The era of buying print advertising space with the hope of creating brand awareness and generating leads has passed. Now days the majority of buyers, tenants, landlords and sellers are starting their search for a local estate agent or property, online. Therefore, as a tech savvy real estate brand, your marketing objectives should be to create a dominant online presence wherever your prospective clients are starting their search online – whether it is on Google, YouTube, property portals, or via email and social media channels.
With over 1.8 billion active users, Facebook is unquestionably the largest social media platform in the world, therefore, real estate brands can no longer ignore the fact that Facebook is leading the wave of the future for real estate marketing. Not only can Facebook help personify your brand and enable you to engage with your clients on a one-on-one basis, but it can also position you as a local property expert and help keep your brand at the forefront of mind.
A Facebook business page is an easy approach to make a fast, personal connection with your existing and potential clients. It instantly personifies your brand and allows you to target a specific audience in your geographic areas of operation, post relevant content and start a one-on-one conversation. The days of one way communication are gone. It’s time to engage.
Don’t ever forget that your audience uses Facebook as a social platform, therefore they don't want to be spammed by a constant influx of new property listings and long sales pitches. Rather, use your Facebook presence to position yourself as a local property expert by educating your audience and celebrating the neighbourhoods you work in.
Post links to relevant property news articles, offer tips for both buyers and sellers and provide good property advice. Post about local community related news and events or highlight a popular local business. You can also share DIY tips, home decor projects, property staging guides, and other trending ideas. This not only displays your passion and knowledge of the local real estate market and community, but it can also position your real estate brand as the local property expert.
To use Facebook to build long-term relationships and engage with your audience you need to ensure that you are consistent and post on your Facebook business page on a regular basis. By boosting your posts, you will also ensure that your posts appear on your audience’s news feed and gets seen. Therefore, ensure that you post on a daily basis and allocate a small advertising budget to boost your posts and keep your real estate brand at the forefront of mind.
Facebook also enables you to easily integrate your other marketing efforts across multiple channels. For example, you can drive traffic to your blog by sharing your property news and advice articles on your Facebook page. Featured property listings can be promoted on your page with a link back to that specific listing on your website. You can grow your mailing list by providing an email newsletter sign-up form on your Facebook Page. Or you can promote a show house or any other marketing event on your page and invite your audience to attend. Your options are limitless!
Unlike traditional advertising, online advertising is the most accountable and measurable advertising medium available today. Facebook Insights are an effective analytics tool that give you a better understanding of your audience and helps you measure the performance of your posts and your advertising campaigns – which in turn help drive your strategic marketing decisions.
As the most widely used social networking site in the world, it is vital for your real estate brand to setup a business page and create an effective presence on Facebook. Not only can it be easily measured and fully integrated with all your other marketing efforts, but it will help you engage with your audience, keep your brand front of mind and ultimately position your real estate brand as the local property expert.