And, While the rules about targeting might have changed*** there are still effective ways to market your new listing to the local buyer community through social media.
*** (Facebook's platform limited the level of advanced targeting you can add when it comes to selling housing.)
With tons of competition AND limited targeting options on social media, you'll need to Create The best possible social media Posts that you can. That means Taking the Best photos or videos you can day 1.
Today I'm Going To Walk You Through The Following:
Sure Sure, Facebook Is Pushing Into Longer Editorial Articles And More News, but that is years down the road (and the wrong move I.M.O.) Right Now, Everyone is about video and short content; like image slideshows.That works out great for realtors!
When It Comes To The Majority Of Viral Posts On Facebook It Is All About Great Images; same with Instagram.... Videos do even better, but images seem to convert better (get more leads). Using a combination of images and video would be best.
Videos Or Anything Visual That Doesn't Include Reading are your best chance for getting those views, likes and shares on Facebook and Instagram.... and most importantly, when it comes to getting those leads.
With That In Mind You Want To Start Off Your Perfect Facebook Real Estate Post, The Minute You Get That Listing, By Taking Tons Of Amazing Pictures; inside and out.
Getting the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to social media ads All hinges on the quality of your Pictures and videos (of The Property).
Or just buy a gimble or a tripod. It will help keep you on the level.
** and if you can swing it, buy a gimbal stick. Not sure what they are? Google them. (they are a selfie stick wtih a gyro that keeps your camera steady and level. All wtih science!)
***The 360 shots will be something you can use for VR tour software; if you want to create a virtual tour of the home.
***One tip suggested by a client of mine; bring your own white florescent bulbs for the kitchen and bathroom (or anywhere there might be yellow or off white, or just old, light bulbs.) That extra white light can really brigthen up a photo.
1. Take Pictures Of The Curbside Appeal First, Start With Pictures Of The Property From The Outside. Take A Picture Of The Entire Property From The Curb To Showcase The Curbside Appeal Of The Home.
2. Take A Picture From Each Front Corner Of The Property. What I Mean By This Is Don’t Just Shoot One Photo Of The Outside. Take The Front Shot Sure, But Then Walk To Each Of The Corners Of The Front Of The Property (But Still In The Street) And Take Another Picture. This Way You Get A Minimum Of Three Pictures Of The Front From The Curb.
3. If It Is Appealing, And Only If It Is Appealing, Take A Picture From The Front Door Looking Out Before You Head Inside. If There Is Any Sort Of View It Will Be A Good Idea To Showcase This In The Listing.
4. Next, Take A Picture Of The Front Door Presentation; This Is Not Just The Front Door! What I Mean By This Is, Take A Picture Of What The Home Looks Like From About 15 To 20 Feet From The Door.
Are There Elevated Steps That Are Amazing 19th Century Brick?
Maybe There Are White Columns On Either Side Of The Outside Entryway That Really Present The Home Nicely.
We Want To Give Someone A Sense Of What It Feels Like To Come Home to this property.
5. Take Pictures Of The Side Yard, Rv Area, Backyard. Now, Head To The Backyard; If There Is Any Side Yard Make Sure You Start Their First.
If There Is Any Rv Parking Make Sure You Take Photos Of That As Well.
You Should Take At Least 50 Shots Of The Backyard. You Might Only Use 10 Of Them But With Digital Photos, It Costs You Nothing To Take Many Many More. And, it will help you in the long run whe you go to edit.
Last Note, If There Are Any Barbecue Areas Or Gazebos, Hot Tubs Or Other Hang Out Spots Make Sure You Take Pictures Of Those As Well.
6. Take 3 Stages Of Photos For Each Presentation Area**.
6.1 - Stage 1. The Wide Angle Shots. Using The Kitchen As Our First Example, You'll Want To Stand A Few Paces Away So You Can Take A Single Photo From Straight-on Of The Full Kitchen. You'll Then Want To Move To One Of The Corners Of The Kitchen And Take Another Photo From A Few Paces Back; Again Encapsulating The Entire Kitchen. Do This For Every Quarter Point At The Kitchen If Possible.
Wide Angle Example
6.2 - Stage 2 - Take A 30 Degree Shot Of Every Presentation Area. This Means That You Want To Take A Photo Of That Same Kitchen, But This Time, Take Photos Closer In; Focusing On The Separate Sections Of The Kitchen (The Stove Area, The Center Island, The Cook Prep Area, The Sink, Etc.). Take The Photos As If The Camera Were Right About At Chin Level. Aim Your Camera, Angled Down At About A 30 Degrees. Take A Picture Of Each Of These Separate Sections (Or Several Photos.
Always Take One Photo Straight In Front Of The Section, And One Photo At Each Corner Of It; All From About 5 Feet Away.
Corner Shot Example
Straight On Shot Example
Take A Photo, Spin The Camera On The Tripod Slightly To The Right And Take Another Photo; Now Continue This Process Until You Have Shot All 360 Degrees Of The Room. This Will Create A Panoramic View Of The Room. Do This Same Thing For Every Room.
7. The Walkthrough Shots. After You Have Taken All Other Photos, Go Back Through The House And Take Photos As You Walk. When You're Walking Through The Home Continuously stop Take a Photo, then move forward 5 feet or so. This Will Help You To Develop A Seamless Experience When You Upload Your Photos To A Vr Tour Creator. If you are not creating a VR tour, you can skip this step.
8. The Views Shots. Once You Are Done With All Of Your Photos It Is A Good Idea To Go Back To through the Home And Take Pictures Of Any Viewpoints From The Property. This Might Be On The Back Yard Steps Overlooking The Hills. It Might Be A View From The Kitchen Looking Out Over The Backyard Or Front Yard; Where Someone Might Watch Their Kids Play.
