I wrote a training article for Inman Select a few months ago about this very topic… and this past week, I did an in-depth training workshop for anyone interested in learning how to rake in Facebook leads for their real estate business.

Needless to say, this is one very hot topic. I will be holding the same training workshop again in a month or two, but for now, I’m going to give you access to the workshop handouts as well as the original article so you can take advantage of it, now.

Here are the downloads for How To Rake In Facebook Leads As A Complete Beginner (just click here).

Here is the training article…

Not sure what to do on Facebook, here are 5 steps to get you started…

Perhaps the big question for the universe right now amongst real estate agents is . . .

How do I get real estate leads from Facebook?

Of course, if you are using Facebook with any regularity, you are likely to get a couple clients just from normal interaction on your personal profile.

If you aren’t at least getting that, you are missing something, somewhere.

And no, I’m not talking about pushing out your listings.

I’m talking about maybe you’ve missed putting in your About section that you are a real estate agent (and your team or firm name).
That you have your Facebook profile so locked down people can’t find your email address or phone number.
That you never “naturally” engage about your day to day activities (which should include some work related aspects).
That what you are putting on Facebook in your status updates is boring, negative, self focused.

Check these things out.  See what you can do to change this.

The connections you make via your Facebook personal profile are typically attributed to “sphere” or “referral” connections. They aren’t really the lead generation I’m talking about. Those are prospecting your sphere connections. If you want to grow your business, you need to scale your business, which means lead generating people who don’t know you, bringing them into your sphere, and building a relationship with them.

If you really want to rake in the real estate leads on Facebook, here’s what you need to do . . .

First, you’ve got to have a Facebook business page.

Yes. You need a Facebook business page… not just a Facebook personal profile. If you want to grow and scale your business, this is an absolute must.

So, create your page. A simple one will do. You can work on it a little bit each day or week.  Adding features, adding captures, etc.  Just get your page created and published. DO NOT invite anyone to like the page other than yourself at this point.

Here’s a checklist to get you started

Second, you’ve got to start posting on your Facebook business page.

Start posting before you troll for page likes (actually, don’t troll for page likes, ever). Don’t jump ahead of yourself. Why on earth would people want to like your page if it’s blank?

Post for several days (or, back date some of your posts). Plan on being active and engaging on your page every single day.  Multiple times a day.

Want some down time? Schedule your posts! Just be sure to watch for interactions and then… interact! This is probably one of the biggest mistakes I see real estate agents making… not responding to interactions on their Facebook page.

Want even more time? Create yourself a content calendar for your real estate business. Plan the next few months and then follow your plan. You’ll free up head space and time.

Third, you’ve got to get people to your Facebook business page.

And no, I’m not talking about inviting everyone on your friend list. Just don’t do it. You’ll regret it.

The last thing you want to do is invite your colleagues to your Facebook business page. Why? Well, the reason has nothing to do with competition or them seeing what you are doing.

If you are going to invite people to your page, make sure they are your target future client, not someone who is likely to never use your services.  Be selective.

It has everything to do with the fact that they are not your ideal future client.  It will really mess with your stats and forecasting if you’ve got a page full of likes that have absolutely zero need for your business services.

Your page will not be a success. You might have some page likes, but you won’t have likes that turn into leads. That is what you want… appointments.

You need to run a focused page like campaign, targeted to your niche client. You need to reach out and connect with people who do not know you.

This is how you grow a bigger business, how you eliminate the feast vs. famine lifestyle… you scale your business for a continual dripping of leads that turn into clients.

Fourth, you’ve got to have a call to action to move them from your Facebook page into your email database.  

What can you offer that they want or need?  Something they can’t seem to find somewhere else. Or, even if they can find it somewhere else, have they been offered it?  Have they been asked if they want it?  Do you have a unique way to present it?

Success with using Facebook as a lead generation channel, really hinges on your main site.  What kind of content do you have on there that you can channel to your Facebook followers?  Always remember, a strong call to action is imperative.

The sooner you can do it in the cycle the better.  Ideally, a lead will “like” your page and “subscribe” to your email list in the same few moments.  It’s much easier to grab them initially than to try and use Facebook to get them later (which you should be doing anyway).

Create an ebook or a checklist or a template targeted towards your ideal future client.  What are their needs?  What are their wants?  Answer their questions! Give them a solution to their problem.

Fifth you’ve got to advertise that call-to-action using Power Editor

Power Editor is Facebook’s ad creation tool, on steroids. You don’t want to just click on “boost post” or use “ads manager”.  You want to head over to Power Editor and create ads directly within that tool.

It’s not an easy tool to use, it’s not intuitive, but it’s definitely worth it.  You’ve got more power there.  You can more clearly define your audience.  You can more powerfully control where your ad goes.  The tracking on it is phenomenal.

You’ll increase your conversions and lower your conversion costs using Power Editor. And here’s a tip, it costs nearly double to use the “boost post” button than it does to run your ads through Power Editor. $5, $10 or $20 may not seem like much to push your content out, but it’s outrageous when you can do it for half that amount.

So now that you have a great overview on how to rake in the leads on Facebook when you are a complete beginner, what are you waiting for?

Here are the downloads for How To Rake In Facebook Leads As A Complete Beginner (just click here).