertising opportunities.

In many cases, the best way to prove to a real estate professional that something is worth their time is to show them real life examples.  Below you’ll find some cold, hard facts about the impact Pinterest has had not only on Rochester’s Real Estate Blog but also the impact it has had on another top Realtor® on Pinterest, Bill Gassett.

Maximum Real Estate Exposure, Bill Gassett

Pinterest Success Story – Maximum Real Estate Exposure – @massrealty

It wouldn’t be appropriate to discuss a success story from Pinterest or great Pinterest tips without speaking with Bill Gassett, a Westborough Massachusetts Realtor and Pinterest expert. Bill is well know in real estate circles for his insights into how to make Pinterest work as a real estate agent.

Here is what Bill had to say;

“Kyle thanks for allowing me to share some important facts about Pinterest. Believe it or not Pinterest is the #1 source of traffic to my blog, Maximum Real Estate Exposure. At the present time Pinterest is bringing in about 6000 visits per month to my site. Obviously that is a significant amount of traffic considering lots of real estate sites do not have that amount of traffic from all sources.

The key to making Pinterest work as a real estate agent boils down to a few very simple things:

1. Provide exceptionally helpful content that people will enjoy reading about.
2. Have graphics that are eye catching. This is a vital part of making Pinterest work well. I highly recommend Canva as a simple tool for enhancing your graphics.
3. Join some of the most popular real estate group boards where content is ultra focused and seen by a lot of people. Lots of Realtors have flocked to join this board.
4. Don’t forget to reciprocate by sharing other peoples content and not just your own. This is the basis of growing a social media following in any site not just Pinterest.
5. Don’t make your listings the major part of your focus but instead provide valuable information.

For more excellent Pinterest advice, I would suggest reading some top Pinterest tips for Realtors at the Contactually Blog. By following this advice you are bound to make Pinterest a top social media site for real estate traffic.”

As you can see, Pinterest is driving an insane amount of traffic to Bill’s real estate website.  Bill is one of the industry leaders when it comes to using Pinterest in real estate, no doubt about that.

Rochester’s Real Estate Blog, Kyle Hiscock

Pinterest Success Story – Rochester Real Estate Blog – @KyleHiscockRE

The purpose of writing this article is to help other real estate professionals learn how Pinterest can make a huge impact on their business.  I’ve been actively using Pinterest for a little over 2 years now and have seen incredible results from Pinterest.

My website, Rochester Real Estate Blog, averages 4,500 visitors per month from Pinterest and like Bill mentions above, 4,500 visitors is likely more than many real estate websites get from all their sources each month.

One of the most startling statistics about Pinterest traffic to my website is that in most months, it actually drives more traffic to my website than Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google Plus combined.

The first 10 months of 2016 has resulted in over 50,000 visitors to Rochester’s Real Estate Blog and an unknown, but surely huge number of shares to other social media networks as a result of finding my content.  Even if a small percentage, let’s say 1%, of these visitors shared a piece of my content, that is an additional 5,000 shares that I wouldn’t have achieved if I wasn’t actively using Pinterest.

Final Thoughts

Successfully using Pinterest in real estate can be a game changer.  As you can see, there are mega-benefits to using Pinterest for real estate agents.  Building a strong presence on Pinterest isn’t exactly rocket science, but it does take time and effort.

Other Top Resources For Social Media & Real Estate

• 3 Tips For Social Media Success For Real Estate Agents via Point2
• Top Real Estate Blog Articles From 2015

About the authors: The above article “How To Use Pinterest In Real Estate – Realtors® Guide To Pinterest” was provided by the Keith Hiscock Sold Team (Keith & Kyle Hiscock). With over 30 years combined experience, if you’re thinking of selling or buying, we’d love to share our knowledge and expertise.

We service the following Greater Rochester NY areas: Irondequoit, Webster, Penfield, Pittsford, Fairport, Brighton, Greece, Gates, Hilton, Brockport, Mendon, Henrietta, Perinton, Churchville, Scottsville, East Rochester, Rush, Honeoye Falls, Chili, and Victor NY.