Archives for October 2020

Using Facebook Ads for real estate marketing is an excellent resource when done correctly. Learn how to use Facebook ads to target new audiences, reengagement, and ultimately get more leads as a real estate agent or broker. 

Many real estate agents are turning to digital marketing such as Facebook, Google Ads, and Instagram to show off properties. But are they really getting any leads? If you are using money to put toward ads, you will want to make sure it’s done correctly. 

The Ultimate Guide to Using Facebooks Ads for Real Estate 

Today we are going to talk about how to set up your ads, why you should want to use Facebook Ads to reach more people, and some examples of how real estate agents set up their ad campaigns. 

What are Facebook Ads? 

We’ve all seen them. You know when you are browsing a website and the next time you log onto facebook, there’s that product you were previously searching for. That my friends was not a coincidence, that was strategy. 

Facebook allows you to set a budget for the lifetime or the ad or a daily budget. In turn, they show your posts, videos, and campaigns to more people that you are targeting in your audiences. 

If you aren’t consistent on Facebook or you have a property you need to sell quickly, this is a great way to get the word out. 

RELATED: 24 Business Ideas in Real Estate That Are Very Successful

Why as a Real Estate Would You Want to Use Facebook Ads? 

You can actually use ads in any business, but some niches can be more appealing. With beautiful photos and the technology to offer 360 views and home tours, this type of content is super engaging. 

It’s important to remember that not every person is looking for a home to buy or rent, but the more you can stay in front of people the more likely they are to purchase from you or tell their friends and family. 

Contrary to when you post personally on your Facebook business page, when you setup your ads correctly you can reach more or a targeted audience. THis means while its great that all of your family likes and shares your page, this is not your ideal client. Your ideal client is a homeowner looking to buy. 

Within the audience sections of your Ad dashboard you can target multiple demographics, interests, income ranges, and more. This is out you get the word out about your real estate business. 

Compared to other marketing methods, Facebook ads come relatively cheap and are super effective in terms of users. According to Sprout Social this is what they revealed about the platform in 2020. 

• 74% of high-income earners are Facebook users
• 1.62 billion users visit Facebook daily.
• 94% of Facebook Ad revenue is from mobile
• The average cost per click for a Facebook Ad is $1.72
• Mobile-friendly video generates higher engagement.

Steps to Take Before Setting Up Your Campaigns

Here are a few things to do before actually creating your ads if you haven’t done them already. 

Sign up for Facebook Business Manager. This just makes things easier for business accounts and keeps everything in one place. You can also add team members or assistants if needed. 

If you have a website, go ahead and install the Facebook Pixel code. This allows tracking and targeting of people who have engaged with your website. It also just gives better data in the long run. 

Types of Facebook Ad Campaigns

When you open the ads section from your business page, with the “new” Facebook, here are the goals you will see. 

Know that you NEVER want to boost a post so stay away from both of those. 

It’s possible that if you are using a business manager, you may see a different screen when it comes to creating your campaign, either way eventually you will end up in the same place. 

Brand Awareness

Generally used when you just want people to recognize your brand, get more page likes and are typically pretty cheap to run. This is a good option for beginners and is great if you’re running a special or offer and want to attract new people that in future will likely to engage with your page more often. Also, Facebook shows this type of campaign to people who are most likely to be interested.

Reach

This objective means that Facebook is going to show your ad to as many people as possible in your targeted audience. So compared to brand awareness, this is a little more generic in terms of targeting people who actually may be interested in real estate. BUt it’s great if you are looking to grow your following on Facebook and aren’t trying to advertise a special property for sale. 

The most common objectives used under consideration that real estate professionals use are Traffic, Engagement, and Video Views. 

Traffic

Choose this objective when you are sending your target market outside of facebook such as to a blog post on your own website or a property listing. 

Engagement

This differs from the brand awareness category because this facebook ad objective allows users to like, comment, and share, whereas the other one only allows them to take action to like your page. 

