The Ultimate Guide to Facebook for Real Estate Agents

Bangkok,,Thailand,-,March,17,,2018,:,Facebook,User,TouchMost guides to Facebook marketing aren’t made for real estate agents. That’s why we created The Ultimate Guide to Facebook for Real Estate Agents.

As a real estate agent, you face a unique set of challenges and opportunities. You’re not just a business owner; you’re also your own brand, tasked with meeting specific branding and compliance criteria set by your broker, NAR, and housing policies.

On top of that, you need to shatter the stereotype that real estate agents do little more than cash commission checks. And even when you’ve established your expertise, you must find ways to shine in a sea of competing agents (because who wants to lose a listing to friend’s relative that’s also an agent?) 

This guide doesn’t reiterate the usual advice of “just post content and be consistent!” Instead, it dissects the why and how of Facebook marketing and provides practical tips tailored exclusively for real estate agents who want to be known in their market.

In this 6-part guide, you’ll learn how Facebook works and, mor eimportantly, how to make it work for you. Each section is designed to help you achieve a specific outcome in an easy-to-follow way.

  1. The Underrated Rationale for Facebook Marketing [Why You Should Do It]
  2. Should real estate agents use Facebook business pages or profiles? [Getting Started]
  3. How to Increase Your Page and Content’s Reach and Discoverability [Optimizing Content]
  4. Grow Your Reach through Facebook Groups [Scaling Sustainably]
  5. How to Leverage and Grow Your B2B Network Through Facebook [Establishing Authority]
  6. The Right – and Wrong – Way to Use Video in Your Facebook Marketing [Mastering Mixed Media]

In this first part, we’ll introduce you to the extremely impactful benefits of Facebook marketing. Most people don’t realize these benefits, and being aware of them is the first step in capitalizing on the opportunities in front of you.  If you follow the strategies and tips outlined in the rest of this guide, you won’t need a big marketing budget or to constantly churn out content. It will run like a well-oiled machine.

Each of the subsequent five sections will guide you through specific strategies to achieve growth on and through Facebook, even if you know nothing about how Facebook works.

As long as you are willing to share what you know and talk about what you do once in a while, this guide will empower you to build your business and personal brand in a time-effiient and sustainable way. Most importantly, it will show you how to avoid the common mistakes that stifle Facebook growth or that simply don’t work for someone – like a real estate agent – looking to draw in local business.

I’m so ready to share what I know to help you grow. Let’s first address the common question that keeps real estate agents from taking action: Is Facebook marketing worth it for real estate agents?

1. The Underrated Rationale For Facebook Marketing: Why You Should Do It

One of the most common questions real estate agents ask about social media marketing is: Is Facebook marketing really worth it? For something to be worth it, the outcomes must justify the effort it takes to get there. I’ve found most agents often overestimate the required effort while recognizing only a fraction of the potential benefits for their real estate business.

The skepticism about Facebook marketing typically stems from a misconception that sounds like this: “I have to create content constantly and be active all the time; I might even need to hire someone to keep up! And what if no one even likes my posts?”

Let’s debunk this misconception.

Unlocking the Benefits of Facebook Marketing for Real Estate

Konskie,,Poland,-,August,18,,2019:,Facebook,Ads,Logo,DisplayedFirst, let’s address the misunderstanding about the outcomes and what’s achievable through Facebook marketing.

While it’s great to get more likes on Facebook, you’re here to grow your real estate brand and get more business, right? It’s important that you realize the many benefits Facebook offers while managing a substantial part of the administrative workload for you. With Facebook, the need to hire virtual assistants, developers, or external agencies to help you grow is greatly reduced, if not entirely eliminated. 

Though we call Facebook a social media platform, it is really a powerhouse tool—a search engine, content management system, event host, CRM, and more—all rolled into one. Furthermore, Facebook continues to evolve, boasting over 2 billion daily average users (source: Statista) and an algorithm that seamlessly matches your content to potential client through what is called affinity matching,

Here’s how it works: If someone on Facebook is actively discussing their search for homes in Orlando or engaging with content related to Orlando properties or the moving process, and you happen to post content about Orlando properties, Facebook’s affinity matching can put your content right in front of them.

This unique feature makes marketing on Facebook an obvious and powerful choice. It boosts your visibility to potential clients that have buying and selling in your market on their mind. In later sections of this guide, we’ll show you how to fine-tune your posts for Facebook’s affinity matching to work even better.

Here are the compelling marketing features that make Facebook pages a valuable asset for real estate agents:

  1. Affinity Matching: Connects your content with interested users.
  2. SEO Boost: Improves your search engine visibility.
  3. Extra SERP Ranking: Your Facebook can give you an extra appearance in search results.
  4. Brand Awareness: Boosts recognition of your personal and real estate brand.
  5. Enhanced Credibility: Establishes trust and authority.
  6. Content Funnel: Guides leads through your content.
  7. Free Exposure: Provides widespread visibility at no cost.
  8. Affordable Ads: Cost-effective advertising options.
  9. Free Community(s): Builds a network and community.
  10. Income Potential: Opportunities for monetization.
  11. Networking Power: Connects you with industry professionals.
  12. Easy Content Sharing: Simplifies sharing your real estate listings.
  13. Event Promotion: Host and Showcases your real estate events.
  14. Customer Engagement: Drives meaningful interactions.

And except for ad spend, all of the above features are entirely free.

BONUS: Throughout this guide, you’ll also learn tips to monetize directly and indirectly through Facebook.

 

How much time and effort does it take to grow on Facebook?

Now, let’s address the misconception about the required effort, as even busy real estate agents can succeed on Facebook without making it a full-time job.

  • If you’re not using Facebook yet, I’ll guide you through the process. You’ll learn how to get started with the best set up for success, but you will need to spend an hour or two getting set up.
  • If you’re already using Facebook casually for personal use, we’ll help you transform your screen time into productive business engagement.
  • If you’ve been all-in on Facebook marketing but feel like the effort is going nowhere, we’ll adjust your strategy and change some habits so you can reclaim some of your time.

You will not need to hire professional designers, learn how to code, or become a Facebook wizard. 

Understanding Facebook’s potential is just the start. We intentionally kept this overview brief, as the full spectrum of these advantages will naturally unfold as we progress through the guide. Now, let’s address a key question for real estate agents: Business pages or profiles on Facebook? Get set for our ultimate setup guide to unlock Facebook’s full potential.

Should Real Estate Agents Use Facebook Business Pages or Profiles? Your Ultimate Set-Up Guide

Bangkok,,Thailand,-,March,6:,Facebook,Business,Page,Closeup,WithThe debate between Facebook business pages and profiles seems unending, and often leaves real estate agents overwhelmed with analysis paralysis about Facebook marketing. While other Facebook guides explain the technical distinctions between personal profiles and business pages, but fail to explain why these differences are significant for real estate professionals.

