As a real estate agent, you seek to generate a constant flow of quality leads to grow and sustain your business. I want to help you generate more leads, and for only $1 a day. And no, this is not too good to be true. Facebook ads are a great option to add to your current marketing efforts, providing a non-pressuring way to demonstrate your local knowledge and presence, your personable people skills, your proficiency with technology, and your ability to serve as a partner, not a pushy salesperson.
Unlike other forms of advertising, like radio and TV, Facebook ads allow for specific targeting, averaging around $.25 cents per 1000 impressions. By using Facebook ads, you might get in front of 4,000 people that would have missed your message.
Most people spend their time online browsing social media pages. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are used for finding products and services as much as socializing.
Users find trusted brands on Facebook, not Google. Google searches provide websites with anonymous reviewers. Facebook ads give users the chance to see which of their friends like any particular brand. And Facebook is very active. My local community of 1,500 homes has an active Facebook group that posts over 100 times a day. Residents seek recommendations for every conceivable need, including home repair, real estate agents, and lenders. People generally view Facebook ads as being less disruptive and more integrated with their social browsing activities.
Facebook ads have a lot of benefits, including providing versatility, being optimized for mobile devices, targeting specific audiences, producing higher volumes of requests for additional information, offering customized forms, and allowing for CRM integration.
Facebook ads allow marketers to track analytics like clicks, impressions, and conversions. Through these analytics, users like myself have the ability to refine who actually sees your ads through selection criteria. Some of this selection criteria includes location, demographic characteristics, behaviors, and interests.
For example, by using Facebook ads, I can target any 35-year-old married woman who lives in a suburb, has a university degree, and reads business and investment magazines. Any demographic is mine to target; the possibilities are limitless. Other parameters of interest include zip code, age range, income, homeownership status, custom “lookalike” audiences, and Facebook users who seem likely to move.
Statistically speaking, it takes an average of 7 to 10 contacts to convert a lead into a customer.
Facebook is about socializing and making yourself known. Potential leads rarely approach the first real estate agent they find online. They are careful to seek a partner they can trust. A portion of your Facebook ads should be about awareness. This can include a link to your website, your phone number and email address, the length of time you’ve worked as a real estate agent, certifications and awards you’ve received, and areas that you buy and sell in.
Homebuyers are often focused on certain issues when searching for real estate agents. They fear being matched with an inexperienced agent. They worry they will be pushed toward a price point they aren’t comfortable with. They stress over saving up for a down payment, over the current housing market, and over the amount of paperwork they have to sign. By reaching out to homebuyers with Facebook ads targeted to address those concerns, you can prove yourself to be a comforting resource for homebuyers in this stressful time of their lives.
Like my ads, your ads should focus on your lending conditions, smooth approval process, and ability to help them close as soon as possible.
The nice thing about working in real estate is that the product is very visual. Facebook ads pair well with visual products. While there is a thriving Facebook community, many Facebook users have trained themselves to quickly scroll past ads they aren’t interested in. Most advertisers only have two seconds to capture the user’s attention. By pairing interesting images and videos with Facebook ads, you will discover increased levels of engagement.
We have all seen the ad with the smiling real estate agent standing in front of a house. Do you want to look like every other real estate agent, or do you want to stand out? I think about what really gets the attention of my target audiences. For example, I have produced many videos featuring properties in my area.
Video ads get the most views. You can get views for as little as $0.004, which is the cheapest form of marketing available right now. If you show the user targeted properties featured in video ads, it gives them a more realistic look into the property. If you’re not confident in your company’s ability to make high-quality videos, there are companies in almost every market that can help you.
Make sure the video focuses on your specific audiences as well. For example, when I target new homebuyers, I use images of millennials. I adjust these images for whoever I'm targeting, be they retirees or growing families. I have also found the occasional success promoting my team’s photographs.
Once you have your ad, you need to turn your clicks into leads. While I once directed clicks to my homepage, Facebook lead ads can capture clicks on Facebook itself.
Lead ads are an effective option because they reduce the amount of work a potential prospect has to do in order to reach someone like you or myself. When a user clicks on a Facebook lead ad, Facebook pre-fills the form in the ad with the information that the user has already given to Facebook, including phone numbers, emails, names, etc. This is important because the majority of users now operate on a mobile device, and entering that information can feel like a pain to many users.
Now that you’ve taken the time to learn how real estate agents can use Facebook ads to generate more leads for under $1 a day, take the next step. Reach out to a Facebook ad specialist today to learn about how Facebook Ads can become part of your lead generation activities.
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