For some years now, Facebook has been all the rage, but the buzz seems to be dying down a bit. What are we left with when the buzz is gone? Does Facebook actually have any lead generation value? Absolutely. Here are some ideas:

1) Cast a wide net

One of the primary benefits of social media is that it allows content to go viral, being spread to a larger and larger group of people. So, for professionals, it certainly can't hurt to encourage as many people as possible to "like" your Facebook business page. The more people see your content, the more people are going to share it.

It's also a good idea to promote your other social media accounts (i.e. Yelp! or FourSquare) on Facebook. For instance, every time you review a restaurant on Yelp! or leave a tip on FourSquare, you can choose to share this activity on Facebook. When your followers on Facebook see your local community expertise, they may be more likely to give you their business. Be cautious, however, and choose to post from these other accounts only occasionally (not every single time you use them) – because over-posting might annoy your followers.

2) Post photos instead of straight text

All sources confirm that Facebook posts that include images receive significantly more engagement. What kinds of images might you include?

• Recently listed properties
• "Coming soon" properties
• Examples of do-it-yourself home improvement tricks or projects
• Drought-tolerant landscaping ideas
• The view from the peak of a local mountain or photos from another recent hike/run/bicycle ride around your city

You might also consider updating your Facebook cover photo to highlight an attractive new listing. Why? Because every time someone changes their cover photo, all Page followers are notified via a post in their News Feed. You can add a link to the single property website or listing details page in the caption of the photo.

3) Create events

Sure, it can't hurt to create a Facebook event for your next open house, but that's not really what I'm talking about. What would be more to your benefit would be to host an event that would appeal to any homeowner, no matter whether or not they're going to be buying or selling a home in the next year. You are the local market expert, so there's plenty to talk about. So, for example, you'd plan a "Coffee and Chat" at a local café and create an event on Facebook for it. Invite all of your Facebook friends, and make sure the event is public (open to everyone), so they can invite their friends. Then, at the event, you can chat about the local real estate market and answer any questions attendees may have about real estate.

4) Consider ads

A Facebook ad is a relatively inexpensive way to get some extra attention on social media, reaching past your immediate sphere of influence. We recently added a new feature to our product that we've seen get great results on Facebook: Property Valuation Landing Pages.

The Property Valuation Landing pages are essentially an opportunity for homeowners to find out what their property is worth. They submit their email address and a report is mailed to them. The agent, of course, gets the lead.

This is what the property valuation landing pages look like:

We've had many agents reporting great success by promoting these Property Valuation Landing Pages with Facebook ads. Realtors using these pages are generating lots of seller leads and are converting them into listing appointments and actual listings from Facebook advertising and marketing.

The keys to successfully generating seller leads on Facebook with landing pages are:

• Matching the landing page to the Farm area. Every farm area should have its own landing page and ad!
• Have a great looking photograph as the background on your landing page that is relevant to the farm area
• Have the ad match the landing page
• Follow-up quickly with leads

Here's a great example of what a successful Facebook ad looks like:

More options: Facebook recently changed their News Feed algorithm, making it more difficult for posts from Facebook Pages (as opposed to your Friends) to be seen. If you've been noticing reduced results from your Page's posts, this might be the reason why. One way to overcome this is to use the Promoted Posts feature. For a small fee, you can guarantee that your post is seen.

Further Reading

• How to Get Started With Online Ads in Just 15 Minutes a Week
• Read articles about Facebook and Social Media