So you want to use social media to expand your reach and cultivate leads, but you don’t know how to go about it, huh?

Don’t worry. We can help.

ReatorMag.Realtor.org used Jon Sterling as an example to show how lucrative social media can be.

He didn’t capture a lead through paid online advertising or through social marketing. He simply made a new connection with someone on LinkedIn who happened to have gone to the same school he did — and before Sterling knew it, the person became his client.

This can happen to you, too!

He also cultivated a new lead by posting a blog post about the Lake Tahoe real estate market on LinkedIn.

“One of my posts about the Lake Tahoe market got his attention. He reached out and told me he’ll be ready to purchase in a few months,” Sterling says.

The new client liked Sterling’s post so much, he wanted HIM to find him a new home.

The social media breakdown

“LinkedIn is a platform for practitioners to establish credibility through their professional identity and demonstrate their deep subject-matter expertise,” says Alan Wang, an agent with Keller Williams in Cupertino, Calif., who also heads up LinkedIn’s new market development and operations for the Asia-Pacific region.

The first step is to create a compelling profile. Think of it as an online resume with a professional photograph. Put awards and alma maters high up in the profile, Wang says. Making your headline a catchy tagline or call to action, like you often see on business cards, is powerful, too.

LinkedIn is a good choice to establish yourself as an expert, keep track of your clients, attract new ones and also check in with them so you stay on their radar.

“For instance, if someone I know gets a new job and changes it on LinkedIn, then I can reach out to them to congratulate them on their new job,” says Nick Ratliff, the principal broker at Cypress Residential Group in Lexington, Kentucky. “That allows for a soft sale by finding out what their plans are and reminding them we are here if they need our services.”

Now, to the future with Instagram

Pop quiz time: What else are you selling, besides a home?

The answer is: a lifestyle.

With Instagram, you can promote that lifestyle to prospective clients and entice them to take the plunge and buy. Just make sure you don’t go overboard and come off as too picture happy. You don’t want to chase your followers/clients away!

Also, pepper in photos and 10-second videos of your best listings. You want to remind people that you’re a real estate agent first, and someone who loves where they live second. 10 seconds might seem like nothing, but it’s enough to give prospective buyers a glimpse into what type of home they could find in the market they’re looking in.

Pinterest is a social media hub

Pinterest is great for promoting your brand. If you’re a real estate agent, try making a board dedicated to home décor, home improvement, your blog posts, your listings and whatever else you’re interested in (maybe you like climbing mountains in your spare time, who knows). The point is to share your pins with your followers, promote others by repining their content and cross promote with other platforms like Facebook to expand your reach even further.

Twitter—that mysterious social media channel

Twitter isn’t that mysterious once you get the hang of it.

It’s all about connecting with people and growing relationships.

Make a point to reach out to more people, especially strangers. It can seem daunting, but trust us, you’ll make more connections and grow your brand and be thanking us later. One easy way to connect to more people is to respond directly to them, rather than just retweeting their content. It will make a huge difference.

Google+ is where you want to be

The unique benefit to Google+ is that each post indexes content and keywords for search engines, whereas search engines don’t have access to individual post content on sites like Facebook. Google+ is the one channel that directly impacts our SEO position on Google.

Post a variety of content on your G+ page and experiment. Try posting a variety of content from listings, videos, and links to new blog posts, price reductions, fun facts about your company and city.

Follow these tips and be surprised at how fast your network and lead cultivation grows.