“I plan on increasing (my Facebook advertising budget) this year. My business is growing, so I think I’ll probably double it,” explains Robinson. “In the $500,000–$1 million range, if I got one deal off of it, it would be worthwhile.”
Despite the lack of specific home sales from social media, Robinson says the forum still has a value that exceeds its cost. She says it’s helpful to see which listings are being viewed and liked so she can strategize appropriately.
“If I buy a Facebook ad that has a reach of 500,000 people, it’s slowly building up brand recognition,” Robinson explains. “You can become so hyper-specialized, you can say, ‘I want 25 miles, surrounding my office, of people recently married and first-time buyers.’ I can specifically target my key audiences, and they see my name a little more often.”
Also, her clients tend to appreciate the social media presentations, especially older sellers who are not that savvy with social media themselves.
“It gives me something to stand out with to my sellers,” Robinson says. “I don’t think that many agents can go into a listing presentation and talk about SEO and Facebook advertising and talk about it comprehensively. It keeps them happy because they see their listing on Facebook and they see their house out there.”
Both Robinson and Welu are beginning to consider advertising on Twitter as the platform starts to step up its real estate presence following its IPO in November.
Andrew King is an award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience with the Gannett newspaper company, appearing in The Journal News (Westchester, NY), Asbury Park Press and USA Today. He also contributes to The Real Deal, TheLadders.com and TechPageOne.com.
