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7 Things Every Real Estate Agent Should Love about Facebook's Business Pages

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Services for Real Estate Pros with 4Realz.net

Become a Fan of Dustin Luther's Facebook PageAbout a week ago, I gave some background on what I've been up to and asked the AR community what type of topics they'd suggest I cover.   The first topic of interest was SEO, so I decided to start with a post that gave the anatomy of blogging SEO.   I'll come back with some more SEO stuff in the near future (including some background on generating quality inbound links), but first I thought I would dive into the 2nd area of interest: Facebook Pages.   (By the way, there was also some interest in affiliate programs so I wrote a bit more on affiliate programs for real estate on 4realz.net)

Facebook Profile vs Facebook Page

Every one of the 200 Million people who have joined Facebook has (by definition) created a Facebook Profile. Your profile creates the "hub" with which you can engage with others (friends), groups, games (applications) and/or business pages. 

A Facebook Page is a bit different than a profile and reserved for businesses, brands, and other professionals.  

If you plan to use Facebook to generate business, then there are a ton of reasons to market yourself through a Page instead of your standard profile.  Here are just a few:

  1. One-way Connection. People connect to your Facebook Page by becoming a "fan" of you (or your business) instead of a "friend."  This is a one-way connection much closer to Twitter in that people can follow your Facebook Page and you never have to "conect" with them as a friend. 
  2. Easy Updates. You can update your Facebook Page in much the same way that you can update your Facebook Profile... This means it's trivial to share status updates, photos, videos, and links with your the people who follow you. 
  3. Top-of-mind. The ability to easily update your users allows you to stay top-of-mind with the relevant target audience.  I use my page to update professionals interested in social media and online marketing.  If you become a "fan" of my page (and I recommend it!), then my updates will enter your "news" feed on the homepage of your Facebook account so you can be regularly updated with useful information.  
  4. Going Viral.  When one of your friends comments on one of your status updates (could be text, links, video, etc.), then you're much more likely to get seen by their "friends".  And, as your content becomes more popular, you're that much more likely to be featured in the "highlights" area of Facebook's homepage.  For most agents, "friends of clients" are some of the best source of business and Facebook has made it possible to relatively easy get in front of these people!
  5. Friends vs Fans. Facebook limits you to 5,000 friends, which almost definitely sounds like a lot (who has 5000 friends???).   Except for the truely gifted networkers, most agents will never reach 5,000 friends. However, for an agent in a decent sized-community, it's entirely conceibable for 5,000 people of  your area to follow you (or become fans) if you consistently provided information they found valuable... especially as it's so much easier to go viral with Facebook than any other tool.
  6. Permission Farming.  Savvy businesses and brands have learned that consumers, like myself, are more than happy to become a fan if they remain relevant and interesting.  Do the same for your community and I'm convinced you could quickly hit the sweet spot of the terms Jim Marks coined:  Permission Farming
  7. Timing.  It's still early... some savvy agent in your community is likely to figure out how to successfully use Facebook to reach your market over the next year or two.  The sooner you get in there, the quicker you'll be able to set yourself up as the dominant real estate voice on Facebook in your community. 

Convinced you should set up a Facebook Page? 

create a FB Page graphicIt's really easy... From any existing Facebook Page (mine for example), click on the text "Create a Page" at the bottom of the left-panel to get started. 

And when you're ready to get serious, become a fan of my page so you can follow my updates as I explore the many ways you can use Facebook to generate business!

   

Comments(146)

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Tyra General
240.706.7653 - Fort Washington, MD
DC Metro Short Sale & Luxury Specialist

Hi Dustin,

Thanks for the post. I already have a FB page for my Real Estate company. However, I do not have a FB page for my Realtor side of the business. I didn't want to have too many pages and was wondering if you suggest just co-marketing using one. 

I also wanted to take a look at other Realtors pages for ideas of how to enhance mine. However, I never saw the links to other Realtors pages that you liked on the left panel. Has it been removed?

Thanks,

Tyra

Apr 15, 2009 12:10 PM
Dustin Luther
4Realz.net - Calabasas, CA

Thomas: Thanks for the link!  I became a fan to check out what  you're up to!

Tanisha:  Found your page and became a fan as well!  :)

Tyra: So sorry about the confusion regarding the pages...   There's a funny bug with the app that displays those pages and every time I add a new Page to the list, it removes it from the sidepanel.   It's easy enough to add back, but I keep forgetting!  ;)   It's up again right now, and if it's not there in the future, try looking under the "boxes" tab.     In terms of the idea of only creating one page... I definitely like the idea.  Trying to get traction on multiple pages at the same time can be really tough (dito for multiple blogs!).  Put some time and love into one thing at a time and you're much more likely to nail it!

Apr 15, 2009 05:10 PM
Mike & Kathleen Kelly
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Foothills - Hickory, NC
Hickory NC REALTORS

Thanks for the information. I am struggling with using my facebook page for business. I like to use it for personal - keeping in touch with friends from "back home". I am still debating the pros and cons of making more business orientated.

Apr 16, 2009 06:03 AM
Dustin Luther
4Realz.net - Calabasas, CA

Hi Mike:   I think the beauty of the FB "Page" is that it allows you to keep your "profile" personal...   If you like keeping your profile personal, then I totally recommend setting up a FB Page as I describe for your biz activities!

Joe: Personally, I wouldn't "auto" post your blog posts there, but linking out to thinks with a personal touch can go a long way.   In other words, take just a few moments to write something interesting about why people should read the post and I'll bet you'll get a lot higher click-throughs as well as more interest in your FB Page!

