In the last blog post on how to brand yourself well, we dabbled a little bit in social media strategy, but now it’s time to get into specifics. Let’s start with the largest social media platform as far as users go… Facebook!

So, you may have just rolled your eyes if you think you know everything there is to know about Facebook. Okay, you may know how to find all the best cat videos, you’ve mastered the “Like” button that can also be a “Love” button, and you have even taught your mom how to change her profile picture (BIG win). So you can use the platform well, but in the context of marketing yourself as a professional Realtor, do you know what the best practices are for Facebook? Let’s talk about it!

Who Is On Facebook?

First, why is Facebook such an important platform? Who is on Facebook? According to the Pew Research Center, 68% of U.S. adults are on Facebook. Demographically, Facebook is a pretty evenly mixed bag. Just about every age is almost fairly evenly represented, with 18-29 year olds having slightly greater representation and 65+ year olds having the least representation. Every race and ethnic group are also fairly well represented and there is not much of a discrepancy in urban vs. rural users. So basically, with Facebook, you have the chance to reach anyone and everyone you need to in your preferred audience. In the interest of knowing who your specific audience is, because Facebook is so diverse, you will want to rely heavily on Facebook Insights.

The Importance of Having a Facebook Business Account

First and foremost, you may have a great personal Facebook page, but if you are marketing yourself in the interest of gaining clients, you actually cannot use your personal account for your business. You have to create a business account and in all honesty, you’re really going to want to create one anyway because of all of the great perks that go along with it. Some of these benefits include:

• Facebook Insights: Holy cow. This is probably the best feature of a Facebook Business page. You can use this feature to gain information (demographic information, interests, etc.) on the people who follow and like your posts. This information is very helpful in gaining a better understanding of who your target audience is so that you can better tailor your content to their interests. I could write a whole article on how to use this and the usefulness of it but Bailey Seybolt from Hootsuite has already written a really great one here.
  
  
• Post Scheduling: On your business page, you can schedule your posts in advance so that you never miss a beat! We will dive into the importance of posting content consistently later on, but this is a great tool for that.
  
  
• Similar Page Suggestions: This is a box that you do not want to forget to check. It can be found under the “General” tab in the “Settings” menu. When you check this box, it means that your page will be featured as a suggested page on people’s timelines who “Like” similar pages to yours. More promotion just for the price of clicking a box? We’ll take it.

• Call to Action: Facebook Business pages have the great option of a “Call to Action” button. This “Call to Action” can be anything like “Call Now”, “Send Email”, or “Contact Us” and it will be directly linked to call your phone or send you an email. This convenient contact method is very helpful for clients as they do not have to search your whole page for your contact information.

Now that you are entirely convinced of the importance of having a Facebook Business Page, let’s talk strategy.

The Anatomy of Your Page

This is absolutely starting from the ground up but is absolutely worth mentioning. It matters what your page looks like, and there is a good way to set it up.

• Profile Picture: Your profile picture should be a clear picture of your face, which sounds obvious but is well worth discussing. In the business world, typically the best practice is for the profile picture to be the main logo of the brand, but you are your brand! So make sure that when clients type your name into the search bar, they will find an easily identifiable picture of you.

• Cover Photo: Your cover photo should essentially showcase what you are about. Being a Realtor, a few suggestions for a great cover photo would be a graphic of events happening in your area, a photo of your team, or a photo of you giving back to your community. Your cover photo should be changed fairly regularly and changing it would be a good task to add to your calendar.

• Pinned Post: At the top of your Facebook page, you can pin your latest and greatest post. If you have found a really cool article about activities in your area or you want to share about an awesome opportunity to give back to the community, you can pin that post to the top of your Facebook page so it will stay relevant while you continue to post. It’s a good idea to change your pinned post after about a week to ensure you are up to date.

The Importance of Responding

On your business page, you may get a lot of messages or comments on your posts, respond to them! In a business as relational as real estate, it is crucial that your clients and your potential clients feel heard and valued by you on social media. It is a good rule of thumb to respond within 1-2 business days to Facebook messages. Check it like you check your work email (unless you check your work email twice a minute, your Facebook fans can wait a little longer than that).

Posting Strategy

How often should you post? What should you be posting? I cannot stress enough the importance of posting meaningful content. Posting frequently (a few times a week) is great, but it is not good to post just for the sake of posting. You’ll end up turning people away. In the interest of posting, it really is best to have quality over quantity. If you’re interested in the logic behind this, because it may seem like it would make more sense to gain more followers by posting more, Hubspot did a great study on the frequency of posting to Facebook that you can read here if you are interested. With that being said, it is smart to keep up a consistent stream of posting, just not a five-posts-a-day stream of posting.

As far as what you should be posting, like I said, only quality content. What is good quality though? First of all, as amazing as you probably are, posting about yourself all the time is not the best practice. People want to read about you, but they also really want to read about the things that you are knowledgeable about. They have come to your Facebook page to read about the latest trends in real estate, the great things happening in the community, up-and-coming neighborhoods, and anything else you might have expertise in.

Types of Content

So there are a few different types of content that you can post to Facebook and they are all great, but some work better than others depending on what you are trying to communicate.

• Status: If you have a simple, short message to get across, Facebook has a status feature with which you can post shorter statuses with a colorful background that is sure to catch followers’ attention. Statuses are the best content when you have a clear and concise message to communicate.

• Photos: Posts with photos draw more engagement than posts without photos do. Especially in the business of real estate, many people may be coming to your Facebook page to see the kinds of listings you have featured and have featured in the past, so it is important to post photos.

• Videos: This is a big one. Videos are the best content type to reach users. According to this article that explains the importance of video content, by 2019, internet video traffic will account for 80% of all internet traffic. That’s insane. What is important to keep in mind about video content, though, is that most people watch videos from their mobile devices, without sound. So it is a good idea to have subtitles on your video or to make it easily understandable without sound. Good video content could include a video explaining who you are (like your “personal elevator pitch”, explained in the last blog post), highlights about your area, or testimonials of past clients.

• Facebook Stories: Much like Snapchat stories, Facebook stories are easy ways to post temporary images and videos. Stories would be very useful to remind followers about events such as open houses or community gatherings.

• Facebook Live: Facebook Live works almost the same way as stories except they aren’t just posts, they are videos that are happening in real time. This feature would be great, for example, to have Q & A time with home buyers to give advice based off of your extensive expertise and engage with your followers in real time. Facebook Live is a good way for you to take the reins in interacting with your audience as you should not always wait for your followers to make the first move!

So that was a LOT of info. Hopefully you got something out of it, and if you already knew it all then go you! Here are the main takeaways to sum it all up:

• The Facebook Business page is your friend. Get one.

• It matters how your Facebook is set up.

• Just about everyone is on Facebook, so use Facebook Insights to determine your target audience.

• Don’t flood your followers with unnecessary posts. Quality over Quantity.

• Be relational! Respond to messages and comments!

• Know what type of content is the best for your audience.

Overwhelmed by social media? Village Realty offers superior support and digital marketing services to grow your real estate business.

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