In this section, we’ll explore the differences between Facebook business pages and profiles, weigh their respective advantages and disadvantages, and guide you towards a clear and definitive decision that best suits your real estate marketing needs.

Facebook Pages vs. Profiles: Key Differences

As a real estate agent, your existing sphere of influence and your personal brand are major parts of your business. This can create a dilemma: should you keep using your current Facebook profile to promote your real estate business, or should you create a brand new page (or revive one you)?.

In recent years, Facebook has introduced two powerful features that can get real estate agents out of this marketing quicksand: Accounts Center and Professional Mode.

Accounts Center simplifies account management, allowing you to oversee all your accounts with a single login, including Instagram and Meta accounts. If you hesitated to create a separate page due to the inconvenience of frequent logins and password juggling, that concern is now a thing of the past.

Professional Mode is a feature you can enable on a profile anytime. It will allow your content and profile to have discoverabity on Facebook.

If your goal is to reach a broader audience than just your friends and family, but you want to share personal updates, using a profile with professional mode turned on might be the right choice for you. This feature unlocks a set of options typically reserved for pages, such as:

  • Enhanced discovery opportunities
  • Professional dashboard with follower, reach, and engagement insights
  • The ability to invite people to follow you
  • Allowing your followers to invite their friends to follow you
  • Exceeding the 5000-friend list limit
  • Defining your profile category (with “Digital creator” as the default)
  • Access to select monetization tools (please note that turning on Professional Mode doesn’t guarantee automatic access to monetization tools)

It’s important to know that you can turn on professional mode and turn it off at anytime.

My strong recommendation is for every real estate agent to establish a Facebook Page, especially if you decide to utilize your profile without Professional Mode. Using a profile without Professional Mode will significantly limit your reach and discoverability, preventing you from taking full advantage of the strategies outlined in the rest of this guide.

Facebook Pages

Generally, if your goal is to represent a business, brand, or personal brand on Facebook, creating a page is the preferred route. Here are three main reasons why every real estate agent should consider having a Facebook Page:

  1. Feature Access: You’ll gain access to analytics, tools for businesses and other benefits professional profiles don’t have access to. Pages also provide off-platform advantages and are the best choice if multiple individuals will ever need access to the account.
  2. Multiple pages: The ability to create multiple pages for different businesses, brands, subbrands, or personal brands (associated with a business or not) sets pages apart. Plus, maintaining more than one personal profile actually goes against Facebook’s Community Standards.
  3. Multiple Roles and Security: Profiles require a single sign-in, using a specific email and password. This limited security can result in suspicious sign-in attempts if shared with others. To allow someone other than yourself to help manage a Facebook asset, creating a page is the best solution. By doing so, you become the page owner by default, and you can invite others to take on various roles, such as admin, editor, manager, contributor, or moderator, without them ever needing your sign-in information.

Throughout this guide, you’ll learn how to use exclusive page features, including reviews, call-to-action buttons, cross-posting, on-platform discoverability, SERP placements, and more to effectively grow and promote your real estate business.

Which should you choose for your real estate business?

Creating a page for your real estate business is a clear choice, irrespective of whether your brokerage already has a Facebook page. Your page is your asset, meaning you won’t lose it just because you change brokerages.

The decision to enable Professional Mode on your personal profile is a personal one. If you prefer maintaining privacy and using your personal profile for connections with friends and family, leave Professional Mode off. If you desire increased visibility and are comfortable with your personal profile being discoverable across Facebook, feel free to activate Professional Mode.

But no matter what, I strongly recommend creating a page for your real estate business. Many real estate agents overlook the benefits of Facebook pages, and doing so costs them business. By the end of this guide, you’ll understand how to make these benefits work for you, and your page will be a valuable asset in your business.

In the next section, I’ll guide you through the steps of creating a Facebook page. If you’ve already created your Facebook page, you can jump to the next section, which focuses on optimizing your reach and discoverability.

Creating a New Facebook Page

This section will walk you through the steps to create a new Facebook page. Though I dive deeper into tips for optimizing your Facebook page bio in the next part of this guide, here’s some example copywriting to get you through this initial set-up process without succumbing to writers’ block – just swap out your own name and location names!

fb screenshot

Note: You can change your page’s settings and basic information, such as name, category, and bio later!

With this in mind, let’s go through the steps for setting up a Facebook page.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Creating A New Page:

  1. Go to facebook.com/pages/create. If you are not already signed in, you will be prompted to login or create an account as you proceed.
  2. Choose “Business or Brand” or “Community or Public Figure” (Help me choose)
  3. Enter a Page name and Category. You can also add a Page bio.
  4. Click “Create Page.”
  5. If you want to customize your Page, you can add contact information, hours, a profile picture, a cover photo, and an action button.
  6. Click “Next.”
  7. Decide whether or not to connect WhatsApp (skip if you don’t use WhatsApp)
  8. Choose whether or not to invite friends.
  9. Select your notification preferences (I recommend keeping page notifications unless someone else will be running the page. This will make it easier to see important messages and page notifications while on your profile).
  10. Click “Done.”

Troubleshooting tip: If the ‘Create a Page’ link is not loading, ensure that you are logged in and toggled to your profile, not another page you might have connected to your profile. You must be actively toggled to a profile to create a page.

What’s the Difference Between ‘Business or Brand’ and ‘Community or Public Figure’ Page Types?

When creating a Facebook page, you’ll be asked to choose between two types of pages: ‘Business or Brand’ and ‘Community or Public Figure.’

fb screenshot2

These options are just templates that make it easier to set up your page according to your specific needs. As a real estate agent, you embody all four of these categories: a business, a brand, and a personal brand seeking to connect with your local community.

These labels are somewhat arbitrary. You can change your page layout in the future, but making a choice here can streamline your setup process. Here’s a guideline:

  • Choose ‘Business or Brand’ if you want to prioritize service listings, calendar bookings, advertising, and lead management within Facebook for your marketing.
  • Choose ‘Community or Public Figure’ if content creation, content curation, networking, and community interaction are your main priorities on Facebook.

The great news is that your choice won’t lock you out of any features. So don’t worry too much about it.

Key takeaway:

Creating a Facebook page for your real estate business is a crucial step. No matter how much or how little you plan to use it, your page will provide you with instant credibility and discoverability benefits. As you move forward through this guide, I’ll help you optimize your page and make the most of your Facebook marketing efforts.

How to Increase Your Page and Post Reach and Discoverability: Optimizing Content

One of the biggest fears the real estate agents I’ve worked with have is this idea that they’re going to have to post real estate definitions everyday just to stay consistent. Or on the flipside, that they will be so candid and relatable with their content that people will forget they do real estate.

The fear is that the former approach will bore followers, while the latter may garner likes and engagement but fall short of boosting their real estate business.

