As a real estate agent, leads are your bread-and-butter. Whether you’re pumping time into inbound marketing, outbound marketing, social media strategies, or influencers, you’re end goal is shoving prospects through your funnel.
But, getting leads has always involved a certain level of friction between you and your customer. When they viewed that killer content that you created, and you drove them to your perfectly designed landing page, there was that moment of hesitation when it came time to input their personal details.
That small road-bump was a big issue. You spent the time and money to drive that prospect all the way to your landing page. They liked your content, they fit snugly into your buyer’s persona, and they seemed like a clean sell, but when it came to inputting all of those fields of personal information, they backed out.
Luckily, Meta lead ads set out to remove this friction. Now, prospects can transition into leads without ever leaving Facebook. Since Facebook will automatically generate their lead information from personal details on their Facebook profile, prospects no longer have “fill-out” friction.
Today, we’re going to look at exciting ways that real estate agent are using Facebook lead ads and meta ads in brilliant ways to fill their funnel full of quality hyperlocal leads.
Why Facebook Lead Ads for Real Estate Business
In the competitive real estate market, generating high-quality leads is crucial for success. Meta Lead Ads offer a powerful solution for real estate agents looking to capture valuable leads effortlessly. With over 3.1 billion active users, Facebook provides an unparalleled platform to reach a vast audience. Real estate agents can leverage Meta’s sophisticated targeting options to zero in on specific demographics, interests, and behaviors, ensuring their ads reach the right people.
One of the standout features of Meta Lead Ads is the seamless lead capture process. Potential customers can express interest in properties or services without ever leaving the Facebook and Instagram apps, making it quick and convenient, especially on mobile devices. This reduces the friction often associated with traditional lead forms and increases the likelihood of conversion. By integrating Meta Lead Ads into their advertising efforts, real estate agents can streamline their lead generation process and boost their chances of success in the real estate industry.
Provide Local Value in Your Real Estate Business
One of the biggest hurdles for real estate agent has always been targeting a hyperlocal market. While big brands push money into comprehensive inbound marketing strategies and expensive influencers, real estate agent are left to navigate the world of advertising in a local market.
HubSpot, Moz, and Niel Patel are all great for businesses that aren’t location-based, but real estate agent have to find a way to get scrappy with their real estate ads to win a local prospect.
Meta lead ads are a natural place to get creative in a hyperlocal market — since you can geotarget prospects.
We’re seeing some great Facebook lead ads that take advantage of local value as a lead magnet.
Example: IGrow Wealth Investments
IGrow used Meta lead ads to target customers who lived in the Durbanville area and fit within their ideal income level.
Instead of just showing another home, IGrow used Facebook lead ads to get prospects to sign up for a free seminar that they were holding in the area. This is a double whammy. They are grabbing prospects and generating leads online and directing these leads to their front door for real-life nurturing.
Free seminars are just one example of a great local value lead magnet. You can also offer free home evaluations like Keller Williams or point customers to cheap food or great entertainment in the area.
Look Outside Your Hyperlocal Market in a Competitive Real Estate Market
You’ve probably read the word “hyperlocal” about 15 times by now, and we’re sure that you’re used to hearing it in other marketing spaces online, but, sometimes it’s important to diversify your portfolio. For a real estate agency, setting up a Facebook Business Page and ad accounts is crucial to reach a broader audience.
Sure, you want to target people in your local area, that’s your audience. But, what about customers that are looking to move to your local area? If you get too hyperlocal, you’re going to miss delivering critical ads to future residents.
With Meta, you can target customers who live in areas around your local area that have been searching for homes in your area. This is the perfect time to deliver ads that will impact their decision.
Example: Ylopo
When Ylopo created Meta ads for their client — a New Jersey agent — they decided to throw their net a bit wider. Ads with the words “Are you thinking about moving to New Jersey?” were followed by pictures of homes that fit into their Meta target audience’s income level.
What were the results?
7.6x return on ad spend
43% lower cost than other online lead sources
Those are some impressive metrics!
Creating Effective Real Estate Facebook Ads
Creating effective real estate Meta ads requires a strategic approach that resonates with your target audience. Start by defining your target audience and creating detailed buyer personas. Understanding your audience’s needs, wants, and pain points will help you craft ads that speak directly to them.
