If you're in real estate, you should really spend some time exploring Facebook Groups, one of the social network's oldest yet underutilised feature that can help your business connect with your audience. Groups work quite differently from Pages as most people who join a group have very similar interests, demographics and sometimes even geographical area.
Using Facebook groups doesn’t mean you have to create them. Chances are, there are multiple local real estate Facebook groups that someone else has already created that you can join. And it’s an excellent way to find new leads. You can search for Groups to join as your Business Page (if that option is available) otherwise, you can always join in as an individual. The biggest mistake one can make upon joining is to start posting all the properties you have on hand because many Groups are just real estate agents posting on a daily basis to other real estate agents.
There are very few real prospects in such groups. Instead, you should remember that people join groups to gather information and build relationships. If you come in 'shouting' with all your products, you will either be kicked out if the admins don't tolerate advertising, or you will find no one bothers to look at your posts at all. Your goal is to build trust by positioning yourself as an industry expert where people can go to when they need answers. Think about is a 'soft-sell' approach where you promote your expertise in providing information rather than marketing your services. the difference is subtle but it makes a huge difference in the long term as people will come to you instead of you searching for them.
Connect with leads by replying to their comments, answering questions, or sharing helpful information. Once you can start a conversation, use your networking prowess to move your leads through the sales funnel.
Here are a few effective ways to get real estate leads from these local groups:
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Make sure to fill out your personal profile completely, so if people find you, they know immediately that you’re a Realtor. You must be transparent from the start.
- Provide value by being helpful. Answer any real estate questions and post highly-relevant tips that everyone will find useful. Avoid the temptation to sell your products at every turn.
- Post a weekly market update in the documents section of the group. But do check the rules of your Group before you do that or check with the moderators first. Although you can’t brand the document, it’s still attached to your profile – which contains your job description and all of your contact information.
- Enable notifications on your phone, so you can be the first responder to any questions that are relevant to real estate.
- Learn from other real estate professionals. See what other industry leaders are doing and try to emulate what they are doing, but don't copy exactly. You need to build your own personality and brand.
Implementing Facebook Groups into your social media strategy does require a little more hands-on involvement, but the networking and educational rewards can make it worthwhile many times over.