10 ways to Market your Real Estate Agency on Facebook

October 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I do presentations, seminars, workshops and training on Social Media a lot, and there are always a number of questions about Facebook and how companies and agencies can grow using Facebook.  Here are 10 opportunities to take advantage of that will help grow your agency on Facebook.

1. Create a Fan Page

This is the most obvious Facebook marketing tool for most companies and agencies.  The problem is that most Facebook pages are not very effective.  You collect “fans” (who are primarily your friends and not really your fans anyways) only to ignore them.  It can be a good idea to set up a fan page and reserve your name (you need at least 25 fans to do this), but beyond that, if you want to grow your agency with a fan page you need to have compelling and consistent content and a clear call to action.  Otherwise you are wasting your time.

2. Creating a Group

Rather than just a fan page, consider creating a group for your agency, as it can be broader and more overarching.  For example, rather than requesting people to fan Howard’s Real Estate Agency, which is rather limited in its appeal, consider starting Cincinnati’s Best Real Estate Agencies as a group.  You will then be the connector for all of the real estate agencies in the city.  Sure they will talk about other agencies, but you will get the benefit of awareness through bringing the community together and facilitating.  You can also periodically promote your own agency too.

3. Facebook Ads

Facebook ads can be a great way to grow your agency.  Facebook ads have a self-service mechanism you can use to set up and target your ad campaign.  Facebook ads are great because you can start with low budgets, analyze results and make changes.  Facebook ads also allow you to target based on profile key words, so they can be more effective than search ads.  Consider promoting special services that your agency provides such as Tax Credit or news on mortgage rates.

4. Facebook Events

Consider setting up an event on Facebook.  When we had our launch party we had almost twice the number of RSVPs through Facebook as we did through EventBrite and non-Facebook promotion.  Next time you are hosting a big open house or event, consider creating it as a Facebook event to drive awareness.

5. Participate in a Group

Rather than create your own group you can find other established groups to participate in.  For example, if you are Howard’s Real Estate Agency there might be a group for Real Estate Agencies in Cincinnati or Cincinnati Real Estate. You can participate in these groups to build awareness.  Be careful not to spam (it is annoying and unprofessional).

6. Participate on Other Fan Pages

Again, you need to be careful not to be irrelevant and spammy, and you don’t want to participate on your competitors’ pages.  However, you may find it valuable to participate in other fan pages.  For example, being a part of a real estate fan page will allow you to see what consumers, who are also members of the fan page, are sharing through links and comments about what they are looking for or complaints, or agencies will promote their own special services and events.  This provides them with exposure to their target audience beyond those who are already fans.

7. Link In Your Other Social Accounts

There are apps that allow you to link your other social accounts in to Facebook including Twitter, SlideShare and YouTube.  Share your other social content on Facebook (where appropriate) to maximize value.

8. Facebook Apps

Consider creating an app for your agency.  For your agency, an app where people can share photos of their new homes or a map of homes on the market might be beneficial for potential homebuyers.  This is a great way to gain exposure while proving something useful and fun.

9. Facebook Connect

Facebook connect allows you to link with Facebook directly from your site or blog.  You can use Facebook connect to integrate with Facebook and gain exposure and encourage your fans to share content on Facebook.

10. Facebook Widgets

Facebook has widgets that you can create and display on your blog.  Widgets are a great way to connect Facebook with your website and they are relatively easy to install.  This is also a great way to increase the number of fans that you have.

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Strategy, social media marketing, Social Networks, Speaking & Presentations Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

10 ways to Market your Business on Facebook

April 1, 2010 By 16 Comments

I do presentations, seminars, workshops and training on Social Media a lot, and there are always a number of questions about Facebook and how businesses can grow using Facebook.  Here are 10 opportunities to grow your business on Facebook.

1. Create a Fan Page

This is the most obvious facebook marketing tool for most companies.  The problem is that most Facebook pages are not very effective.  You collect “fans” (who are primarily your friends and not really your fans anyways) only to ignore them.  It can be a good idea to set up a fan page and reserve your name (you need at least 25 fans to do this), but beyond that, if you want to grow your business with a fan page you need to have compelling and consistent content and a clear call to action.  Otherwise you are wasting your time.

2. Creating a Group

Rather than just a fan page, consider creating a group as it can be broader and more overarching.  For example, rather than requesting people fan Joe’s Pizza Store, which is rather limited in it’s appeal, consider starting Pizza Lovers In My City as a group.  You will then be the connector for all of the pizza lovers in the city.  Sure they will talk about other pizza joints, but you will get the benefit of awareness through bringing the community together and facilitating.  You can also periodically promote your own place too.

