5308f35c78366c709642ff00005f0421.png?sfvrsn=d43e9f0d_0 "Small Broker Forum with Ryan Garson")
Garson presents from his office in New York as in-person attendees enjoy a pizza watch party at NVAR Fairfax.
by Chris Barranco
The NVAR Small Broker Forum hosted Ryan Garson, broker, content creator, and published author for a presentation regarding social media strategies and creative marketing. Known as the "Very Social Broker," Garson has established himself as an influential leader of real estate in Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York. After his career in real estate started in a more conventional manner, Garson tapped into strategic and targeted social media marketing to gain traction, assemble a team, and ultimately transact $106 million in sales in 2021. 
During his discussion with the Small Broker Forum, Garson shared his own strategies and personal experiences for an audience that included individuals who simply want to learn more about social media, and also those who are more advanced and want to take their social media to the next level.
Hot Tips: 10 key takeaways from Garson’s presentation.
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The More You Give; the More You Get – Maintain relationships with potential clients through regular engagements via social media. Garson shared a success story regarding a client who bought a $3 million property from him, years after they met at an in-person event and connected afterward via social media. The time between was spent liking and commenting on each other’s posts, in addition to checking in via Direct Messaging. Garson shared that he sends over 200 Direct Messages a month. Through these consistent engagements, Garson has been able to build momentum and close transactions.
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Share What You’re Passionate About – What are you passionate about? Write it down and then brainstorm ways to create content. Your passions serve as the pillars of your brand. Garson is a husband and father, so when sharing about his personal life, he leans into “dad content.” He regularly records bagel reviews at restaurants around the city and he also collaborates with a stylist for fashion reviews on a seasonal basis. For his real estate posts, his pillars are new listings, closings, open houses, market reports, infographics, statistics, and testimonials.
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The 80/20 Rule – Garson’s business pages follow the 80/20 Rule. This means 80% of his posts are real estate related. However, in order to mix up the content his followers are seeing, and to stand out and keep his page fresh, the other 20% of Garson’s posts showcase his personal brand. In these posts, Garson is front and center, showcasing his energy and providing entertainment and fun to followers.
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Work with a Team – To enhance your content, consider working with a team. Garson’s social media manager helps him manage, schedule and caption his posts. In addition, Garson collaborates with a videographer for listings, neighborhood shots and other forms of video content. For professional-looking photos, Garson will travel around the city with a photographer and do shoots in front of notable locations.
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Time Block – Blocking out time on your calendar dedicated to social media can help you become more efficient and effective. In addition to posting during your dedicated social media time, consider liking others’ posts, commenting on others’ posts and reaching out to your followers via Direct Messaging. Garson will also block out time for what he calls “Video Bashing.” During this time, Garson will film several videos back-to-back, knocking out several pieces of content in one block of time.
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Keep Up with Trends – Keeping up with trends will enable you to create more relevant content and expand your reach. Garson recommends staying on top of the latest trends on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, specifically. In addition to this, subscribe to industry publications, communicate with other people in the industry, keep tabs on your competitors and take advantage of any training and webinars. Furthermore, post seasonal content and celebrate holidays, birthdays, or any timely events.
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Promote Local Businesses – Promoting local businesses can help strengthen your community, in addition to your own posts. By working with others, you can generate further engagement, reach a greater audience, and establish yourself as a voice in your neighborhood.
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Review Analytics – Learn how to engage and monitor the analytics on your social media posts. This data can provide information about the audience you’re reaching, the best time of the day to post, what your engagement rate is, how your follower growth is progressing, what hashtags are best performing, and more.
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Supplement with Other Marketing – Social media should be only one asset in your marketing toolkit. Garson also mails out marketing materials, creates effective e-mail marketing campaigns and maintains an accessible website. In addition to this, Garson implements paid ads on social media, allowing him to reach his target audience more effectively.
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Have Fun – Have fun with your social media posts. Garson ended the discussion by emphasizing that time is wasted when over-analyzing posts. Your followers are often too concerned with their own posts and at most will only view your content for several seconds before continuing to scroll. Stay casual and social media marketing will be a more positive experience.
Garson’s success has been built through consistent action and “climbing up a mountain one foot at a time.” Developing a plan and sticking to it is perhaps the most important action individuals can take. If you want to be on top of someone’s feed, you have to be posting every single day. Be consistent and be patient, stick to your strategy and as you build momentum, the outcomes will follow.