For over the last 5-6 years Facebook ads for Real estate is an essential part for every real estate agents. Real estate agents have marketed their services in two main ways. First, their agency put out a lot of advertisements, such as newspaper listing announcements and even TV spots about how awesome their agency is. The second major marketing source was always word of mouth: people who have a good experience with a Realtor are likely to talk about it. Plus, a Realtor would make sure people knew what they did, and network like crazy. While these methods are still effective, modern realities demand more extensive marketing on platforms like Facebook.
Why participate in Facebook ads for Real estate? Because over 71% of all adults use Facebook daily. This means that Facebook is one of the major places to see and be seen. In addition, you’ll also see that people ask for recommendations on Facebook. These requests often are for the different types of professional services, such as doctors, dentists, and Realtors.
Of course, you don’t need to be wholly dependent on Facebook word of mouth. According to a recent study by Mediakix, the average person spends 35 minutes per day on Facebook giving you, the realtor, ample opportunity to get in front of the right people with your killer Facebook ads. And, since Facebook places organic postings from business accounts at a significant disadvantage, most brands need to use ads. If you as a Realtor are using a different page for your business, then you’re likely seeing this problem.
Here’s the thing: Facebook loves Realtors in general. In fact, the real estate industry is so strategic to Facebook that they have their own page with resources and advice for the industry. The contents of this page illustrates why Facebook ads for real estate is strategically important:
- 79% of homebuyers use online resources, including mobile, at some point in their search. This is true whether they look for homes themselves or for a qualified Realtor.
- 33% of millennials spend nearly 14 hours weekly on social media during their housing search. This is an important segment of homebuyers these days, so if you don’t do real estate Facebook marketing you’re missing out.
- 3 out of 4 US Facebook users visit local business Pages at least once a week. Facebook doesn’t say this, but the statistic refers to all industries, including both retail and service businesses.
Where to Promote Your Real Estate Business on Facebook
With that said, successful Facebook ads for Real estate takes many different forms. Some options are paid, while others are free. In addition, these methods require varying amounts of your time. As the operation grows, you might have your assistant help you with it.
Try getting a Facebook Business Page.
One of the first things to try is to post your social media content to a Facebook Business Page. To get one, you need to set up a Facebook Ads account, even if you don’t want to buy any ads. The Business page itself is free. Just keep in mind that content that’s posted for free on your page has less priority on your follower’s feed. This means that, as a practical matter, people will check your page for news rather than seeing it show up naturally. Luckily, there are other ways to make up for this.
Don’t forget your personal profile.
Consider leveraging your personal profile to occasionally mix in your real estate business with your private life because of the increased organic reach that profiles have. Not only that, but you might be surprised how many people in your circle don’t know that you’re a realtor. By mixing business and personal contacts you have the opportunity to gain unexpected sales leads.
Start a Facebook group
If there’s one thing that tends to be true about most Realtors, it’s that they care about their communities. They also tend to know a lot about what goes on there.
One way to do free real estate Facebook marketing is by starting a community Facebook Group. That is if you aren’t too late. This is a place where people can talk about community issues. People can benefit from your area knowledge.
Then you can become the “go-to” Realtor in your area. The one drawback is the amount of time it can take.
Become an active member of other Facebook Groups
If you can’t start a Facebook Group of your own, then consider joining the established local groups. These can be the community group in general, or they could center around niches where you are active otherwise. Once again, be helpful to the group members and, in return, become someone who that demographic knows they can go to when it’s time to buy or sell a home.
Leverage Facebook Ads for Real estate
Finally, you can always purchase Facebook ads for Real Estate. These take several forms, including sponsored posts. In addition, you can buy display ads for your agency. Many times, you’ll want to use this method to market new listings and the latest purchase contract.
Another thing to consider is paying to boost customer testimonials. This is especially useful if you have a particular niche, such as selling antique homes or sprawling estates.
How to Leverage Facebook Ads for Real Estate Business
Finally, it’s often necessary in real estate Facebook marketing to purchase Facebook ads for Real estate. After all, traffic from your organic feed only goes so far. If people aren’t already interested in you personally or your business, then you need to go out and find them. And, the easiest way to “find” new people at scale is with Facebook advertising. Here’s a quick primer on how this works.
1. Understand Your Targeting Options
Because business owners like to get the maximum possible return on investment, Facebook has a lot of targeting options available. These are intended to make sure your ads reach the right people.
- Location: Obviously people in but also in surrounding communities who might want to move close by. In this case, you aren’t looking at “expressed” interest in an area but actual location. Facebook determines this with IP address and/or profile location.
- Age: Understand who can afford your listing and what type of buyer is the ideal one to figure out the best age range to use. For instance, young married couples often want a “starter home,” while somewhat older homebuyers might be searching for a larger house and empty nesters may look to downsize.
- Demographics: Target by 1) income, 2) “home ownership status” or “home value” or “length of residence” or “net worth.” Again, you’re trying to match the right potential buyers with your listings or niche.
- Behaviors such as targeting people “likely to move” or who are “new mortgage borrowers.” These can be people who are transferring in their jobs, expanding their families, or trying to buy their first home.
