Campaigns that Convert: 3 Facebook Ads for Real Estate

While it's important that agents and brokers have an active business page set up on Facebook, one of the most effective ways to market on the social network is via Facebook ads. That's not just lip service, either. Thanks to Facebook ads, GoodLife Realty in Austin, Texas has doubled their website traffic and generates leads for far less than it costs to get them from portals like Zillow and Trulia.

A large part of what makes Facebook ads so effective is that you can place specific ads in front of highly targeted audiences. For example, you can advertise free home valuations to homeowners likely to move, or promote your listings to newlyweds looking for their first home.

Of course, the success of your advertising depends on what you're advertising and to whom. To find out what the effective targeted ad campaigns are for Realtors, we tapped into the advice of the folks at The Paperless Agent, a company that offers agents training on digital marketing and is owned and operated by the leaders of GoodLife Realty. Here are three of their highest converting ad campaigns.

1. Just Listed / Just Sold Campaign

According to the Paperless Agent, this campaign doubled the traffic to GoodLife Realty's website, and increased the time consumers spent looking at other listings on their site.

"Think of a Just Listed ad as your 'digital yard sign,'" says Chris Scott, President of The Paperless Agent. "It helps you build your market presence in the area and lets everyone know you're the agent selling homes there. What's more, Facebook tracks these results, giving you useful information you can share with sellers. You can show your sellers exactly what you're doing to put their home in front of buyers, and the results you're seeing from your marketing efforts."

So how do you create an effective Just Sold ad? First, think about the most enticing feature of your listing and write ad copy that highlights that.

Next, use the Audience feature to target two specific groups of people--consumers who live in the same neighborhood as your listing, and people who live in the general area and are likely to buy a home in the near future. You can further refine this group by income range, age, etc. for an even more targeted ad.

Finally, select where the ad will send people when they click on it. This is typically the listing details page on your website or a landing page just for that property. Wherever you send prospects, make sure that this page offers a clear and easy way for consumers to get in touch with you.

2. What's My Home Worth Campaign

This campaign is designed to capture seller leads. Before listing their house with an agent, most potential sellers want to know how much their home is worth in the current market. Agents can tap into this curiosity by targeting them with ads that offer them a free online valuation.

First, create an ad that directs leads to your website's home valuation tool. If you don't have a home valuation tool, The Paperless Agent recommends HomeValueLeads.com. If you have access to Cloud CMA in your market, they also include a free home valuation tool and landing page with every account. Both solutions are easy to set up.

Finally, targeting this ad is super simple. Just target homeowners in your area who are likely to move, et voila, you're done!

3. Property Search Campaign

The objective of this third campaign is to capture buyer leads. What do buyers want to see? Homes!

Rather than driving consumers to a specific listing, this campaign drives them to your IDX website to search for properties. Because many IDX sites require consumers to register with their email address in order to search for homes, this is a great way to capture the contact information of potential buyers. (If your site doesn't currently require registration, contact your IDX vendor. There is likely a setting you can turn on to require this.)

Get this ad up and running by targeting people who are likely to move and buy a home in the near future. Send them directly to your website's property search feature for best results.

Wrapping Up

If you need more help creating Facebook ads, check out The Paperless Agent's new Real Estate Digital Marketer (REDM) certification course. You'll get detailed step-by-step instructions on ad creation, targeting, and even tips on recommended ad budgets. For more information, visit http://thepaperlessagent.com/redm.