Real estate agents cite social media as the best source for generating high-quality leads, far surpassing MLS listings and brokerage websites, according to the National Association of Realtors®. But how can agents best leverage social media to build a meaningful connection with home buyers and sellers? To learn more about a winning social media strategy, we chatted with Deb Cohen—a real estate agent affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty in West Hartford, Conn.—whose social media brand The Front Door Project has accumulated 80,000-plus followers!
The Front Door Project is exactly what it sounds like—a visually striking collection of homes focused directly on their front doors, photographed front and center from a view reminiscent of what a visitor would see when they first walk up to a house. A key first impression, a startling demonstration of the power of curb appeal. However, Cohen didn’t develop The Front Door Project to enhance her real estate career. It worked the other way around.
“I started doing photography six years ago, right at the time when Instagram was starting to take off. My daughter was 15 years old. Much to her dismay, I started an account of my own,” Cohen said with a laugh.
It was a pivotal time in Cohen’s life. She was a successful finance executive who had just wrapped up a 25-year career in the insurance industry following a company reorganization. Cohen felt she needed a change and decided to take some time off. She began walking outside for the exercise and started to pay more attention to her surroundings.
“Noticing the details of the houses in my beautiful hometown of West Hartford made me feel happy and appreciative of the word around me,” said Cohen. And she began to bring her camera, photographing homes that caught her eye with the primary focus on the front door, the “welcoming focal point.” Cohen said her photographs “reinforce the notion that just a few touches, like a brightly painted front door, a shiny brass door knocker and potted plants can dramatically enhance the curb appeal of a home.” These touches can create a warm and welcoming abode, charming both residents and passersby with glimmers of beauty in “our sometimes crazy world,” said Cohen.
