Jacqueline Kyo Thomas
Facebook marketing is an amazing tool for real estate agents. Even if this is your first year in real estate, you can use Facebook marketing like a pro to gather more leads, nurture them, and eventually convert them into real-life clients. But how?
In this post, we’ll discuss the basics of using Facebook for real estate marketing. From how to set up a business page to how to choose the right target audience for your leads, this post will guide you through the Facebook marketing basics so that you can grow your real estate business. Let’s get started.
Why Facebook?
When you think Facebook, you may not automatically think “marketing.” Facebook seems like more of a social media hangout, and it is, which is what makes the marketing so genius.
Facebook has over 2 billion monthly users. That means that over half of all Internet users login to Facebook every month. That number also represents almost a third of the entire population of earth. It’s practically guaranteed that the prospective clients you’re trying to reach are on Facebook.
Because of its enormous popularity, Facebook has been able to collect huge amounts of data on its users. From basic demographics to predictive analysis, Facebook has a library of information on its billions of users, and you can use that information to reach your target real estate client.
Why Facebook Marketing?
So, Facebook is free. Why should you pay for marketing on this social platform? One word: exposure.
Getting found on Facebook through organic means is almost impossible these days. Once again, due to its popularity, Facebook has become a "pay to play" medium for businesses looking to connect with their audiences. This includes your small real estate business. If you want to reach your target audience, you can't rely on free tactics like writing a post on your business page and waiting for the right people to magically come by and see it. You must pay for promotion.
If you’re a Facebook user, you’ve probably noticed how your newsfeed is not always chronological. Sometimes, you don’t even see certain posts in your newsfeed. That’s not by accident. Facebook uses a super-secret algorithm to decide which posts to show in the newsfeed. If you want to reach your followers organically, than you’ll need to learn how to game the Facebook system, and that ain’t easy.
But notice that I said “followers.” You’re not trying to reach only your Facebook followers, are you? You also want to reach people who’ve never heard of, but need, your real estate services. You can’t do that on Facebook through organic efforts alone. If you want to harness the power of Facebook marketing, you need to pay for that. But don’t worry, Facebook marketing is very affordable. We’ll discuss that more in a later section.
Facebook Marketing Basics
Unlike other forms of online marketing centered around keywords, Facebook allows you to build and nurture relationships.
However, Facebook marketing isn’t easy for beginners. Facebook marketing is a deep dark rabbit hole that only Alice could emerge out of intact. The good news is that, as a real estate agent, you really don't need to know all of the ins and outs of Facebook marketing. You simply need to know these basics:
Set Up a Business Page
The first step to marketing your real estate business is to set up a business page. A business page is superior because it allows you to advertise your business and guide those who visit your page into a deeper relationship with you.
Here’s how to quickly create a polished business page:
- Click here to set up your Facebook business page
- Upload a profile image (your professional headshot is best, no logos, because it’s all about building a relationship)
- Use a cover photo that promotes a lead magnet (more on this later), shares a client’s glowing testimonial, or discusses something important about you (such as your certification or specialty)
- Fill out as much personal information as possible (your website address, office address, phone number, etc.)
Choose a Facebook Audience Type
So, now for the star of the show: The audience. How do you reach a specific group of people with your Facebook ad? Facebook allows you to create target audiences for your ad campaign, based on a wide variety of factors.
There are three main audience types that you can create on Facebook. Let’s break them down:
Saved Audience A saved audience is a group of people that you select, based on specific demographics, such as:
- Age range
- Location
- Gender
- Marital status (newlywed, newly engaged, divorced, recently single)
- Job title (exclude other real estate agents from seeing your ad)
- Behavior (target people based on which websites they’ve visited, such as Zillow)
- Viewing device (choose whether your ads will appear to those on desktop or mobile, or both)
Just be sure to remember the fair housing rules when setting up marketing audiences - even though Facebook might let you, you probably can't use things like gender to define your audience as a real estate agent!
Custom Audience A Custom Audience is a Facebook audience made from your existing contacts. To create a Custom Audience, you’ll upload a list of email addresses or phone numbers from their contact list, and then Facebook will match your list with its users. Your Custom Audience is comprised of people who you already know.
Lookalike Audience A Lookalike Audience is a type of Custom Audience. Unlike a Custom Audience, you don’t have a relationship with the people in your Lookalike Audience yet. This is a group of people that Facebook chooses based on their similarity to your Custom Audience. They may share the same traits (i.e. demographics, behavior, interests). A Lookalike Audience is useful for finding new people who resemble your current list of current and prospective clients.
Create a Budget for Your Marketing Campaign
Here’s more great news about Facebook: You can create a marketing campaign for a few dollars a day-- and you’re not locked into a lengthy contract. If you only want to run your campaign one day a month, you can do that. Or, if you want to send a new campaign every day for three months, you can do that, too.
Not all ads cost the same on Facebook. Several factors will determine how far you can get with your budget, such as:
- Marketing objective - Your desired action will affect the cost you pay for each interaction. For example, you’ll pay less to get views than you will if you want people to click on a link.
- Location - Where you market will determine how much you’ll spend on your ads.
- Customer demographics - Keep in mind that you’re not the only advertiser who’s trying to reach a particular audience. For a more desired demographic, you’ll pay more to compete with other advertisers.
- Ad quality - You’ll pay less if you have a high relevance score. The more people that positively react to your ads, the higher your score. Your relevance score will change over the course of your campaign.
- Timing - Advertisers tend to pay more around certain events, such as holidays.
Commit to A/B Testing
To determine the effectiveness of your ads, be sure to test them. Here’s how:
Test every major element of your Facebook ad, including your call to action, images, headlines, offer type, and audience demographic.
Test your landing page, too. Your landing page should match your Facebook ad in tone and offer. In addition, it should “seal the deal.” If it’s not, you need to account for the lack of conversions by swapping out different elements on your page just like you will on your Facebook ad (i.e. call to action, headline, offer type.)
Focus on Exposure
As discussed previously, you can use Facebook for a variety of objectives, each varying in cost. To get the most bang for your buck, consider focusing your efforts on exposure. You want to start building a relationship with prospective clients, and you’ll do that through introducing yourself and staying top of mind.
To reach top of mind, you need the following:
Follow up with prospective clients. People will not trust you after seeing just one Facebook ad. Studies show that leads don’t convert into customers until at least nine (9) interactions with your brand. That translates to exposing the same person to your marketing over and over again until they finally trust you enough to take the next step. You need repeated exposure.
Send automated emails. One of the best strategies for your email subscribers is to enroll them into a drip email series. In this type of email series, you’ll send an email on a consistent basis for a predetermined amount of time with the end goal of conversion. An example of an automated drip series may be “10 Things Home Buyers Need to Know Before Buying” where you offer 11 emails, each dedicated to a specific subtopic. In the final, 11th email, you may drive home your call to action (i.e. book a consultation).
Final Thoughts
Because of its ability to target prospective clients so precisely, Facebook is a no-brainer when it comes to selling real estate. Facebook marketing is also very affordable, and allows you to get the immediate results, even if you’re completely new to the idea of online marketing for real estate. Use the above tips to get started with Facebook right away.