The truth is you can harness the full power of Facebook to achieve both consistency and business growth. This section is designed to show you how.

In this section, we dive into three key aspects for optimizing your Facebook page and posts so you can grow on and through Facebook. They are:

  • Optimizing Basic Profile Information: It starts with the fundamentals—your Page Name, Profile Picture, Page Description, and Cover Photo. Neglecting these could leave your page appearing inactive or inauthentic. We’ll explore tips for enhancing each of these components.
  • Leveraging Facebook Page Features for Real Estate Marketing: Discover how to maximize the features available to Facebook pages so you can reach more people and boost your real estate business off-platform
  • Maximizing Reach and Engagement for Page Posts: Create good habits for optimizing content so it can reach the right people and be found when someone is searching for the right topic.

Optimizing your Facebook Page Basic Information

Optimizing your Facebook Page begins with fine-tuning your basic information. The key elements to focus on are your Page Name, Profile Picture, Page Description, and Cover Photo, as they shape the initial impression your page makes on visitors.Let’s go through tips for each of these four items.

Optimizing Your Page Name: 

Your choice here hinges on whether you wish to emphasize your personal brand or your business brand, such as your team name. Keep in mind that you can create more than one page, and if this is your first page it’s worth emphasizing your personal brand front and center.

If you’re an individual agent, incorporating your own name is straightforward. However, if you operate as part of a team, consider an approach like “[Team Name with Your Name].”

You can also enhance your page name by incorporating a brief pitch or mentioning your local market. For instance, “[Your Name – Orlando Homes Guide]” can help you capitalize on location-based searches.

Another option is to adopt a topic-based Page name, such as “[Your Name + The Funny Real Estate Agent].” This helps convey what you do and provides people with a compelling reason to follow you, particularly in terms of the entertainment value.

Keep in mind that if you plan to use paid advertising, your page name will be prominently displayed in most ad formats. You can also use your name to include MLS License information instead of including it in every post, if required by your broker. However, bear in mind that this may make your name appear excessively long and visually bulky.

Optimizing Your Page Profile Picture:

For a personal-branded page, using a personal headshot is a great choice. You can add appropriate branding elements to this headshot to achieve the best of both worlds in a single picture. It’s a simple and effective way to convey professionalism and authenticity while promoting your unique brand.

Remember that your page profile picture will appear as a circle on Facebook, so ensure your chosen image looks good within this format. Aim for a clear and high-quality image that conveys trustworthiness and approachability. Your profile picture is often the first visual impression potential clients and connections will have of you, so make it count.

Optimizing Your Page Description:

Your page description is a brief yet powerful introduction to your real estate business and/or personal brand. You will be limited to 255 characters for your Facebook page description, but we can accomplish a lot in a small space. The goal of your page description can include any of the following:

  • Showcase your real estate expertise.
  • Use local keywords (so the user and Facebook know!)
  • Offer a compelling reason to follow you (or take some other action), whether that reason is an immediate interest in real estate or not.

Your page description is often the first thing potential clients and followers see, so make it engaging and informative within the character limit to leave a strong impression.

Need some examples? Here are three different ideas to give you some inspiration.

  • “Your go-to source for luxury homes in Beverly Hills. Follow me to explore exclusive homes and top trends!” This example shows who you are, works in a location keyword, and gives people a reason to want to follow you.
  • “I help people get more out of living, investing, and visiting Seattle. Trusted by over 500 people that use my monthly real estate market update to make informed decisions (See my pinned post to learn more!)” This example demonstrates expertiseand trust, and directs people to take a step into your marketing funnel.
  1. “I don’t always talk about Lake Tahoe, but when I do, it’ll make you want to call this place home (I can help make that happen!). Follow me for the best in Lake Tahoe living” This example demonstrates that you aren’t just going to be sharing boring real estate definitions or tips for redecorating with the color yellow. It gives people an ongoing reason to follow you, even if they aren’t currently thinking about buying or selling a home in Lake Tahoe just yet.

Creating a Cover Photo

Your Facebook Page’s cover photo is the large banner image at the top of your page. It’s the perfect place to make a lasting impression. Here’s what you need to know:

Dimensions for Best Mobile View and Desktop View:

For optimal display on both mobile and desktop, use an image that’s 820 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall.

Include CTAs, Branding, or Social Proof:

You can use your cover photo for many things, such as a call-to-action (CTA), branding elements, or social proof. 

Remember, your cover photo is often the first thing visitors see, so make it count! Stay tuned for more creative ideas and tips on optimizing your Facebook Page cover picture in the following sections.

Optimizing the basics of your Facebook page is a huge first step that most real estate agents neglect. Set aside an hour on your calendar and get it done.

But we’re just getting started. As you continue fine-tuning your page, you can unlock even more potential by optimizing additional features. In the next section, we’ll explore more of these features and their benefits.

Leveraging Facebook Page Features for Real Estate Marketing

In this section, we’ll explore the less obvious yet powerful benefits of Facebook pages that are particularly useful for real estate agents. Once your page is set up, these features are largely hands-off – what’s better than that?

Action Button for Calls to Action (CTAs)

As a Facebook page owner, you can add a prominent action button at the top of your page. 

Here is an example of what this action button looks like:

facebook screenshot 2

Action buttons can direct users to specific actions, such as filling out a contact form or exploring your offerings. Choose from 16 options, including “Learn More” “Call Now” “Send Message,” and more.

One of my favorite tips for optimizing this action button is to add a CTA hook to your cover photo.

facebook screenshot 3

To customize your Page’s action button, click the “…” menu button in the right hand side of your header, below the Message button. Then, select “Edit Action Button.

On-Platform Search Visibility

When people make a search on Facebook, your page and any content published by your page has a chance to appear in results. By optimizing your page and posts using the tips in the other two parts of this section, this will happen automatically.

The “Suggested Pages” feature

The “Suggested Pages” feature takes the heavy lifting off your shoulders. It exclusively showcases pages, so the most important action you have to take is just to have a Facebook Page. As Facebook learns more about your page, the algorithm will do the work of suggesting your page in the right places and to the right people.

Dedicated Page Timeline

Your page has its own unique timeline, separate from your personal profile. The major benefit here is that you can curate your page’s timeline with information related to what your page is about. This will make it easy for you to stay up to date with news and trends, connect with industry peers, and quickly curate and share information to your own audience. This makes your scroll-time highly productive and helps you engage with your audience without having to create content.

The “Invite” Feature

The “Invite” feature on Facebook Pages is a powerful tool for growing your Page’s audience. You can use it to invite people who engage with your posts to like your Page as well as invite your personal friends to follow your Page. Here’s how:

Find the “Invite” Button: You can find the option to invite people to follow a page by clicking the three-dot menu below the pages main header buttons:

facebook screenshot 2

Invite Directly: Click the “Invite” button next to someone’s name to send them a personal invitation to like your Page.