Next, choose the right ad format to showcase your properties. Whether it’s image ads, video ads, or carousel ads, each format has its strengths. For instance, carousel ads allow you to display multiple images or videos in a single ad, perfect for highlighting different features of a property. Video ads, on the other hand, can provide a dynamic and engaging way to showcase a property tour.
Compelling ad copy is another critical element. Highlight the unique selling points of your properties and include clear calls to action that guide potential buyers on the next steps. High-quality images or videos are essential to capture attention and make your ads stand out in a crowded feed. By following these best practices, real estate agents can create effective Facebook ads that drive conversions and grow their business.
Leverage High-Quality Creatives for Real Estate Facebook Ads
We see “check out this home!” posts a ton of Facebook. It’s not that they don’t work — they do. But, when there are massive amounts of similar ads on any platform, people start to get numb to them.
Sure, that picture of a house is great and all, but how about showing some high-quality images of each room? As a real estate agent, can you leverage high-quality photos in a way that pushes users to engage with your ads?
Yes!
Example: Apartment Guide
We know! Apartment Guide is hardly a small local real estate agent, but the way that they’ve been able to transform the standard real estate Facebook ads is nothing short of amazing.
Not only were they able to get some killer metrics out of their latest campaign (2x property inquiry conversion, etc.) they were able to do it with little-to-no words.
Instead, Apartment Guide posted some high-quality photos of the insides of apartments on a carousel, led users to a “see more” page that acted as a lead creator, and used the lead information to continue to push users down their funnel. By using some of Facebook’s more creative ad types and then leading them to a Facebook Lead Ad, Apartment Guide was able to leverage profoundly creative content.
This is an excellent example of a more nurturing marketing strategy. Instead of starting off strong, Apartment Guide started of gentle and slowly shaped prospects into customers.
Social Proofs (Works Great in Smaller Areas)
While Ylopo worked some magic outside of their local area, pushing Facebook lead ads to hyperlocal prospects works wonders.
Most real estate agents have a testimonial section on their website right? Why not use those testimonials to draw clients in on Facebook?
This works exceptionally well if you work in a community that’s congruent and connected. Put up an advertisement that shows the faces of some of your testimonials (with consent) and leverages their reviews. If you work in a small area, a ton of your Facebook targets are probably going to know (or know of) the person giving you a testimonial.
What’s better than seeing an ad on your Facebook news feed with someone that you know who loved a real estate agent service? Talk about instant trust.
There are other social proofs you can use as well (such as how many people have used your service,) but testimonials seem to work wonders for real estate agent.
Example: Quadrant Homes
Quadrant homes nailed using social proofs as a lead generation tool on Facebook.
Their entire ad campaign focused around the central idea of community. They used community-driven buzzwords (community, local, connection, etc.) and testimonials to drive leads.
Positioning yourself as a community member isn’t only a lead machine, it also helps build immediate trust and brand recognition.
Facebook lead ads can be a great way to generate quality leads while reducing “fill-out” friction. For real estate agent, Facebook lead ads are a great place to get creative and scrappy. Create some unique ads that utilize community, lead magnets, hyperlocal and nonlocal prospects, and social proofs for some killer results.
Targeting and Optimizing Ad Campaigns
To maximize the effectiveness of your Facebook ad campaigns, precise targeting and continuous optimization are key. Facebook offers advanced targeting options that allow real estate agents to reach their ideal audience. Utilize location targeting to focus on specific areas, demographic targeting to reach certain age groups or income levels, and interest targeting to connect with users interested in real estate.
Expanding your reach with lookalike audiences can also be highly effective. These audiences are created based on the characteristics of your existing clients, helping you find new potential leads who are likely to be interested in your properties.
Optimization doesn’t stop at targeting. Regularly monitor your ad performance and make data-driven adjustments to your targeting, budget, and ad creatives. A/B testing different variations of the same ad can provide valuable insights into what works best. By continuously refining your ad campaigns, real estate agents can increase their return on investment and drive more conversions, ensuring their advertising efforts are both efficient and effective.
