The Dos and Don’ts of Sharing Your Listings on Facebook

You know the saying, “change is the only constant in life?” Greek philosopher Heraclitus was not talking about social media when he wrote it, but it definitely applies. Facebook, in particular, has released multiple updates that ultimately change our user experience and how we market listings and our real estate business. Essentially, Facebook is currently implementing plans to improve users’ News Feeds by reducing the organic reach of posts that are too promotional, or seemingly irrelevant to the user. Before you throw your hands up and say you don’t want to play anymore, take note: Facebook drives HALF of all referral traffic to property websites. Don’t panic; just follow our Dos and Don’ts for sharing your listings on Facebook. Your goal should be developing personal relevance for your Facebook audience.

When best practices are followed, Facebook can be a valuable real estate tool, producing a substantial return on your investment in the form of likes, shares and comments—the currency of influence on Facebook. After all, 82% of people think Facebook is a good place to interact with brands according to research by Lab42. Each like, share or comment your Facebook business page elicits increases your circle of influence, spreading your marketing reach and generating more leads. Facebook provides daily opportunities to keep your name in front of former and potential clients, and cement your reputation as the go-to real estate expert in your community.

If poorly used, Facebook can also be a huge time drain providing little return on investment. As a real estate professional, your Facebook interactions should be more personal than transactional. Understanding how people use Facebook and what makes them take a moment to like, share or comment on a post is the trick to using this social media tool to build your real estate business.

In analyzing more than a million posts to the top 10,000 Facebook pages, social media guru Dan Zarella has collated hard data that provides a foundation for our new set of …

Posting your Listings on Facebook – Best Practices for Real Estate

The DOs:

• Share your listings in an engaging way, such as: “Mr. and Mrs. Kline have just listed their beautiful 3-bedroom in Bennett Valley. Please stop by our Open House this Sunday!” Include a link to the property website.
• Tag the home seller or buyer – so they will see, like and share your post.
• Reveal some of your thoughts or what you like best about the listing. Share a unique feature or tell what the sellers fell in love with when they originally purchased the home.

• Engage your Facebook community with questions and ask for feedback. Question posts have 92% higher comment rates than non-question posts. Posts that have a question located at the end have a 15% higher overall interaction rate and a 2x higher comment rate than those with a question asked in the middle of a post.
• Short, pithy statements of about 25 characters (half a tweet) receive the most likes. Posts with fewer than 80 characters received 66% more engagement than lengthier counterparts. But posts around 450 characters get the most shares.
• Ask yourself if your post is relevant, helpful, or entertaining. If the answer is yes, post it!
• Use photos and videos to increase interaction on your page.
• Let your personality shine through.
• Consider paying to promote your most important posts. Sometimes this can provide a big win and it is worth testing in your real estate business.

The DON’Ts:

• Avoid “sales-y” words. Stay away from other promotional buzzwords, too (such as: like, buy, for sale or act now).
• Be careful not to over post your listings. This is a sure fire way to lose engagement and have your “friends” hide your posts from their timeline. The number one reason 73% of social media users “unliked” a brand on Facebook was because the brand posted too frequently.
• Don’t forget to include a comment. Posting your listing without including your opinion can be interpreted as spam.
• Don’t ignore your audience. Anyone on your page is a potential client. Respond to comments promptly – it shows how you’re likely to handle things as their real estate agent.

Don’t forget that Facebook for Business offers a great Page posting tips and best practices page of their own, with great videos, tips, tricks and stats.