Video Views

Obviously, if you have some nice videos you may want to use this option, but this does come up in the Facebook video section. You can still use videos in the other campaigns as well. 

Lead Generation

This tool collects audience information without leaving the Facebook platform. So the downside is that there will not be any traffic going to your website if you have one. Most older people do not convert well using this type of ad, but younger people do. 

 App Installs

Chances are being in the real estate business you do not have your own app, so let’s just skip over this for now. 

Messages

This campaign is becoming more popular and allows you to engage with your people through messenger and other messaging apps. However, this may not be the most effective way to use your ad budget in real estate. 

Marketing Real Estate Through Facebook Ad Audiences 

Here’s where things get interesting and targeting is so important! If you are looking to grow your following, you can typically do that with a pretty broad audience range, but still set the parameters related to your local location. 

Custom Audiences

Here’s where you will set your parameters for a custom audience. You could also include website visitors or people from your email list if you have one.

You will set the locations, age, gender, demographics, interest, and languages. There is also the option to exclude audiences. This is helpful when you don’t want to waste your ad spend on people who already like your page, or when you want to reach a cold audience. 

Lookalike Audiences

This generates an audience that is most likely to engage in Facebook’s eyes. Before creating one, you need to have a custom audience first so it can then calculate the lookalike audience. You can also do this with email subscribers as well. 

For example, your custom audience could be people in a certain location that like Remax between the ages of 25-55 and who like HGTV. Then you would create a lookalike audience based on the custom audience. 

When setting up our ads, there will be a dial in the upper right hand corner, you want to make sure that this stays in the green. If it’s not that means your ad is too broad or not broad enough based on the audience parameters you selected.

Ideas for Facebook Ads for Real Estate 

Now that you have all of the information to start building your ad campaigns, here are some examples you may want to try using. 

• Use photos of yourself or team for brand awareness 
• Pose with the homebuyers and make a boomerang 
• Showcase a video testimonial 
• Use the event’s campaign to market your open houses 
• In the ad copy when promoting your brand, talk about the number of closings you had, the average time it takes, and what people are saying. 
• When building ads for properties, include sharp photos, the total square footage, price, and all of the features. 
• Use image carousels so people can flip through different photos of the home

Outside of ad campaigns you should be using your social media regularly to promote your business and so Facebook will show your content to more people. Need ideas for social media posts? Here’s a whole blog about Real Estate Social Media Post Ideas.

Other Real Estate Business Articles:

Pin For Later!

Featured photo by Edmond Dantès from Pexels

Do you know what a hiring manager’s worst nightmare is these days? Hiring the wrong person for the job just because they looked like the right employee during the interview process.

The candidate managed to present a stellar resume and give a compelling interview. However, in reality they have mediocre skills, experience, or even motivation to excel in the role they applied for.

Sometimes, resumes and CV’s can be highly misleading. This is thanks in part to websites that specialize in trimming off the fat so resumes can look like they belong to a seasoned professional.

RELATED ARTICLE: 5 WARNING SIGNS TO WATCH FOR IN RESUMES

On the other hand, people candidate list as character references tend to overshoot their vouching for the applicant. Naturally, they’re trying to be polite. Or perhaps they are a close friend of the applicant or they owe them a favor.

Whatever the case, this means that making sure that you do everything you can to hire the right employee for your business won’t be a walk in the park.

Fortunately, however, there are a number of good tips and measures you can take. You can use these suggestions to confirm that the candidate in front of you truly is someone who will be a great addition to your company.

1. See How Consistent Their Work History Is

One good indication of whether someone will be the right employee is how consistent their work history is. However, don’t concern yourself with how long they’ve been working or how much work experience they have.

Instead, see how long they’ve been working in the same industry that your company or business is in. Also try to determine what kind of track record they had in previous jobs.

