6 Quick Ways to Dust Off Your Facebook Account and Get Back in the Game

Perhaps it's your New Year's resolution to add social media to your marketing repertoire. Maybe you're looking for new ways to energize your pipeline and grow engagement with your sphere. Whatever the reason, it's time to dust off your your Facebook page and get back in the game!

It doesn't have to be overwhelming.

It doesn't have to be time consuming.

It doesn't mean you have to be a rocket scientist.

Just roll up your sleeves and try out these quick tips...

#1. Dust off your account (or, set one up)

Log into your account and see what's been going on since you've been MIA. Seriously—it's that simple.

If you don't have an account, we recommend starting with a personal PROFILE, building your network, and engaging with them. THEN creating a separate business PAGE where you can share your real estate content.

There's a big difference between a personal PROFILE and a business PAGE. If you're getting ready to set up a Facebook account or are unsure what type of account you currently have, start here.

#2. Make sure you're connected to your sphere

Once you've dusted off your personal PROFILE, let's make sure you update your network. You can find friends by importing your email contacts. Don't worry! It's as easy as 1-2-3.

Go to your "Friend Requests" page. Below "Add Personal Contacts," select the type of account you have (example: Gmail or Outlook). Enter the required information and hit "Find Contacts." Facebook will then recommend friends to connect with.

#3. Start engaging... but don't overthink it

Don't overthink this step! Whether it's a couple times a week or every day, reach out to some of your contacts on Facebook and engage with them. This isn't about hustling listings or selling your services—this is about real, true engagement.

This is where you comment on your friends' photos of their grandkids. Where you leave a review for a local vendor that provided great services. Where you share or like a post from a local business. Where you compliment a past client on their home decor or landscaping.

Engagement is a two-way street. If you want to see growth on your social media accounts, it means reaching out and starting real conversations. Not only will this help you remain top-of-mind, but it will also help you make more personal connections.

• PRO TIP: If you find your newsfeed is overwhelming, consider making lists of clients, key influencers, small business contacts, etc. It may be easier to check those lists and engage vs. trying to consume everything in your feed. To learn how to do this, start here.

#4. Get that business PAGE going and invite your friends

Now that you've got your personal PROFILE up and running, you're building up your friends list, and you're doing some real engagement... let's create a business PAGE (or dust off the one you have.)

If you're starting a business PAGE from scratch, start here.

Be sure to invite the friends from your personal PROFILE to "like" your business PAGE. Simply "share" the page, "invite friends" and click away!

#5. Start sharing valuable content on your business PAGE

Now it's time to start sharing some great content on your business PAGE. Here are some resources you can use to quickly and easily share content that will be a true value-add for your audience:

• Don't spend all day developing content. Leverage almost-famous content (that already exists online) to build engagement with a few clicks. Here's how to do it.
• Create visual content (think infographics, charts, images, etc.) with a simple screenshot in mere seconds. This is a great idea for market data! Here's how to do it.
• Leverage video to really stand out from the crowd. You can make a super simple market update video in 15-minutes flat. Here's how to do it.
• Utilize realtor.com®'s Sharable Content to find and share great consumer-focused articles. Here's where to find it.
• Answer "How's the Market?" with hyperlocal Market Snapshot® reports by directing visitors to your custom landing page. Here's how to do it.

#6. Get more eyeballs on your PAGE

Now that you're getting back in the swing of things, work on getting more eyeballs on your business PAGE. (If you're still wondering why we're putting an emphasis on PAGES vs. PROFILES, jump back to our first blog in this series.)

While we recommend keeping your personal PROFILE as non-sales-pitchy as possible, sharing the occasional post from your business PAGE to your personal PROFILE is a great way to get more eyeballs on your content. Simply hit the "Share" button on your post and select for it to be shared on your personal PAGE.

This is also a great time to play around with boosted posts and sponsored ads to "buy" more eyeballs, using emojis to stand out in your contacts' streams, to implement landing pages that can capture prospect's email addresses, and more. What should you boost or post? For now, your higher performing posts. Look at your "Insights" on your business page to determine what you'd like to promote.

Have fun with it! You are—after all— back in the social media game!

Taking a deeper dive

These tips are just the beginning! In this blog series, we're going to explore various ways to improve your Facebook reach: how to get more eyeballs and drive engagement. We'll explore some of the things we just mentioned in more depth, and we'll give you some easy-to-use tools to get there. Can't wait? Check out Facebook Blueprint to read ahead and maybe teach us a thing or two!

To view the original article, visit the Realtor.com Results blog.