Looking to get more leads for your real estate business from social media?
You’re in the right place.
We’re about to teach you five practical strategies to get new followers and leads today. Your real estate business needs a constant supply of them, and social media is a perfect channel for this purpose.
Below, we’ll be looking at these free and low-cost strategies :
- Lead generation chatbot on Facebook
- Ad campaigns
- Detailed posts with properties
- Customer Stories
- “Relatable” content
Ready to learn what it takes to generate leads from social media? Let’s begin!
1. A Lead Generation Chatbot on Facebook
A chatbot is an AI-powered app that simulates a conversation with a human via text.
Chatbots can generate leads for real estate businesses by asking for visitors’ emails and qualifying interest. This strategy has been successful for many eCommerce brands and should work just as well, if not even better, for real estate businesses looking to connect with consumers.
In fact, real estate chatbots on Facebook are already a widely adopted tactic by many brokerages and teams. Here’s a typical FAQ bot that customers use to get in touch with an agency.
Source: Neal Realty & Investments, Facebook
How does this chatbot generate leads?
If you click on an option, the chatbot answers, asking the visitor to provide contact information. For example, if we inquire about scheduling a viewing, the chatbot responds with this message.
Source: Neal Realty & Investments, Facebook
A reasonable request, wouldn’t you agree?
A person interested in requesting a meeting can leave their email in order to let the brokerage follow up with them. This creates a sense of brevity for the consumer and caters to our shorter-than-ever attention span.
Here’s more great news.
Your business can add a Facebook chatbot to your page for free because it comes as an official Facebook integration. On top of that, the chatbot can work 24/7, collecting quality lead data for your real estate CRM. Learn how to set up a real estate Facebook chatbot in this post.
2. Run Ad Campaigns
Businesses doing social media almost always invest in ads, especially at the very beginning. They could be great for testing offers, content, and services. If you’re struggling to find the time necessary to set up ads or you aren’t garnering traction with your Facebook ads, there are tools, like HomeSpotter in Propertybase GO, that help you boost those listings.
Facebook ads used to have targeting options like homeownership status, but they were restricted last year. The change affected the specificity of campaign audience targeting, and advertisers needed to adjust. Many have since switched to real estate lead gen services to generate more quality leads from Facebook in less time.
Still, ad campaigns remain an important source of leads for realtors.
If you’re willing to invest, here’s how to make them engaging:
- Use a customer testimonial. This is a great way to create trust (see the fourth section in this article for more tips)
- Appeal to a certain lifestyle. Describe why a property can help customers to live the lifestyle they want (proximity to the city center, attractions, etc.)
- Shoot a video. Listings with video can receive up to 400 percent more inquiries than those without, says Australian Real Estate Group.
3. Share Detailed Posts with Properties
“Wait, everybody shares those. How can I stand out?”
That’s a good question.
Here are ideas on how to make property posts better than competitors:
- Ask your clients what appealed to them in home descriptions. Use their feedback to improve your posts
- Use enticing, audience-focused words. “Landscaping,” “Waterfront,” “Gorgeous,” etc.
- Highlight those unique features. An original glass window? A second fireplace? Mention features like this to attract people who appreciate them.
If you feel like you need help with writing, go online.
There are many writing resources and tools. SupremeDissertations and BestEssayEducation are great for writing help; also Realtor Magazine’s property descriptions with power words is great to use for inspiration.
Finally, share home improvement tips and consider leaving out basic info once in a while. Together, they should make compelling, attention-grabbing posts.
Share Customer Stories
Stories of happy customers. Everyone loves a happy story.
There’s no better way to win the trust of potential followers and leads. Short but sweet customer stories belong just as much on your social media page as they do on your real estate website.
“Stories increase trust in you as a professional and prove expertise,” shares Dorian Martin, a marketing writer from TrustMypaper. “A story can encourage people to contact the same way customer reviews motivate people to buy from eCommerce stores.”
Here’s how real estate agents make such stories.
This Instagram post was made by Sandy McMaster, a real estate agent from McEnearney Associates (a Propertybase #client). She shares a photo of herself and happy clients who just got their first home.
Source: Sandymcmaster, Instagram
Do the same – ask your clients to be featured in such a post. Sharing similar stories will get you likes and followers from those who can relate to such experiences.
Pro tip: have a warm thank-you message from happy clients? Share it on social media! Your potential clients will be impressed (and don’t forget to ask for permission to use the message).
Related: Social Media Contests that get you more Likes & Followers
5. Share Relatable Content
Choose an agent who’s relatable and real.
This is common advice people give those looking to get help with selling or buying property. Indeed, trust and relationships are everything in the real estate industry.
The best real estate agents are:
- Trustworthy
- Reliable
- Relatable
It comes as no surprise that most property sellers use referrals from friends, neighbors, or relatives to find their agents.
Source: The Real Estate Trainer
Your potential social media leads want to know that you understand their needs and wants. We’re talking house preferences, amenities, community, schools, on top of the tremendous stress they’re going through while home hunting.
So share stories that people can understand and relate to. Be authentic to build your image as a relatable and approachable agent.
The best news is that social media is perfect for that.
Here are ideas for posts to share:
- Real estate-related stories from your life
- Observation of major holidays
- Updates on community events
- Congratulations to clients you’ve served
- Pets (because who doesn’t love a good dog or cat photo?).
Examples?
Here’s a post from Belle Properties with the 4th of July wishes.
Source: Belle Properties Facebook Page
And here’s one more, courtesy of Harry Norman Realtors.
Content like this doesn’t scream “hire me now!” Instead, it uses an opportunity to be relatable with story-telling.
Final Thoughts
Social media marketing is a must for real estate agents. To get quality leads and followers, you need to plan a strategy. Go ahead and start implementing these five techniques to achieve results.
The best news is that all of them are either free or low-cost. So, you’ll be able to make a lot of progress without spending the big bucks!
Content for this post contributed by Nicole Garrison. Nicole has over ten years of experience in content and SEO writing positions across several industries. As a content strategist at GrabMyEssay, she works on creating and managing content that Google and readers love. Blogger and guest writer, Nicole often writes about content marketing and customer experience.
