How to Use Facebook for Your Real Estate Business

WHAT IS FACEBOOK FOR YOUR REAL ESTATE BUSINESS?

Facebook isn't just for friends and family; it's a great resource for growing your business online. What began as a social hangout for friends and family has evolved into a powerhouse for business pages, paid advertising, shops, and more. Here's what you need to know about Facebook for your real estate business.

WHY IS FACEBOOK IMPORTANT FOR YOUR REAL ESTATE BUSINESS?

Facebook has changed its algorithms to cater to user experience, so getting that free traffic by sharing random status updates and photos isn't as easy as it once was. In fact, gaining traffic, likes, and shares is harder that it ever has been. Harder, but not impossible. Here's the deal:

Because Facebook is concerned with user experience AND with the revenue it can gain through services for businesses, the social network has created all new ways to market your real estate business digitally. Although no longer a primarily free resource for gaining traffic for your business, Facebook is still a remarkable tool for business growth, brand awareness, networking, and advertising.

HOW FACEBOOK FOR BUSINESS CAN WORK FOR YOU

Facebook has a variety of ways you can market your real estate business, including:

• Facebook Business Pages
  • Brand Awareness
  • Consistency in contact information to support local search
• Facebook Live Video
  • How to offer value to viewers
  • How Facebook Live keeps your posts active in the news feed
  • How Facebook Live can market your listings
• Facebook Groups
  • How to build your database
  • How to drive traffic to your page and your website
  • How to build referral relationships
• Facebook Reviews
  • How to use reviews to raise your rank in search engines
  • How to encourage word of mouth advertising
• Facebook Referrals
  • How Facebook has become a search engine
  • How to get recommendations from others
• Facebook Shops
  • How to market your individual listings
  • How to market groups of listings by price, feature, location, etc.
• Facebook Ads
  • How to use Pay Per Click Advertising on Facebook
  • How to figure Return on Investment on your Facebook ads

FACEBOOK BUSINESS PAGES

Facebook business pages are secondary digital calling cards, following your website. Through the use of cover images, contact information, the about section, photos, and updates, you can enhance brand awareness and encourage audience engagement. User engagement is what catapults your profile into high ranking status.

Search engines are beginning to reward local business, so having accurate contact information is important. Not only is contact information important to draw in leads, but search engines recognize the way your contact information is presented. When thinking of how your contact information is presented, keep the acronym NAP. NAP stands for your Name, Address, and Phone number. For example, if you list your address as 123 Success Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada, then it would be inappropriate to abbreviate elsewhere. 123 Success Ave, Las Vegas, NV, looks different to search engines. If you use parenthesis around your area code in your phone number, or hyphens in the middle, carry that over into any area where your phone number is listed - on your website, on your social networks, on your business cards.

You May Also Enjoy: Setting Up a Facebook Page for Business

FACEBOOK LIVE

Facebook Live takes video to the next level. Once upon a time, you could record a video, then upload that video to Facebook. Now, Facebook allows live broadcasting. Facebook Live promotes user engagement as well as giving you an opportunity to provide value to viewers.

Providing value to visitors should be your number one priority. If all you're doing is announcing open houses or promoting your listings, your live posts will begin to appear as advertising, causing viewers to lose trust in or ignore your posts.

Providing value to your viewers through Facebook Live isn't as difficult as you might assume. If you're going to market an open house or listing, that's okay - but you can add value to that livestream by adding things such as:

• Top Ten Tips for
  • Selling a house
    • How to prepare for an appraisal
    • How to handle multiple offers
  • Buying a house
    • How to apply for a home loan
    • What to expect from the home-buying experience
  • How to prepare for an open house
    • How to stage your home
    • Should you be home during showings
• Neighborhood Tours
  • Video of the schools in the area
  • Video of parks in the area
  • Video of community resources
  • Automobile dash-cam for driving tours of the neighborhoods.

Another fabulous place to garner ideas for live videos are your clients! Whenever a client asks you a question, make that question and answer the subject of a Facebook Live broadcast.

As a bonus, when users like, comment, or share your video during or AFTER you broadcast, the engagement keeps your video in the feed longer where it's seen by a wider audience.

