Facebook recently became the number one website in the world. It is used by millions of people, easily accessible, and free. Facebook has a great resource called the Facebook Marketplace which users are utilizing to sell anything from concert tickets to cars to, yes, houses and apartments.
More and more agents are beginning to incorporate Facebook Marketplace into their listing marketing efforts and there are multiple reasons why we feel that it is an important resource when it comes to marketing your listings:
Marketplace is easy to use: Adding your listings to Marketplace is almost as simple as posting them to your fan page wall.
1.) Login to Facebook
2.) Search for Marketplace in the top search bar to go to the Marketplace application.
3.) Click the “Post a listing” button at the top right of the page.
4.) Location: Enter your city, state.
5.) Category: Choose houses or rentals, which ever is appropriate.
6.) Fill out the form will all of the details about your listing and click "Post"
The listing will then show up on both your personal profile as well as your Facebook friends’ newsfeeds as “Betty Broker is selling a house on Facebook Marketplace” or something similar.
Facebook Marketplace has a soft-sell approach: Many agents feel uncomfortable posting listings on their own Facebook profile or fan page for fear of being perceived as a pushy sales professional. The great thing about Facebook Marketplace is that it’s an appropriate place to post listings because the feature is meant for advertising things you want to sell (or rent)!
Facebook users only search Marketplace if they’re interested in buying (or renting) something, therefore it is the perfect place for agents to advertise their listings to interested buyers/renters.
Your listings are exposed to a large number of people: Facebook Marketplace is set up so that your listing is visible to people other than just your friends. People can opt to see listings from friends, friends of friends, and their entire network!
The average number of friends per Facebook user is between 150-200 friends, and many have even more than that. If you have at least 200 Facebook friends, and each of those friends have at least 200 friends, that means your listing is exposed to 40,000 instantly.
(Note: Facebook users do have the ability to disable notifications and emails from Facebook, so this number can change). This is in addition to other Facebook users that aren't friends with you OR your friends, but just happen to be searching on Marketplace for their next home!
Facebook Marketplace creates a solid network that’s trustworthy: There are very specific ways to search on Facebook Marketplace so that you’re only viewing ads from people you know or friends of people you know. This creates a sense of confidence in the person that you’re buying from. As an agent, if you have 40,000+ people who know someone you know, that’s a large network of people who would trust in you as an agent. It’s a great way to not only market your property, but also yourself.
The easy, accessible, and quick nature of Facebook Marketplace is perfect for enhancing your listing marketing efforts and getting your name out there to a large volume of people. We feel that this resource is something that all agents should ask their Real Estate Virtual Assistant to incorporate into their social networking/marketing efforts. Remember: Social networking for real estate is a very powerful tool and if you aren't utilizing it to the fullest potential, you're missing out on potential clients.
Have a great weekend!
Erica (Parpan) Lawrence
Operations Manager
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