Get Reminders: Facebook will periodically remind you to invite users who engaged with your content but haven’t liked your Page. Facebook makes it easy for you by sending these reminders, doing some of the heavy lifting.

Leveraging the “Invite” feature is a straightforward way to boost your Page’s followers, capitalizing on existing engagement to expand your Page’s community.

Page-to-Page Interaction

Pages can follow your page, engage with your posts, and share your content with their audiences. This presents a powerful networking opportunity and doesn’t impact your personal profile’s friend’s list or feed.

SERP listing

Search engines like Google often feature Facebook pages in their search results. This is particularly beneficial if you lack a personal website, have a common name or phrase, or struggle with website indexing and ranking.

facebook screenshot4

Reviews and Recommendations

Facebook offers pages the option to receive reviews and recommendations. This feature not only provides a convenient method for collecting reviews but also lends credibility as they come from Facebook profiles with real names and faces. These reviews can be embedded in search engine results (as shown in the image above), used in other marketing materials, or integrated with popular review capture tools like EmbedSocial.

I have had people like and engage with reviews on pages I’ve managed, and many became clients soon after doing so! The reviews and recommendations feature is an invaluable opportunity to build social proof and connect with high-intent prospects.

Note: Though spam reviews come in once in a while, they are obvious and largely ignored by everybody! You can report these posts to Facebook to have them removed, though they will not remove a valid negative review.

To enable or disable reviews on your Facebook Page:

  • Click your Page’s profile photo in the top right corner to access your Page.
  • Click on “Settings & privacy” in the top right corner of the Page.
  • In the dropdown menu, select “Settings.”
  • In the Settings menu on the left, click on “Privacy.”
  • In the Privacy settings, click on “Page and tagging.”
  • Find the option that reads “Allow others to view and leave reviews on your Page?”
  • To enable reviews, toggle this option to “on” by clicking the switch.
  • To disable reviews, toggle this option to “off” by clicking the switch.

Featured Posts Section

Not everyone will scroll when they visit your page. But with the Featured Posts section, you can pin important information and eye-catching posts like upcoming open houses, special service offerings, and popular content right to the top of your page. Your pinned posts will display as a slider with 2 posts visible at a time and can include up to 6 posts. 

Users can use the arrows to navigate through your featured posts, as shown below:

facebook screenshot5

I use this section to highlight popular carousel posts, upcoming events, and a link to my YouTube channel. You can pin of your existing posts here, and you can change and re-order your pinned posts at anytime. 

To pin a post in your Featured Section, use the options menu on any post and click the “pin post” option.

facebook screenshot6

Business Tools:

Facebook pages have access to a whole suite of convenient business tools, like calendar bookings, lead management, ad management with audience targeting, and the accounts center (cross-posting and multi-login functionality).

Monetization

Though profiles can access limited monetization features by turning on professional mode, Pages are able to access additional monetization opportunities. Each of the features has its own criteria for eligibility, but it’s a viable opportunity to make extra income while increasing the reach of your real estate business. 

You will see many of these features mentioned again throughout this guide, but even if you were to stop here, you understand features most real estate agents don’t know exist! Next, let’s move onto simple habits that can help you optimize your posts.

Maximizing Reach and Engagement for Facebook Page Posts

You don’t need to be a New York Times Bestselling author and expert keyword strategist to create high-performing posts on Facebook. In fact, over optiziming your posts thinking it will please the algorithm is likely to alienate your human readers.

Instead, we’re going to take a practical and authentic approach to content so you can create content people enjoy while still signaling contextual information to the algorithm.

Here are foundational tips for good posting habits:

Balancing Content Creation and Curation

When it comes to Facebook content, achieving a balance between content creation and curation is key to success. Your primary goal should always be to provide engaging, informative, and/or entertaining content. If you’re pressed for time and creativity, consider these strategies:

  1. Curate Valuable Content: You don’t always have to start from scratch. Share your perspectives on articles, videos, or posts you come across online. The process is as simple as clicking “Share” and adding your thoughts to add context.
  2. Know What’s Worth Sharing: I’ve grown over two dozen Facebook Pages with the following philosophies:
    1. If it isn’t captivating, informative, or entertaining to you, it’s unlikely to resonate with your audience. Avoid forcing content that doesn’t pass this litmus test.
    2. If something catches interest, it’s a strong indication that it will do the same for others. Use such content as a launchpad for creating or curating new posts.

The time and expertise you allocate to a single post can and should vary. Curated content demands less time as the core work is done by others. Your expertise shines when you add insights and comments. Original content creation, though more time-intensive, allows you to showcase your authority and in-depth knowledge.

Most real estate agents give up on Facebook marketing because they think they need to create content consistently, which usually leads to burnout for DIY agents or subpar content for agents that outsource.

If there’s anything you should take away from this section, it’s that you don’t need to create content to grow on Facebook. You can grow on Facebook as a curator, occasionally sprinkling your own insights into the mix.

Using Hashtags Effectively

Hashtags are simple, so let’s keep them that way. Here’s a straightforward breakdown of how to use them effectively:

  1. Topical Hashtags: These are like digital signposts. They guide users to find posts on specific topics when they are actively searching for them, and help the algorithm get your posts infront of relevant audiences passively. For instance, if you’re posting about home décor, use #InteriorDesign to lead users exploring that topic to your content.
  2. Trending Hashtags: Trending hashtags can get your content in front of people looking for the latest information about something. This might be a specific event (i.e. #ThanksgivingParade), or more broadly the latest news and trends about a specific topic (i.e. #RealEstateNews, #OrlandoNews).
  3. Branded Hashtags: Branded hashtags are unique to your brand or campaign. Use them consistently to build brand recognition and engage your audience. For example, if you’re running a campaign for your real estate agency, create a branded hashtag like #DreamHomesBy[YourAgencyName]. Branded Hashtags can also help you build a stronger association between your personal brand and your business brand.
  4. Location Hashtags: For real estate agents, location is key. Use a mix of neighborhood names, area codes, county names, and any relevant location-based keywords. This helps potential clients find your posts when searching for properties in specific areas. Examples include: #MiamiBeachHomes, #305Properties, or #DadeCountyRealEstate.
  5. Combination Keywords: Get creative with your hashtags by combining different categories. This can help you reach people that are making searches with higher specificity and intent. For instance, if you’re a realtor in Seattle specializing in waterfront homes, use #SeattleWaterfrontHomes and #SeattleVacationHomes to blend location and topic, making your posts even more discoverable and conveying your specializations to readers.

Do varying the number and type of hashtags you use in posts; don’t spam irrelevant hashtags thinking it will help you get seen.