Additionally, you can access the embed code or download your Facebook Live video and upload that video to YouTube or use it in a blog post.

Furthermore, you can send that video by email to your entire buyer/seller audience in your database to build trust and provide value.

To create high-quality in-house Facebook Live videos to promote your real estate business, you don't need to spend a fortune on fancy equipment. A simple ring light, an iPhone, and a tripod can get you streaming live like a pro in no time.

Also selected for you: How to Get Started with Live Streaming Video

FACEBOOK GROUPS

Driving traffic to your Facebook page isn't as easy as it once was. Furthermore, the status updates or image posts are only seen by a teeny-tiny percentage of your over-all followers. Rarely does a Facebook user search for a real estate agent by name, unless that agent was recommended by another Facebook user. However, creating Facebook Groups is a way to encourage networking, create lists, gain referrals, and provide value.

You can create a Facebook group or groups around your niches or specialties. For example, if you're a real estate agent in Henderson, Nevada, you can create a group called something along the lines of "Happy Living in Henderson, Nevada" in which you can share valuable information via lists about things such as:

• Community events
• area schools
• restaurants
• Pet Groomers/Boarding
• Hair salons
• Golf Courses
• Shops

You can also ask the group members for their input to those lists.

The concept is to laser-target a specific demographic area. The smaller, the better - if it still holds value. In addition to geographic location, you can offer specialty groups such as:

• Military Wives of Henderson
• Firefighters in Henderson
• Soccer Moms in Henderson
• Single Parents in Henderson

The people joining your Facebook group become your tribe. You're building trust, creating value, and it's highly likely those group members will either use your services or refer you as an expert in your industry when the time is right.

A word of caution: When naming your groups, beware of using trademarked verbiage. Using a trademarked title in your group's name could lead to having to add a related admin, renaming the group, or having to forfeit the group altogether.

Related Article: Facebook Pages, Groups, and Communities | Social Media Strategies

FACEBOOK REVIEWS

The best advertising is word of mouth. When a client thinks so highly of your services that they review your page with 5 stars and a comment, you've hit the lottery.

Not only do you gain the benefit of clients sharing their happiness with others, but search engines also recognize the value of reviews.

User profiles also show which pages another user reviews, creating yet another way to drive traffic to your page.

Don't be afraid to ask. When you have a satisfied client, ask them outright if they'd be so kind as to visit (like, and follow!) your Facebook page and leave a review.

You May Also Enjoy: How to Use Third-Party Reviews on Sites to Increase Visibility

FACEBOOK REFERRALS

Facebook now has a feature wherein users can refer businesses to other users. For example, if a Facebook user asks their friends and followers for the best hairdresser, the responding users are able to add a link to a business page they recommend. This is HUGE. It's also another way to take full advantage of word of mouth advertising.

When a Facebook user asks their audience for the best real estate agent in the area, other users can share your page right there in the replies.

Not only does Facebook promote the use of referrals, but now functions as a search engine. When a user types "real estate agent" into the search bar, Facebook displays the real estate agents closest to the inquirer. This is another reason you should make sure your contact information stays updated on your page.

Also selected for you: Why Some Small Businesses Win on Social Media (and How You can, too!)

FACEBOOK SHOPS

Facebook's newest gem is the ability to add products directly into your Facebook Business Page via the Shop feature.

Not long ago, Facebook introduced Marketplace, an area to promote commerce and retail sales through the social network. Now, they've taken that to another level by allowing business pages to create their own shop.

You can use Facebook Shop to market individual listings, or to direct viewers to a page in your website with multiple listings based on location, price, features, etc.

Related Article: Adding Products to Your Real Estate Facebook Page

FACEBOOK ADS

Whether you're promoting your page, a group, a product, or a service, Facebook Ads are yet another way to digitally market your real estate business via the social media giant.

You don't need a huge budget to begin tinkering with Facebook Ads. In fact, until you know how to figure your return on investment, it's best that you begin with a small budget while you learn.

Pay-Per-Click advertising is one of the most effective ways to draw traffic to your website through Facebook.

