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:
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.
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.
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:
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