Mastering social media: Constellation1’s partnership with BHHS Towne Realty

The social frontier

Real estate marketing has undergone a monumental shift in the past decade. Today, most homebuyers start their search online, and the vast majority of them are also active on social media. A cohesive social media strategy is a must for brokerages, but creating one can seem daunting, especially for many broker/owners who can still remember buying their first PCs (and aren’t exactly digital natives). With the right tools, perfecting your brokerage’s social media presence doesn’t have to be like pulling teeth.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Towne Realty is the leading local real estate brokerage in resale and luxury sales in Southeastern Virginia, with 17 offices and 400 agents. They have been offering premier real estate services to Virginians for more than 35 years. After opting for Paradym for virtual tours five years ago, they were ready to try out Paradym’s full marketing suite.

Knowing how difficult it would be to estimate agent adoption and ROI right off the bat, BHHS Towne Realty didn’t dive into Paradym by Constellation1 headfirst. They decided to test it with their top luxury agents, a group of 50, to see if it was a good fit. After just a few weeks, it was exceeding expectations. “It worked so well we decided to make it available to the entire brokerage, about 400 agents,” said Rolston S. Audain Jr., Marketing & Luxury Collection Director at BHHS Towne Realty. “Paradym’s social media marketing solution lets us post consistently every single day, and all the posts are solid,” he went on.

Management decided to make the full suite a brokerage-paid benefit for all agents. “My philosophy is to give our agents the best tools, then get out of their way,” said Barbara Wolcott, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Towne Realty. “Treating our agents like internal customers is the driving mission behind what we do.”

Effortless social media marketing

Ease of use was a key factor in upgrading their Paradym solution. “Our best agents are at times the ones who have been in this game the longest and have full grasp of their processes. They aren’t always social media experts,” said Rolston. “We needed a tool that could allow our agents to market heavily on all the popular social media platforms without lifting a finger, and that’s exactly what we got.”

Today, all 400 BHHS Towne Realty agents have a robust online presence. Some agents who enjoy social still post a bit on their own, while others have fully embraced the freedom Paradym gives them. The tool allows for every degree of use, from full autopilot to a more guided experience for more hands-on agents. Either way, everyone would agree that increased social media presence has been a huge asset.

Prepared for change

This year has been unexpectedly turbulent for every industry, including real estate. When the pandemic hit, BHHS Towne Realty was the first brokerage in its market to go completely virtual. Thanks to Paradym, their virtual strategy was already covered. “We needed to implement a virtual strategy right away to really showcase our listings online because of COVID,” explained Rolston, “and Paradym was our existing link to all our virtual showings and showcase videos. Because we already had it, we implemented it across the board, and it has been a huge success.”

Best-in-class support

“Paradym really provides some of the best support we get,” Rolston confirmed. “If I call or if a brand-new agent calls, we both get the same stellar treatment and support. It means a lot knowing that our team has support like that.” BHHS Towne Realty’s agents have the internal and external backing they need to take social media marketing completely off their plates, allowing them to find more leads and list more homes. Paradym was also able to provide the support needed to integrate with other existing vendors, helping BHHS Towne Realty use their other tools to their fullest potential.

A valuable tool

New marketing tech needs to be easy to consume—both for agents and customers—to be really valuable. Rolston emphasized the importance of knowing their customers and what they want. “Who doesn’t like looking at pretty houses?” he observed. “Why create a flyer with a 400-word description when you can post a captivating, eye-catching video that goes beyond words and really lets viewers take it all in?” With videos automatically posted on YouTube and social, the reach of any listing extends exponentially to potentially hundreds of new leads. Those leads are exactly what brokerages need today.

Evolving your tech stack

When it comes to integrating new technology, BHHS Towne Realty has one tip: teamwork. Brokerages need strong partners who are working on the same team, growing and changing to meet evolving needs and solve new problems from top to bottom. BHHS Towne Realty has that with Paradym by Constellation1.

To discuss how adding Paradym by Constellation1’s digital marketing suite can help you master social media, schedule a demo today.