Social Media is changing the game for real estate agents in 2021. The days of marketing on billboards/park benches are long gone and with over 3 billion active users on Facebook alone, there's no wonder why agents are shifting their efforts to digital. It’s now easier than ever to connect with your target audience, boost awareness, and ultimately generate more buyer and seller leads. However, similar to a house, a strong foundation has to be set to make this happen. An optimized Facebook Page sets the stage for your brand and opens the door for more opportunities.
The truth is that realtors with a mediocre page, or none at all, will be left at a disadvantage. Many may simply HAVE a page on Facebook, yet very few actually leverage all of the tools within the platform to see tangible results. So… where does your page stand? Is your Facebook Page underutilized at best? Well, it’s not as demanding as you might think. You don’t need to be some tech wiz or marketing guru to get started. Here are 10 Beneficial Tips you can incorporate to instantly enhance your Facebook page and build a strong foundation on social media.
1. First Things First, you must actually have a Facebook Page!
It's great if you are active on social media at all. However, Facebook should be the focus as it's the dominating platform for real estate and works best for connecting with current and potential clients.
Create a Facebook Business Page
If you are still using your personal Facebook account to promote yourself as a realtor, that is your first mistake. A personal Facebook account lacks all of the optimized features that you can leverage with a Business page; such as promotional tools, audience tracking/insights, and the ability to run paid ads. In short, you'd be missing out on valuable ways to connect with potential customers by not having a Facebook Page.
Naming Your Page/Social Handle
When naming your Facebook Page, state your professional title in the page name (E.g. John Brown, Real Estate Professional). Create an easy-to-remember social media handle, as it helps visitors identify and remember your brand. Keeping this handle consistent across all social media accounts you may have (@johnbrownctrealestate).
2. Cover the Basics - Page Information
Why and how should people reach out to you? Fill out all of the fundamental information on your page with relevant and updated details.
Default Picture
For a Profile Picture, the best bet is to have a professional headshot that represents you as an agent. Save the group photo of you and your kids, or dog, for your personal account! This photo will be located in every post on your News Feed and serves as a branding tool to help users remember your face.
Cover Photo, Video, or Slideshow
Secondly, a captivating Cover Photo will help set the tone for your page. You can use one of your favorite properties along with your logo, slogan, and other key branding information. Unlike your profile picture, you can update your cover frequently and use it to highlight new properties/promotions you might have. Over time, test new cover options by adding a slideshow of photos, lifestyle shots, or drone footage of your city to showcase what it's like to live in your area.
Make sure to use the correct size dimensions for your Facebook cover photo (820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall on desktop). Mobile users, however, will see 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall. Preview your Cover on both desktop & mobile to ensure nothing important was cropped out in the process. Note: You can easily edit photos using the free online tool, Canva, with the “Facebook Cover Photo Template”.
Contact Info
This one is a no-brainer. Update all of your contact info such as your number, email, website URL (make sure it actually works), and address so everything is correct. Include your location, whether that be your brokerage firm or where your office is located as this will help you rank higher and appear in your area's Facebook search.
About Info
Keep your description to the point - Help first-time visitors understand your brand. Think of it as your elevator pitch. Explain what you do, who you help, and what you specialize in. Don’t be afraid to include some personality to set yourself apart and display your human side. After all, real estate is a relationship business. You want to be building trust with your audience consistently.
Note: Keep in mind, users can see your About Section before they even click on your page (if they hover over your page in the search bar). Make sure you have something worth clicking on! For example, if you were ranked a Top Performing Agent in Fairfield County last year, include that in the first line of your about section.
3. Add a Call-to-Action Button
Having a Facebook Business Page enables you to include a Call to Action button which gives page visitors an easy way to reach out and do something specific, like visit your website or give you a call. The most popular call-to-actions are "Call Now", "Send Message", and "Visit Website". Choose whichever button is most applicable to your brand (e.g. if your website hasn't been updated since 2012, you'll likely want to choose a different CTA than Visit Website).
4. Getting The First Followers/Likes:
Once your page is optimized, start building your foundational audience. Leverage your personal Facebook account to promote your business page and invite all past/current clients, close friends, and family. Share your Business Page on your personal timeline encouraging friends & family to Like / Follow / Share. At the end of the day, word of mouth is still the most effective form of marketing. Once you have a decent following, it will be easier to scale your audience over time and attract more interested buyers and sellers.
Tip: Give a little "nudge" by Direct Messaging those closest to you with a quick blurb (politely) asking them to share your page.
5. Reviews and Testimonials
A well-built Facebook page with favorable reviews offers instant credibility as a trusted agent in the area. It's no secret that reviews play a key role in decision-making, and it's one of the first things visitors will see when they click on your page. Encourage your best clients to drop you a quick rating/review on Facebook to give your page more authority.
Quick Tip: Copy the link to your review page on Facebook and direct message it to clients with a short note of your appreciation. Most would be more than willing to do so as it takes less than a minute. An active Facebook page with good reviews helps your page rank higher on Google & other search engines.