You Will Compile These Shots Into A Separate Album Called Views. This Way People Can Experience The Amazing Views Of The Property All At Once. Wherever There Are Amazing Views Take Several Photos As If You Were The Person Living There, Experiencing That View.
***If the property does not have any great views.. skip this one.
9. The Gadgets Shots. One Of The Small Tips That I Think Is Too Commonly Overlooked Is The Taking Of Photos Of Different Gadgets Or Electronics Setups Throughout The Property. If The Home Has An Amazing Sprinkler System And Automatic Timer, Take A Picture Of It.
If The Home Has A Pool With A Brand New Easy To Access Lighting Panel Full Of Electronics, Take A Picture Of It.
If The Home Has A Workshop Or Any Other ManCave Or SheCave Areas, Take Pictures Of Them.
Know Your Audience. Certain People Love Gadgets; And Homeowners In General Love Ease Of Access To Different Electronics And Equipment Around The Property. Showcasing These With A Few Photos Can Really Help Put Your Property Listing Over The Top.
Good Luck Out There Selling Properties! I Hope This Guide Helps You Sell Even More!
]]>How To Keep Ad Costs Low
Keeping ad costs low is pretty darn simple, but many overlook it. There is a little known secret that marketers often forget. Spending less per day Means LOWER AD COSTS. That is it. Whether you have a big budget or a small one, spend under $20 per day per state. What you're going to want to do is just not spend a ton per ad, per day. So if you're boosting posts or running straight up ads out of Facebook ads manager you're going to want to keep your overall daily budget low to ensure ad cost per click, likes and engagement all stay low.
If you're running daily budgets keep the daily budget low; if you're running lifetime budgets make sure that lifetime budget equates to a low daily budget. And, As I always recommend, never run an ad longer than 7 days unless it is getting better results every single day. If it has one drop off day after that 7 day mark, but you still want to run the ad I recommend duplicating the ad set and running the ad again.
I've had clients who spent $5 per day up to several thousand per day; and thousands over a lifetime budget; and spending more per day means more cost per click. I have tested this across hundreds of industries over my 17 year career.
How Can I Have Low Budgets And Still Cover The Whole Country?
You might be saying ‘I have a nationwide or worldwide coverage area. I need to spend thousands per day on this ad just to have it cover everyone in the country right?!!’
While it may be true that if you only run one ad and want the whole country to see it you will need a LARGE daily budget. However, It's something that will drive up your ad cost, so keep that in mind if you're going to spend more per ad; it’s just going to result in higher costs per engagement, per message and more per click; as well as more per lik; and any other metric you can think of for Facebook ads.
So, what I'd recommend for those of you who want to use one ad to cover an entire country or the entire world…….. DON’T DO IT! Even National chain stores do not use the same ad across an entire country.
Method 1 - Run different ads for different states… OR at the very least, run different ads for different regions; west coast, east coast, etc.
Method 2 - Duplicate your ad every 5 to 7 days until you saturate the area. So, instead of spending a ton each day trying to get everyone on Facebook to see your ad NOW, spend $20 or under per state; run the ad for 5 to 7 days, then duplicate the ad again and again until it starts to become sluggish with results.
It can be tempting to think you need to spend thousands per ad per day… AND thousands of companies do, BUt after 17 years in the game I am telling you, be patient, spend slowly, and you’ll keep ad costs low. Good luck out there!
]]>If you try to shortcut this method you'll often end up paying much more per click than you should.
You'll also start to see your results drop off over time; this means you'll need to pay more and more each week to try and sustain the same level of growth.
*** One thing I do want to say for those of you in the service industry. Some businesses like real estate or car detailing or probably a hundred other types of service businesses, can often go straight to creating lead ads to generate traffic for the business. Lead ads can be a bit expensive, but generate great leads in just a few hours or days for a business.
So, if you're trying to generate leads for your business there might be a shorter path to success, but if you're trying to sell a product or grow your following over time I recommend trying out the strategy below.
One last thing I'll say to you drop shippers out there. many of you are trying to sell with ads, right off the bat; without growing your following or gaining engagement. This will cost you more and, often, get you penalized by Facebook; usually they won't even tell you you're penalized.
Facebook wants you to run more than one objective with ads. In fact, the more objectives you're running the higher quality Facebook gives your page and your ad account. This does not mean go out and try to run ads for each objective; and waste thousands of dollars in the process. What I'm telling you is running just conversion ads and trying to sell right off the bat is going to cost you more than it should. While you might be successful at first, Facebook will limit your reach over time; and will be very suspicious of all of your future activity; they'll send review requests to many of your past customers; as well as anyone who's viewed your ads.
If you get any bad reviews they could penalize your account even further; this means limiting your reach even further. And they do this all without ever telling you your ad account is limited. I suggest you try the strategy below; and spend some money and time on engagement and creating a following. You'll have a lot better time selling your products; especially drop shipped products that have a very small margin. Good luck out there!
These retargeting ads might be ads that ask a person to join your blog; or they might show someone a video or a blog article you created… Just make sure it is something longer form and further down your sales funnel.
More Help → If you simply can't think of content to show in this next step of ads think about simply answering some of the common questions customers ask in a video or blog post; or tell them more about your product or services in a video. People just want to learn more about you and your service. Hearing you talk builds confidence. What you say is secondary.
***Once you get about 100 orders start a LLA (lookalike audience) and rake in that money! ( we can cover LLA’s in a different post. They are a bit more advanced).
Good luck out there!
As always, send me a shout directly if you have a question you'd like me to answer more in-depth or if you have a question about this article.
Thanks again!
Sincerely,
Marshall Garth