You May Also Enjoy: Getting Started Guide | Building a Facebook Social Media Plan

SUMMING IT UP

Facebook is clearly making it easier to market your real estate business online. Through the use of Business Pages, Groups, Live Video, Reviews, Referrals, Shops, and PPC advertising. Whether you're looking for low or no-cost ways to generate leads, or if you're prepared to invest in paid ads, Facebook is still a reliable resource to get more leads.

WANT MORE?

Subscribe to Lori Ballen's YouTube page.

Check out The Ballen Method digital marketing curriculum for real estate agents!

Got Leads? Join our weekly webinars to learn how to get more leads online.

Need help? Ballen Brands has an in-house staff offering personalized training and coaching for getting more leads through digital marketing.

Follow me on Facebook and consider leaving a review.

A GIFT FOR YOU

Click Here for your FREE Facebook Ad Checklist

You may not be familiar with Lori Ballen, Ballen Brands, or The Ballen Method - but I’m almost certain one of your respected professional peers is. Someone you know likely knows my name. Talk to your associates, your friends in real estate, and ask what they know about the Ballen name. I’m confident you’ll be intrigued. My reputation wasn’t crafted by accident, irony, chance, or luck. I earned respect (and rewards!) the hard way. Using the stepping stones I’ve spent more than a decade constructing, you, too, can build your success story in business. I share my failures (and my win/wins!) to help you succeed.

 

Long before 2010, I was a business owner faithfully (and sometimes embarrassingly!) practicing my motto, “fail forward”. I built millions in various business ventures, and I threw millions away through haphazard mistakes, dangerous habits, and bad choices. Although I lost millions, no one can subtract experience. The valuable lessons I learned were engrained in my being. My marriage was also on the brink of disaster. But my husband and I held on by the tattered threads of our rags to riches dreams, gathered up our life lessons, and joined Keller Williams Realty in September of 2010 with a wish and a prayer. When we became a part of the Keller Williams family, all we had was a computer, faith, and an undying need to succeed. By the end of that year, we closed 100 internet driven transactions… with no database.

 

In the six years that followed, growing organically through trial, error, and triumphs, I also launched a training and marketing company, Ballen Brands, to assist honest, hard-working professionals like you. I know how difficult the road to success is, and I know no one needs to walk it alone.

 

All of my lead generation - all-of-it - is done through search engine optimization (SEO) and social media. I learned the difficult way and I validate my experiences by recycling my hard knocks to demonstrate for you a simple way to dominate digital strategies. And the good news is, your success story won’t cost you millions over decades like mine did! It will only take you a short amount of time and a small investment to build your business, your reputation, and your riches. My marketing class was designed with you in mind.

 

You are invited to join me on the evolving journey. If you’ll allow me, I can show you mind-blowing tricks of the trade and secrets of success. I’m so sure of your potential growth in my classes, I’m willing to put my name on the line. All you have to do is register now. Need to think about it? Click here to learn more.

 

I’m so excited to meet you, to shake your hand, to answer your questions, and to help you grow your business.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Lori Ballen

Digital Marketing Strategist

Ballen Brands - Helping Business Professionals Rise Above the Noise.
702.917.0755

 

 

P.S. You may just love my new B.R.E.W. websites!  B.R.E.W. stands for Ballen Real Estate Websites, and they’re gorgeous as well as functional. To learn more about B.R.E.W.s and other Ballen Brands services, you’re invited to visit us at BallenBrands.com, or call Jeff at (702) 917-0755. 

 

• Cody Gibson says – Nobody has it figured out!
• Upcoming Keller Williams Training Events
• At the End of the Day, it’s all About Listing Appointments ~ Josh Anderson
• Ben Kinney Shares Top Tips for Real Estate Agents and More about Brivity
• Tim Heyl ($85 Million) interviewed by Vladimir Kats on MASSIVE PRODUCTION
• How to Build a Real Estate Team in South Florida
• Ignite – Keller Williams In Office Training Course
• Where to Get the Best Real Estate Website
• Bold, a MAPS Coaching and Training Program
• The Best Real Estate Career Advice from Agents Nationwide