Facebook is a social network that is used by many people around the world. Facebook is becoming very popular and is being used by a lot of people. Since there are already so many people using Facebook, and more signing up every day, there is a lot of potential for acquiring new clients, friends, and business contacts. Therefore, Facebook is an essential part of any successful online marketing strategy.
Almost every real estate transaction starts with an online search, so real estate professionals, home buyers, sellers and investors all rely on the Internet to finish their transactions. Now that social networking is here, it’s more important than ever for real estate professionals to get involved with the most beneficial social communities. Facebook is an effective tool to market your real estate business. Here are some tips to use Facebook to reach your target audience.
Real Estate Marketing with Facebook
Facebook is an excellent marketing platform for any business, especially real estate. its features like poking, throwing sheep, and battling zombies are additional bonuses that make it even more fun. Real estate agents and brokers can find new clients on Facebook because it has over 300 million active users.
Before you can effectively market your real estate business on Facebook, it is important to use the features and reach of the network to your benefit. We want to help you be successful on Facebook, so we’re going to dispel some myths that might be holding you back. Avoid any distractions and use Facebook to its fullest potential.
Facebook Myths for Real Estate Marketers
This is not true! Facebook is used by people of all ages, from high school and college students, to adults and seniors.
The demographic group that is growing the fastest on Facebook is made up of people who are 35 years old and older.
Remember that everyone knows someone who may be interested in buying, selling, or investing in real estate. If you have a lot of authority, respect, and credibility on Facebook, more people will find you and refer other people to you.
MYTH: Prospects and clients can see personal / private information (photos, posts, etc) and may be turned off by what they see.
If you allow them, they will be able to in part. Facebook allows you to control who sees your posts and when they see them. On Facebook, you can choose who gets to see your posts by adjusting your privacy settings.
The best way to control who sees your posts is to create a Facebook fan page in addition to your profile page. This will allow you to choose who is able to see your posts, and you will have more control over your privacy settings. Once you have a Fan page, you can keep all of your business related contacts there, and still allow all of your friends and family to see your personal information on your Facebook Profile.
The belief that one must have a large number of friends on Facebook in order for it to be beneficial for marketing is a myth.
It is not necessary to have a large network of friends and fans on Facebook for it to be useful to you. If your friends and fans are part of the target demographic you are looking for, or if they are highly influential in their communities, then a smaller number of them will be much more valuable to you than a large number of people you barely know.
If you want to attract friends and fans who will be interested in your content, you need to publish content that is interesting, relevant, and useful. The main reason is because you need to make your content engaging, or people will not interact with you or stick around.
Other Reasons Why Realtors Should Market on Facebook
- Social networking on Facebook is FREE
- Interacting with others on Facebook can be fun (and addicting)
- There are over 300 million active users
- Over 6 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day
- More than 10 million users become fans of Pages each day
- An effective Facebook marketing campaign can take less than 5 minutes a day
Top Facebook Tips for Real Estate Professionals
If you already have a profile set up on Facebook, you’re ready to start marketing your real estate business online using some essential, effective methods.
If you’re not one of the 300 million people already on Facebook, these great video resources will help you get involved today. If you need help getting started, you can leave us a comment below or send us an email at info@realestatemarketingblog.org.
In this blog post, we will be using a Boca Raton Luxury Real Estate specialist as an example of someone who has used social media, specifically Facebook, to help his business grow. Keep up the great work Philip!
Setup a Facebook Fan Page
We understand that some people and companies may prefer to keep their personal and work lives separate and not share everything publicly. Facebook allows users to create Fan Pages to promote themselves or their businesses.
The primary distinction between a Fan Page and a Profile Page on Facebook is that a Fan Page amasses fans while a Profile Page gathers friends. If you want to separate your business and personal life, a Fan Page is the way to go. The functionality and features of both are very similar.
Click here to setup your Facebook Fan Page
Get a User Name
Facebook users can create more SEO-friendly names for their profiles and fan pages. A user name makes the URL of your page or profile more (1) SEO friendly and (2) easier to remember for other users.
You cannot get a user name for a fan page unless you have at least 100 fans. Make sure your fan page has great content, tell your friends about it, and then sign up for your own SEO friendly username.
Connect Your Twitter Account
Since Facebook began allowing third-party developers to create applications, we have seen some great features emerge. There is an application that we love that connects Twitter to Facebook.
You can create a Twitter account by clicking here. If you already have a Twitter account, then we highly recommend that you check out one of the following applications that allows your Twitter updates to be posted on your Facebook profile and fan pages and vice versa:
You can update all of your social media accounts from one place using ContentStudio.io.
No need for a separate status update. This is an application that allows you to post your Twitter status to your Facebook profile or page quickly and easily.
Connect Your Blog
If you want to make the most out of Facebook, it is important that you post high-quality content on a regular basis. This can be on your personal profile and/or on any fan pages that you manage. If you do not have interesting, unique, and useful content, people will not want to follow you or become a fan of your page. The worst part is that people won’t be encouraged to interact and talk with you, which is the whole point of social media.
Posting different types of content in various locations can take up a lot of time and effort. There is a great thing called RSS which allows content to be syndicated to other places on the internet.
