Friday Five: Tips for marketing real estate via Facebook ads

By: Brad Horner

500 million people.  Let me repeat: 500 million people.  That is how many people are actively using Facebook, as the company announced this week.  If Facebook were its own country, it would be the third most populous nation in the world (following China and India)!

According to Facebook, 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day (in total, spending more than 500 billion minutes per month on Facebook), so it’s no wonder why marketers are increasingly realizing the large number of leads that Facebook can provide.  It’s an excellent platform to build lasting relationships and “remarket” (Facebook’s term) to customers.

NRT Development Advisors has had great success with Facebook ads on behalf of developer clients.  In fact, the Facebook ads placed to promote clients’ new home communities actually increased referrals to their websites by 30%!

Today’s Friday Five includes tips for marketing real estate via Facebook ads:

1. Set goals. What do you want to accomplish with the ad?  Are you simply hoping to increase the number of new fans for your company’s Facebook page or do you have more traditional goals such as direct sales?  Think through these goals first, as they will impact all future decisions (ad copy, images, links, reach, etc.).
2. Create eye-catching, relevant ads. Include questions, testimonials and calls to action in ad copy, as they make for compelling content.  And include an image in the ad, as the click-through rate is much higher for ads with pictures than those that are text-only.  Consider creating tailored ads for different demographics.  You don’t speak to a potential homebuyer and a Realtor the same way when selling homes, so why would you in an ad?
3. Identify target demographic. One of the best features of Facebook advertising is the robust targeting options; target factors include location, age, birthday, sex, keywords, education, workplace, relationship, interests, language and connections.  Some of the factor selections may be obvious based upon your product (such as location and age), but you can be a little more creative when selecting other factors.  For instance, target people who are already fans of your competitors, as it shows that they are interested in similar product.
4. 4. Frequently rotate ads. Even the best ads can become tiresome after multiple views.
5. Analyze ad performance and adjust accordingly. Just like traditional advertising, it’s important to regularly monitor ad performance and make tweaks based upon results.  Facebook makes it easy to do so by offering reports about each campaign, including responder demographics, responder profiles and conversion data.

Have you had success marketing homes with Facebook ads?  If so, please share your story by leaving a comment.