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How to Get Real Estate Leads on Facebook

Posted by: James Allen
Date: January 20, 2021

As a real estate agent, you know that growing your business relies on making new connections and generating referrals. Whether you work with commercial or residential buyers or sellers, generating real estate leads is an important part of the real estate process. Perhaps you’ve been looking at creative new outlets for lead generation and are wondering how to get real estate leads on Facebook.

In this post, you’ll get a foundational understanding of what lead generation is and how social media can be beneficial. Then, we’ll walk through an in-depth explanation of how you can use Facebook to create a boom in your real estate business. This is truly one outlet you don’t want to overlook!

What is Lead Generation in Real Estate?

In the real estate business, lead generation is the process of finding potential buyers and sellers who are interested in working with a licensed agent. As a real estate agent, you have to be able to meet the different needs of buyers and sellers with your skills and services. Establishing strong connections in the community can build immediate lead generation opportunities.

There are many traditional methods of lead generation for real estate agents. While no particular outlet is better than the other, many real estate agents turn to the following methods to gain new leads:

Hosting open houses at available properties
Networking within neighborhoods or communities
Building new relationships organically
Using websites and social media channels to interact

Lead generation is an important part of having a successful real estate business because it is the primary outlet for finding properties to list and buyers to purchase them. The popular term “always be prospecting” refers to the idea that agents need to use multiple outlets to generate continuous results.

Social media can be an excellent way to gain new real estate leads. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) asserts that up to 77% of all real estate agents use social media. Additionally, up to 99% of modern homebuyers, particularly from the millennial generation, kickstart their home search online.

Here are some of the many ways that social media, particularly Facebook, can help real estate agents generate new leads.

Social media helps you showcase your business visually. If the statistics above are any indication, new homebuyers want to see and shop for properties visually. Realtors can upload property photos and help buyers view a listing before visiting the property. This is also a great way to establish a gallery for your real estate business.

Social media meets potential homebuyers where they are. Many people already spend time on platforms like Facebook. As a result, this is a simple way to use inbound marketing to meet buyers and sellers where they already spend their free time. Using social media creates another pathway for clients to reach you and interact with your business.

Social media can provide a free way to promote your platform. Establishing basic profiles is a no-cost way to get started with social media lead generation. Until you start investing in ads, most platforms like Facebook services are free. This is a big benefit as you look to trim down your marketing expenses.

Read: Instagram Marketing Tips For Real Estate Agents

Regardless of how often social media is used in real estate, there are ways to misuse it. If you’re an inexperienced beginner, consult a mentor or trusted agent who can help you use tools like Facebook to your advantage. While this is a great way to shine a spotlight on your real estate career, below are a few common mistakes.

Not being authentic to your brand or business. Social media can be a crowded market with many voices. Audiences can often tell when you aren’t sharing a genuine message. Avoid this mistake by being transparent and sharing your personality with potential clients.

Failing to provide an easy contact method. One of the easiest ways to lose a social media lead is to make it difficult for them to contact you. Always optimize your profiles by linking to a contact form or email address so that you can receive and respond to messages quickly.

Over-editing your posts and content. As you work to create a visual gallery of listings and photos, avoid going too far in your editing. Page visitors should always be able to know that your pictures are true to life and accurate. This helps protect both your social media accounts and your integrity as an agent.

Failing to mention client success stories. If there’s one way to tug at the heartstrings, it’s by sharing genuine and heartfelt success stories. While it’s a good idea to make sure your clients are comfortable being featured, don’t shy away from sharing how you’ve helped a family buy or sell a property. This personal touch could lead to many new leads and referrals.

Using Facebook to Generate Real Estate Leads

Traditional methods of gathering real estate leads are usually focused on in-person efforts. This might include swapping business cards and contact information or having visitors sign in when they come to a property. With Facebook, real estate agents can generate leads quickly and efficiently.

To generate solid leads on Facebook, you can try a few different approaches.

