Heat Level: 
Hot: These tips are meant for marketing experts.
Bottom Line: Think beyond traditional posting and use more dynamic features like Groups to get the most out of your time on Facebook.
Do This: Get the most out of your Facebook account by:
Exploring Groups and joining one (or a few) that seem relevant to you.
Look into Facebook’s other features, like Marketplace, to see if there’s a creative use that may fit for you.
Considering posting jobs on Facebook's dedicated job board.
Oh Facebook - the platform we can’t live with and can’t live without. From its humble beginnings over 15 years ago, the network has grown into aspirations of being a one-stop shop for all of our online needs. From dating to currency, job hunting to shopping, Facebook has a solution for (almost) everything you can think of. Yes, including real estate.
But like everything else online, the question remains: what’s actually worth your time and energy? Today we’re looking at three key Facebook offerings that may interest real estate pros looking to try something new.
2018-2019 have been rough for Facebook. With growing concerns over data privacy and the effects of endless scrolling, the company promised to shift their focus towards making time on their platform meaningful. Enter groups.
Groups have been around for almost as long as Facebook - beginning a year after the platform was founded. In the 14 years since, Facebook Groups have grown exponentially. There is, quite literally, a group for everyone and every interest imaginable.
The even better news is that there are TONS of groups set up for every possible real estate category you can think of. Seriously. Whether you’re looking to simply share your listings, find coaching or networking with other professionals, or simply exchange memes and jokes with others in the industry, you can find your niche.
Using groups also allows you to reach buyers, sellers, renters, and other professionals more directly. Rather than broadcasting your marketing materials on your company page, engaging in direct conversations through groups can help you cut through the noise and find the people you’re looking for.
Inman has a great post with some of the most popular real estate groups to get you started. You can also just search through Facebook for groups in your area, specialty, etc. There are millions of groups to choose from, so look around and start trying them out.
One thing to know about groups is that they're moderated. Each group has rules - read them closely and obey, or you could get kicked out. Participate and add value to the group to get the most value out of it!
Beginning in 2016, Facebook’s Marketplace has been one part Craiglist, one part garage sale, and largely misunderstood. The fact is, most people are on Facebook. And most people who are on Facebook have at least seen a post for something on sale through Facebook’s Marketplace.
Marketplace allows anyone with a Facebook account to list products and services for sale. All communications around purchases take place through Facebook Messenger - offering a layer of protection since both parties don’t have to provide their phone number or email address to get started.
Even better? Facebook actually encourages using their Marketplace for rental listings. They have an entire page dedicated to this, which you can check out here. Using Marketplace to reach renters allows you to get your listings in front of prospective clients in a place that they’re already active with the built-in power of Facebook’s targeting.
Check out Facebook’s real estate Marketplace guidelines, then try testing out a listing or two to see if the platform works for your business. If nothing else, posting your listings or apartments will boost your their exposure.
About two years ago, Facebook rolled out a jobs feature that allows company pages to post open positions on their profile, in the marketplace, and in a dedicated Jobs dashboard. Facebook Jobs posts allow pages to post openings and easily promote these posts across Facebook’s many advertising options. For users, applying for these jobs is an easy process since they can use information pulled directly from their profile - similar to LinkedIn.
The plus side? Same as any other function we’ve looked at, the biggest benefit is Facebook’s enormous built-in reach. The downsides largely deal with Facebook’s limited options. Facebook Jobs is far less sophisticated than more established platforms like LinkedIn or Indeed. They also offer far less automatic vetting, meaning you could wind up with a lot of unqualified leads.
For this one, we’d recommend proceeding with caution. You can find a great introduction to using Facebook Jobs here. If you’re looking to hire someone, using Facebook’s advertising network can be an obvious tactic given their powerful paid options. But it may be more useful to have ads direct users to the post on a more established platform with better vetting, like Indeed or Glassdoor. (Just keep in mind that new rules about targeting for special categories also applies to job ads.)
Facebook has a lot to offer. And while organic reach is way down for all company pages, it remain one of the best platforms to reach a wide audience. If you’re looking for a good way to recharge your Facebook usage and get the most out of your time on the platform, we’d recommend starting with Groups. From their, it’s really just a matter of your goals and your imagination!
Working with ListingManager allows Jess to explore an alternate reality where she could one day own a house instead of renting. When she’s not focused on her daily to-do lists, Jess enjoys HBO binges, gourmet lattes, and playing with her dog. How did you like this article?
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