The Do's and Don'ts of Using Facebook for Real Estate Marketing

I was doing a small presentation today for about 10 Realtors and the topic came up about Facebook. I get a lot of questions about Facebook and what are my “opinions” on how to use it for Real Estate and be most effective. I gave a few insights just to get a topic of conversation going. Without hesitation several agents chimed in with their view and what they they thought was best. All of the information was good to hear as all aspects are good to hear. Since Realtors are the gasoline for most of my blogs I thought I would share the Do’s and Don’ts of using Facebook for Real Estate Marketing.

Do:

Have a Facebook Page…more specifically a “Business Page.” Using Facebook to stay top of mind and engage your friends, family, and past clients is fantastic. It allows you to provide them with consistent, educational information about your Real Estate business, post videos, and have easy, FREE interaction.

Don’t:

Use your Facebook Profile page as your all inclusive page to drive your clients. The problem I see with Realtors on Facebook is that they use their regular profile page to post Real Estate content that only a select percentage of people on their page care about. The rest is just Spam to everyone else…and soon the other “friends” on your FB will just scroll past your feeds when they come up. Get a FB Business Page and drive people there to get your Real Estate updates.

Do:

Use Facebook as a great tool to drive people back to your HUB–Your Real Estate website. When you shoot video, write blogs (like this one) or anything else, post it to your FB Business Page to ultimately drive consumer where you really want them…on your website. Facebook is a great way to engage, connect, and educate existing people who you have relationships with but you want them to be on your website, because if they have a need to buy or sell a home that is where they start their search…not Facebook.

Don’t

Use Facebook as “Lead Generation Tool.” It is far from it. Yes…you can do business off FB and it is a great way to connect with people but it is NOT and should NOT be your strategy for getting online leads or business in Real Estate. How many Realtors do you know that do this? Are they successful? Okay…next topic.

Do:

Have other Realtors/Friends on your “Personal FB Profile” but create Lists and add them to it. This way you can post specific things to specific groups of people. Use your personal profile to chat and engage with your friends and family. The lists will help you sort out what your posting and to whom.

Don’t:

Have other Realtors on your FB Business Page. I see this all the time and I wonder why?? No offense to other Realtors but they are your competition! Realtors steal other Realtors marketing ideas and strategies! Your business is WAY too competitive to be having your direct competition seeing and being directly involved in your FB Business page. If you owned a store front in DuPont Circle…would you care if your direct competitor hung out in your shop all day asking you about how you conduct business and make money?

Do:

Shoot and upload Video as much as possible to your FB Page. Consumers LOVE Video…as you probably do as well. When I scroll through FB and I see a video about something I’m interested in…I hit play. Video is a great way to convey a message and shorten your sales cycle. Video gives you a voice, personality, and allows you to show your value, and remove objections. Of course…upload that video to YouTube and link them to your FB Page.

Takeaway

Facebook is a great tool for Real Estate agents…if used correctly. Spamming your friends and letting your competition sift through your page is not the way to go. You use FB to engage, educate, and stay top of mind with people you know already. The FB Business Page is your storefront on FB. Drive people there to get specific information about Real Estate and how you can help them. Shoot and upload videos as much as possible to separate yourself from your competition and shorten your sales cycle.

My name is Wade Vander Molen and I am the Director Sales/Marketing for Stewart Title in Northern, VA and Washington DC. If you are a Real Estate agent that needs help doing more transactions, or just getting set up on the basics to streamline your business please fill out the form below and I will contact you shortly!

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DCTitleWade1

Senior Vice President of Business Development at Pruitt Title

I'm the Senior Vice President of Business Development for Pruitt Title in the Washington DC/Northern Virginia area. I help my Realtor and Lender partners grow their businesses with offline and online marketing solutions. More eyes to them mean more business. I create the win/win!