Top 10 Facebook Tips for Realtors
Facebook can seem like a big scary place, full of rules everyone seems to know through some kind of social osmosis. So, you know the basics of how the service works and you’re ready to start sharing. Now what?
Here are a few tips and best practices for every realtor starting the Facebook marketing journey.
#1: Only share what will bring value to your ideal customer (target customer demographic). Don’t share for the sake of sharing. Only post what will enrich, entertain, or educate your primary audience. To goal is to showcase your VALUE as a realtor over all others. Think of it as a transaction. No one will give you something (money, business, contracts, or leads) for free. You have to provide something in return. Sharing useful tidbits, or better yet, pieces of your own knowledge both builds potential customer trust and opens the door for future transactions.
#2: Don’t just share links. Facebook likes original content. It’s their business to keep people on their platform, and the more people who create original content to share on Facebook, the longer people stay and return to their site. Share a healthy combination of video, original images (which can simply be photographs), written posts, and links to keep your posts
#3: Be active, but not hyperactive. Business pages without regular visitor and interaction get rated lower on Facebook. Remain active, but not overly so. Facebook now has an algorithm in place that will prevent the wide sharing of repeat content. So if you’re posting multiple times about a listing, open house, or asking for feedback, change the wording and image so you don’t get snagged in the spam net.
#4: Reach out to your client base. Most people set up a Facebook business page, invite their friends, sit back and consider their job done. Sadly, it’s not. Join Facebook groups, respond to interesting posts, offer your expertise and experience by answering questions and basically get out there. Treat Facebook like a networking event. You wouldn’t just show up to a business gathering and consider your job done. You need to shake hands, make useful contacts, and mingle. Facebook is no different. It’s just easier to mingle (and can be done in your pajamas).
#5: Schedule your posts. Most of us are busy, and finding the time everyday to think of something witty to post to your social networks isn’t possible. Choose a day out of the week or month and plan out your posts. Once that’s done, schedule them to roll out with the Publishing Tools available on your business page. How to do that here.
#6: Give people a Call to Action on your page. Provide a tab that asks for newsletter sign ups. Give them the opportunity to sign up for a client portal through your MLS or agent/company website. Point them to your blog or other useful piece of on information on your website. Promote a local event you are involved in and ask for RSVPs. You want to convert those visitors into leads, and leads into clients. In order to do that, you need to capture their interest by providing value and then give them a way to reach out to you.
#7: Abide by the 80/20 rule. 80% of everything you share on social media should be focused on delivering valuable or entertaining content to your customers. Only 20% of any social feed should contain self-promotion. Self-promoting materials include testimonials, listing announcements, open houses, sale announcements, and awards or achievements. Keep the focus on what the customer would want to hear, not necessarily what YOU want the customer to hear.
#8: Don’t ask for likes, shares, or comments. Facebook has very recently gotten wise to posts specifically requesting interaction, and will bury those posts (meaning they won’t show up frequently in people’s feeds). Instead of asking for likes comments or shares, ask a question, start a poll, or ask for an opinion. Not only will you rank higher, but you’ll encourage genuine interactions that are more likely to foster relationships and cultivate leads.
#9: Create a product to market and advertise. Sadly, real estate isn’t exactly downloadable, and as a service it’s difficult to offer without property being involved. But your expertise, experience, and even exclusive tools are easily shared. Create an ebook that walks first time buyers through the process. Create a presentation that explains VA loans or how a mortgage is calculated. Provide a personalized and detailed breakdown of the area including school district maps, local hotspots, family friendly activities, and cultural events. Create an economic market breakdown of your city with a map showing relative home prices or HOA fees. Once you have your content, advertise it on Facebook as a free gift with email & phone number sign up and BAM you have a valuable email and phone number to add to your marketing list (with an added bonus of knowing they are interested in the area and content you are providing).
#10: People are hesitant to interact with realtors online because they don’t want to be marketed heavily to. It’s a sad fact, but real estate business pages have some of the lowest interaction rates on Facebook today. Why? Because most realtors on Facebook really DO just want to sell and market to their followers, and it shows. The average person online is marketed to so heavily, that they’ve become weary experts at spotting an ad or sales pitch. How do you overcome that? Flip your approach. Don’t ask what your Facebook audience can do for you, ask what you can do for your Facebook audience. Make your potential client the star of the show, not the house they can list with you or buy in the future.
