This is the third post in a series on using social media to grow your real estate business.
Facebook. It's the grandaddy of social media platforms. It's not the oldest, but by this point it's certainly the best known. Which means that, if you want to use social media to market your business, it's a very good place to start.
LinkedIn, as I explained on Sunday, is purely for professional networking. Facebook, on the other hand, is suitable for both personal and professional use—but the site requires you to separate them. Even if you already have a personal Facebook profile, you will have to set up a new page for your business (don't worry, you can control them both from the same login).
Read on for how to set up and maintain your business Facebook page.
Statistics*
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Facebook has 655 million active daily users
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Facebook has 1.11 billion active monthly users
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According to Facebook's COO, 11 million businesses have pages on Facebook
How Facebook Works
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Once you've signed up for a Facebook account, go to your Home page and look to the left for “Pages.” Click “More” to enter the page setup wizard. Facebook will prompt you for the information needed to create your page. Once your page is set up, you can use the gear icon at the top right of your screen to toggle between using Facebook as yourself or as your business.
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Once your page is set up, you must invite people to “like” it. This means they have to visit the page and click a “Like” button. They then become part of your audience and will receive updates from your page.
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Even for business use, Facebook is free; however, the site also has fee-based options for marketing. These include guaranteed placement in users' news feeds, conventional ads, coupon campaigns, and more.
Tips for Using Facebook
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Your Facebook page is part of the public face of your business. Use it to full advantage: upload a polished photo and provide complete contact information. Don't post anything you wouldn't want publicly associated with your business. If folks comment on your page, respond promptly and courteously, as you would if they were to call or email you.
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Business pages are public, so don't post anything you want to keep private. Save your personal contact information or family photos for your personal page.
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Some of your personal friends may end up liking your business page. To avoid confusing them, use a page title that is more than just your name. Even “Jane Doe, Realtor” will do the trick.
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While people expect (or at least tolerate) daily Facebook updates from friends, daily business updates are less welcome. Updating a couple of times a week should be sufficient to keep your visibility high.
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People will be most likely to maintain a connection with your Facebook page if you use it for more than just selling stuff. Mix direct-sell posts (e.g., listings or requests for referrals) with value-added posts (e.g., links to articles on how to stage a house or apply for a mortgage). Let your personality shine through, and post the kind of information people will want to share with their friends.
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If you have a blog, link to it from Facebook and vice versa. This can help drive traffic in both directions.
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Consider posting limited-time coupons or discounts on Facebook, especially if you're new to a market and need to boost business quickly. For instance, give away a giftcard to a local restaurant, a month's free lawn service, or a discount on home staging.
Thanks for reading the HouseLens ActiveRain blog! Check back in a few days to learn how you can use Twitter to boost your business.
*from the Facebook newsroom, unless otherwise noted
Other posts in this series:
Social Media as a Marketing Tool
Using LinkedIn to Grow Your Professional Network
Using Twitter to Grow Your Real Estate Business
Social Media: Beyond the Big Three
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