Strategy #26 - Using Facebook (16 minutes)

A community-focused page or group can be a powerful tool for long-term engagement. While we place a great deal of effort into a page or profile, running a group is far more advantageous, as you can place your exact audience into the group. A refined audience is better than a mixed one.

• Create a Group directly related to your office: Set up a Facebook group where you can provide direct education to your owners, tenants, strategic alliances, potential clients, previous clients, and your tradespeople (vendors in the USA). If my company name were IGT Realty, I would create a Facebook group name called “IGT Realty Community” As a real estate coach and consultant, I created the IGT Inner Circle, which you are all welcome to join, where we update our community on the latest news, updates of events, training, travel so we can meet or arrange dinner events when in countries or cities we haven’t been to in a while. We run polls, ask questions and stay connected to the demands of what our clients need, just as you can for your real estate community. (Please remember to answer the three questions when joining the IGT Inner Circle, as we want to ensure people who join are in real estate).

• Link the Group to your Business page: Ensure that when someone visits your business page, they see the “community” option, allowing them to select to join. Be sure to have questions to ask new potential members requesting to join, to ensure they’re related to your agency.

• Create a Local Community Group: Instead of a real estate-focused group, start one around local interests, for example, ‘I Love {city/town suburb/shire name}’. This attracts a broader audience without appearing sales-driven.

• Run Competitions and Events: Engage the community with fun competitions or local event promotions.

• Include Soft Branding: Use subtle branding, such as a small logo, to maintain awareness without making the group feel like an advertisement.

One of the real estate agencies I trained successfully used this strategy with ‘I Love Albany’ (from Western Australia) stickers on cars, which became a well-known local brand while subtly promoting their business. They also used other local companies to be involved with the page. They got so much traction from this that even the local radio station jumped on board and helped them.

Another agency we train has implemented this strategy for the agency community group, and they’re doing a great job of helping tenants with upcoming properties, owners with legislation changes, new technology being introduced into the business, training they’re attending, and implementing it for their office, among other things. This strategy continues to keep you top of mind with your already raving fans.​

Facebook is great for engagement, but ultimately, you want to lead people back to your website.

You own the real estate of your website, your YouTube channel and your Google My Business Profile. Social media can be shut down, just like the scare of the TikTok Ban.

• Post Downloadable Resources: Offer free guides, such as ‘Ten Tips for Preparing Your Home for Rent,’ and direct users to download them from your website.

• Use Comments for Links: Facebook often reduces the visibility of posts with external links. Instead, add links in the comments.

• Promote Your Booking Links: If you offer free consultations, share your Calendly link in strategic posts and comments to increase visibility.

A well-placed link in the right post can increase engagement and conversions. When using images for lead funnels, have the Calendly or website wording on the image.

By leveraging these eight strategies, you can maximise your Facebook presence, build trust within your community, and generate more rent roll leads. However, success on social media requires consistency, persistence, and engagement. Never forget that you must be personal and relatable.​