Facebook and Real Estate Agents: A Match Made in Heaven

Facebook is more than just a place to keep in touch with family and friends. For every five people posting pictures of barbecues, weddings and their kids, there is a shrewd person using Facebook for business purposes. It’s no secret that social media has had an enormous affect in the ways real estate agents are able to interact with potential clients, as it can create a major impact in opening up new business relationships. You should develop a separate business page, one having little to no connection to your personal Facebook account. This will allow you to target your audience more effectively.

Your Personal Brand

Realtors on Facebook can generate their personal brand and marketing style by posting info on their neighborhoods of focus. Posts about home listings and décor can open up a dialogue. You will want to maintain a consistent flow of communication. Facebook should be used to show your personality, in relation to the neighborhoods and homes you deal with day-in, day-out. A real estate agent who uses Facebook for their business should engage with their followers and friends by asking questions. Some helpful questions to get the ball rolling include: How important is a large backyard to you? What does your ideal dream kitchen look like? What is the first thing you would buy for a brand new home?

Making Connections

This is the easy stuff every real estate agent should be doing daily on Facebook to make connections. I’ve always found Facebook to be more about local contacts, than most other social media sites. The majority of people who are your Facebook friends are probably in your area. So when it comes to using Facebook to drum up business, think locally as well. Post material relating to local housing trends.Tag local friends and followers of your Facebook business page. “Like” and tag yourself at any local events you attend. For example, whenever you are going to a networking event, hype it up and explain to your Facebook audience why this shindig is important.

Effective Marketing

When you are marketing a particular property, use pictures that really show it off on Facebook. An MLS listing might show the front of the house, an email might show the kitchen or bedrooms, but your Facebook pictures can show so much more. It can give it a more personal and homey feel. Facebook Ads might be a smart move as well. More and more agents are using Facebook Ads, as they have become a popular way for agents to market themselves, as well as new properties.  You can design it to make sure it clearly targets ads with informative text that speaks directly to the audience you are attempting to reach.With the emergence of Facebook’s Instant Articles, your content marketing as an agent can also be boosted. According to a recent article from Baldwin Digital, “The publishers were drawn to Facebook Instant Articles not only because they were eager to reach ever-greater numbers of people online but because Facebook put them in control of what they were doing.”  [Source:https://www.baldwindigital.ie/5-things-about-facebook-instant-articles]

Be a Reliable Source

You will want to prove more than your ability to engage in helpful chitchat and being the best social butterfly you can possibly be. A real estate agent should post important articles on Facebook that are related to the housing market. Articles that cover topics like tax benefits for home owners, or rankings of the best housing markets this year, or any breaking news articles involving housing and the economy. Don’t be afraid to blog either. Blogging can become one of your greatest allies. If you feel you were born to be a real estate agent, then maybe you were born to be a writer as well. You would be surprised at the number of realtors who are natural storytellers.

Find time in your busy schedule for all of this. This type of marketing shouldn’t take you any longer than 45 minutes a day. It’s important not to overdue it either. The last thing you want to do is alienate your friends and followers with a barrage of posts and status updates. Set weekly, monthly goals for yourself. See if promoting yourself on Facebook has helped you, hurt you, or not made that much of a difference. The bottom line is don’t be afraid of using Facebook, or any other brand of social media, to help your career. The 21st century has been here for a while now. It’s time to use it.