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V O L . X X X N O. V I I I A P R I L 1 5 , 2 0 2 4 14 R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G "Tick tick boom," the hip hop song plays as the black- and-white-clad woman in heels sashays through the grocery aisle, tossing turkey, stuffing mix and produce into her cart for anksgiving dinner. ere's no speaking in the high- energy mini movie, only rapping and a plug for the real estate broker whose name and phone number pops up on a series of checkout dividers. She's Yulia Glasgow, an associate broker with Scarborough-based Maine Real Estate Co. who spends up to four hours a week on social media marketing. "I'm a big goofball, and I want people to know this is just my personality," says Glasgow, a former IT project manager who chooses music that's trending for her Instagram reels — short videos like the grocery-store one that's garnered more than 1,850 views. More serious on LinkedIn, Glasgow aims for fun on Facebook and Instagram, the two top social media networks used in her profession, to show prospective clients that she would be fun to work with: "My dream job is to be Santa Claus, so real estate allows that for me," she says. For Glasgow and many of her peers, social media isn't just a hobby or creative outlet, it's an essential tool to stand out and generate leads in a competitive industry. Whether they're posting new listings or closings or more personal things like snapshots of pets, babies and vacations, real estate agents in Maine and elsewhere are using social media to promote their brand, stay connected to clients and find new ones, and keep tabs on trends and what their peers — and rivals — are up to. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY F O C U S MEREDA President Craig Young, a broker and partner at the Boulos Co., records an episode of the "MEREDA Matters" podcast. S O U R C E : National Asssociation of Realtors, 2023 Technology Survey SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS USED IN RE BUSINESS Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Twitter TikTok Pinterest Snapchat Threads Other 92% 68% 52% 26% 17% 15% 6% 6% 2% 5% How Maine real estate professionals are using social media to drum up business B y R e n e e C o r d e s

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