Other Best Practice Tips

Post Body/Captions: Your caption is where you can grab attention, teach something, tell a story, and/or encourage readers to engage further. You can include keywords, hashtags, tags for other Facebook pages and profiles, and links to additional content to add depth to your captions. There’s no single rule for how to write a good caption, but it’s always a good practice to make sure your post caption has one key focus.

Media: You can add an image, multiple images, a video, a poll, and more to your Facebook posts. This gives an extra element for users to pay attention to and possible interact with, and it also gives you multiple ways to share insights and information.

Tagging: Also known as mentioning. You can tag other profiles, pages, and groups on facebook by typing the @ symbol and typing the name of what you want to tag. These mentions can help boost visibility to other users and might earn you a share from whoever you’re mentioning!

Boosting Posts: Consider using Facebook’s post boosting feature to highlight content. For a few dollars, you can increase a post’s reach and visibility and set some audience targeting options like interests and location. These paid engagements can lead to more organic engagements (because, for whatever reason, people like to pay attention to what other people have liked and commented on). You can invite anyone that reacts to your boosted post to follow your page. Sometimes, boosting simple and entertaining posts can be more effective for growth than a traditional, expensive ad campaign!

Cross-Posting: Share your posts on other relevant pages you manage, in groups, and on your personal profile when appropriate. This expands your content’s reach to different audiences.

Links: No, Facebook won’t hide your posts just because there’s a link in it. If you think links kill your engagement, people probably don’t understand what your links are about or why they should click them, so they keep scrolling – which signals the algorithm that your post wasn’t engaging. The key is to make your links supplement what you’re saying in the body of your post and provide a compelling reason for users to click your link (to learn more or get some kind of benefit). This way, your post can get engagement even if someone doesn’t ultimately click the link, and if they do click the link, you’ve just gotten some off-platform traffic!

Multi-Platform Sharing: Don’t limit your content to Facebook alone. Share your posts with relevant groups, on other pages you own, and even on your personal profile when it’s appropriate. Additionally, consider sharing or embedding your content off-platform, such as on your website, in emails, or on other social media channels. This multi-pronged approach ensures that your valuable content reaches a broader audience.

Bonus Pro-Tip: Use a spreadsheet to track important posts. This is especially true if your post is evergreen or seasonal (meaning, it can be posted sometime later in the future and still be just as meaningful). Having a spreadsheet with your post caption and any relevant media to go can make it easy to repost and repurpose content in the future, or share links to relevant posts elsewhere.

Key takeaway: 

Optimizing your Facebook page and posts isn’t rocket science. Using common sense and good habits will help you save time, choose great topics for content, and increase the reach of your real estate marketing efforts.

Now, let’s explore how to build the ultimate local following with Facebook groups, a powerful tool for connecting with your local community and expanding your reach.

Grow Your Local Reach with Facebook Groups: A Sustainable Scaling Strategy

Facebook Groups are one of the most powerful free marketing tools for marketing your business locally. In recent years, Facebook has increased group discoverability and made it easier than ever to managing a group. Most importantly, a Facebook group can quickly become a self-sustaining asset.

While exploring other Facebook groups can help you network and expand your reach, this guide will primarily focus on creating and cultivating your own groups, where you can get more exposure for your real estate brand and attract an audience of local residents as well as people looking to live or invest in locally. 

I’ve built dozens of Facebook groups, including groups for real estate agents, and I’m excited to share the proven techniques that will enable you to build your own groups effectively.

In this section, we’ll delve into the following key topics:

  • The Top 12 Benefits of Facebook Groups for Real Estate Agents
  • Creating Your Facebook Group
  • Choosing a Name and Description for Your Facebook Group
  • Public vs. Private vs. Secret Groups: Making the Right Choice
  • Strategies for Growing Your Facebook Group
  • Tips for Growing Your Real Estate Business Through Facebook Groups

Let’s dive in.

Top 12 Benefits of Facebook Groups for Real Estate Agents

In short, Facebook Groups are a great marketing asset because they are free to use, are on a platform plenty of people check daily, and can bring people together around a common interest.

Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of Facebook groups for your real estate business:

  • Discoverability – There are several placements where Facebook suggests groups to users: in the newsfeed, in the sidebar (desktop), in other groups, and in any place a user might be browsing or searching for groups. Additionally, posts from your group can appear on user’s newsfeed, often with a button to join. Yes, that means other people’s posts to the group can get your group in front of more people!
  • Reach – Posts within a group have the potential to reach every member. In public groups, posts can extend beyond the group when shared or recommended by Facebook, increasing your group’s exposure even more.
  • Multiple Impressions – Facebook groups often show users a post more than once. This repetitive exposure can encourage actions such as clickin and commenting. Facebook will also show group posts more than once to encourage non-members to join. You may have seen this in action if you are a Facebook user yourself, but if you haven’t, here’s an example of Facebook using multiple impressions to suggest I join a group.

facebook screenshot7The group owner has nothing to do with this – Facebook will do the heavy-lifting to get users to join groups they think are relevant to them.

  • Engagement – Facebook Groups are a great place to get engagement on content without having to be the conversation starter yourself. Whether content originates from within the group or is shared into the group, you can get more likes, reactions, and comments when others engage with the post.
  • Brand Awareness – Sharing content to a group from a branded page exposes your brand to a wider audience. Engaging with group members from your branded account amplifies brand visibility. Additionally,you can link your branded page to any Facebook Group you own and highlight your page in your cover photo, description, pinned posts, and about section of the group.
  • Cost (Free!) – Creating and managing a Facebook Group is entirely cost-free, unlike many other community hosting platforms.
  • No Technical Knowledge Required – Facebook simplifies group creation and participation, eliminating barriers related to user registration and technical support.
  • Easy to Manage – Facebook uses a tool called Admin Assist to help people manage Facebook Groups. This tool is optional, but allows group owners to set up simple logic to prevent spam comments, auto-approve join requests, and/or hold certain posts for approval. You can choose from template settings or customize fully to your own needs.
  • Self-Sustaining – “If you build it, they will come.” As long as your Facebook Group is about something people are interested in, people will find it, spark their own conversations, and keep other conversations going. This is incredibly powerful for busy real estate agents who do not have the time or desire to spend a lot of time working on their Facebook Group.
  • Content Curation + Planning – Facebook Groups provide an abundant source of content ideas. Members are sharing and discussing things that interest them, and this gives you free insight on your local market! You can easily reshare content to your audience and even create blog posts or videos based on group discussions.
  • Networking – In general, Facebook Groups provide a home base for people with something in common to connect and interact with one another.
    As a group owner, you get the added benefit of having this growing asset in your tool belt. As such, you will meet and build relationships with new professional contacts and prospective clients over time, just by being the group owner. This can be powerful equity!
  • Income Potential – You can use Facebook Groups to market and promote your business, generate leads, and promote your listings. But there’s more – Facebook Groups can generate income through various avenues such as ticketed virtual events, sponsored posts, affiliate partnerships, and referral sharing. Each group you own becomes an asset contributing to your business’s equity.