- Interests: Target people with specific interests as defined by Facebook if you think that it might be relevant. An example of this might be marketing a home near a country club to people that talk about golf.
- Job Title: Within real estate, this is often more of a way to determine income levels or lifestyle considerations. For instance, people in management tend to like bigger homes in nicer neighborhoods.
- Type of Profession: The best examples of this working well in my area of California are the tech or entertainment sectors. So, tech professionals might want a home in Silicon Valley, while entertainers want the Hollywood area.
- Education Level: As with job titles, this is a measure of earning potential and lifestyle. So, people with doctorates often have high incomes and want either bigger or more luxurious homes.
- Life Changes, such as recently married, new parents or divorced. This group is often looking for a new home to fit the changes in family size, or looking for similar considerations like school district.
2. Understand How Custom and Lookalike Audiences Work
Here, you’re looking for people who may have a brand affinity or are actively looking for a Realtor. This can be as simple as reaching out to people that have already made contact at some level. Or, you might look for similar people.
- Retarget website visitors: Here, you use cookies from potential consumer’s website visits. Then, you show them Facebook ads to reinforce your marketing efforts. To take advantage, make sure you have Facebook Pixel installed on your site!
- Target people in your CRM database: These are people that have expressed interest in your services by filling out a form. They might also be past clients (people DO upgrade, right?).
- Those who engage with your posts: People that engage with your content on Facebook are already interested in what you have to say. Invite them to hire you as an agent!
- Create a Lookalike audience of any of the above or of those who follow your Facebook Page. This data is a good indicator of your target demographic. Remember, there are lots of others who may only need to find you.
3. Understand How A/B Testing with Different Variations Works
Some ads perform better for various audiences than others. In addition, your brand voice might suggest certain stylistic choices. Be sure to maximize them with A/B testing.
- Image / video / carousel / link –> Here, you’re trying to decide what kinds of media work best for your Facebook ads for Real estate. While you may not want to use video in all of your ads, consider doing it often: Listings with a video received 403% more inquiries than those without! If you already put video tours or panoramas on the real estate listing websites, consider using these for the Facebook ads. You can also link to the video, use still images, or a carousel of images. With A/B testing you’ll know which options work best for what audiences.
- Visual assets: What pictures or kinds of pictures work the best? Do people love that shot from the curb, or prefer a presentation of the fenced in back yard? It’s often different depending on your audience.
- Text assets: People may want to know upfront how much square footage a property has…or not. With this item, though, you need to be careful about the limits on text in Facebook ads for real estate.
- Targeting: In this usage, which audiences are most likely to respond to your ad.
4. Master Ad Copy
- Don’t put full details in ad – entice to click. Not only will this keep you in line with the text limits, but it also draws people to your landing pages or listings for more details.
- Put link with more info near top. By making the link easier to find, people are more likely to follow it.
- Couple ads with landing pages with CTA. People can look at your listings all day, but it won’t do any good if they don’t contact you. Try and get that all-important lead information with a compelling call to action.
If you’re looking for some great Facebook ads for Real estate to be inspired by, check out this post: https://adespresso.com/blog/real-estate-advertising-facebook/. You can also simply go to the Facebook Ads Library and check out your competitors ads here: https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/
A search for real estate ads brought up these examples:
There’s little question that real estate Facebook marketing is important for growing your business. After all, the days of simply putting ads in the newspaper and letting your agency do most of the work are over. These days, with people spending a ton of time on Facebook it’s imperative that you meet people there. Luckily, by following the steps in this guide you can soon be growing your business online.
Facebook Ads For Real Estate FAQs
Does Facebook marketing work for real estate?
Yes, it provides an extremely effective platform for connecting with potential buyers, and its ability to target specific audiences allows agents to be incredibly effective in their marketing campaigns. Facebook’s unique features have made it a great option for agents to build their brand presence, establish trust with potential buyers, and even create listings that stand out from their competitors.
How do I advertise Facebook Ads For Real Estate?
To launch a successful real estate campaign on Facebook, you need to identify your target audience and create messages that are both engaging and informative. Start by creating an eye-catching graphic or video with a brief but unique description of the property. Use an action-oriented headline to grab users’ attention and direct them to the link. It’s also important to cultivate relationships with relevant influencers in the real estate industry who can help spread the message among followers.
How do agents use Facebook ads for Real estate?
Real estate agents have become increasingly savvy at using Facebook as a tool for advertising their services and listings. With the ability to target clients based on age, interests, location, and more, real estate agents are able to create highly-targeted campaigns that can be tailored to specific needs. Additionally, real estate agents can use conversion optimization tactics like split testing or lead generation campaigns to ensure they’re getting the best bang for their buck with each ad campaign.
Conclusion
Real estate Facebook ads are an essential lead generation strategy for your real estate business. If you take the time to learn how to set up a successful ad campaign with effective ads, you’ll be bringing in hundreds of leads in no time.
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Have you worked with Facebook advertising before? If so, what kinds of ads did you run? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear all about your experience!
