Social media has become real estate agents’ top source for gaining new clients. More than half of agents are logging in daily, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) 2021 Member Profile confirms.* Plenty of realtors use social media for branding and awareness, but with the right strategy, it can also generate free or low-cost leads.
To leverage your social media presence* to gain more leads, you’ll need to begin by building a following, nurturing your online community, and, ultimately, selling to your followers. You can ensure your success by not undercutting your progress: Do what you can to avoid the social media mistakes you’ve probably seen fellow agents make.
5 really common Facebook marketing mistakes realtors keep making
If you want to use social media to generate leads, these are the missteps to steer clear of:
1. Getting caught up in the likes.
This is a Facebook real estate marketing mistake because:
The number of likes you get on your posts, and the number of likes you have on your page, are actually artificial metrics of engagement. Racking up page likes is meaningless if they’re not coming from high-quality followers.
Here’s what you can do to avoid it:
- Build your audience based on qualified likes — no need to seek out likes from friends of friends or random internet strangers.
- Don’t ever buy a page like for any reason — unless it’s through Facebook advertising, falling into a different category.
- Only share content that’s relevant and helpful and that your audience will be interested in, ranking quality over quantity. You can gauge your progress by checking to see if your deeper engagement metrics have movement or are gaining momentum.
2. Not posting that often.
This is a Facebook real estate marketing mistake because:
The top-secret Facebook algorithm is always changing, affecting who sees what when it comes to friends’ and business pages’ status updates. These days, it can be harder to reach your audience, unless you pay for ads. Recent digital reports suggest that as few as 5.2 percent of your followers will see your organic content.
Here’s what you can do to avoid it:
- Like the Facebook algorithm, the preferred number of times you post to your page changes often. But the latest recommendations range from two to five times a week. Many industry experts pooh-pooh a magic posting number and advocate instead for posting consistency.
- While there isn’t technically an “ideal” posting day for Facebook, Sunday, by a slim margin, is the engagement winner.
- It’s a good idea to do a quick Google search every few months to make sure your posting practices match Facebook’s most recent changes.
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3. Posting only your listings.
This is a Facebook real estate marketing mistake because:
Just like in the real world, a strong relationship requires some give and take. The key here is to strike the balance. Only posting about your own listings is a take, take, take relationship. You’re not giving your audience any information that’s helpful and meaningful to them.
Here’s what you can do to avoid it:
- Think about your audience’s needs instead of your own. This involves giving information and content that your followers will value and want to spend time reading.
- Put effort into seeking out the types of content that match your audience. Maybe it’s an article about when to buy or sell, an infographic on mortgage rates, or a recent news story about developing neighborhoods in your community.
- Now’s the time to get creative. Really, the possibilities are endless. You can post a wide variety of content on your business page, beyond your own listings — varying tone, topic, and humor.
4. Shamelessly self-promoting.
This is a Facebook real estate marketing mistake because:
It’s easy to forget the whole point of Facebook in the first place: to socialize, stalk old high school friends, and share important life details. In the past few years, Facebook’s advertising platform has experienced exponential growth, but Facebook users still don’t want to be sold to. Facebook keeps changing its algorithm for this reason — to minimize brand posts perceived as overly promotional.
Here’s what you can do to avoid it:
- As mentioned, post more content than just your own listings. Useful content is way more attractive to your audience than self-promotion.
- Don’t post sales-y status updates, like “Call me at XXX-XXXX anytime!” This type of post is never acceptable on social media, even in the comments.
- When you do post statuses and comments, offer to answer questions and follow up to make good on your word. This is one of the easiest ways to connect with your followers and encourage them to reach out to you without the hard sell.
5. Forgetting to make a game plan.
This is a Facebook real estate marketing mistake because:
Failing to plan means you’re planning to fail, as the saying goes. But it’s surprising how many agents don’t set aside time to come up with a social media strategy. No matter what the reason for this may be, it’s essential to stick to a plan whenever you log in. Not doing so means you’re more likely to waste time and energy brainstorming — time that could be better spent connecting with your clients.
Here’s what you can do to avoid it:
- Ease the burden on yourself and put together a Facebook calendar. This can take some time and planning from the outset, but it’ll save you hours in the long run.
- Stop worrying about what to post on Facebook each day, and instead, devote several hours a month, or less, to plan out all the posts you can think of.
- Schedule inspirational quotes, upcoming community events, and holiday messages, along with a few listings strategically sprinkled throughout. Leave room on your calendar to add spontaneous posts and breaking news or to replace sold listings.
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For educational purposes only. Please contact your qualified professional for specific guidance.
Sources are deemed reliable but not guaranteed.