 

Apr 16, 2009 04:23 PM
Marilyn Katz
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties - Westport, CT
ABR, e-PRO - WestportCTProperties.com

Dustin- Thanks for sharing this info on pages vs. profiles.  I just set up my FB page but now I'm not sure how to populate it.  Can I move things over from my profile page or do I have to start from scratch?

Apr 19, 2009 07:49 AM
Dustin Luther
4Realz.net - Calabasas, CA

Marilyn:  You're pretty much gonna need to start from scratch!  :(    In terms of getting a fan-base, you can always message your existing contacts to let them know about your page, so you can use your existing efforts to build up your page, but you're starting from scratch when you begin.

Apr 19, 2009 07:57 AM
Vickie Slade
Colorado Landmark, Realtors - Boulder, CO
Service You Can Trust ~ Someone You Can Depend On

Dustin, I became a fan on your FB page.  Would you recommend having a collection of "interesting" connections/information, etc. in order to start your page with befor you launch a business page?  I'm already on FB, linkedin, plaxo, twitter and active rain.  I've established a connection between updates so when I updated AR it automatically feeds to FB, Linkedin, Plaxo and twitter.  I also have my AR blog linked to my web site.

Sometimes it seems like the social media networking is taking up too much of my time --- do you have other tools you would recommend to hook everthing together?  What are your thoughts about auto-feeding your facebook page from your FB profile?  Should it be completely separate?

Apr 20, 2009 10:59 PM
Tina Merritt
Nest Realty - Blacksburg, VA
Virginia Real Estate

Dustin,

So nice to see you again here on ActiveRain.  You are a wealth of fantastic information and I hope you keep coming back!

Tina in Virginia

 

Apr 21, 2009 07:58 AM
Tina Maraj
RE/MAX One - Fullerton, CA
Celebrating 30 Years of Real Estate Sales

Great points. I like the "permission farming". I originally did not think of facebook as a place to farm.

Apr 24, 2009 02:47 AM
Richard Dolbeare
Inactive - Wailuku, HI
Living the Hawaii Lifestyle

Hi Dustin,

It's a great post and I'm trying to followup on Facebook.  I see the "Create a Page" link on your page but it is not present on mine.  I'd appreciate a tip on how to get this to display.

Apr 25, 2009 06:55 AM
Dustin Luther
4Realz.net - Calabasas, CA

Vickie: Sorry I haven't followed up here to your automated feed question, because it's a great one!  I'm not a huge fan of automating anything.  For me, the point of syndicating to these other sites is that I often want to generate interest in my post and I find that if I give each social network just a bit of personalized attention with the update, I get much better results!

Tina: Thanks for the compliment.  I always enjoy seeing you around as well!  ;)

Tina: I agree that permission farming is a great concept.  Credit for the term definitely belongs to Jim Marks

Richard:  use the link from my page!   My guess is that you mean you're not seeing a link to "create a page" from your profile... and that's because there's not one there!

 

Apr 25, 2009 07:05 AM
Kelsey Barklow
Hurd Realty - Johnson City, TN
423/948-9154

Thanks for this post, Dustin. I created a page a long time ago and completely forgot about it (ignored it). I need to revisit it and spend some time updating it.

Apr 26, 2009 11:48 AM
Dustin Luther
4Realz.net - Calabasas, CA

Not sure how many of the people who've commented are interested in getting more information on FB Pages, but in one hour I'm going to be hosting a Roundtable conversation with some real estate marketing experts on how to use Facebook to market your business.  Learn more about how to join the conversation on the facebook event page!

Apr 30, 2009 08:02 AM
Christine McInerney
Great Life RE - Knoxville, TN
The McInerney Team, Knoxville TN Homes For Sale

Great information Dustin, I have just created my Facebook Business Page.

May 02, 2009 02:50 AM
Billie Hillier
http://702IsHome.com - North Las Vegas, NV
Savvy Home Realty Solutions

FB pages are a great way to keep your business and personal life separate and it is highly recommended that you separate the two on Facebook.

May 19, 2009 06:31 AM
Karina Kfuri Leal, ABR®, SRES®, PSA
Leal USA Realty 561-350-3503 ( FALO PORTUGUES) - Delray Beach, FL
Sales, Rentals & Prop. Manag. - FALO PORTUGUES!

HI Dustin,

Here is mine and then a question for you: http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/#/pages/Delray-Beach-FL/LEAL-USA-REALTY/45207348973

Yes or NO?
Posting a link on the main page of my website to facebook, linked in, active rain profiles????

Jul 27, 2009 06:31 PM
Dustin Luther
4Realz.net - Calabasas, CA

Karina,

It's hard to say.. It would really depend on your conversion process and what you're trying to accomplish with your website.

 

Jul 27, 2009 08:32 PM
Mike Henderson
Your complete source for buying HUD homes - Littleton, CO
HUD Home Hub - 303-949-5848

Nice blog I was searching this topic and this came up.

Nov 08, 2009 04:13 PM
Cameron Novak
The Homefinding Center - 1000 Palms, CA
Real Estate Broker since 2008

Well said.  My business page was just created about 90 days ago.

May 09, 2010 11:56 AM
The Niche Agent
The Niche Agent
Your Niche Is Our Niche

Want to make $360,000 a year from facebook? 

Virginia Munden did...  Along with 36 referrals! Check out the interview I did with her on The Niche Agent as she shares some of her insights into the online social media marketing and relationship building world of real estate. 

www.TheNicheAgent.com/Episode21

Jun 02, 2014 09:35 AM