Facebook for Realtors: How to use Facebook as a real estate agent
Where do people find real estate agents? Where can realtors market themselves where people will see them and feel convinced that their house will sell quickly—or that they’ll be able to find their dream home?
With over 2.8 billion monthly active users, Facebook offers an unparalleled platform for real estate agents to reach potential clients, showcase properties, and build their brand. As a real estate agent, you might feel overwhelmed by the idea of marketing yourself on Facebook. So where do you start as a realtor on Facebook?
Pretty photos of houses and professional looking posts are two great places to start, but leveraging Facebook as a realtor effectively requires more than just listing pics; it involves strategic planning, targeted advertising, and engaging content. This comprehensive Aelsa on Socials guide to Facebook for realtors will explore the various facets of marketing on Facebook for real estate agents, including setting up a professional page, creating compelling content, utilizing Facebook Ads, and leveraging analytics to optimize performance.
Setting Up a Professional Facebook Page
Create a Business Page
You may have already done this, but you know what you say about assuming 🫏 , so:
The first step in marketing on Facebook is to create a dedicated business page for your real estate services. Unlike personal profiles, business pages offer a range of tools and features designed specifically for marketing purposes. While posting real estate content to your personal Facebook page may feel obvious and simple, your friends and family may eventually grow weary of seeing it when they just want to see pics of your kids or cats.
To create a business page, follow these steps:
Log in to your personal Facebook account: Navigate to the 'Create' button in the top right corner and select 'Page.'
Choose 'Business or Brand': Enter your business name and select the category that best describes your services, such as 'Real Estate Agent.'
Complete your profile: Add a professional profile picture, such as your business logo or a high-quality headshot. Upload a cover photo that showcases a beautiful property or your team in action. Facebook rules restrict how much text can be in your profile/cover photos, and your real estate brokerage may also have their own branding restrictions, so keep that in mind when selecting your photos!
Fill in your business details: This is truly where the magic happens—fill out EVERY blank you can. Write a brief (100 characters!) compelling bio, enter accurate contact information, your office address if you have one, and your operating hours. This is called optimizing your bio.
Creating Compelling Content
Share High-Quality Photos and Videos
Visual content is king in real estate marketing on Facebook. High-quality photos and videos can capture the attention of potential buyers and showcase properties in the best light. Consider the following tips for using Facebook as a realtor:
Professional photography: You should already be doing this for your MLS listings anyway, but between you and your client, be sure you’re investing in professional photography to ensure your property photos are well-lit, high-resolution, and visually appealing. High-quality, wide-angle photography is key to a solid Facebook marketing presence for realtors.
Virtual tours and video walkthroughs: Video content is killing it online right now. Create virtual tours or video walkthroughs to give potential buyers an immersive experience of the property. (PS - want to see one completely out-of-pocket, totally crazy and yet totally successful way of doing this in a creative way? Check out this TikTok creator here.)
Before-and-after photos: Are you involved in flipping houses? Share before-and-after photos of renovated properties to highlight your work's transformative power.
Publish Engaging Posts
Houses are just physical buildings—there’s only so many listing links people will click on, so find ways to get creative and think beyond just posting houses.
Market updates: Share updates on the local real estate market, including trends, statistics, and forecasts. These can go over people’s heads if you don’t do them right, so find ways to keep the content accessible, like talking head videos with humorous moments and on-screen gifs/stickers.
Client testimonials: Post testimonials from satisfied clients as Facebook graphics to build credibility and trust. Think beyond “Craig is a great realtor” when selecting the reviews you want to put into graphics for your real estate Facebook page. Great reviews are illustrative, humorous and even borderline outrageous.
Example: “I wouldn’t have blamed Craig if he started declining my calls. I called him so many times with the smallest questions about my homebuying process. But he always picked up…I think one time I talked to him about escrow while he was at his niece’s wedding. 10/10 recommend.”
The humorous image and vivid descriptions outdo the mundane compliments every. single. time.
Home buying tips: Offer valuable tips and advice for home buyers and sellers to position yourself as an industry expert—the Facebook marketing realtor pro that you are. I may sound like a broken record here, but this will go best if there’s a little bit of humor or uniqueness to how you present the info.
Community events: Promote local events and activities to show your involvement in the community. You could even partner with local businesses to do feature series on your page like plumbers, electricians, inspectors, and other services your audience might need.
Utilize Facebook Live
Facebook Live is an excellent tool for real estate agents to engage with their audience in real-time. Often, Meta platforms reward use of all features, too, so you might find it boosts your other content in the algorithm to use Instagram and Facebook live when you can.
Use Facebook Live to:
Host virtual open houses: Conduct live virtual open houses to showcase properties and answer questions from potential buyers.
Q&A sessions: Host live Q&A sessions to address common questions and concerns about the home buying process.
Market updates: Provide live updates on the real estate market and share your insights.