If they had a steady work history in the industry that your establishment is in, then you can at least be sure that they have the skills and competencies of someone who could be the right employee for the job.

On the other hand, if they are someone who has jumped frequently from industry to industry or company to company, you should treat this as a red flag. This is especially the case if many of their tenures are short.

RELATED ARTICLE: BACKGROUND CHECKS: A HIRING ESSENTIAL

2. Make Good Use of Questions to Assess Situational Judgement

During the interview process, it is likely that every applicant did their research and stumbled upon the interview questions you use. Moreover, they practiced extensively so they could deliver their lines in a natural way.

There is nothing you can do about this. However, you could present them with scenarios or problems that regularly occur in your business. For example, describe conflicts with customers or coworkers, or talk about scheduling and other work issues.

Such situations, unlike conventional interview questions, are most likely to be unique to your business or industry. This will allow you to understand just how compatible the applicant is for the position. You’ll gain an understanding if they could be the right employee for the job by observing how they respond to such scenarios.

This give you insights into how good an employee they might be. And you’ll also be able to see if they truly have the skills, especially the interpersonal skills, they boast about in their application.

Through the use of these types of questions, you will have a good idea about their way of thinking. Use the insights you gain in this way to assess how they could either benefit or be a liability to your business.

Remember, the only thing that’s worse than a temporary financial loss is a permanent hit to your company’s reputation for hiring the wrong person for the job. This is especially the case if the role you hire them for requires regular interaction with potential clients and customers.

3. Consider Using a Psychometric Test

Psychometric tests have long been part of the hiring process for many businesses. In fact, many companies deploy them early on. This allows them to filter out incompatible candidates early in the process, thereby saving time, money, and resources.

Commonly known as aptitude tests, such pre-employment screening tools are used to confirm candidates’ cognitive abilities. This allows hiring managers to see if candidates meet the minimum standards for the position they are applying for.

One of the most reliable aptitude tests on the market is the Wonderlic Test. This is a multi-subject exam containing 50 questions of varying difficulty that candidates must answer within 12 minutes.

Due to the way it is designed, the Wonderlic Test also measures the test-taker’s decision-making and time management skills. This is because the test is administered under immense time pressure.

Consequently, this assessment allows employers to know things about a candidate that a resume or interview can’t reveal.

Photo by bongkarn thanyakij from Pexels

4. A Personality Test Could Also Help You Determine the Right Employee

Apart from the Wonderlic Test, some companies also use personality tests. For example, there is the Harrison Assessment, which ensures that the candidate’s behavior and motivations are aligned with the optimal personality profile of the right employee for the job.

Personality tests typically follow a survey-like format. That is, the test-taker indicates their agreement or disagreement with a statement. Their answers, in turn, reveal particular personality traits and generate a personality profile. The employer can then determine how compatible they are with the job they are applying for.

For example, when it comes to upper management positions, a hiring manager naturally would prefer a personality profile containing strong leadership skills. For entry-level positions, on the other hand, the employer’s preference will depend on the specific responsibilities of the job the person is applying for.

As you can see, each type of testing has its advantages and disadvantages. You can expect candidates to prepare well for the Wonderlic Test, for example. However, when it comes to personality tests like the Harrison Assessment, you might pass on an otherwise competent employee who “fails” that test because they are unfamiliar with it.

Despite these drawbacks, psychometric tests have something to offer for every company. This is because they can help hiring managers see things beyond an applicant’s resume. This helps hiring managers and employers to focus on individuals who are capable of succeeding with their company.

RELATED ARTICLE: WHY DOES YOUR COMPANY NEED HR SOFTWARE?

5. One of Your Own Interns Could Be the Right Employee

Most companies tend to seek out the best from the market. However, don’t overlook the intern you took on over the summer months. Although this person might not have the experience you seek, interns are more likely to be a perfect match for your business. This is because they are already familiar with your company and your workplace culture.

