Facebook ads targeted at relevant audiences can be a strong driver of lead generation for real estate agents.
Facebook ads offer advertisers precise targeting within a massive and diverse audience of users. While traditional forms of advertising used to be mainstays of the real estate industry, newspaper and radio advertising will no longer reach audiences with the same impact as Facebook ad campaigns.
Facebook allows real estate pros to efficiently spend their advertising dollars, making it easy for them to embrace the powerful platform.
Do Facebook ads work for real estate pros?
Facebook posted US$84.2 billion in advertising revenue in the fiscal year 2020. With more than 2.8 billion monthly active users in 2021, it offers access to huge audiences via its built-in ad platform.
Realtors are paying attention. The National Association of Realtors found that 74 percent of Realtors use Facebook for professional purposes. So how can you make sure you’re getting in on the action with ads that will bring results?
To make Facebook ads work for your real estate business, you’ll want to build a strategy with ads that precisely target customers, show off your home listings to their best advantage, as well as build and nurture relationships with current and past clients.
Your goal will be to create a robust pipeline of leads that become buyers or sellers with your business.
How to create a Facebook ad campaign for real estate lead generation
When you’re ready to create a Facebook ad campaign for your real estate business, you’ll need to decide on the goals for your ad campaign.
Do you want to attract visitors to your website, or gather leads and collect contact information so you can follow up? Many marketers focus on website traffic, but when it comes to real estate, you’ll want to focus on lead generation so you can make meaningful connections with people.
You’ll use Facebook’s built-in ad manager to create your first campaign. Facebook has set up this back-end platform to be easy to use. With a bit of practice, you can easily create ads and ad campaigns.
How to get started with your Facebook ad campaign:
Set the campaign objective
This should reflect your goals.
Set the budget for your ad
To determine your ad budget, calculate what you make from each deal you close and how many leads you need to bring in to finalize the deal. You’ll be able to estimate how much you can spend to attract each lead to make the advertising worthwhile.
Choose your bid strategy
When starting out, you can simply choose “lowest cost” from the options available. This will allow you to make the most of your budget until you see how your ad performs.
Define your targeting parameters
Facebook offers exact targeting to help make sure the right people see suitable ads. For example, you can target for location, demographics, language and interests.
Decide where your ads should run
You can run your ads on Facebook and on Instagram, which Facebook also owns.
Optimize your ads
Use the goals you set to optimize your ads for what you want users to do. For example, if you’re going to generate leads, you’ll want to create ads optimized for people to contact you. If you want them to visit your website, optimize for views of a landing page or similar online resource.
Choose your ad format
Make the most of Facebook’s features to show off the properties you want audiences to see. For example, you could choose carousel ads to show multiple properties or a curated selection of interior photos for one listing. Another option is a video ad that shows a walk-through home tour. Go through the list and choose what suits your goals best.
Create your ad
Write compelling ad copy with plenty of detail and add images or videos to showcase your listing. Facebook Ads’ dynamic creative can help you reach the right customers with the right message at the right time.
Connect to a compelling landing page
You’ll want somewhere meaningful for your customer to visit when they click your ad. It could be a specific page for a listing they’ve shown interest in or a landing page that offers a lead magnet. For example, a helpful checklist or resource they would find valuable.
Track and measure the results
Facebook has a built-in analytics platform to show you how your ads are performing. You can see which ads are getting the best response so you can improve each subsequent campaign.
Tips to make the most of your real estate Facebook advertising
When building traction with your real estate Facebook business page, adopt some good social media habits to get the most out of your efforts:
- Update your business page with accurate information and fresh visuals.
- Post consistently to offer a mix of promotional and helpful content.
- Understand that paid ads are a part of Facebook advertising.
- Offer useful lead magnets – like moving checklists, home staging preparation tips, free home evaluations and home listings – in exchange for contact information.
- Brainstorm different audiences to target and plan advertising specific to their needs. Whether they are first-time homebuyers, people with families or customers who are ready to downsize.
- Show value by teasing upcoming listings, home market statistics and other information that feels like the inside scoop your potential clients won’t want to miss.
Why Facebook advertising is perfect for lead generation
Facebook offers targeted advertising allowing you to reach carefully curated audiences from its massive pool of users. No matter where you are building your real estate business, Facebook is likely to have local users spending time online.
The platform has a broad range of features to help showcase your listings and other offerings with attractive ads, boosting visibility and exposure. The ability to target specific groups plus the ad features means you’ll reach your desired audiences with compelling ad campaigns that look and feel personal to them.
Combine paid Facebook ads with other valuable content
Beyond your paid ads, plan on posting organic content to help clients get to know you if they visit your Facebook business page. Try to offer valuable information to build trust with your contacts and show your connections to the community. If you can weave in testimonials and reviews, even better.
The more you engage authentically with your audience, the more likely it is they will remember you. This will come in handy when it comes time to hire a real estate agent.
Successful real estate professionals work to reach potential clients where they are already spending time, which means being active on social media platforms. Facebook ads are an excellent way to reach your target audiences with customized messaging right when they need to see it.
If you’re looking to stay ahead of your competitors, getting strategic about Facebook advertising is a solid first step. If you’d like help maximizing what Facebook ads can do for your real estate business, reach out to a skilled team of marketing professionals to get you beyond the basics.
