How REALTORS® Can Generate Leads Using Facebook Groups in 2020

When it comes to social media marketing for real estate agents, Facebook is one of the oldest tools in the game.

Over the years, we’ve shared all kinds of tips and tricks about how REALTORS® can use Facebook to grow their businesses.

For example, how REALTORS® can use Facebook Live to increase engagement. Or, advanced strategies for running Facebook ads. And tools that make your real estate Facebook posts more visually engaging.

But there’s one Facebook topic that we’ve discussed more than any other here at myRealPage, and that’s Facebook Groups.

And for good reason, too! For years, Facebook Groups have been a tried-and-true way for real estate agents to expand their networks, demonstrate their expertise, attract leads, and ultimately win clients.

It’s been a while since we’ve discussed how real estate agents can use groups to their advantage, so that’s what we’re diving into today.

Read on to learn how REALTORS® can generate leads using Facebook groups in 2020.

 

Create a Winning Profile

Maybe you’ve had a Facebook profile for years, but when was the last time you updated it, beyond adding a new profile photo once in a while?

If you’re going to focus some of your real estate marketing energies on Facebook groups, it’s time to give your profile a makeover.

People who interact with you in the group will most likely be checking your profile to learning more about you, so you want your profile to reflect the right image.

Here’s how to do it:

 

Update your profile photo. Make sure your profile pic is recent. Skip the headshots in favour of a flattering, high-quality photo with a more candid quality. You don’t want your profile to communicate “I’m here to get your business!” Instead, you want to appear relatable and down-to-earth.

Add an Intro section. Beneath your profile picture, on the left side of your page, is a section called “Intro.” This is a public section (visible to anyone, not just your Facebook friends) where, through a short bio, links and imagery, you can provide a quick overview of who you are. Use this section to make a great first impression!

Write a one-line summary (heads up: it needs to be 100 characters or less) of who you are. For example, “A Vancouver father, skiing addict and real estate agent who loves helping people feel right at home.” Then, choose six photos that represent you professionally and personally. Finally, include links to your real estate Instagram account, your branded real estate website and any other relevant places, such as your YouTube channel or real estate landing page.

Conduct a thorough review. If you’ve had a Facebook account for a long time, chances are you’ve got some old content somewhere that you’d rather potential clients not see. This might include embarrassing photos, or goofy or inappropriate posts. Take the time to carefully go through your page and delete items, or mark them private as necessary.

 

A key tip: use Facebook’s “View as” feature to see what your profile looks like to the public. This is the best way to discover old content you may have missed and to make sure you’re happy with how your profile reads and looks to the outside world.

 

Join the Right Groups

Be strategic about which groups you join. To successfully generate real estate leads using Facebook groups, you want to look for Facebook groups that:

 

• Are local. Look for groups that are affiliated with your town or region. These are your potential clients!

• Have medium to large memberships. The group’s membership should be large enough that you can reach between dozens and hundreds of potential clients, but not so large that your posts will get lost in the mix.

• Are active and engaged. The ideal Facebook group consistently sees several posts every single day, with most garnering comments and creating active discussion.

 

Be Consistently Engaged With a Variety of Topics (Not Just Real Estate)

Once you’ve joined your groups, your goal is to become an active member whose name fellow members begin to recognize.

Engage at least once a day, with a mixture of “likes” and comments. Look for opportunities to engage in all kinds of discussions — not just those about real estate. This means offering your two cents when someone is looking for a restaurant recommendation, or commenting on great photos of a local event, or even posting a request yourself.

In all your engagements, it’s important to remember to stick to your personal brand as a real estate agent while being professional. Think about how you want your ideal clients to perceive you, and let that be your guide. Use proper spelling and grammar, be polite and friendly, and stay away from extreme political topics and dark humour.

Your goal here is to establish yourself as an active, recognizable member of the group and to build a reputation as someone who is friendly and helpful. You’ll be able to leverage that reputation to generate leads.

 

Create “Freebies” to Give to Fellow Group Members

A great way to begin building your network using Facebook groups is to create helpful, valuable freebies that you can share with members.

Start paying attention to commonly asked questions. Maybe people are often looking for restaurant suggestions, or activities for kids’, or recommendations for dog walkers and pet groomers. Pick a few of those topics and compile lists of recommended businesses that include addresses, contact information and a few key details about each spot. Then turn those lists into PDFs that you can quickly send to fellow group members when the topic arises.

You can include your name and website on the list (e.g. “Compiled by Sharon Turner; sharonturnerhomes.com”) but other than that, keep it unbranded and free of any key messaging. You want to position yourself as a local expert and resource, not a sly salesperson.

 

Create a Landing Page On Your Site to Drive Facebook Traffic to

You can use that local expertise we just talked about to create a real estate landing page that you can drive Facebook traffic to.

Using your existing lists of local recommendations and advice, create a comprehensive guide to your town or city (e.g. “The 2020 Guide to Loving Life in Ottawa”). This is your lead magnet, or freebie. Then, create a landing page where a visitor will have to enter their email address in order to receive the freebie.

 

For a landing page refresher, check out our guide to using real estate landing pages to grow your business.

 

Keep the branding on this landing page to a minimum. You don’t want it to look like an obvious sales tactic. Make sure your name, title and website are obvious, but skip the taglines and sales pitches.

As for sharing this link in a Facebook group, wait until the right opportunity. For instance, when you’re responding to someone’s post looking for veterinarian recommendations. You can share your PDF guide to local pet resources, then include a comment along the lines of “I actually put together a guide to all of Ottawa’s best spots (dog parks, restaurants, spas, etc.) that I often share with my real estate clients. If you’re interested, check it out here.”

 

Find Ways to Connect Offline

You should always be looking for ways to move your Facebook group relationships offline and take your lead nurturing to the next level.

Look for posts about local events you can attend and find opportunities to introduce yourself in person. Advertise your own events, too; not open houses, but community gatherings or fundraising events.

Or suggest meet-ups. If there seems to be a lot of dog owners in the group and you’ve got a pup of your own, ask if there’s any interest in a bring-your-own-coffee meetup at a local dog park.

 

Whatever You Do: Don’t Sell

The golden rule of using Facebook groups to sell yourself: don’t. You generate valuable real estate leads using Facebook groups by being an engaged, friendly member who shares great content, not by advertising your open houses and offering up home evaluations.

 

Do you actively use Facebook as a real estate marketing tool? Why or why not?