Why Facebook Ads Work

A long time ago, on a social media site far, far away, there were no ads and minimal business presences. Facebook was meant for college students to connect with one another, not for Amazon to place retargeting ads to get you to buy that extra-large box of paper towels in bulk (amiright?).

Yes, I fondly remember the good ol' days. But we must change and evolve, right? Stay relevant, reach wider audiences and, of course, convert traffic!

How can all this be done? The answer is simple: Facebook advertising. I'm going to show you just how powerful Facebook ads can be for your business by showing you what a page without Facebook ads will look like and its inevitable future, as well as a page thriving with Facebook ads.

A Page without Facebook Advertising

Please allow me to paint a grim picture of a page without Facebook ads. For starters, there is going to be limited organic growth. One easy way to organically grow a Facebook business page is to invite all of your personal friends over to the business page. Of course, your page will grow and, after a certain amount of time, you can re-invite folks that haven't yet already liked the page.

However, there are several downsides to this. For starters, you need to make sure that you separate your personal content from your business content. Your new business fans will not want to see the same content twice. Keep personal content on your personal page and your real estate business on your business page. Of course, from time to time, you can intermingle the two—maybe publish important business milestones on your personal page or announce something personal, like the birth of a child/grandchild on your business page. After all, folks like know there is a person on the other side of the screen.

Another downside to relying on personal Facebook friends to sustain your business page is that this may not be an engaged audience; they may not even be in the market to buy or sell a home. You are relying on a possibly stagnant audience to help carry your social media strategy. Bad idea.

You could also try to create organic growth on social media through shareable or tag-able content. For example, let's say you post a listing and ask your audience to tag someone who would love that home, or even ask them to share the post as part of a contest. Sure, you can get a few shares to increase the reach of the content, but there's no way to know exactly just how many folks it WILL reach.

A Page Utilizing Facebook Ads

Now that we've covered the doom, gloom, and stagnation of pages without Facebook advertising, let's hop on to the happier side of life. I promise, it's so much better and inspiring.

Page Like Ads

Facebook business pages can grow either organically or via paid advertising. Me? I prefer paid advertising because I know exactly what type of outcome I will receive for both my targeting efforts and the budget I allocate. When I ask my friends to like my page, I know the page will eventually reach a maximum amount of fans based on my personal friend list. However, through Page Like Ads, my page has no limit! I can run these ads as much or as little as I want. What I like most? I can change my targeting with each ad. How? Here’s an example:

Hi, I’m Jane Agent, and I can do it all. First-time buyers, listing agent, move-up buyers: you name it, I can do it. But, I have found a sweet spot in helping empty nesters downsize and want to grow my business in that area!

With this ad, you can target just these folks by narrowing down age ranges, incomes, and area. You can also look at behaviors these folks may exhibit, like minimalist living or getting rid of clutter—a sign that downsizing could be in their future. You're the expert with the knowledge; put it to use building a phenomenal ad that will deliver an engaged and transaction-ready audience to your page!

Website Ads

Ah, the corner stone of a rockin' social strategy. If you’re not familiar with website ads, know that they are ads on Facebook that will take users to any website, whether it is a listing detail page, landing page, or your website's home page.

I am a big fan of website ads because they can not only drive massive traffic to any desired website, but they can also get you new pages likes, higher listing visibility, and more inquiries on specific properties. You can even add your website ad to your listing presentation/marketing arsenal. Think about it: utilizing the power of Facebook ads can set you apart from your competition and help you win more business. Being able to confidently advertise on Facebook goes a long way with sellers now because they want to know you can get their home in front of a large audience and get it sold fast. Facebook advertising helps to do all of that.

Boosted Posts

Boosted posts are one of my favorite types of ads because they're like the best of both a Page Like Ad and a Website Ad. You can direct traffic anywhere you like (similar to a website ad) as well as garner additional page likes from the ad itself.

In real estate, boosted posts are great for promoting an open house. You can explicitly list all of the pertinent information on the ad itself to raise awareness, but also include a link to drive traffic to the listing detail page for additional information.

Of course, there are a few additional types of ads on Facebook, but for real estate, these are the heavy hitters that will help you grow your audience, increase visibility, and win more business. Clearly, you know my stance on Facebook advertising. It's a publish-or-perish world out there, and to stay relevant, you must pursue modern methods of advertising.

That’s all for this month! Stay tuned; next month, I dive into the world of Instagram and why it may be the best place for real estate professionals to gain new business!

To view the original article, visit the Homes.com blog.