The benefits of Facebook Groups are simple and powerful. Not only should you look to join relevant groups as your page and profile, but you should create at least one group and start building your equity.

Let’s turn now to creating and setting up your Facebook Group for success.

Creating your Facebook Group

Pages and profiles can create and hold admin roles for Facebook Groups. Admins will be visible to group members when someone is viewing your group member list. Admins will also have a “-Admin” badge next to their name when posting.

I recommend using your Facebook Page to create your group. Pages have the advantage of being able to administer up to 200 different Facebook Groups, and you can showcase these groups on your page. You can also add your personal profile as an admin later if you’d like.

To create a Facebook Group with your Page as the admin, follow these steps:

  1. Log into Facebook
  2. Click your profile photo in the top right.
  3. Click See all Profiles
  4. Select the Page you want to use..
  5. From your Feed, click Groups in the left-hand menu or visit facebook.com/groups
  6. Click Create New Group in the left-hand menu..
  7. Fill out the basic information for your group (See the next 2 sections for tips!).
  8. Click Create.

How to find and visit your Facebook Group (create a shortcut)

facebook screenshot 8

There are multiple ways to get to your Facebook group.

  • On desktop, you can click Groups in the left-hand menu on desktop or visit facebook.com/groups
  • On mobile, you can click your profile picture and select Groups on mobile, 
  • To find your group from anywhere on Facebook, you can use the search bar and search for your group’s name.

Recommended: Create a shortcut for your group. 

To create a shortcut for your group, simply navigate to the left-hand menu of your news feed and hover over where it says “Your shortcuts” until an edit button pops up. Click that and choose the group you want to pin.

If you are using a mobile device, click your profile picture and then click “Groups.” Click the settings gear at the top of this page and then click “Pinned Groups” to add new shortcuts.

Both options will automatically pin your group as a shortcut on desktop and mobile. 

How to feature your page in your group’s cover photo

To strengthen your group’s connection with your branded page, you have the option to add a clickable link to your group’s cover photo.

To add a link to your Page in your group’s cover photo, follow these steps:

  1. Go to your Facebook Group
  2. Click the “Edit” button in the botto right corner of your group cover photo area.
  3. In the drop-down menu, click “Edit Group Affiliation”
  4. Choose your Page and click “Save.”

facebook screenshot9

This link gives a brand impression and an easy way to get traffic to your Facebook Page!

Choosing A Name and Description for Your Facebook Group

Launching and growing a Facebook group is easier when you have a well-defined purpose. 

So, what’s the purpose of your group?

As a real estate agent, you’re probably thinking “Well, I want my group to to bring me real estate clients!” That’s great – and it can – but trying to build a community with a group called “Katt Wagner – Real Estate Agent” is not the way to accomplish this.

The purpose of your group is to help you reach people and build an audience around a common theme, and at the heart of what you do in real estate is your local expertise. As such, I recommend creating a group with the primary goal of uniting local places, people, and events in a single space. This approach allows future sellers to discover your group, and potential buyers can use it as a resource when exploring the area they wish to call home.

Naming Your Facebook Group

If you want people to find, join, and participate in your group, the name has to be clear and easily understood by humans and Facebook’s algorithms. Begin by brainstorming names that locals frequently use to refer to your area.

For example, I live in Cocoa Beach, Florida which is in Brevard County and one of many towns lumped into what residents and tourists alike call the ‘Space Coast.’ 

Next, think of common interests or topics that would make people want to join the group. Such interests could be events, food, small business, community, things to do, garage sales – anything.

When you have some ideas for both, combine at least one place reference with a relevant interest to craft a compelling group name. Below, you’ll find some example names you can adapt as your own:

Example Names for local Facebook Groups:

  • Space Coast Buy/Sell/Trade Hub
  • Living in Cocoa Beach: Community Connect
  • All Things Brevard County – Food, Events, Housing
  • Space Coast Life: Tips for All Things Local
  • Things to Do in Cocoa Beach: Local Guide
  • Local Eats & Treats: Brevard Foodies
  • Space Coast Neighbors Unite
  • Cocoa Beach Lifestyle: Events & More
  • Brevard Business Buzz: Support Local
  • Cocoa Beach Explorers: Hidden Gems

The examples above convey a clear impression of the group’s focus and purpose in just a few words.

Optimizing Your Group Description

In the description area of your group, you can provide additional details and include more location names. This will enhance your group’s discoverability and explain why people should join your group. Keep in mind that the first two lines of your description will be the most visible, so make it compelling.

facebook screenshot 10

The rest of your description can include more keywords about locations, topics, group rules, and even links to external websites or landing pages. For example, you can link to a guide about Brevard County’s neighborhoods, offering added value to potential members while funneling people to your real estate business (i.e. “Looking to live in Space Coast? Checkout this free guide to Brevard County’s neighborhoods:

)”).

Remember that you can always create more than one group in the future. The here is to create a group that will attract people interested in your local area, encouraging them to engage, invite friends, and possibly become future clients. Your group’s name and description are the first steps in achieving this aim.

Public vs. Private vs. Secret Groups: Making the Right Choice

When it comes to Facebook groups for your real estate business, my recommendation is this: create a public group that requires permission to participate. This will maximizes your group’s reach while protecting it from spam and irrelevant engagement. Public groups offer broad visibility, discoverability, and trust-building, making them a smart starting point for expanding your business’s reach. You can always create private and secret groups separately, but this public group with play an important part in growing your real estate business and will thus be the priority for the rest of this walk-through.

Strategies for Growing Your Facebook group

To grow your Facebook Group effectively, focus on these strategies:

  • Optimize for Discoverability: Choose a clear and appealing group name.
  • Use the Invite Button: Invite friends and followers to join your group.
  • Encourage Member Referrals: Ask current members to invite their friends.
  • Invite by Email: As an admin, use the invite button to send email invitations through Facebook.
  • Share Content: Share group posts to your timeline or other relevant groups.
  • Link to Your Page: Connect your group to your Facebook page(s).
  • Promote Outside the Group: Advertise your group through other marketing channels.
  • Share Local Content: Share local posts to your group to boost engagement.
  • Comment on Relevant Posts: Politely ask to share posts in your group, drawing attention.
  • Host Group Events: Organize events, Q&A sessions, or livestreams within the group.

Tips for Growing Your Real Estate Business Through Facebook Groups

Here are some additional tips and considerations that can help you get more eyes to your Facebook Page, website, and anywhere else you want to draw in real estate business.

