5 steps to create your real estate plan on facebook

5 steps to create your real estate plan on facebook.  How to Create a Real Estate Presence on Facebook

A social media presence is a must have for any business or investment group hoping to succeed these days. Social media gives you the chance to interact with your potential audience, customers, or clients in a way that lets you measure your influence and help cement their support. This is true even of real estate investors; have a real estate presence on Facebook can allow you to forge connections that can lead to more profitable investments down the road. And while anyone can set up a Facebook page, there are certain steps you can take to help customize your page for your real estate goals to help ensure you meet them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are the best ways to utilize Facebook?

Realtors – The answer is obvious.  You want to sell houses and capture listings!  Facebook is a great way to shout your message and properly connect with buyers and sellers.  Tell them what is in it for them.  Also promote your area, share tons of content on financing, schools, developments and position yourself as the LEADER!

Wholesalers – Use Facebook to broadcast your message that you are looking to buy a rental or maybe flip a house.   You can also offer to pay a referral fee and find connections who can learn to “bird dog” houses for you on a regular basis.  Use facebook to become a leader on investment properties.  Share appropriate YouTube content, build your brand and you will start to quickly build your buyers list!

Property Managers – Next time you get a vacancy in a rental, ask your social media connections if they know anyone looking to rent. Post information on your rental and include a photo album of pictures, so they can see it. This also works great for finding tenant-buyers who want to do lease options.  Incorporate Facebook into your tenant screening. It is a great way to get a look at potential tenants that goes beyond the rental application. Do a Facebook search for potential tenants and get a glimpse into their everyday world.

Facebook lets you classify your business page in one of several different ways. Because real estate can take on a number of different personas, you should make sure your classification meets your goals to really hit your target audience.

For example, if you’re selling, you might want to choose Product. If you’re a brokerage, you would choose Business, while if you’re attempting to build communication within an area, you could also choose Community.

Keep in mind that what you choose does not have to remain set in stone. If you choose Product, but find that you aren’t getting enough buzz, you can always switch to Community to try to get some conversation going. Classifications do not have to define your Facebook presence, but they can help others find you more easily.

 

2.  Customize Your Page

While in an ideal situation it should be your content that keeps people coming back, you need to remember that first impressions count for a lot. So you need to pay close attention to how your page looks. Every Facebook page gives you a space to upload a cover photo, as well as a “personal” photo. Your personal photo should be something identifiable about your company, such as your logo, because this is what people will see on other pages, and they need to be able to recognize it and trace it back to you.

Your cover photo, however, can be something related, but not necessarily all about your company. For example, you could put up a photo grid showcasing several houses that you’ve sold, or properties currently on the market. This photo needs to be eye catching enough that it draws people in and makes them want to see more.

Besides your photo, the next important part of customizing your real estate page is your tabs. You can have as many as you like, but only four are going to show up without someone looking for them. So take the time to figure out what you want people to see. This could be an ebook, your most current listings, tips you have for others to read, or information about your company. Title each tag clearly so people know what it is they’re going to see there.

3.  Start Producing Content

A blank page is going to be turn off for potential clients or customers, no matter how nice the cover photo looks. So start producing some good content. You can update your page with current sales and listings, neighborhood information for those looking to move soon, sales on investing products you may have, or just basic posts meant to engage the reader in conversation. Mix it up; you don’t want your page to be salesy or spammy; you want it natural so that people will want to engage with you.

4.  Measure Your Progress

Particularly in the beginning as you’re starting out, you’ll need to pay close attention to your page and how it’s being received. Take the time to answer questions and respond to comments that you get to let readers know they’re being heard.

Then begin monitoring your page through Facebook’s monitoring system. This is located under “View Insights” and it will give you a stats breakdown of how many people are viewing your page, versus engaging with it. Every time you make a change to the page, monitor it for a while to see how well the change is received. Over time you’ll see patterns develop, and you can start making changes and developing habits based on your stats. In time, you’ll instinctively know what’s going to work and what isn’t so you can better cater to your fan base.

5.  Create Your Real Estate Presence

Having a presence on Facebook is a necessity in this day and age. Make sure you get yours established and begin making clear and consistent communication with others through this medium in a timely way. Having this connection with others is a great way to set yourself apart, and ensure that when the time comes, that people remember your name.

Be sure that you’re intentional about your social media by following the following three basic principles in your efforts.

• Be Visible– Don’t hide your real estate in a closet!  Update your profiles with your real estate investing credentials and goals.

• Be Consistent – Don’t post one time and never do it again. You need to become the go-to person in your area for helping folks find houses to buy (wholesale), grow retirement accounts with alternate investments, and your local real estate investing expert.

• Be Credible – How are you presenting and packaging yourself? Become a local leader in finding distressed housing opportunities and helping financial investors understand alternate investments like passive real estate investing and joint ventures. Attach yourself to credible articles, tell stories about your team, and the deals you are working on.

What are your experiences with using social media for wholesaling, finding private lenders, property management, etc.? Leave me your comments below.