3. Facebook Ads

Facebook ads can be a great way to grow your business.  Facebook ads have a self-service mechanism that you can use to set up and target your ad campaign.  Facebook ads are great because you can start with low budgets, analyze results and make changes.  Facebook ads also allow you to target based on profile key-words, so they can be more effective than search ads.

4. Facebook Events

Consider setting up an event on Facebook.  When we had our launch party we had almost twice the number of RSVPs through Facebook as we did through EventBrite and non-Facebook promotion.  Next time you are speaking or hosting something, consider creating it as a Facebook event to drive awareness.

5. Participate in a Group

Rather than create your own group you can find other established groups to participate in.  For example, if you are Joe’s Pizza Place there might be a group for Food in City X or Restaurants in City X. You can participate in these groups to build awareness.  Be careful not to spam (it is annoying and unprofessional).

6. Participate on Other Fan Pages

Again, you need to be careful not to be irrelevant and spammy, and you don’t want to participate on your competitors pages.  However, you may find it valuable to participate in other fan pages.  For example,  we work with the ad:tech fan page, and companies who participate in ad:tech will share links and comments about what they have planned for the next conference, or they’ll promote their writeups about the conference.  This provides them with exposure to their target audience beyond those who are already fans.

7. Link In Your Other Social Accounts

There are apps that allow you to link your other social accounts in to Facebook including Twitter, SlideShare and YouTube.  Share all of your other social content on Facebook (where appropriate) to maximize value.

8. Facebook Apps

Consider creating an app for your business.  Purina PetCentric has an app where people can share photos of their pets to participate in a “cute pet” contest.  This is a great way to gain exposure while proving something useful and fun.

9. Facebook Connect

Facebook connect allows you to link with Facebook directly from your site or blog.  You can use Facebook connect to integrate with Facebook and gain exposure and encourage your fans to share content on Facebook.

10. Facebook Widgets

Facebook has widgets that you can create and display on your blog.  You can see ours on the right promoting our fan page.  Widgets are a great way to connect Facebook with your website and they are relatively easy to install.  This is also a great way to increase the # of fans that you have.

Does anyone else have tips for how to market on Facebook?  Did we miss anything?

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Facebook Marketing – Getting the Most out of Facebook – The Circuit Cincinnati

November 30, 2009 By 3 Comments

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of presenting to the Circuit – an IT Networking Group based in Cincinnati.

I presented on Facebook Marketing – how to get more out of Facebook.

Most of the people in the room were on Facebook, but few were using it as a marketing tool.  Facebook can be difficult for marketers – figuring out the right ways to interact with potential audiences can be tough.  Facebook was created to facilitate social connections – not as a marketing platform.

Facebook is the #1 global social network and has over 300 million active users – 50% of whom logon to the site every day.  The Facebook audience is both active and committed to the network.

Prior to engaging in marketing your brand or company on Facebook:

  1. Don’t be a dirty spammer. Be relevant. Use channels appropriately. Don’t annoy people.
  2. Real world networking principles apply. Don’t immediately sell people. Don’t get in their face.  Like in the real world you will have no friends.
  3. Give your audience something of value. People do you the honor of following you.  Repay them by giving them value.  It doesn’t have to be financial value either.
  4. Know your target. Know who your target audience is.  If you fan page is comprised of your family and friends it probably isn’t very effective.  Come up with creative ways to engage with your target.
  5. Focus on business value, not activity. It is easy to get caught up with tracking your activity – # of posts, # of fans friends and followers, etc.  The real question is what is the actual business value?

We then covered 4 key ways that brands can leverage Facebook as a part of their marketing strategy.

1. Create a Fan Page. This is the most popular way brands and companies are using Facebook.

  • When you create a fan page build a content plan (what you will post when)
  • Use photos and videos to engage – post yourself and encourage fans to post
  • Provide valuable information
  • Be a resource for questions
  • Run a contest
  • Integrate Facebook as a syndication and engagement platform for offline campaigns
  • Use insights and analytics to track effectiveness and value

2. Create a Group – Create a group about something related to your product that people are interested in and passionate about.  Also, participate in relevant groups to get your brand out there.

3. Create an Event – Facebook events can be a great way to engage with your audience.  If you are having an event, creating a Facebook event increases your exposure and lets attendees see who else is going.

4. Facebook Ads – Facebook ads work best when they are targeted.  Target your ads as specifically as possible and you can get great results.

Facebook Marketing – Getting More from Facebook

View more presentations from Krista Neher.

Any other thoughts or comments?

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