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Facebook Ads for Real Estate Agents: 5 Killer Ad Strategies

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with InCom Real Estate Web & e-Marketing Solutions

Here are five super-effective tips to ensure you capture that ready-to-purchase audience on Facebook.

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Twenty years ago, real estate agents relied on direct mail flyers, networking around town, posting information on the supermarket and coffee shop bulletin board, and door-to-door knocking for real estate lead generation

 

Today, these strategies are becoming ancient and ineffective. Most people that are grocery shopping or sipping coffee at the coffee shop are glued to their smartphones. Others are sitting at home chatting with their friends on Snapchat and Facebook, while their groceries are being delivered via Instacart. To top it off, door-to-door marketing is not only unwanted, but also illegal in some areas without a proper permit.

 

So, how do top producer agents capture new leads in 2018? Answer: Predominantly through Real Estate Facebook Ads!  According to a recent study by Mediakix, a person spends on average 35 minutes per day on Facebook, which gives REALTORS® plenty of opportunity to get in front of the right people with their killer Facebook ads.

 

The reason why Facebook works well for REALTORS® is that it is inherently visual, just like real estate in general. It provides abundant opportunities for REALTORS® to reach the exact market they want from first time home buyers to home buyers seeking luxurious, mansion-like homes through image, text, video, podcast, virtual tour (slideshow) posts and ads.

 

What’s the winning strategy behind Facebook advertising? How can you maximize your budget to ensure you’re not wasting valuable money on failed campaigns? Here are five super-effective tips to ensure you capture that ready-to-purchase audience on Facebook.

 

  1. Location Targeting

Location targeting is critically important to the success of your Facebook advertising campaign, as it allows you to target specific regions in which you are selling properties.  Try to avoid being overly precise (<1km) as people tend to move from other locations. As a suggestion, start with a small radius of 10-15 km and increase the radius if needed when you find the target is too precise or not enough leads are coming in. As well, if you know the postal codes that typically move to where you are selling based on past sales you can include that information in your location targeting.

 

  1. Age & Income Targeting

When selecting the age ranges for your Facebook advertising campaigns, it is important to keep in mind the groups that will most likely buy your real estate. For example if you are selling homes that are over $2 million, there is no point to advertise to 18-21 year olds because they will not have the budget for it. You can also couple age targeting with income targeting by navigating to detailed targeting > demographics > financial > income to make sure the right demographic is looking at your ads.

 

  1. Custom Audiences Targeting

Custom Audiences are people (and their contact information) who have engaged with your content through email marketing services, CRM, Facebook apps, contact form enquiries etc. Targeting them in your Facebook ad campaign usually involves uploading a CSV file. This allows you to match advertisements to the contacts in your database on Facebook using the information you have – names, emails, phone numbers, Facebook ID etc. Using Custom Audiences is one of the most effective ways to re-engage people whom already know your business and need the extra boost to be converted.

 

  1. Home Evaluation Ads

Although seller leads are a challenge to capture online, a free home evaluation campaign can help you get in touch with new prospects.  Each ad should focus on a specific group so that its content will sound as if it has been written for that individual.  The less concise the audience, the more costly a campaign will be and the lower the conversion rate.

 

For example, an ad on Facebook that targeted users who are in a serious relationship, over the age of 27 years of old, with a university degree, in areas starting with L4J would define a very specific segment of home owners. The ad placed on Facebook would have a picture of a home, and say, "House prices are up 5in Thornhill this year. Find out what your home is worth right now!"

 

  1. Freebies

Another killer strategy would be to offer your consumers a free resource in exchange for a lead. This resource could be an eBook on how to reduce closing costs or ten tips for buying or selling your home in 1 month or less. Resources like these are directly relevant to your target audience and anyone who is downloading them could be in need of your services in the near future.

Show All Comments Sort:
Anthony Acosta - ALLATLANTAcondos.com
Harry Norman, REALTORS® - Atlanta, GA
Associate Broker

Good afternoon InCom Web & e-Marketing Solutions 

Thank you for sharing your information with us

Have a great day.