Utilizing Facebook Ads
Create Targeted Ad Campaigns
Facebook Ads allow you to reach a highly targeted audience based on demographics, interests, behaviors, and location. To create effective ad campaigns:
Define your target audience: Use Facebook's audience targeting tools to specify your ideal clients, including age, location, income level, and interests.
Choose the right ad format: Facebook offers various ad formats, including photo ads, video ads, carousel ads, and slideshow ads. Choose the format that best suits your campaign goals.
Craft compelling ad copy: Creativity plays a huge role in the success of ads campaigns for realtors on Facebook. Check out these tips for compelling creatives from my blog earlier this year. Ultimately, you want attractive designs, clear and persuasive ad copy with a strong and effective call-to-action.
Set your budget: Determine your real estate Facebook ads budget and bidding strategy based on your campaign objectives and desired reach. Higher budgets doesn’t always equal better results, but be prepared to invest—when executed well, ad campaigns can have great ROIs, you just have to be willing to do some research and testing to get there.
Use Retargeting
Retargeting is a powerful advertising technique that allows you to re-engage users who have previously interacted with your page or website. By showing targeted ads to these users, you can increase the likelihood of conversion. Set up retargeting campaigns using Facebook's Custom Audiences feature to reach potential clients who have shown interest in your properties.
Effective retargeting campaigns on Facebook for real estate agents require you to install a Meta Pixel that tracks conversions—visits to website or form submissions, for example. Setting up Pixels and creating Custom Audiences can be a complicated process, but here’s a starting place from Meta. If you’re looking for someone to help set up your ad campaigns and installing a Pixel on your website, click here to set a free, no-pressure get-to-know-you call with me!
Pro tip: one big way you can help your ads perform the best they can is by making sure your website is 🪡 SEO’d up. Keeping everything neat and tidy from that search engine optimization perspective can make a big difference in converting website guests to paying clients.
Monitor and Optimize Ad Performance
Regularly monitor the performance of your Facebook ad campaigns using Facebook Ads Manager. Track key metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS). Use this data to optimize your campaigns, adjusting targeting, ad creatives, and budget allocation as needed.
Building a Community
Engage with Your Audience
Building a loyal community on Facebook requires consistent engagement with your audience. Respond promptly to comments, messages, and reviews to show that you value their input. Encourage discussions and interactions by asking questions and inviting feedback. Community engagement comes in many forms, but is arguably the foundation of a solid social media presence.
Join Facebook Groups
Facebook Groups offer a unique opportunity to connect with potential clients and industry peers. Join local community groups, real estate Facebook groups, and home buying/selling groups to share your expertise, answer questions, and network with other professionals.
Create Your Own Group
Consider creating your own real estate Facebook Group focused on real estate in your area. Use the group to share exclusive content, host discussions, and provide value to your members. A well-managed group can position you as a trusted authority and generate leads.
Staying Compliant with Regulations
Of course, there are some complications here. Real estate and finance related industries are heavily regulated. You can’t just say what you want and do what you want when it comes to posting on as a realtor on Facebook.
Understand Advertising Regulations
Real estate agents must adhere to advertising regulations and guidelines set by industry authorities and Facebook. Ensure your ads comply with fair housing laws and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or disability. Every state also has its own rules when it comes to real estate, so do your due diligence to make sure your ads align with those policies.
Disclose Licensing Information
Include your licensing information in your Facebook page's 'About' section and any advertisements to maintain transparency and build trust with potential clients.
Monitor Reviews and Testimonials
Regularly monitor reviews and testimonials on your Facebook page to ensure they are genuine and comply with advertising standards. Address any negative reviews professionally and promptly to maintain your reputation.
Marketing as a realtor on Facebook offers real estate agents a powerful platform to reach potential clients, showcase properties, and build their brand. By setting up a professional page, creating compelling content, utilizing targeted ads, and leveraging analytics, you can maximize your marketing efforts and achieve your business goals. Remember to stay compliant with regulations, engage with your audience, and continuously optimize your strategies for the best results.
Q&As: details on Facebook marketing for realtors and real estate agents
Q: What is the best platform for realtor social media?
A: The best platform for realtors on social media is the platform that your target audience uses. I always suggest that everyone have a business Facebook account, even if you’re not posting that often because having a business Facebook account as a real estate agent, like any professional, is a form of social proof. Beyond that, depending on your location and target demographic, Instagram, LinkedIn, and even TikTok or Pinterest are interesting options to consider when choosing the platform for you!
Q: Where can I find examples of good realtor social media content?
A: Pinterest is an awesome search engine for finding content for real estate social media accounts. Just search “realtor social media content” and see what examples come up! You can also search Instagram for “realtor” to find a couple popular real estate agent accounts, screenshot posts you like, and save them to your Notes folder, Notion, Trello, or some other productivity/brainstorming app. Remember to always use the posts as inspiration—don’t try to copy it 1-to-1.