6. Content is KING
Many overthink it when it comes to posting on social media. The goal is to create a balance of material that informs the reader, provides value, and promotes yourself and your inventory in the process. Consistent, quality content will keep users engaged, drive traffic to your page, and help build trust with your brand over time.
Share a balance of relevant photos/videos, articles, blogs, and updates.
Tips - You're the expert. Share honest advice that buyers & sellers would find useful. This can include posts about Buying or Selling. Offer tips to make selling a home quicker & easier or ways to buy a home for a lower price.
Just Listed? Promote your active listings or properties that just went under contract.
Just Sold? Share photos of properties you have just sold. Take pictures of your happy clients in front of their new homes. Help future clients envision themselves in the same position.
Market Trends in your area. Share insightful articles with your audience.
Monthly Market Updates for your state or county
Thank You Posts! - After a successful transaction, congratulate and thank your clients for doing business with you. Give them a shoutout on your page!
Behind-the-Scenes - Share what's going on behind the curtain. What are you doing when you're not at the office or on the phone?
House-staging, interviews, virtual tours are always great.
Facebook & Instagram Stories - Stories are great for showing what you're currently working on. Stories only show on your page for 24 hours. Inspecting a home or visiting a new construction project? Post brief video clips about it in your stories to heighten curiosity.
Share Personal Updates - Remember, you're not a robot! Once in a while, it's okay to allow your audience into your personal life. Whether that be a birthday, got a new dog, or ran a marathon for a community event. Post it! Visitors want to know that you have a life outside of your profession.
Hashtags - Relevant hashtags will make it easier for your content to be discovered and connect your posts to a specific topic or conversation. Depending on your post, you can include broad hashtags (#realestate #property #forsale) and more specific hashtags related to your niche (#fairfieldcounty #buyersagent #stamfordct).
Pinned Post - Any post that is particularly important to your business, you can pin that post to the top of your page.
Note: Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and provide meaningful content that your audience will get value out of. Remember not to overthink it and keep things consistent. One common mistake many make is posting for a few days in a row, then go weeks or even MONTHS without a single post. Aim to post 3 times per week as it will go a long way.
7. Community Engagement (Stay Active)
Actively interacting with your audience on your Facebook Page is a great way to stay connected and boost page engagement. Staying active tells your current and potential clients that you are easy to reach, personable, and paying attention. What does it mean to stay active?
Respond to Comments - Reply to every comment posted on your page, good or bad, and do so actively.
Respond to Direct Messages - If someone messages your inbox, ensure you respond promptly. Facebook keeps track of your responsiveness and displays your average response time on your page.
Automated Responses - You won't always be available to respond to DM's right away. Auto replies keep the conversation flowing even if you're busy. Providing a response will leave the sender feeling as if their message was received. Click here to learn how.
8. Utilize Facebook Insights
One major feature you won't have access to using a personal Facebook account is Audience Insights.
Facebook Insights allows you to learn more about your target audience, with information about demographics, geography, online activity, and more. You can track key insights about your page, such as views, reach, engagement, conversions, etc. Note: The better insights you have on your audience, the more effectively you can promote yourself through your content & strategy.
9. Get Inspired!
Think of pages you follow on social media and actually enjoy following (doesn't need to be real estate-related). What do they do that keeps you engaged? Pinpoint pages you love in particular and keep tabs on how they run their social media accounts. Leverage pages to gain inspiration and brainstorm ideas for your own. Remember to put your own spin on things. Sounds cliche, but just be yourself! It's YOUR brand, so make it unique!
10. Leverage Paid Facebook Advertising to Generate More Buyer and Seller Leads
Do Paid Facebook Ads actually work for real estate agents? Short answer, YES. Those looking to buy homes and those looking to sell their homes are on Facebook. And in massive numbers. Managing a Facebook page is one thing, but if you want to take your real estate marketing to the next level, consider running paid ads, as you can promote content to your exact target audience.
Advanced Targeting Features
Attract Buyers and Sellers
Increase your exposure, brand awareness, and grow your audience
Build trust and brand loyalty
Drive more traffic to your website or landing page
Retarget people who visit your website and interact with your content
Capture leads and contact information
Low costs per lead
Facebook Ads continue to prove their dominance in the paid digital space in 2021 for real estate professionals. More agents are seeing the value in paid Facebook ads, but many still don't utilize them or know-how. See how we help Agents in Fairfield County generate 200-300 prequalified leads per month. Some as low as $1-2 per lead!
Your Move
Now that your foundation is set, you’re one step closer to driving results with your Facebook Marketing. Your page is optimized for more conversions and branded with great content that provides value to your audience. You're actively engaged, responding to comments/messages, and leveraging your resources to better promote your page. Follow this process and you will be way ahead of the game! Reminder: This is a long-term game. You won't get flooded with buyers and sellers looking to work with you right away. However, with a strong foundation to fall back on, you can now then leverage paid ads to target your audience and generate actual leads!
Want a FREE Social Media Marketing Video Audit of your Facebook Page with Personalized Tips & Strategy? Click HERE and we'll send it within 24 hours. Provided to you by Brett Anthony, Blog Author & Digital Marketing Specialist at Right Brain Ads in Stamford, CT. No strings attached, we are here to help!
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