Understanding The Difference between Facebook And Instagram For Real Estate Marketing

Social media has taken over marketing in recent years, with 69 percent of the public using social media of some sort. You may do all your brokerage’s social networking or elect to turn that over to a marketing specialist. Whatever you choose, it’s imperative that you understand the demographics of each social platform to wisely spend your marketing time and money, while carefully branding your brokerage.

Facebook has emerged over the last 13 years as a powerhouse among the social networking platforms. According to Pew Research Center’s Social Media Fact Sheet, 68 percent of adults in the United States use Facebook. Facebook acquired Instagram—a newer social site—in 2012. Its use is becoming more popular at 28 percent of U.S. adults and amassing over 800,000 users to date, trailing far behind but still second to Facebook. Part of Instagram’s growing popularity is the ease of post and paid ad sharing between the two sites.

Facebook Friends

Facebook may already be central to your marketing plan for its wide range of demographics and the sharing of all types of media—photos, messages and video—across desktop, mobile and tablet formats. Its use is split almost evenly between males and females.

Many view it as a networking forum for older adults, but that’s not a well-rounded picture of this versatile site. While Facebook does attract a larger share of the over 49 crowd than other social sites, Pew Research Center’s data indicates that ages 18-29 are big Facebook users (88 percent) with those ages 30-49 close behind in usage (79 percent).

Content should be engaging in more than one way, so create a mix of videos, images, information and calls to action that elicit user interaction to get followers. A little tasteful fun goes a long way on Facebook.

Instagram Images

Facebook purchased Instagram back in 2012, and it has retained most of its unique nature. Both social sites share photos, videos and messages, but Instagram features images first and foremost, allowing the user to add numerous digital filters, as well as use image hashtags and geotags. You can create your own hashtags for events, open houses and more to gain traction. Since December 2017, users can follow hashtags, so your image hashtags need to be relevant, retain your style, and be interesting to grow your followers. Instagram’s newest rollout—Stories—is a Snapchat-like feature that is quickly growing in popularity.

Instagram is primarily intended for use on-the-go with a smartphone, appealing to younger users. In fact, Instagram’s core users are ages 18-29 (59 percent) with a higher percentage of women of any age favoring the site. Ages 30-49 make up 33 percent proving this network is a haven for those ages 49 and younger.

As a real estate broker, structure your Instagram posts around interior design, as that is a favorite topic on this platform. Has a local or national celebrity viewed a listing or sold a home using your brokerage? Snap a photo and post it (with permission), as celebrity and entertainment posts are hot. Visual consistency and imagination go a long way toward building your Instagram following.

Stand-Out Instagram Marketing

Instagram is all about the aesthetics. To leverage marketing on Instagram that plays to your brand and brings in sellers and buyers, it helps to study a few real estate accounts of those who are rocking it in the world of Instagram marketing.

Here are some tips to help individualize your brokerage on the Instagram platform:

• Display great images—it’s all about consistently branded visuals
• Create branded hashtags
• Add multiple hashtags—some of the top posts use 10 or more hashtags
• Use images with your contact information/logo
• Post strictly listings or add a few photos of the team and/or clients for a more personalized appeal

Play Off Each Other

Instagram is a logical choice to add to your marketing arsenal to attract more of the on-the-go Millennial masses and even some older groups. As they play off each other, using Facebook and Instagram together equals a robust social sales strategy.

At the end of the day, a consistent approach to social media usage is just one part of your marketing and sales strategy. At Weichert, we have the systems that can help you pull it all together. Contact us at 877-533-9007 to learn more or go to weichertfranchise.com

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/understanding-difference-facebook-instagram-real-estate-marketing-2/

Using Facebook Video Ads to Supplement Brokerage Lead Generation Activities

Of course, there is nothing new about the concept of using Facebook’s ad platform to try and attract new business, increase brand recognition, and build the overall size of a real estate brokerage. However, as the platform continues to evolve and become more sophisticated, fewer and fewer agents are using videos to take advantage of its tremendous power. While Facebook Ads can’t completely replace all other lead generation activities, they can be a valuable portion of your overall strategy. The key is being able to understand how to get your ads to stand out and capture the attention of the right people.

What Video Ads Should You Create?

Just Listed or Just Sold- This option supplements direct mail as a way to let people know that you have a property that was just listed or sold. Create a stunning ad to show off your new accomplishment and use Facebook’s advanced targeting tools to get it in front of the local audience.

Neighborhood Profiles- Show everyone that you are the local expert by creating a video that profiles various neighborhoods in your market. Include key details like what makes the neighborhood unique and the benefits of buying a home there.

Testimonials- Testimonials are an invaluable marketing assets that truly help prospects feel more comfortable about working with you. When you complete a transaction, ask your happy clients if they would be comfortable filming a brief testimonial to share with other buyers and sellers about why they enjoyed working with you.

Open Houses- Taking a video of a busy open house and the property is a fantastic way of getting more exposure for the property and showing future sellers how aggressive you are about marketing your listings.

Real Estate Tips- Sharing interesting and actionable tips in an entertaining way are a great way of showing buyers and sellers that you are knowledgeable and eager to help them make the most of each transaction. Videos like these go a long way to building trust with your audience.