Apr 04, 2018 11:33 AM
InCom Web & e-Marketing Solutions

You're welcome, Anthony! :)

Apr 04, 2018 11:35 AM
Katerina Gasset
The Gasset Group & Get It Done For Me Virtual Services - Provo, UT
Amplify Your Real Estate & Life Dreams!

I totally love FB ads and am all in there. 

However, I must respectfully disagree about your opening paragraph: 

 

"Twenty years ago, real estate agents relied on direct mail flyers, networking around town, posting information on the supermarket and coffee shop bulletin board, and door-to-door knocking for real estate lead generation. " 

Totally not true. 

Our most effective marketing is still direct mail. And it will be that way for a while to come, especially with baby boomers and seniors. 

Networking in person: nothing better on the planet than networking in person. That is why online communities have in person meet-ups. Nothing beats in person networking. And it is SUPER effective for referrals especially when you do Rotary Club, or BNI! Nothing beats those meetings! 

Door knocking! It works! Neighborhood canvasing works! That is why people still do it. All my neighbors know us very well, we spend time with them, we help them, we started with knocking on their doors years ago. 

I have a friend who is a broker and he is on tons of bus benches, for his townhouse niche... they work!!! He gets calls and leads consistantly from those benches. They work! Consistancy is the key! 

You can ask Barbara Todaro  how well her direct mail postcards work too! Amazing! 

We do just listed, under contract, and sold postcards, they generate leads! 

Apr 04, 2018 07:35 PM
Ron Aguilar
Gateway Mortgage Group - Saint George, UT
Mortgage & Real Estate Advisor since 1995

Kat, you are very correct in your above response. Sure people are on the net surfing around but the conventional methods still work if done properly. I like that many people choose not to market this way it makes the space not so crowded. 

Apr 05, 2018 06:59 AM
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Thanks for the suggestions. I find direct mail works well as the basics usually do, and there are plenty of people here who are evidence of this.

Jeff

Apr 05, 2018 07:20 AM
InCom Web & e-Marketing Solutions
InCom Real Estate Web & e-Marketing Solutions - Toronto, ON
Marketing Coordinator

Hi everyone,

 

Thank you for all your feedback! We always love hearing from our readers and learning more from experienced Realtors like yourselves. 

 

It's true that traditional marketing still holds value in the real estate industry, especially in less saturated communities. Post advertising can be a great source of lead generation when executed strategically. We are also really glad to hear that it's been a reliable medium for so many of you!

 

In this day and age, technology has evolved exponentially, allowing more and more Realtors within highly competitive and saturated cities to resort to other varieties of lead generation. Our goal for this post was not to demean the likes of traditional marketing in any way (and if we have, we do apologize). Our objective is to identify smart and innovative alternatives to generate qualified leads while minimizing your spending, and maximizing your results. 

 

Having been in the industry for more than 15 years, at InCom, we've had the privilege of helping Realtors all around North America improve their business. Last year alone, we garnered 70,000+ leads for all our lead generation clients combined. Our hope is to continue to increase that number as more new online lead generation opportunities come into fruition overtime.

 

We would love to have a chat with you, hear about your lead generation strategies, and share our experience with Facebook ads and other forms of online marketing. Feel free to call us anytime at 1(866)883-8951 x225. 

 

Thank you for your time!

Apr 05, 2018 07:36 AM
John Wiley
Fort Myers, FL
Lee County, FL, ECO Broker, GRI, SRES,GREEN,PSA

I have that the BEST marketing methods are the ones that "Fit" and work for the agent.

We do have different personalities and comfort zones. There are some members here who do exceedingly well with mail outs. Others, love working the phones. I am not one who does well working phones everyday.

FB ads well done can bring great results for the user. It takes a bit of tweaking to find the right point that gets the attention.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Hope you will continue to contribute.

Apr 05, 2018 12:46 PM