We’re going to take a look at an often overlooked means of driving traffic to your real estate website. Best of all, it’s not all that complicated. It just involves a few simple steps and the results are definitely well worth it! Here, you’re looking at generating extra leads each month – all without spending a single penny. It’s just another way of utilizing the social interaction power of Facebook. Once you understand this very simple concept, you’ll wish that you had known it sooner.
The First Step – Joining Your Local Area Facebook Groups
Of course, you will need to have your own real estate web page with a blog feature installed. Then, once you’re ready, visit your Facebook homepage. In the Search bar at the top, you’ll type; “(your city/town) real estate groups”. Depending on your particular location, you’ll see a surprising number of groups with quite a few individuals in each of them. Make sure to join each one of those groups!
Step #2: Create Blog Posts for Your Website
This is where you get to choose blog topics that are relevant to your real estate experience. You should select topics that pertain to your local real estate market (that’s important) and do one of three things:
– Write the blogs yourself, review them and then post your own articles.
– Write the blogs yourself and have them edited by a professional writer/editor.
– List the items that you want the blogs to be about and then have them professionally written.
I Heard Hemmingway is No Longer Available
(Tips on Finding a Good Blog Writer)
Here, we want to add just a few words on obtaining an outsourced blog writer. While you may be a proficient writer, unless you just love to write, you may not have the time to do it yourself on a regular basis. While the legendary writer, Ernest Hemingway, is no longer with us, fortunately, there is an abundance of good writers that are available at highly reasonable rates. You can find these individuals on websites that specialize in providing temporary freelance writing contractors.
You’re an Authority – and People Want to Hear What You Have to Say!
One of the great things about being a real estate agent is that people look to you as a sort of an “oracle” for the entire area. While you really can’t hand out prophecies, like the oracles of ancient times, you can certainly write about things people want to know. Examples can include:
– The current home buying and selling market
– School rankings
– Trends in home values
– Future store openings
– Job availability
All the way down to what folks are saying, regarding that new club or restaurant that just opened up. When you’re hooked into the general knowledge of a particular location – people will listen to what you have to say. All you have to do is to ask yourself what people in your area might be curious about.
Step #3: Share Your Blog Posts with Your Facebook Groups
The next step is to post your blog articles in each one of your Facebook Groups.
IMPORTANT – Before you post any articles, contact the admin of each group that you wish to post in. That’s because you need to find out if you’re allowed to post your website link there. In some cases, a group will allow it – but some groups won’t. Like most things, follow the rules and you should be okay. Try to get your postings done on the days with the highest readership volume – Tuesday or Thursday.
Some Final Observations
Here is one of the most important things to remember when it comes to using the power of Facebook Groups. This is not about some “magic” formula that will have leads start pouring in. What you are doing is setting up and “tending your garden” in order to have it produce at a later date. In this way, you will have established yourself as a valuable part of the local community. As time goes on, people will think of you first when it comes to their real estate needs.
It’s also important to note that the more effort you place into this form of promotion now, the more that it will pay off later. That’s because you have taken the time to build a great deal of trust in your community through the value that you’ve given it. Always remember, that this potentially massive form of lead generation is free of charge after you’ve built trust and offered value.