The Best Social Media Tips for Home Inspectors in 2023
Social media is one daunting beast. Below, we’ve generated a list of the best social media tips to help dominate your social media and get the algorithm working for you—not against you. Here’s the best advice from professional home inspectors and social media pros that you should start using right now.
#1 – Know Your Audience
Who are you creating content for? Other inspectors? Real estate agents? Home buyers? Your kids? Whoever you’re hoping to attract should be in the forefront of your mind as you come up with your social media strategy, and while you’re typing out your post. Posting consistently is key, but that won’t take you very far if you don’t know which audience you’re aiming for.
Another important thing to keep in mind is creating content that engages that audience. Ask them questions, or otherwise invite them to interact with your post in some way. For example, show them a picture of something you found on the job, and ask them what they think the big deal is.
Here are some questions to ask yourself as you narrow in on your audience and vet your posts for consistency:
- What kind of words and references will resonate with my audience?
- Will my audience care about this content?
- What is my audience looking for?
- What does my audience know about this?
#2 – Get Creative
This is your chance to show the world what you’ve got. So, first and foremost, have fun with it. Not the creative type? Think of ways to show off things that come easy to you. Some suggestions:
- Do walk-through videos showing what you look for and how to find it
- Post pictures of bizarre findings
- Explain what not to do in a home DIY project
At the end of the day, you’re as creative as you let yourself be. Find a way to show off your personality, and don’t shy away from what makes you passionate. Chances are, whatever gets you excited about home inspection will get your viewers excited, too. Enthusiasm is contagious!
#3 – Use Visuals
Social media is a visual media. Even if you’re using a platform like Twitter or Facebook, which rely heavily on written content, the visuals are what get people interested. Visual content also resonates with the audience for much longer than text, meaning the more visuals you use, the more your audience will connect with and remember you.
And again: consider what your audience is looking for and how to resonate best with them. You probably wouldn’t post the same pictures for experts in the home inspection industry as you would for homebuyers, for example. (One audience knows a lot more about what you’re posting than the other.) So, make things easy and attractive to whichever audience you choose, and stay consistent in posting visuals (pictures, videos, boomerangs) for that audience.
This is the nitty-gritty of the social media world. Hashtags are social media’s way of getting discovered and pulling in traffic. To use a hashtag, think of the best way to describe your content using one or two words, and then type them out with the pound symbol (or, hashtag) in front of it. Boom. Now your content can be found by people searching that same tag.
This is also where knowing your audience comes in to play. What is your audience searching for? The phrase “home inspection” is a good start, of course, but it’s also really broad. What else might your audience be looking for that’ll bring them more directly to your content? For example, “Colorado home inspection fails,” is more specific, so using that in your caption or in a hashtag will direct your content to a more specific audience.
Once you start using hashtags, you have a chance to find and form a community. Hashtags are a great unifier because you can add them to your content to be seen, but you can also search them. If you want to find other home inspectors to follow online and share tips with, search the hashtags “#homeinspectors” or “#homeinspectiontips,”, for example. The more you explore online communities and reach new audiences, the savvier you’ll get.
Finally, when it comes to community, remember that social media is social for a reason. Take advantage of connections you have online by tagging people in posts you share and those you see. Don’t be afraid to branch out! This is the best way for you to get in the minds of people you work with, and people you want to work with.
Different Platforms Offer Different Communities
Some other great social media platforms that you can get familiar with include:
- NextDoor
- TikTok
- YouTube
Facebook and NextDoor are great options for marketing in your area and among your people. On these platforms, you can make posts sharing your knowledge or funny things you find on the job. You can even offer your services.
TikTok and YouTube are the best social media platforms for video content, which is currently the most popular way of sharing and digesting content. There are a handful of reasons why, but the biggest one is memorability. And as a home inspector running your own business, you’ll definitely want to be memorable to your audience. It might sound intimidating to film yourself on the job—no one really likes the sound of their own voice, right? But, like any job, it just takes some getting used to. You are your own worst critic, so don’t hold yourself back!
#5 – Keep Things Short & Simple
Social media has evolved a lot in the past couple of years, but the major trend is simplification. People don’t generally have the attention spans to watch a video that is even a minute long. So, when you create your posts, trim the fat. This is especially the case on short-form platforms like TikTok, where the most-liked videos range between 21 and 34 seconds long. But that’s only if you catch their attention—before that, they’re scrolling through lots of posts, looking for something to make them stop.
Open Your Content with a Promise
The best way to hook a viewer is to start off your content with a piece of information, a surprising picture, or a promise of some kind. Then, all you have to do is fulfill that promise to satisfy the itch. Boom, you’ve got a good piece of content. Here are some examples of ways to capture that kind of attention:
- I’m about to show you possibly the weirdest thing I’ve seen in an inspection…
- What kind of DIY HVAC is this?
- Here are five issues I always run into on my home inspections in North Carolina
When you make posts on platforms like Instagram or Twitter, trim the fat by keeping your captions short and sweet. People don’t want to read a novel about seven types of mold when they go online. You get the idea.
Make These Social Media Tips Work for You
Social media doesn’t have to be intimidating. Once you know who you’re posting for, how to present yourself, and how often you want to post, the job is halfway done. All that remains is finding ways to make your social media your own. Consider your brand. Consider what’s easy for you. If you can film a few short videos while you inspect a home, then what better way to work your marketing into the job you’re already doing? At the end of the day, these tips should inspire you to find a strategy that works for you. Keep them in mind and make your strategy your own in 2023 and beyond!
AHIT instructors are not only professional inspectors themselves, but they also offer a wealth of knowledge for marketing your own business. When you take our courses, rest assured that you will leave feeling comfortable with the job, and also ready to build those key connections to make you stand out in the industry. You got this. Take a look at our courses and get started today!
About the Author: Lizzie DesRosiers
