Starting a Facebook page is literally like opening up a branch office. It takes some initial time to build, but over time will become a valuable marketing tool. There are real estate agencies generating more business from Facebook than web portals! It’s a social channel that allows you to engage easily and be interactive with your customers, which is an investment in a longer-term relationship that may take place over many years and many homes!
Here are 25 Facebook tips:
- Complete the information tab and all other places where you can enter data on your page.
- Add high quality clear pictures — good visuals are a proven draw. (Here are some great tips!)
- Add a property search tab that will link back to your website.
- Add designed tabs (e.g. “Request a valuation”) to attract more leads and provide a more personal experience.
- Add an app (e.g., “fan of the week”) for excitement and a dynamic feeling.
- Add an “invite friends” app – Get the crowd to spread the word!
- Add a Twitter app.
- Add a YouTube app and post videos of select, photogenic properties.
- Add the Contact app – Encourage fans to send you a message if they want a fast response.
- Encourage staff/friends to Like you to begin with – You have to start somewhere.
- Post educational links (e.g., an article on how to create “curb appeal” when you’re selling your house, or a list of sites to estimate your mortgage payment).
- Set up Facebook links from your website, and on your email signatures, and from your blog. This will encourage link building.
- Offer incentives to vendors to Like you and share your news on Facebook (e.g., have a “Vendor of the Month” drawing for a small prize for vendors who have promoted you).
- Encourage recommendations on Facebook from your happy clients after a sale — if possible, include pictures of them enjoying their new home.
- Ask relevant questions — Facebook is a great place for questions — A way to find out what your fans want from you.
- Reach out and Like relevant companies/ facilities locally – schools/ restaurants/ golf clubs etc. They show the context for the homes you sell.
- Share/Like local companies status updates if you find them valuable. They will then start to reciprocate.
- Post your blogs on your Facebook page.
- Post relevant newsworthy statuses on a regular basis (local/regional or property related)
- Use Facebook insights to establish what posts are more successful than others. Use the stats to adjust your activities and messages.
- Acknowledge new fans by posting on your wall — welcome them and offer assistance.
- Set up Facebook ads to spread brand awareness locally
- Add videos that have many views on YouTube — just make sure they are relevant to your business!
- Add fun illustrations (captioned photos, funny pets) or funny scenes from movies that pertain to real estate (e.g., The Money Pit).
- Have a complaints procedure in place – and be prepared to address them quickly!
Once you put a good group of these tips into practice, you’ll find your Facebook site humming along and gathering interest. It requires little time each day to maintain a vibrant, dynamic site!
Ian Charles Watson is the principal of Agent Media. Agent Media stays on top of the latest technological advances in full digital marketing solutions specifically for Real Estate Agents — helping them make the most of their marketing budget in a competitive marketplace.
House key image: Jeannie Rhoades