  1. Use Join Question: Collect opt-ins through optional questions during group joins.
  2. Gain Page Followers: Fro your page, invite those who react to your posts to follow you.
  3. Engage as Your Page: Interact with group content under your branded page name.
  4. Share Relevant Website Content:– Don’t shamelessly promote yourself or spam links! But if you write a blog post for your real estate website about the top 5 best karaoke nights in your community, absolutely share it as a post and as a comment when someone is looking for karaoke spots or something fun to do. Depending on what you ultimately make your group about, it might even be relevant to share upcoming open house events to your group, which is directly promoting your business!
  5. Let people know what you do. You don’t need to scream that you’re a real estate agent everytime someone joins your group, but if you make it a regular thing to do Friday welcome posts to welcome new members, you can encourage everyone to introduce themselves and share what they do. Then, comment with your own introduction and be sure to respond when others introduce themselves.

Ultimately, your Facebook Group is a place to cast a wide net and start funneling people towards your real estate business.

Key takeaway: Not only should you participate in Facebook Groups, but you should create and own one. Facebook Groups provide a platform to meet new people in your community, connect with other professionals, and start funneling people towards your real estate business without spammy or boring self-promotion tactics.

How to Leverage and Grow Your B2B Network Through Facebook: Establishing Authority

In this section, we’ll explore the concept of B2B collaborative growth on Facebook and how it can benefit your real estate business.

Why Collaborate on Facebook?

Collaborative growth is not just a theory; Facebook explicitly recommends creators interact with others to expand their reach. This approach aligns with Facebook’s algorithm favoring community-driven content, benefiting your real estate business. These tips come directly from Facebook, as shown in this example:

facebook screenshot 11

In the following sections, I’m going to help you understand the key benefits of collaboration, recognize opportunities, and show you tips and tricks for getting the most out of B2B networking.

The Benefits of Collaborative Growth for Facebook and Business Growth

B2B networking on Facebook offers several key benefits to you and your Facebook Page.

  1. Access to Expert Insight and Perspective: There’s a famous quote from John C. Maxwell that says, ““The better you are at surrounding yourself with people of high potential, the greater your chance for success.” Collaborating with other professionals in your industry will give you invaluable insights and keep you sharp. And, best of all, you can extend this knowledge to your Facebook audience and your clients in the real world.
  2. Content Curation: Your B2B network can be a source of high-quality content, making it easier to curate and share relevant and engaging posts with your audience. And each time you share a post from someone else, they’ll get a notification. This can go a long way for building reciprocity.
  3. Social Proof: Positive interactions with other professionals can add to your credibility and reputation. Remember, Facebook might recommend a post you’ve engaged with to your followers, even if they don’t follow the original poster. Take advantage of that visibility!
  4. Social Equity: “Social equity” is the trust, respect, and influence you build through meaningful connections and collaborations with others, irrespective of their industry. By actively engaging with peers, you’re cultivating a reputation and fostering invaluable relationships that elevate your standing and unlock new opportunities for your real estate business to thrive.
  5. Shared Audience: Partnering with peers means you can all tap into each other’s audiences, expanding your reach and potentially gaining new followers. As mentioned elsewhere in this guide, your B2B partners can help invite people to a Facebook community, share your posts with their audience, and cross-post content created collaboratively. 
  6. Additional Revenue Opportunities: B2B networking can open doors to revenue-generating opportunities, such as referrals, vendor partnerships, and new collaborative service offerings.
  7. Assistance with Group Growth: Collaborators can also help grow your Facebook group by starting conversations and sharing their insights with the group.

Each of these benefits can help you grow your Facebook following and your real estate business. I recommend refreshing yourself on these opportunities often so you are always ready to recognize them!

B2B Collaboration Tips for Facebook: Start Growing Together.

So, how do you kickstart B2B networking on Facebook and tap into the benefits of collaboration? Here’s a simple three-step approach: 

  1. Identify Collaborators: Seek out professionals within your industry or related fields who align with your goals and values. For those you already know, try to connect with them on Facebook. Additionally, keep an eye out for other professionals you haven’t had the chance to meet yet on the platform.
  2. Be Clear About Mutual Goals: Clearly outline what can be achieved through collaboration, whether it’s expanding your Facebook reach, sharing informative content to a wider audience, or working together on new opportunities. Remember that your potential collaborator hasn’t necessarily thought about the algorithm or the opportunities behind peer collaboration.
  3. Engage Actively: Actively engage with your collaborators and leverage each other’s audiences to maximize reach and impact together. The bonus benefit here is that you are also strengthening your relationship and earning reciprocity.

Sample Outreach Script:

You’re reading this guide, but the people you are working with are not. They might not know the Facebook algorithm favors collaboration, and they certainly have no idea – yet – that you are on board with growing together.

You need to start the engine and hit the gas.

Here’s an example of a B2B outreach message you can use, whether you’ve met the contact before or not:

facebook screenshot 12

After you’ve sent your outreach message, I highly recommend taking action with the collaboration tips in the section below this one. Instant gratification can work wonders!

Collaboration Tips: The Algorithm and Reciprocity

Here are some practical tips to effortlessly integrate collaboration into your social media routine:

  1. Get Their Content in Your Algorithm: Follow, engage, and share content from your collaborators.
  2. Support Good Content: Make it a habit to support interesting and relevant content whenever you come across it in your Facebook feed. Your engagement matters. Add insights when sharing a post from a peer to boost visibility and reciprocity.
  3. Harness Engagement and Win Reciprocity: Strengthen relationships through active engagement and support. Don’t forget, you can also tag your peer when you notice someone seeking a service they provide or seeking answers to a question they’re an expert in.
  4. Make Use of Facebook’s Collaborative Features: Consider these Facebook features that facilitate collaboration and mutual support among B2B peers. You might want to make sure your peers are aware of these features too:
    • Using the Invite Button for Groups: Invite each other to join relevant groups, especially groups either of you own. By actively joining and participating in these groups together, you amplify engagement, support each other’s content, and foster a collaborative relationship where you can co-create, organize events, and explore new ways to extract value out of Facebook Groups.
    • Sharing and Inviting Guests to Each Other’s Events: You can collaboratively host or participate in events, or simply share your peer’s solo event with your audience, and vice versa. This can help any event reach both audiences.
    • Enable Cross-Posting for Video Content: When you and your partner create video content together, you can easily share it from a single video upload. This not only consolidates engagements and insights but also ensures both of you benefit from a unified upload. You only have to enable this feature once and then can allow cross-posting on a per-video basis without any hassle.
    • Leverage Partner Audiences in Collaborative Ads: With Facebook’s collaborative ads feature, you can join forces with your partners to tap into each other’s audiences, expanding your reach and driving targeted advertising campaigns for mutual benefit. This feature allows you to co-create and co-manage ads to reach a broader and more engaged audience.

