Being present on social media is a must for any real estate agent. Many home buyers and sellers determine what agent they are going to hire by simply investigating their social media. Therefore, you not only need to be present on social media but using it effectively. Facebook is a free social media platform that offers an abundance of opportunities for real estate agents to grow their business. Are you using it to your fullest advantage?
1. Create a Business Page
To start effectively engaging with clients and potential clients on Facebook you will need to create a business page. This page allows people to have access to your contact information, reviews, and content you want to promote at the touch of a button. In addition to being a great marketing and promotion tool, a Facebook business page is also extremely easy to set up. Start by setting the category of your page to “local business.” As a real estate agent, you want to attract clients in close proximity to you, so it is best to define your page as being primarily for local business.
Next, you want to add in your bio and basic information. Make sure that your name and contact info are easily seen as soon as someone enters the page. If a person has to dig around on your page to find out how to contact you, chances are they will quickly give up. Your bio should also be relatively easy to find. This allows you to quickly establish credibility among potential clients. While your bio needs to be informative and substantial, don’t forget to make it personal. Many people will be looking to see who you are as a person, as well as investigating your experience.
When creating a business page, Facebook has multiple options for a “call to action” button. These are standout buttons on the page that say “send a message” or “contact me.” They encourage viewers to reach out, ask questions, and overall establish a connection with you. After the basic setup of your page is done, all that is left to do is to make an introductory post and invite friends and clients to “like” your page.
An introductory post is important because it encourages visitors to spend more time on your page, and further allows them to see who you are as a real estate agent. The post should be real estate centered but not pushing a hard sell. For example write a post about some of your waterfront listings, along with the pros and cons of living by the water. This post would promote your work as an agent but is also informative and interesting.
2. Join Facebook Groups
Facebook groups bring people together based on something they already have in common. Many neighborhoods and counties have Facebook groups for the residents of the area. They are meant for citizens to share stories, information, and make connections—exactly the kind of platform you want. You can make targeted posts in these groups to advertise yourself and any properties you are representing. For example, if you have an open house coming up, make a post about it.
There are also tons of Facebook groups that are professionally based, and only meant for real estate agents to join. Joining these groups, and becoming active in them, gives you the opportunity to learn from other agents. You are able to ask questions, receive feedback, learn about social and professional events, and much more by joining one of these groups. This is an easy networking opportunity that every real estate agent should be taking advantage of.
3. Post Relatable and Quality Content
Post around one to two times a day to your business page. While this kind of commitment can seem unnecessary, it is crucial to maintaining engagement levels and exposure. Being strategic with the number of times you post will not be as effective if you are not also strategic with the content you are posting though. Posts that focus on humor, or spreading knowledge are oftentimes the most well-received on social media. People want to laugh, and they want to feel smart. It is your job to appeal to these feelings and engage them in your content.
Remember to stay on the topic of real estate though. For example, if you are trying to appeal to humor, share a blog post about the biggest home staging fails or why someone should marry a real estate agent. This is fun and engaging content that some people might even feel the need to share on their personal page, thus increasing your exposure even more.
4. Target Your Audience
Your content should always be relatable and of high quality, but according to who? When posting anything your primary audience should always be in mind. If you predominantly serve new homebuyers then your content should be targeted towards young individuals or couples in their twenties and thirties who are branching out to a new chapter in their life.
Focusing your content will draw the attention of your target audience and they will become frequent readers of your promoted content. Publishing reviews to your page from people who fit your target audience will also catch the attention of more people in your target audience. Positive reviews from people who are in their exact situation will build your credibility quickly.
Facebook also gives you the option to select demographic variables in order to reach your target audience more efficiently. Factors such as age, income level, and relationship status can all be tailored when using this tool. This tool ensures that the most people possible who fit your target audience see your content.
5. Use Gated Content
Gated content is content that viewers of your page have to individually contact you for in order to gain access to. This can be a blog post written by you, a helpful moving checklist, or an amazing city guide to the city you live in. To promote this type of content simply make a post saying that you have found a city guide, or whatever the content may be, and if any of your followers want access to it they should comment their email below, and you will send it to them. This strategy tends to work as a lead magnet because only people who are invested in learning about real estate, or people who have been following you closely, will take the time to comment on their email. These people are often going to be home buyers or sellers in the near future, and now you have their personal email to send marketing material to.
Using Facebook to Your Advantage
Facebook is an amazing and versatile tool that allows you to further connect with clients and other agents. While being active on the platform may seem like a hassle at times, or maybe you are not getting the response results you want, stay persistent. Persistence is the most important element of using Facebook to promote your business. If you follow the guidelines set above and continuously stay persistent, you will achieve the results you are looking for.
Madison Clifton is a part of the marketing team at Transactly.
