Facebook. A word many realtors seem to dread. Digital marketing is vastly important to realtors’ success and yet, many seem hesitant to dip their toes into the online world. Why is Facebook such an important tool? Facebook has 2.07 billion monthly users, more than any other social network. You’re also much more likely to reach millennials using facebook. About 88% are on Facebook. Lastly, the adoption rate for Facebook is the highest in people who make over $75,000+ a year. 

Realtors seem to be wary of Facebook often due to lack of knowledge or time. Read on to help cover some of the basics of how to get started on Facebook….

1. Legal

Unsurprisingly, NAR and TRECs have rules for your online presence. First of all, only post listings or business related content to your business page, NOT your personal page. If reported, it’s a pretty hefty fine so, if you haven’t already, definitely create a business page.

Your page also needs to have your license number and firm name in an easy-to-see place. Including it in your header image is a great idea or, simply put it in the about section! That way potential clients can see who you are. 

2. Making it look good!

When you upload your profile image and header image, does it look funny? Make sure your images are sized correctly! This is a great cheat sheet for your reference! If you need help resizing, the Parks Marketing department is always happy to help!

3. 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule is a well established and believed rule for digital marketing across industries. The idea is to only post self-promotional or your business specific content 20% of the time. The other 80% of the time, make sure to post information that is high quality and interesting for your audience! This can be local content, interesting articles, dream homes, pictures of cute animals, or anything else people will love!

Balancing self-promotion with outside content will help keep your listeners engaged and listening!

4. Check your Insights!

On your Facebook business page, look up at the top for the tab labeled “Insights.” This section of your page gives you all kinds of information about how your audience is interacting with your posts, what they like, when they are online, and more! 

The first page gives a general overview of how your page has faired during the last 7 days. There is a lot of data there but post engagement is a great indicator of how your audience is liking your content! 

On the left, you’ll see another column. If you select “Posts” you can see when your fans are online and how they liked your recent posts. This is a great indicator of when to posts and what type of posts they like best!

5. Plan, Plan, Plan

Facebook marketing becomes overwhelming when you don’t plan ahead! Like most things in life, it helps to put some thought in before the fact. Maybe use a calendar to plan out content or, at least, schedule your posts at the beginning of the week! Facebook makes this super easy. 

Simply, type out your post and then click on the drop-down arrow by the button that says, “Publish.” 

Then select, “Schedule."

Next, pick the date and time you’d like the post to go live.  

If you want to make your life really easy, carve out some time on Monday mornings to go ahead and schedule your posts for the week! We recommend posting a minimum of 3 times a week but once a day is ideal! 

If this all seems too much, contact the Parks Marketing department! We have a Social Suite program in place where we will post for you 3 times a week! Now that’s easy social media!