Key takeaway:

Collaborative growth on Facebook is a win-win strategy that helps all parties grow their Facebook audiences and their brands. Embrace it to expand your reach, grow your B2B network, and take your real estate business to new heights through Facebook marketing.

The Right – and Wrong – Way to Use Video Content in Your Facebook Marketing: Mastering Mixed Media

When it comes to using video content in your Facebook marketing strategy, there’s a growing belief that video is the key to growth on this platform. Let’s dive into the right – and wrong – ways to leverage video content effectively.

Do you Need to Post Videos to Grow on Facebook?

No, you don’t need to post videos on Facebook to grow, but yes, incorporating videos can significantly boost your growth. Videos can engage and reach new audiences and help you connect with your existing audience in new ways, making them a valuable part of your Facebook content strategy.

When to Host a Video Exclusively on Facebook

Hosting a video exclusively on Facebook can be a smart move when you want to fully engage your Facebook audience. This is especially true if your primary goal is to connect with your Facebook followers and keep them on the platform. Exclusive videos can help boost your organic reach and drive engagement.

Sharing Other People’s Video Content

You should only host video content you created and own the rights to. Uploading someone else’s video content to Facebook can get your account flagged for unoriginal content and subject you to a DMCA strike.

When someone else’s video content is relevant to your audience, you should share it using a share button or via link to the original content. Be sure to add you own reaction or insights to your post to spark engagement from your audience.

Benefits of Livestreaming

Livestreaming on Facebook offers a dynamic way to connect with your audience in real time. It allows for immediate interaction through comments and reactions. The great thing is that most streaming systems like OBS, StreamYard, and StreamLabs allow you to simultaneously stream to multiple platforms. This multi-platform approach can expand your reach beyond Facebook and attract a broader audience.

Tips for Sharing Links To Externally-Hosted Videos

There’s a misconception that sharing external links in Facebook posts will negatively impact your engagement. In reality, you can seamlessly integrate links to platforms like YouTube or TikTok without fear of your content being hidden.

However, you should be aware that external links may not always display optimally within Facebook posts.Posts with external links to videos won’t auto-play the preview can be formatted poorly. This could lead to users scrolling past your post, and Facebook may interpret that scrolling as decreased interes. It’s this misinterpretation that gives life to the myth that Facebook suppresses posts with external links.

This is simply not true. To illustrate, I have consistently garnered 10 or more likes on posts promoting new weekly YouTube content for a real estate client’s page, despite the page having fewer than 2,500 followers. In fact, some of these posts accumulated over 40 likes a piece. They all contained external links. I achieved this by uploading an image or multiple images relating to the episode, writing a quick caption with the topics covered,and  then providing the YouTube link. That’s it. 

Here’s an example to demonstrate how using an image can prevent formatting issues from eternal link shares:

facebook screenshot 13

Next time you want to post an external link to a YouTube video or otherwise, try adding an image so it displays correctly and compels people to stop their scroll, read, engage, and hopefully even click your link! 

Reels vs. Regular Videos

Reels offer a quick, fun way to engage your audience and display as a portrait-style video. When you post a Reel, it can appear on your timeline and easily be shared as a story – stories get featured at the top of your connections’ newsfeeds! Because Facebook and Instagram are both properties of meta, you can create one reel and share it across both platforms easily.

Keep in mind that many of the most popular Reels out there are candid shots from the front camera of cell phones. Authenticity shines, so don’t shy away from using your smartphone camera or think you need cinematic production quality to post videos to Facebook. The native Reels editor will help you trim clips, add text, and choose background music. You can also use tools like CapCut, InShot, and Canva to edit Reels videos. However, I recommend adding important keywords as on-screen text while uploading your video – Facebook and Instagram can use this text to understand what your video is about and decide who to show it to.

Regular videos are typically landscape orientation and tend to be longer in length. While Reels only let you add a caption, standard video uploads allow you to add video titles, descriptions, SRT (time-coded transcriptions), custom thumbnails, and cross-posting options. You can also add standalone videos to a series or playlist.

In essence:

  • If you have quick tips, candid behind-the-scenes, or casual content, make it a reel.
  • If you have detailed or long-form content, make it a standard video upload.

Key Takeaway: 

Video content can be a powerful tool for your Facebook marketing strategy. Whether you’re hosting videos exclusively on Facebook, live streaming, sharing links to external videos, or experimenting with Reels, it’s all about engaging your audience clearly and authentically.

Closing Thoughts:

Congratulations! In this comprehensive guide, we’ve explored a range of practical strategies and techniques to use Facebook marketing in your real estate business. Here’s what you’ve accomplished:

  • Optimizing Your Facebook Profile and Page:
      1. You’ve fine-tuned your Facebook profile and page to create a professional, trustworthy online presence.
      2. You’ve learned how to craft compelling content and leverage your profile to attract potential clients.
  • Creating and Growing Your Facebook Group:
      1. You’ve set up your own Facebook group to create a community around local real estate.
      2. You’ve discovered how to communicate your group’s purpose clearly and effectively to attract and engage members.
  • Leveraging and Growing Your B2B Network Through Facebook:
      1. You’ve understood the significance of collaborative growth on Facebook.
      2. You’ve recognized the various benefits of networking and how to build meaningful connections within your professional circle.
  • The Right and Wrong Way to Use Video Content on Facebook:
      1. You’ve grasped the importance of incorporating video content into your Facebook marketing strategy.
      2. You’ve learned when and how to host videos exclusively on Facebook, how to use external links effectively, and the distinctions between Reels and regular videos.

Each of these sections has given you battle-tested strategies and streamlined steps that even time-strapped agents can put into action. Remember that in real estate, property transactions don’t just fall in your lap; it’s important to build your online presence, grow your network, and position yourself as the first person that comes to mind when someone needs real estate help. As you apply these strategies and embrace the power of Facebook marketing, you’re well on your way to becoming a more influential and successful real estate agent. Happy Facebooking!

About the Author

Katt is a dynamic entrepreneur with a proven track record of building startups from the ground up through her innovative marketing approach. With extensive expertise in personal branding, local marketing, and the real estate industry, Katt has successfully coached thousands of agents, helping them grow their businesses as solopreneurs or small teams.

Katt has walked the walk, from making thousands of cold calls and growing her real estate ISA team to writing direct mail letters to participating in live transaction engineering to make deals happen. Her unique skills have enabled her to organically grow over 5MM followers across managed social platforms and harness the art of monetization. For instance, she contributed to generating 2.4MM in annual revenue through her social media strategies during her tenure as Content Director at All The Leads.

Katt’s passion lies in assisting newcomers, busy professionals, and small-team startups. She loves the challenges of the early-stage grind and finds fulfillment in building sustainable momentum. Having personally traversed every step and explored all the tools on her path to success, she is eager to share actionable advice. Connect with me

Last Updated: 7/19/2024