Charity Work- Videos that show the community how well you work with charitable organizations build tremendous brand value and go far to illustrate that you care about more than commission checks.

Who Should You Target with Your Ads?

The target audience that you select for your video ads is just as important, if not more so than the content of the videos themselves. It is easy to overthink placement, but there are three main factors to focus on.

Your Database- One of the best targeting options allows you to upload a CSV. file of your contact database and place your video ad in front of those people. This is an easy and effective way of staying on their radar throughout the year.

Locals- Farming your area has never been easier thanks to Facebook’s capability of targeting people that live within a specific geography. This is particularly helpful for all of those “just listed” and “just sold” videos.

Behaviors & Interests- In addition to being able to reach people based on where they live, you can also reach people based on how they are behaving online. For example, you can target people that are showing interest in buying a home and are trying to learn about your farm area. This is extremely helpful in making sure you’re reaching the right people rather than wasting money on “spray and pray” marketing.

Bringing it All Together

While you can’t depend on Facebook video ads to be your only source of lead generation or expanding brokerage awareness, you can develop results from videos with a limited budget. In fact, if you create high-quality video content for your ads and target them correctly, you can reach people for only pennies per impression.

Being in business for yourself, doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. For more information about how to plug into the Weichert system, so you can always get answers to your questions on marketing and more, contact us today. Go to www.weichertfranchise.com.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/using-facebook-video-ads-to-supplement-brokerage-lead-generation-activities/

If Open Houses Aren't Generating Leads, You're Doing It Wrong

As digital advertising becomes more and more essential and appealing to real estate agents to grow their business, many have stopped more traditional practices like holding open houses. The promise of quick and easy leads from online sources leave agents feeling like these more personalized experiences aren’t necessary. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. When done correctly, open houses can increase an agent’s overall brand equity, be a powerful source of leads and still be the vehicle to move a significant percentage of your listings. Not to mention, in the age of online and tech focused competitors, more personal tactics like this can really set you apart. The key is to understand the correct way to prepare, host, and follow-up from each open house to extract the maximum benefit.

The Preparation

An open house that is quickly thrown together without planning and marketing will yield disappointing results. If you want to maximize your traffic and exposure, you need to look at it as an “event” not an item to check off the list. Take to the streets with flyers and door hangers and promote it online. Get the word out to potential buyers, as well as neighbors with friends who may know potential buyers, that this is their chance to see the home. We recommend starting about a week before the event on digital sources and you should post pictures and related material on your social pages daily, leading up to the event. Think about how you can make this an experience for those who attend. It is important to keep track of all that needs to be done which is why agents should have a clear-cut system in place to stay organized throughout the process.

The Open House

Let’s say you’ve done all your preparation well; there is still significant promotion to be done the day of the open house. Be sure that all of your signage is out and visually attractive to capture the attention of people in the neighborhood. This is great low-cost advertising–even to those who do not attend! Seeing your open house signs week in and week out goes a long way toward building brand in your community and ensures you get the call when a consumer is ready to make a move.

If the house is empty for a few moments, hop onto Instagram, Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and/or SnapChat to show people who couldn’t make it what they are missing. For those that do come through, make sure you have them sign in to capture their name and contact information, so you can follow up with them later. Make sure you ask them if they are working with an agent. If they are there to buy, there is a good chance they have property to sell as well.  Make sure you welcome each guest and walk them through the home if you can. Make the most of their interaction with you–show off your knowledge, your professionalism and attention to detail. This is real estate marketing 101, but as a broker, it never hurts to remind your agents of the basics.

Tech savvy brokers and their agents may even consider running digital ads the day of the open house, concentrated on a geography around the home. New advertising technologies such as “Geo-Fencing” and others, can target people on their mobile devices when they come within a radius of your event!

The Follow-Up

In addition to getting the listing sold, it is a primary goal to capture new buyers/sellers that aren’t already working with an agent. As soon as the open house is complete, it is important to follow up with the buyers that passed through the property within 24-48 hours of the event. A good real estate CRM is essential to this activity to keep follow-up organized and efficient. Even if someone is already working with an agent, it is important to follow up with them to get their insights about the property and learn what they liked or disliked so you can keep that in mind for your marketing efforts.

For many brokers, organizing a comprehensive system of training, activities and supporting tools to help their agents make the most of every open house can seem like a daunting task. But when you team up with a brand like Weichert, all the work is already done for you. All you have to do is plug in and use the resources.  From checklists and suppliers for materials to scripts, tips, and marketing templates, Weichert associates have access to everything they need to make these events successful. Weichert even provides the CRM to help manage and organize pre-event invitations and follow-ups.

Weichert believes in the importance of personal connections and developing meaningful relationships with clients. Embracing face-to-face strategies like open houses are a key to doing this. It’s these types of strategies that generate human connections that will feed your sales production and create a pipeline of business for your brokerage for years to come.

For more information about Weichert and their suite of real estate marketing tools and systems go to www.weichertfranchise.com or call us at 877-567-33350.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/if-open-houses-arent-generating-leads-youre-doing-it-wrong/