Facebook Marketing Strategies: Types of Social Media Ads to Use on the Platform

As one of the biggest and arguably most influential social media platforms today, Facebook Marketing represents a major avenue for building brand awareness. This, of course, is why it’s the first stop for just about any marketer looking to grow their own company’s reach. If you’re running a social media marketing campaign, it simply must include content created specifically for Facebook; there’s simply no getting around that fact. This is why so many real estate professionals know that it’s essential to craft effective content for advertising on the platform.

There are dozens of different strategies you can employ when it comes to creating Facebook ads. Unfortunately, not all of these marketing tactics will be as effective as others. Therefore, it becomes crucial to understand which ones are most effective, why they’re so important to incorporate into your overall real estate marketing strategies, and how to implement them in real-world situations. Here’s what you should know about crafting good social media ads for use on Facebook.

The Different Types of Facebook Ads: A Primer

A social media post is a social media post - except when it’s not. Each time you post on Facebook, it’s an opportunity to advertise your business and the products or services you offer, and there are different tactics you should employ depending on the specific goal of that post. Let’s break down the core types of Facebook ads and what they’re best at accomplishing.

• Ads for Growth: Posts like these are designed to get eyes on your Facebook page. The goal here is to increase your Page likes and therefore your reach on the platform by increasing your audience.
• Ads for Generating Traffic: Social media can help direct traffic to a website outside of the Facebook environment. These ads entice readers to click through to your site where you can deliver them additional content or lead them deeper into your sales funnel.
• Promotional Posts: Organic reach is great, but sometimes your Facebook posts could use a little wider visibility. Promotional posts accomplish this by relying on Facebook’s paid advertising tools to widen the reach of a pre-existing organic post.
• Conversion Ads: Getting traffic to your site is just the first step. Converting those visitors is another story. Facebook content that’s designed to do both, like signing up for a newsletter or mailing list, falls soundly into this category.
• Ads for Claiming Offers: Running an exclusive offer that can only be accessed by visitors to your site? Content that makes this offer more visible is how to encourage that behavior by driving interaction in the ad for a reward.
• Ads for Brick-and-Mortar Stores: Any ad that’s designed to get readers to come to a physical location, such as an actual storefront, fits into this category. Content often revolves around exclusive, in-person-only sales or discounts to motivate readers.
• Event Promotions: Similar to the above type of ad, this type of Facebook content focuses on an event where the business will be present. Events can be local community festivals, industry conventions, or anything else.
• Retargeting Ads: Another option made possible by Facebook’s paid advertising tools, retargeting ads make it easy to remarket to readers that click off your content, no matter where they might end up on the platform. 
• App Install Ads: Promoting a mobile app? Content that promotes that app and provides links to the Google Play Store or the App Store help drive interest among your target demographic, helping to increase app install numbers.

Which Types of Facebook Ads are Best For You?

It’s unlikely that real estate professionals looking to market their services on Facebook will be able to capitalize on all of these different ad types. Unless you’re working for a major real estate player like Zillow, for example, the need to promote an associated app with your real estate services isn’t going to come up very often. Likewise, with so much of your business done remotely or in the field, a brick-and-mortar ad isn’t exactly feasible. 

By a similar token, however, there are some social media strategies that can be very advantageous for real estate marketers looking to grow their businesses. Promoting events in your area is one clear standout. Whether it’s an upcoming open house, a local community event that you’re sponsoring, or something similar, this type of content is likely to offer you better results. Likewise, Facebook posts designed to grow your reach and generate traffic to your real estate site are always going to be useful as well. 

The Final Word on Facebook Marketing Strategies 

The type of marketing strategy you use is dependent on a number of different factors. The quality of the content of your posts will have a major influence on their effectiveness; it doesn’t matter how carefully you choose what marketing strategy you pursue if the content you’re presenting to prospective clients isn’t effective in communicating the benefits of your services as a real estate professional. This makes it crucial to not just choose the right strategy but pair it with the type of content that will support that strategy.

Yet knowing the different types of Facebook ads you can focus on is certainly going to help. Focusing your efforts on creating content with a specific goal in mind will help you design the best content possible. This will lead to better results than if you weren’t planning as carefully. With the right amount of both patience and diligence, you can turn social media marketing on Facebook to your advantage.