A few weeks ago, I teamed up with the amazing team at iRealty for another FREE webinar to help real estate agents with their digital marketing. This time around, the topic was all about attracting leads and listings using Facebook.
Below are some of the questions the team at iRealty and myself are constantly receiving from agents regarding this topic.
Generating Leads
Q1: If an agent is relatively new to social media, what should their expectations be and what is your initial advice?
Firstly, you have to build your audience. Social media is just like every other medium, you have to know who your target audience is and grow it accordingly. Facebook can help with this, but you must initiate it by growing your following. You can also use your current database by uploading it and targeting those in your “patch”.
Another thing is you need to become a Facebook user. Don’t expect people to follow, comment, like, join, or opt-in if you are not using the platform personally. This is how you grow your own understanding of the correct way to do things.
Once you have a personal handle on Facebook then start your business page and post, post, post. Ultimately, it takes time. Expecting leads and listings to just start coming your way is a pipe dream, you have to persist and work at it.
Q2: What are some go-to methods of securing leads from Facebook?
Once you have figured out your target audience and they have some awareness of your brand, you can start using lead magnets to get your audience to Opt-In. Opting-In is when someone from your wider audience gives you their details in order to receive something that they perceive as valuable to them. This gives you an opportunity to engage with them and discover where they are in the buying cycle. Just like all other people you meet and speak to, some of these contacts will be cold or warm, but others will be red-hot ready that you can capitalise on straight away. However as I said like any lead generation, it’s all about numbers and building it from the ground up.
When you are a household name, or as we say “top of mind”, you can start expecting a steady flow of leads and even start targeting ads that generate more warm leads.
Q3: What budget/money should you be putting behind lead generation on Facebook?
The short answer is whatever you can afford. However, I would initially be using my cash to build an audience before I start trying to generate leads from it. This can be done using “like ads” and “boosting” high-performing posts to create recognition.
If nobody knows who you are, it doesn’t matter if you spend $200 or $1,000 per month, nobody is going to respond. It’s all about brand recognition and relationship building. If you have added value to their lives or they have seen or heard about you, then your DOLLARS will go a lot further and you will generate leads. If not, then your money is going down the drain.
After Generating Leads
Q4: What do you do with a new lead once you have it?
Depending on where they are in the customer journey would depend on how you respond or what the next step is. If they are HOT, you need to immediately pick up the phone. If they are WARM, then send them some awesome info and win more rapport. If they are COLD, send them some more emails and texts before you follow up with phone calls.
Q5: Your lead is looking to sell in 6 to 12 months’ time. What then?
They are the RED HOT contacts. These are the people you drop everything for and give your absolute focus to without scaring them off. In other words, SERVICE, SERVICE, SERVICE them so they don’t go anywhere else. Ideally, get in front of them and steal it away from your competitors or die trying.
Extra
Q6: Any last comments/tips you want to give before we open to audience questions?
Look, everything has a process and you have to learn to walk before you run. There is no quick fix and everything should be grown, built, and earned. With Facebook and social media in general, even though you can reach a wide audience, you still have to compete there just like everywhere else.
This was another great webinar and I’d like to thank the iRealty team for putting it together. We had an amazing turnout and the good news is, the whole thing was recorded. If you would like to watch the recording of this webinar, simply click the button below.
