We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katie Ferriello a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Katie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

As a relator developing a rapport with friends and followers, its essential that I manage my own social media (instagram handle: @katiesellsutah).

If there were three words to describe my social media branding, they’d be informative, honest, and approachable and in order for my brand to be those things, all messaging needs to come directly from me. Many of my client relationships have began because of what I’ve shared on social media, so I want to be sure that what I’m putting out there is truly authentic.

One misconception about social media is that you need thousands of followers, but I haven’t found that to be the case. For me, social media is a way to remind friends that I am in real estate- essentially using it for brand awareness. Most of my followers are friends I know in real life, so I focus my posts on educating them about the local market, sharubg beautiful homes for sale, and teachnig them about the transaction process. By providing useful, informative content, I’m marketing myself as an expert without ever appearing salesy.

I also like to share funny reels about being a relator, which I notice get the most engagement. Lately, I’ve been gaining followers from these reels, so I’ll keep doing them as a form of long-term prospecting. They also serve to connect me with other industry professionals, so they’ve become a great form of networking as well.

I focus primarily on Instagram, but have linked my posts on Facebook, too. Some agents also use TikTok, but I’m narrowing my focus to be really good on one platform.

I have both a competitive and creative mindset, so I look at social media as something to have fun with and to game. I am constantly researching what is trending, apps to use to create posts, and how the algorithm works so that I can grow. I’ve focused on this heavily over the last two months and have doubled my followers, so I feel encouraged to keep it up throughout the year. At the same time, I don’t get too hung up on the numbers. I’m not a social media influencer, I’m a realtor.

I really enjoy creating posts. I have a background as an educator and see social media as a tool for educating others. I use Canva to create carousel and single posts and try to make them as eye-catching and creative as possible. There is an app called ReelTrends that I use to find popular reel templates. And I create my own videos using CapCut. I also constantly keep up with what other realtors are doing successfuly on Instagram and try to emulate that.

Since I’ve really focused my social media efforts the past few months, I’ve gotten so much positive feedback from people in my community. People are noticing and it pays off in terms of client referrals and trust-building. For me, that makes it worth doing on my own because what I’m really asking is for people to trust me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Katie Ferriello and I’m a realtor with Market Source Real Estate, a boutique brokerage in Salt Lake City. I have been in the industry since 2020 and absolutely love it. Prior to working in real estate, I spent over a decade as a teacher, and I see this career as an extension of that. It’s my job to educate my clients so that they can make the best possible decision for themselves. This means I’m teaching them about housing market trends, being clear about the buying/selling process, laying out offer and negotiation strategies and the pros and cons of each so that they can be comfortable with how they decide to proceed, etc. Ultimately, I am an agent for my buyers/sellers and to me, that means not only advocating for them, but also educating them so that they fully understand the process from start-to-finish. I operate under the belief that education is our most powerful tool, so the more I can teach my buyers and sellers along the way, the better off they’ll be.

My main area of focus is the Eastern bench of the Wasatch Front, and I tend to work with clients who are relocating to the are and who those who have already moved here but now want to buy. This is a natural client base for me as I moved here from New York in 2018 and know first-hand what its like to do a cross-country move. I also have a lot of experience as a house-hacker, which means that I’ve purchased properties to both live in and to generate income. I operated an Airbnb out of my first Salt Lake City home for four years, which covered my mortgage payments and also allowed me to purchase a second property as a full-time rental. Now, I own a third and rent out both of the first two homes to full-time renters. I love investing in real estate and don’t believe someone needs to be a “big wig” to do that. There are creative ways to get into real estate investing and to use house-hacking as a means of being able to afford a home. I love being able to teach these tricks of the trade to ordinary people so that they can use homeownership as a means to build stability and wealth.

Above all, I’m most proud of the value I provide to my clients. I take every transaction seriously and see my self as a resource to others. I want buyers and sellers to keep in contact long after closing day. I am always happy to pass along names of great contractors or give an update on home value as markets shift. When people put their trust in me, I am honored by it and behave accordingly. I’m asking a lot of buyers and sellers to trust me with the largest purchase/sale of their lives, so I always honor that trust by communicating clearly and doing my absolute best for them.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Authenticity is high on my list of values, so whatever I do to keep in touch with clients and build brand loyalty must first and foremost be genuine. For me, that means focusing on relationships and caring about clients, not as clients, but as people. When a past client texts me with a question, I answer immediately. If I don’t know the answer, I’m honest about it but let them know that I’ll do the research to find the information. Being a valuable resource is the best way to keep in touch with clients and it goes so much further than sending mass mailers or dropping silly, unpersonalized gifts at their door, in my opinion.

Also, a few months ago, I decided to lean into my strengths instead of trying to improve my weaknesses when it comes to networking. It can take me some time to feel out a room as I’m more of an “observer” type at a networking event. So, attending those things just weren’t serving me. Instead, I decided to create my own networking events by hosting ladies nights every 6 weeks. At the very least, I get to enjoy the company of friends and past clients from the comfort of my home. So even if there is no business benefit, I am already winning by giving my time to the people I already know and love. But, there is also a business benefit- both for me and for the group I’m fostering. My ladies events have led to business referrals and to stronger relationships as well. And I’ve watched these women make friendship and business connections with one another, as well which is amazing. So now, instead of searching for new prospects at networking events, I’m deeping my connection with friends and past clients monthly. It enriches my life and hopefully theirs and many of these women have given me refferals.

Social media is also a great tool for keeping in touch- and it’s free! I am able to keep up with what is going on in the lives of past clients and to leave supportive comments/know when to reach out.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Most people think real estate agents have keys and open doors, but it is SO much more than that. Admittedly, there have been deals that have felt like a breeze, but there have been some doozys too. And that is where the value of a good realtor comes in. The best realtors have to have tenacity because when a deal gets tough, it gets tough.

Here’s a recent example: A client of mine is under contract on a property that needs a rehab loan. A lot of agents shy away from deals involving rehab loans because getting one squared away is quite a process. The home needs a construction plan that is subject to the approval of a HUD consultant in order to qualify for funding. They aren’t common in Utah, so most lenders don’t do rehab loans. For this particular home, we had to make a contractor change halfway through the loan process so that it would qualify for the loan. But things were even more complicated than that. Due to the home being a cabin, we had to find a specialized insurance agent for it and also bring in a mold specialist to determine the state of the logs. The sale became more complicated when the seller needed to get a new power of attorney in order to be eligible to sell the home. With this one, there were many, many hurdles, but my buyer had a vision for the property, so I worked to make it happen.

My job isn’t just to open doors, it’s to find answers. That’s where being resilent and having a good network comes into play.     

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.katieferriellorealestate.com/
• Instagram: @katiesellsutah