Use search features and key terms to locate potential buyers within your area.
Use your Facebook profile to launch a giveaway or contest.
Use live-stream video tools such as Facebook Live.
Run highly targeted ads through Facebook’s advertising platform.

Best practices for using Facebook in real estate

As with any marketing strategy, adhering to best practices shows that you’re a reputable and respectable real estate agent. Many people know how to use Facebook in everyday life, which is why you should learn about the professional side of the platform and finetune it for your business. Here are a few best practices that real estate agents should follow on Facebook.

Always respond to comments, questions, and messages in a timely manner.
Consistently share informative and helpful information for both buyers and sellers.
Post unique and professional photos that stand out as visitors are scrolling.
Use your platform to create a positive and encouraging community.
Share interactive posts that encourage engagement and participation.
Link your profile to any other social media platform or website that you use.

Using Facebook for Inbound Marketing

Treating your Facebook strategy as an inbound marketing plan is a surefire way to make the platform work for you. To do so, you should focus on creating compelling content that pulls in new leads based on the topics, tips, and resources you share.

When you approach Facebook as an inbound marketing strategy for real estate leads, you can avoid viewing it as a “shotgun” approach. Facebook is a long-term game that you will learn over time, similar to inbound marketing. The more you learn about content creation, the more you have the potential to bring in hundreds of relevant leads per month.

Creating Facebook ads that convert

Using Facebook ads can be a powerful strategy for any business or organization. It should be noted, however, that formulating a high-performing Facebook ad strategy takes skill. In fact, some real estate agents may choose to hire a specialist who can produce and set up top-performing ads.

If you’re new to using Facebook ads to generate real estate leads, you should first do your research. More than 80% of real estate agents have a presence on Facebook, which means that the social media landscape is competitive. Take time to learn the ropes before needlessly spending your marketing budget on ads that aren’t targeted and won’t perform well.

To start an effective ad campaign on Facebook, you must first set up a Facebook Business page and ad manager account. You should fully complete your profile information so that when leads do see your ads, they can learn as much about you as possible.

Once you start utilizing ad campaigns, there are a few important steps to take. These include:

Setting a daily and monthly budget for your ads
Choosing the best copy and creative (picture) to accompany your ad message
Selecting your target audience, including demographics and location
Establishing a time frame for your ads to run
Having a plan in place to analyze ad performance
Creating a system to funnel in new leads to a spreadsheet or other management tool

Optimizing your Facebook business page for lead generation

While it’s possible to use your personal Facebook profile to advertise your real estate services, the best way to establish a brand is to create an official Facebook business page. Having a business profile changes the way that some of your content appears on Facebook. It can also legitimize your status as a licensed agent.

If you want to use a business page on Facebook, spend the time curating and completing it. This is one of the ways that buyers and sellers interact with you, so it’s important to make a strong first impression. Below are a few tips for optimizing your profile so that it stands out to your incoming leads.

Use professional language, grammar, and spelling throughout the page.
Make sure that all of your photos (cover and profile pictures) fit the space well and aren’t blurry or pixelated.
Always share images that you have a right to post and share.
Set your page’s visibility settings to promote the most exposure in your area.
Give prospects a way to contact you, and set expectations for your hours of operation.
Learn more about the best times to post so that your content is widely available.

While it can be a lot to manage, always remember to have fun with your Facebook page! This is a free, customizable marketing tool that you can use to develop relationships and nurture leads. As a result, it should be a creative outlet that you can personalize and grow over time.

Professional Resources from Century 21

Century 21 Northwest Realty is an organization that believes in empowerment and partnership. That’s why we’re proud to offer new agent mentorships to help real estate agents in Arizona gain access to the best technology and training in the market. By getting to know our brokerage, you can leverage many helpful resources including on-demand training sessions, in-person coaching, and more.

As you learn more about real estate lead generation, remember to network and ask what processes are working for other successful agents. If you’re interested in fast-tracking some of your early results, be sure to check out How to Jump Start My Real Estate Career.
If you have questions about career development or training opportunities, contact us at our Glendale or Tempe locations today!