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A "soft-sell" approach to marketing your listings on Facebook w/seller participation

These days it seems to be all about Facebook! Actually, let me rephrase, it IS all about Facebook! Social networking has become an unavoidable craze and as far as real estate is concerned, Facebook has definitely become a portal for marketing your properties, building relationships and staying in touch with past clients.

Here is a fun fact...It is estimated that the average Facebook user has at least 200 Facebook friends and 1/2 of Facebook users login to their account at least 1x per day. That is a huge audience that you NEED to reach out to - without offending anyone.

Because Facebook is such a terrific site and its member base is constantly growing, we had a great idea (and we hear other agents are already doing it)... We've started implementing this "soft-sell" idea with our clients Facebook accounts & listings and wanted to share it with all of you!

We have begun using Facebook as a marketing tool and believe that it has the potential to connect you with new clients and even connect you with the key elements in making that sale!

We are taking a "soft selling" approach to this new marketing method as our client, Kathy Toth of Ann Arbor, MI has recently done. She is one of several top agents currently utilizing this technique.

Here's how it will work...

1.) You send all of your sellers a "friend" request on Facebook.

2.) The seller will accept the friend request.

3.) You will upload photos of your seller's home into an album and TAG your seller in each photo of their home.

4.) Make comments on the seller's photos such as "The photos of your home turned out great!" or "We really captured the curb appeal in this photo!"

5.) Your seller should also respond to the photo comments and converse with you their home to publicize or "soft-sell" it to both your "friends" and your sellers "friends" on Facebook.

Avoid the "hard-sell" approach while exposing your listings to thousands of people! Best of all, your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can do all of this for you!

Warmest regards,
Real Estate Virtual Assistant - Erica Parpan

Erica Parpan, Operations Manager
RealSupport Inc.
Phone: 847-705-1655 x201
Email: Erica@RealSupportInc.com
www.RealSupportInc.com
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Posted by RealSupport Real Estate Virtual Assistant on 07/15/2009 11:20 AM

Comments (38)

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38 Comments on A "soft-sell" approach to marketing your listings on Facebook w/seller participation

JUL

Erica, that's a great use of facebook! Good way to soft sell and involve your sellers more in the process.

I like this approach as well!

Thanks for the tip!

Deborah Byron-Leffler

I like this idea very much!

Good marketing idea, thanks for sharing it.

That is a great way to use technology and free! Way to extend your marketing network. DAC

Great tips on the soft sell, thanks for sharing with us!

AWESOME, AWESOME IDEA! I love it!

Hi Erica, Nice way to involve your sellers in the marketing process ! Well done.

Thanks for sharing your specific ideas. I've been trying to introduce some marketing into facebook but unsure how to do it. I'm going to log in now!

you know what? you're a genius..operation "USE THIS" is in effect like................NOW!

Who doesn't love to see their beautiful home online!

That's a terrific idea on the use of facebook. Definitely got my attention. Thanks.

We are on this !!!! Thanks!

Great advice and that's definitely a smart way to use it. Now I'm off to befriend my sellers.

Great idea. Sellers always appreciate new ways that we are marketing their home

Great idea! I posted two listings on Facebook last week and got several responses. Picked up two buyers in fact. Then, I posted that one of my listings sold in two days. I have close to 400 friends on FB, and I actually do know the majority of them. So, it's a great way to remind people that I'm in real estate!

FaceBook and other social media is here to stay. We must use it wisely as you say, soft is key. I hope more agressive Realtors don't turn off their followers by not using your approach. People don't want to see listings from us every day. Moderation.

That sounds like a great idea and I will want to use that real soon.

I post open houses on my facebook account as well and friends really like it - brokerages are getting into the craze as well. Several have their own pages that sellers and other agents can take advantage of. I have been a facebooker for many years now - when the average friend count was less than 50 - i will tell you one thing Facebookers HATE when professionals spam them - SO DONT SPAM!!!! dont poach friends - if you dont know them and they dont know you they'll think you're a shmuck ;-)

Erica, I also like this great idea...now to get this in motion...

What a great idea. I use facebook a lot and now have found yet another cool way to network/sell myself. Softly. Thanks.

Good idea. I'm in the real facebook generation, with about 750 friends. Last week, a person I knew from middle school facebooked me & wants me to sell his $420,000 home & purchase something in the middle $300s.

An odd movement is going on whereby my sphere is now contacting me on Facebook instead of my email. I have been playing with some of my sphere by replying to a request in Facebook on an email to see if they reply to the email. More often than not, the replies are coming back on Facebook. I don't have an answer to this, but find it a bit odd and interesting. We are definitely in early stages of an internet communication movement.

Love it

I'm not a Facebook junky but I do understand the markets of tomorrow and a parent of 2 teenage kids that will be buying a home in the next 10 years. This is how this generation will buy and sell.

Those of us who don't jump on the train, will be wondering where all the people went.

If kids are breaking up these days by texting, they'll be doing everything else they can via technology. Might want to take it a step further and have the mortgage lender, appraiser, title company and co agents chime in on the pictures or lead generating comments

We are just beginning to see the vast potential of social networking realized. I am on my college renunion (Vanderbilt University) attendance committee and had an ah ha moment this morning when I realized I could use facebook to reach the majority of my class - they are already online!

Sally English

www.englishteam.com

Fantastic idea. I am just getting into social networking and wish I would have gotten in sooner. What a great way to market properties. Goodbye newspaper ads that cost REALTORS a fortune!

I have used facebook to promote open houses, and just recently we have created a fan page for our office. The fan page will allow us to keep current local information, our business hours, and a place for past clients to leave reviews. This is another way to let your past clients help you to sell your services to potential clients. Social media is the way our kids communicate, so it stands to reason it is a way to reach out to them.

Erica - Thank you for the great tip! I have posted open-house notices and new listings on my facebook, but I haven't thought of that approach. I will definitely try it! - Laurie

Fantastic tips, thank you for sharing this with us!

I ditto what Bill said: "Hi Erica, Nice way to involve your sellers in the marketing process ! Well done."

I use the Facebook marketplace to advertise listings as well. Then my sellers can link to the ad and push it out to their friends too!

Thanks for the great tips. I think facebook with just get bigger and bigger and we need to be ready. I like the soft sell idea. Thanks!

I honestly was in the process of opening a Facebook account, and this is a great way for me to start! Thanks you.

I think this is a great idea to make use of Facebook and get your client involved in the sale of their own home.

Based on what I read here Erica, this sounds like a great application for getting sellees to help spread the word! August is my social media focus month, so i will check further into it then! :-)

Great idea! I've been looking for an alternative to the "Just Listed in...." or "Just Reduced" posts on facebook.

Good tips. I'll have to friend a couple of my sellers... Actually I have friended a couple, I just need to follow up with the pics...

JUL

Great idea. I love the soft sell approach. I'm going to use it.

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