Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Facebook started as a college networking site over a decade ago and has since evolved into one of the most crucial business marketing tools for the real estate professional. But one key feature harnesses a wealth of networking potential not offered by any other social media platform, and surprisingly it's also one of the most overlooked: Facebook Groups.
Using Facebook as a general marketing tool provides real estate agents a feature-rich, easy-to-use, mostly-free digital platform to build their brand, connect with prospects, showcase properties, and provide valuable information to their audience. The platform offers several ways to execute these actions, including business pages, paid ads, events, and personal profiles.
But Facebook Groups, one of the channel's oldest yet underutilized features, offers its own unique set of benefits to help businesses connect with their audience. Here's how you can put them to work in your real estate marketing:
Your Facebook business page serves as the social hub of your brand. Your Facebook groups, however, should act as the exact opposite.
Instead of creating a carbon copy of your business persona, center your group on a particular topic. Users are more likely to show interest and engagement with a topic they can relate to, which will attract more members and spur community conversations. The goal here is to build trust by positioning yourself as the industry expert, the go-to when people need answers.
The self-promotion within a group should be a subtle one, as you should focus more on providing information people care about rather than marketing your services. If you can be successful with the former, the latter should happen naturally.
Using Facebook groups doesn't mean you have to create them. Chances are, there are multiple local real estate Facebook groups that someone else has already created that you can join. And it's an excellent way to find new leads.
From your main Facebook news feed, click the Groups link in the left panel, then click the Discover option. Scroll through the top menu of groups until you find Neighborhood and Community. From there, you can click the Local link in the left panel and search for local real estate forums.
Connect with leads by replying to their comments, answering questions, or sharing helpful information. Once you can start a conversation, use your networking prowess to move your leads through the sales funnel.
It never hurts to take a look at other industry leaders to learn what exactly they are doing to earn their success. With nearly every industry imaginable already staking a presence on Facebook, it's no surprise that there are already plenty of well established real estate groups that are worthy of your membership, like these:
This public group provides an outlet for its 10,000+ members to share ideas on better ways to market their business.
You'll have to gain special access to this Closed group, but once you do the only way you can go is up. This group was created by agents for agents, and members share advice and industry tips to help you grow as a real estate professional.
This is the group where technology and real estate marketing meet. If you struggle to keep up with the latest in tech. or simply need to know what's going to give you the best bang for your marketing bucks, go join the conversation.
Implementing Facebook Groups into your social media strategy does require a little more hands-on involvement, but the networking and educational rewards can make it worthwhile many times over.
