Grow Your Real Estate Brand on Facebook

Everyone’s on Facebook – so how do you become more than just another face in the crowd?

If you’ve already set up a Facebook business page and you’re posting updates, that’s good. But it’s just a start. If you really want to grow your real estate brand, then you have to find ways to encourage genuine engagement and increase your page’s conversion potential.

This can be accomplished by optimizing your Facebook page for both search and engagement. While optimizing for search entails work on the page’s anatomy and content, optimizing for engagement involves visually branding your Facebook page.
Search engine visibility in conjunction with a high level of social media engagement can make your business rank higher than competitors and ultimately help grow your brand.

1. Secure your name

Hundreds of local and international real estate businesses have similar names. If you want to come out on top, you have to secure your business name in every relevant social media channel. Do this with your Facebook page URL and the name that appears beside your profile photo. You may include your company name, profession, location, and contact numbers in the latter – just take care not to overwhelm users with too much information.

The title field, which you can fill out when you set up your page, lets you select from phrases like “Real Estate Agent” or “Real Estate Appraiser”. The title you choose will appear below your profile photo and help increase your page’s search potential.

2. Use relevant keywords

Which key phrases are likely to attract organic traffic to content on your website? Local targeted key phrases and keywords are your best bet, and using them on your Facebook page will make you easier to find within the network.

For instance, if the key phrase “luxury home New Jersey” drives traffic to your website, then consider mentioning it in your profile.

Remember that Facebook’s Graph Search lets users do a more targeted search. When they search within Facebook, they get indexed results from within the network: pages, hashtags, posts, and locations that are related to their search.

Most sources also pull information from the About section of Facebook fan pages, and search engines treat it as a meta description of your page. Make sure to insert strong key phrases in this area.

3. Fill out your profile

When you set up a Facebook business page for the first time, filling out all those fields might feel like a lot of unnecessary work. But search engines are ranking your profile searches, and there are leads who might be interested in the minute details of your business – which is why you should fill them out completely.

Field options vary depending on the category you choose. Local Business, Company, or Brand are just some of your options. You can also select a subcategory and fill out the fields to further specify your profession or services. This can also potentially increase your visibility for highly specific searches.

4. Brand your page visually

Stunning designs and visuals can have an impact on users and affect their experience of your brand. To encourage engagement, use crisp, hi-res images and professional-looking photos. Choose images that convey your brand’s story, showcase featured property, or present serene views of nature.

For the profile picture, a recent headshot for individuals and a logo for teams or firms would do well. Make sure the image is clear and will look good when resized to 100 x 100 pixels in the News Feed, 86 x 86 in Timeline posts, and smaller for comments and mobile.

The cover image is the most prominent visual on your page, and therefore must look as polished as possible. The dimensions should be 851 x 315 pixels, anything larger or smaller maylook distorted.

5. Produce riveting posts

Keep your followers engrossed by creating slick content in the form of articles, photos, and videos. Visual content gets the highest engagement, so include it in your posts often. Stay relevant by updating frequently, but without sacrificing quality.

Always include a destination link that leads to your website, as well as a few hashtags for relevant words that will help your posts surface in the searches. The description copy, titles, tagging, and shared articles should contain key phrases, keywords, or customers’ pain points.

And don’t forget to be human. A blend of directly and indirectly related posts – including both professional and personal – that tie back to your expertise in real estate is also likely to foster engagement.

6. Take advantage of lead generating features

Do you ever wish new customers would just come calling? Make it easy for them!As mentioned earlier, include a destination link, as well as an app extension or button. This builds a strong connection between your Facebook business page, business website, and company, increasing the chances of users initiating contact with your brand.

Spark a conversation with potential leads by including business information like your website URL, phone number, and email address in multiple places, such as posts and photo captions. The call-to-action button, located in the lower right corner of your cover image, can also give them an extra nudge. Customize it to get them to contact you, subscribe to your newsletter, and more.

Do you have a loyal customer base? Build up your Reviews section by soliciting real estate reviews from former clients. This can help build trust and possibly convert Facebook users to leads.

7. Build brand personality using added features

Utilize the full range of Facebook’s added features to keep your followers coming back. Create albums and upload videos.Write album descriptions and photo captions using key phrases. Remember to include links to posts, your profile, and your website for more click-throughs.

Last year, Facebook video views averaged one billion a day – a sure sign of strong engagement. As with photo uploads, optimize videos with relevant keywords and key phrases, as well as links to other resources on your website.

Adding tabs to your page is another helpful trick. These appear under the cover image and can be used to showcase photos and videos. You can also use them to inform users of services like newsletter subscriptions and free home valuation.

Go through Facebook apps and select those that best suit your goals or your followers. These apps can serve a number of functions, like syncing your accounts.

8. Interact with others

Social media is about joining ongoing conversations or starting new ones. Follow other pages, like content, and leave insightful comments. Likewise, respond to any comments that others post on your page.

You want to become an active participant on Facebook. This allows your brand personality to shine through, and lets followers see what your brand’s values are.

9. Pay attention to placement

Above-the-fold information will get the most views, especially since not all users click around to view content. So make sure that your apps, contact details, and images are placed in a prominent area of your Facebook business page. The About and Reviews sections should also be more visible because they factor into engagement and search rates.

10. Think mobile

Over 1.25 billion of 1.44 billion active users come to Facebook through mobile, so you have to be aware that your profile will look considerably different in a mobile framework. For instance, images that look good in a desktop setting would appear cut off or distorted. To prevent this, preview your Facebook business page on multiple devices and make the necessary adjustments.

Monitor improvements

After optimizing for search and engagement, how will you know if all the hard work is paying off? Luckily, the Insights tab in the Admin portal will help you determine how your Facebook business page is performing. You’ll get a clear picture of your page’s likes, engagement, and reach.

Adding Pages to Watch also lets you observe competitors and gauge how their page is performing in comparison to yours. If they’re doing better, you can simply look at their page and see how you can adopt their methods.

Our Real Estate Virtual Assistants Can Help!

If you need help designing your Facebook page and boosting your real estate brand, give us a call! Our VAs can help with marketing, branding and everything in between!