There are around 1 billion people on Facebook, and that shows just how successful it has become since Mark Zuckerberg created it in 2004.
Since 2004, Facebook has tremendously grown. It has become one of the best ways to advertise. Businesses are taking advantage of Facebook's advertising platform, given how many people hang out on Facebook each day.
Facebook also gives businesses a lot of campaign options to choose, if it's brand awareness to lead generation.
Realtors in particular are taking advantage of Facebook's advertising platform by promoting open houses and homes for sale. But realtors are also making a lot of Facebook marketing mistakes. They do not understand the basics of targeting or how to create an effective ad.
If you are a realtor and want to avoid Facebook marketing mistakes, this guide can help. In this article, we will highlight the 12 most common Facebook marketing mistakes.
1. Don't Know Your Market
One of the worst mistakes that realtors make on Facebook, whether it is advertising or simply posting content on their Facebook page, is that they do not know their audience.
If you do not know who your audience is, then your content is irrelevant. You are posting or advertising to everybody, which produces fewer results. If you are advertising, you are spending more on fewer results.
That is why you need to know everything about your target market. You need to know if they are first time home buyers. It is a good idea to know everything about the homes in your city. You should also know about your target market's income and the price of homes in your city.
The point is, the more you know about your target market and what they are looking for in a home, the more you can create content or advertise to them. Do not make the mistake of thinking everyone is your target market.
2. Bad Copy
Another mistake when it comes to a realtor's Facebook marketing strategy is that they write bad copy. Copy is content that should get people to take action.
If you write a post, you should make it enticing to the reader. You should get them to take action by showing the benefits of the home.
If you advertise on Facebook, you have to make sure your copy is well written because you want people interested in your ad to become a lead.
3. Too Much Testing
There is such a thing as too much testing. If you are trying different approaches to posting your content or advertising, it can be a great way to see what works. But at some point, you need to stick with something.
Testing too much can be a waste of money on advertising. It can also produce poor results, because you are not giving the campaign enough time to work.
To avoid this mistake, you should consider sticking with one campaign, such as lead generation. If you are not generating the results you want, consider tweaking the audience. You should also consider tweaking the copy, the headline, and the CTA. Figure out what you need to adjust inside the campaign before throwing out the entire campaign.
4. Low-Quality Pictures
Another mistake realtors make is they post poor pictures or videos of homes for sale.
Pictures and videos of a home are not enough to get someone to buy. They need to be high-quality pictures and videos of a home. When you have high-quality pictures, it provides a more realistic image of the home.
You can make the home look nicer by making sure the picture and videos are taken under certain lighting and different frames.
To avoid this mistake, you should have a camera that takes high-quality pictures. Try not to take pictures on your phone.
5. Bad Videos
Similar to low-quality photos, there are a lot of bad videos that realtors post of a home that does not show the best features of the home they are selling.
Bad videos can be choppy and seem unprofessional.
To avoid this mistake, consider having a 3D camera to move around the inside of the home that offers a full view of what the home looks like. Also consider having a drone that captures the outside of the home in the way photographs cannot.
6. Using the Wrong Hashtags
Hashtags on social media are a way of finding something. If you use #openhouse, people who follow that hashtag will find your post.
But, if you use wrong hashtags that have no relevance to selling or buying homes, you will attract the wrong audience. You should consider using hashtags around first-time home buyers and homes for sale in a specific location. This will attract people who are looking to buy their first home in a specific area.
You can also learn more about hashtags and social media for real estate in this blog post.
7. Not Posting Consistently
Another mistake realtors make on Facebook is that they do not post consistently. They made a post about a home for sale, but do not post again for weeks or even months.
If you want to get the most engagement from your post, realtors should consider posting a couple of times a week. It does not always have to be a house for sale, it can be about the market, and if it is declining or increasing.
You can also post pictures or videos introducing yourself as a realtor. Another post idea is to show your success stories. Talk about how you have helped people buy a home.
8. Only Focused on Selling
Realtors are sometimes so focused on selling a home that they forget to build relationships with their target market. They only post about selling a home, which can be a turn off to people looking to buy a home.
You should offer guides to your market, give them insight on real estate. You want to earn people's trust.
That means posting or advertising infographics or other types of information that helps people make a better decision when they buy a home.
9. Giving Up
One of the worst mistakes realtors make on Facebook is giving up. They do not understand how to utilize Facebook content or how to advertise, so they give up altogether.
However, to avoid this mistake, realtors need to be persistent on Facebook. They need to realize how many people are on Facebook and how it benefits their real estate business.
While it may take a while to get used to posting consistently on Facebook or how to advertise on the platform, realtors need to avoid giving up.
10. Facebook Business Page Isn't Set Up
Another mistake that realtors make is not having their business page fully setup.
If it is not fully setup, then people who are interested in buying a home may not know how to contact you. People may not be able to find a website of your listings or see reviews of what people say about your business.
To avoid this mistake, you should make sure your contact and business information is fully set up on Facebook. You want to make sure to tell people how to contact you when you post on Facebook.
11. No Relationship Building
Another mistake realtors make on Facebook is forgetting to build a relationship with people. It is not always about selling a home, but rather the relationships you are building.
This means giving more people free information about the housing market. Show people they can trust you, because you are not always trying to sell to them.
12. Not Understanding Your Brand
Building a brand on Facebook is crucial to any real estate business. Your brand is what separates you from other realtors.
You want to make sure people understand what your brand is on Facebook. You want people to come away with a positive feeling after working with you. You want your consumers to tell other people about your brand.
Your brand should define your real estate business. It should be the reason why people come to you when they are looking to buy a house.
To avoid this mistake on Facebook, you should make sure your brand is unique to your real estate business. You want to make sure your message is clear in how you can help people.
If you want to learn more social media real estate strategies, check out our blog post on the best real estate YouTube strategies.
Now You Know How to Avoid These Facebook Marketing Mistakes
A lot of realtors make these Facebook marketing mistakes because they do not know where to start. They do not know what strategies will work the best.
Knowing these mistakes can help realtors sell more homes. They can get a head start on building relationships with home buyers.
If you want help with listing your homes on Facebook, you can contact us here.