Building a successful online presence as a real estate professional requires more than the ability to showcase properties and obtain new leads. Captivating your intended audience and targeting the right prospective clients can drastically increase the number of leads and followers you receive. Although Facebook is changing its ad platform to prevent discriminatory advertising practices, the social media giant is still facing a lawsuit from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. There are still a few Facebook targeting hacks you can use to maximize your online presence, grow your digital following, and create a professional and trustworthy reputation for yourself.

Here’s how:

Create a Facebook Business Page/Business Account

If you’re new to Facebook advertising, it’s essential to create a business page. Choosing to use a personal Facebook page can lead to confusion among followers and prospective clients who are seeking professional representation. In addition to creating a business page to better represent the real estate services you provide, opt for an official business manager account through Facebook to gain access to additional advertising and marketing tools.

Brainstorm Buyer Personas That Represent Your Ideal Clients

Knowing who your ideal client is matters. Establish various identities and buyer personas that are most fitting (nondiscriminatory) and relevant to your intended audience. Developing buyer personas for both buyers and sellers in your niche is a way to better understand effective communication methods and marketing strategies that deliver desired results.

Create Persona-Specific Targeted Ads

Once you’ve figured out your buyer and seller personas, begin rolling out Facebook Ads using the personas you created. Target users based on their location and specific keywords (interests) they have used on Facebook that are most relevant to your real estate services. Personas help to create targeted ads to prevent overspending or casting too wide of a net when you are just getting started in the social media realm.

Here are some ideas for audience targeting:

• Location Targeting. Location targeting is one of the most popular tactics used with social media marketing platforms such as Facebook. Select areas using a visual map while entering the radius of the location you want to reach to appeal only to users in that area. Location targeting is optimal for real estate professionals representing properties in specific areas or for those who have a limit on how far they are willing to travel.
Targeting a specific home community or an upcoming event in a nearby city is also possible with location targeting. Set your parameters to target individuals who have visited the desired location even if they do not live in the area themselves to maximize your exposure.

• Mobile Device Targeting. While it is no longer possible to target prospective clients based on their reported income with Facebook, it is possible to target users based on the type of mobile device they use while accessing the platform. Targeting users based on their mobile device is a way to hone on in potential clients who may be in the market for a new home. For example, targeting users who own an Apple iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy Note (Android) indicates the individuals may have a higher take-home income (making it easier to buy a new home or property).

• Email List Lookalike Audiences. Once you’ve built an established email list using an official newsletter on your website (or throughout your social media pages), create lookalike audiences using Facebook Ads. Lookalike audiences are created after importing your email lists into Facebook Ads. Once you import your previous email lists, develop new target audiences based on similar interests and specific demographics of individuals in the email lists themselves.

• Life Events. Target users based on life events recorded using Facebook. Newlyweds, engagements, retirement announcements, and even parents who have children heading off to college are prospects that may lead to being in the market for a new home. Target life events that are most relevant to the type of properties you represent.

• Excluding Life Event Targeting. When targeting users based on life events, be mindful of users who have recently moved. If an individual has recently moved, they’re less likely to engage with a real estate ad or be interested in hiring a real estate professional to represent them.

Select the audience you intend to target wisely and avoid overusing targeting filters. An overuse of targeting filters that are too specific can lead to unsatisfying campaign results. Choose one to three personas you have developed to target first, adding location and basic demographic filters with each. Keep in mind that users under the age of 25 are less likely to be in the market for a new home, so it is ideal to skew older with target ads for the best results.

Create and Implement a FB Pixel on Your Real Estate Website

A Facebook Pixel is available for page owners and businesses who currently use Facebook Business Manager to run and track ad campaigns and also have their own official website. Obtain a FB Pixel is possible by contacting your webmaster directly after generating the pixel using Facebook’s platform itself. Your webmaster can then help to implement the pixel onto your website, providing valuable and in-depth information regarding the conversions you receive from each campaign you have launched using Facebook Ads. In addition to learning more about conversions, FB pixel information is also useful to determine which ad campaigns work best with your intended audience (allowing for more accurate retargeting/remarketing strategies).

While building a bustling social media presence as a professional is not always easy in a highly competitive industry, it is possible with the right Facebook targeting hacks for real estate professionals. By implementing the right social media marketing strategy, you can outperform your local competition while solidifying your place as a professional in the real estate market of your choice.

Author Bio: 

Rodica Bartels is the Vice President of Operations at CENTURY 21 Northwest. She was born in Europe and lived in Illinois and Oregon before moving to Arizona. She’s an expert on property values, financing options, and enjoys using her professional guidance to bring long-term satisfaction to all real estate transactions. As a homeowner and as a real estate investor, Rodica works closely with buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, and commercial investments.