Developing and nurturing a solid social media footprint is an essential part of a real estate agent’s marketing arsenal, but it can also be a time-consuming one to boot. While spending time in front of your screen running multiple platforms can yield great results for your business, it shouldn’t have to come at the expense of getting in front of people for some in-person networking.

Luckily, with the help of social media management tools, agents can reclaim time while efficiently managing posts and marketing strategies across their digital platforms. Take a look at some of the benefits of consolidating and running your social media accounts with a management tool.

Managing Multiple Accounts
Running one social media account can be challenging on its own, but what happens when you have three or four? Many social media management tools allow users to streamline accounts under one login where they view, post and engage with people from one place.

With a more streamlined process, agents can save time and energy.

Automating Content Scheduling
When it comes to building or maintaining a solid social media presence, content is critical to staying top of mind, boosting traffic and sourcing leads. Programs like ACESocial can post daily content to users’ Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts automatically with thousands of professionally generated articles, videos and infographics. The kicker is that the program allows you to schedule weeks in advance without having to monitor it, giving you back time in your schedule.

Developing a Post Schedule 
Posting regularly—daily in many cases—is tough and can be easily forgotten on some days. Management tools like Hootsuite and Sprout Social offer a nifty feature for scheduling posts days, weeks or even months in advance.

From setting up social media campaigns for an entire month to highlighting new listings with video tours weeks ahead of an open house, social media management tools provide an opportunity to think about your marketing strategy and execute efficiently and effectively.

Monitoring and Engagement 
Social media is all about staying connected and knowing what people are talking about—e.g., best practices, trends, reviews of your services. There is a lot of chatter across different platforms; therefore, knowing what your clients, colleagues and even competitors are saying is an insight that can be worth its weight in gold as you create your marketing plans.

Aside from having a consolidated platform with all your accounts in one place, tools like Buffer and Agora Pulse allow users to keep track of brand mentions (i.e., hashtags and @’s). Other platforms aggregate your messages and notifications in one place.

Reporting and Analytics
Ever wonder if that client testimonial video or listing photo caught the attention of your following?

Knowing how well your posts did, or how much traffic you are drawing into your platforms, helps you tweak or come up with your marketing strategy. Several management platforms and programs provide data insights that tell you when and how your audience engages with posts.

Other analytics these programs track may include a breakdown of audience demographics, month-over-month trends and engagements across your platforms.

Jordan Grice is RISMedia’s associate content editor. Email him your real estate news ideas at jgrice@rismedia.com.