This means you can cut down on the amount of time you have to invest in training them. They have already become accustomed to how you and your staff do things. What’s more, they have become friends with, or at least they are cooperative with, your other employees.

Lastly, it is also likely you already know about your interns’ strengths and weaknesses. This gives you first-hand knowledge about how to guide them toward improving. Compare this process with what you would need to go through with a new employee, who would require a significant amount of your time to observe and then train them.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Furthermore, hiring highly skilled and competent interns also builds up a strong sense of loyalty to the company. This is because they are likely to treat their employment with you with immense appreciation.

Moreover, they are likely to stay with your company in the years to come, boosting your employee retention rates and adding value in unforeseen ways.

Featured image by PopTika

In the financial world today, open banking is the new buzz phrase. After taking the European economy by storm, open banking has now arrived in the United States.

New technologies are transforming the way the banking industry operates by creating more efficient and cheaper financial services. Moreover, open banking is revolutionizing the banking industry. With open banking, third-party providers (TPP’s) are being allowed to use your banking information to help you save money, borrow more easily, and pay efficiently.

RELATED ARTICLE: WASTING MONEY: A BUSINESS PASTIME TO AVOID AT ALL COSTS

So what exactly is open banking and why does it matter for you? In short, this new way of banking can change the way you do business, pay your bills, and finance purchases.

Facts About Open Banking

Simply put, open banking is the process of giving third-party service providers access to your financial information. It’s an innovative banking policy that allows third parties to build apps and services around the information that financial institutions like banks store. It is the sharing of information such as credit limits, account balances, and spending or earning histories between financial institutions and other parties with a monetary interest in consumers.

Traditionally, banks secured and closely guarded all transaction and account data for their customers’ privacy and security. Account and transaction information was some of the most secure personal information around.

However, financial institutions and technology companies have acknowledged the advantages of opening data collection and sharing between third parties in the interest of their customers. This provides trusted third parties seamless and quick access to information.

How Open Banking Works

With these new banking solutions, third-party services can quickly acquire aggregate data from many financial institutions. It is as simple as data sharing. An app developer could access your checking account to help you track all of your spending and earning habits over time. Open banking will also let a price comparison site access your banking information, so it can tailor the products it suggests to what you can afford and what you typically spend.

While not legally mandated in the United States, like it is in the UK, American banks are increasingly volunteering to share data for the benefit of their customers. This could make it easier to budget and save as you have a clearer view of how much money you have. The obvious benefit is that payments could be made in seconds, and all from one place, making everything more convenient.

RELATED ARTICLE: WHERE SHOULD YOU INVEST YOUR MONEY IN 2020?

Ideally, open banking will result in a better experience and more financial opportunities for consumers. This is because consumers will be better able to take control of their financial information. You may already use services that open banking has improved.

For example, third-party personal financial management tools use your bank account information to help you track spending and reach other goals. Open banking solutions allow customer the financial freedom across platforms that enables them to make their various accounts work for them.

Why Open Banking Matters

These new banking efforts are changing the game for banks, regulators, and third-party partners. As such, consumers should eventually have more options for managing their money, borrowing, and making payments.

With consumers having more financial freedom, banks themselves could decide to improve the services they offer. You can also expect to see more third-party tools. App developers will have an easier job of helping you take control of your spending. Getting or refinancing a loan may also become easier as there will be no manual gathering and compiling of information. It can all be done in one place with open banking solutions.

Business Transactions Will Become Easier

As far as the business world is concerned, life will also become a little easier with open banking. When a small company needs a loan or a line of credit, lenders may want to review the books. Instead of painstakingly submitting manually generated reports, lenders can pull all the data they need from bank and accounting systems. Businesses may also benefit from easier and less expensive accounting processes with integrated systems.

Banking that used to be tedious and costly is changing, thanks in part to open banking. Traditional banking has now shifted to offer better services, reduced fees, and easier processes. Open banking is changing the way we conduct business and creating financial power and freedom for consumers.