There are several applications you can use with Facebook to post your real estate blog on your profile and/or fan pages. ContentStudio.io is the perfect tool for this as well.
If you don’t already have a blog dedicated to real estate, be sure to check out our tips to get yours set up and running optimally.
Use Facebook Ads
If you are just starting out on Facebook, it can be hard to get people to notice your page. If you’re not posting great content regularly, people won’t want to follow or friend you. Fortunately, there is another option.
Facebook enables its users to create promotional ads to communicate with other Facebook users. You will have to pay for advertising on Facebook, but it is less expensive than other paid search marketing platforms like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. The ads can be targeted to your key demographics, which is the best part.
If you’re looking for more fans, friends, or just more people to see your website, Facebook advertising is a great option. That said, there are a few things to be aware of:
- You can, and will, waste money if your ad campaigns are not setup correctly.
- Facebook ads are still relatively new and users are not 100% accustomed to them yet so click through rates are still comparatively low.
- Don’t be intrusive or annoying with your ads. Users already complain about Facebook recommending dates to them just because their status says “Single”.
Successful Real Estate Facebook ads Examples
1. Vakil Housing – Address customer pain points
Our first real estate Facebook ads example comes from Vakil Housing. This real estate company understands what their customers are going through and creates ads that speak to that. Check it out below.
The text of the ad reads, “Keep your whole family together.“ For some real estate prospects, finding a space that will accommodate their whole family is a significant pain point. For example, expectant parents who might be looking forward to starting a new family might want a bigger space.
To create effective Facebook ads for real estate, use the pain points of your customers. An in-depth understanding of your target customer is necessary to do this well. By understanding them, you will be able to answer questions such as:
- What problems do they face when searching for a home to buy?
- Why would they want to sell their current home?
- What are their interests and key features they’re looking for?
Answering these questions will produce interest in your offering and make your ads more effective.
Many people turn to Facebook when they are looking for solutions to their housing problems. You can connect with potential customers on a personal level by creating Facebook ads that address their pain points.
2. JSP Realtors – Use satisfied customers’ testimonials
JSP Realtors gathered customer testimonials to create Facebook carousel ads.
It’s more effective to let your existing or previous customers talk about your real estate services, rather than just telling people about them yourself. This strategy relies on social proof to make your brand more trustworthy. When people are considering a new service, they often look to the testimonies of others who have used that service to see if it is worth pursuing.
Customer testimonials are a great way to create effective Facebook ads for real estate. These ads can help build brand awareness and trustworthiness. It is a great way to handle every objection your prospects might have.
3. Zac McHardy – Use Facebook Live to create a virtual tour of a property
Zac Mchardy, a realtor, decided to use the feeling of exclusiveness and urgency that comes with early access to a listing that is not yet on the market. He gave a live tour of his house with no edits or crops, making viewers feel like they were a part of something special.
The Facebook Live feature is not only authentic, but it also helps build trust between the realtor and the audience.
The native live streaming video tool on Facebook is Facebook Live. You can use Facebook Live as a real estate agent to create a virtual tour of a property or live stream from an open house while you address your prospects. You can also use it as promotional content.
By creating Facebook Live ads, you are able to connect with your audience in a real and trust worthy way, building awareness for your brand.
4. Daft.ie – Take advantage of the carousel ad format
Daft.ie, a real estate company located in Ireland, used the carousel ad format to show the different listings of available properties that prospects can check out. This allows prospects to view multiple listings at once and find the one that best suits their needs. They also use it to give potential buyers a better idea of what the property looks like and what features it has.
The carousel ad format used by Facebook is ideal for creating impactful real estate ads. This is because the format is highly visual, which is key to catching your target audience’s attention.
5. QuintoAndar – Effectively use retargeting to bring back prospects
This ad from QuintoAndar uses a simple image and headline to attract attention and encourage people to find out more. This ad from QuintoAndar uses a simple image and headline to show that they are a trusted source for information on real estate. Facebook’s dynamic ads were used to target website visitors who looked at different listings for homes.
The Facebook dynamic ad feature allows real estate agents to create ads using their home listings for people who have already viewed those listings on the agent’s website. You can encourage someone who has shown interest in your product but has not committed to becoming a lead through targeted advertising. One great thing about dynamic ads is that they can include a lot of useful information about a property, such as its address, price, and type.
Getting the Most Out of Facebook
Facebook is a great platform to help you grow your real estate business. The days of being able to simply create a website that allows users to search for MLS listings are gone. Facebook provides a more personal way to connect with consumers, who are tired of feeling like they are being sold to. This allows you to build trust and gather contact information without resorting to underhanded tactics.
There are few hard statistics that show the actual return on investment from social media platforms such as Facebook. However, we are willing to guarantee that if you talk to anyone who has really invested their time and effort into making social connections online, they will say that the return they are getting has been worth those few extra minutes a day spent online.
Get involved in social media instead of procrastinating or being skeptical about it! If you don’t take advantage of opportunities, you can be sure your competitors will. We are always here to help real estate professionals who use the Internet to innovate and set standards for other industries. We would appreciate any feedback you have. If you want to get in touch with us, you can either leave a comment below or email us at info@realtorfuel.rocks.
