Are you frustrated with the lack of engagement you’ve been getting on Facebook over the last year?
If you are anything like most real estate agents and brokers, you’ve probably noticed a significant decrease in the organic traffic you’re getting on your Facebook Page. This is because Zucks changed the algorithms that control how, when, and why people see your content.
At this point, it is EXTREMELY difficult to attract organic traffic or engagement through Facebook.
As a result, real estate companies are pissing away millions of dollars in boosting posts just trying to get their message out. The problem is that those same algorithms are working against your ads too.
So what is a real estate agent or broker like you supposed to do to get clients from Facebook?
Go LIVE!
Live broadcasts are now the most effective way to get the results you once had from the world’s most popular social media platform.
Check out these stats about Facebook Live that prove I’m not making this up:
Facebook Live Videos Are Watched 3x Longer Than Videos That Aren’t Live Anymore
Users Comment On Facebook Live Videos At 10x The Rate Of Regular Videos
82% of viewers prefer live video to social media posts
Companies using video experience 41% more web traffic from search engines than non-users do
Today, I’m going to show you everything you need to know to become a Facebook Live pro. Make sure you save this post to refer back to each time you want to do a Live Feed to get more real estate clients.
Before You Go Live
There are times when an opportunity to go live on Facebook will present itself at random or without warning, and I want you to snag every one of those chances with gusto. However, most of the time you will have the opportunity to do some prep beforehand. When you do have the chance to plan for your live broadcasts, try to take the following steps to increase your engagement and ROI.
First Get The Word Out
Promoting your Facebook Live is a smart move that can bolster the number of viewers you receive. A few easy ways to get the word out about your broadcast include:
Your email newsletter
A Facebook Ad
Your social media accounts
Announcements in your local Facebook Groups
Influencer marketing
Send out a text to your target audience
Hook Them With A Headline
Headlines are one of those elements of a Live feed that goes under the radar but is more important than you think. If your headline is dull it won’t capture attention and get people to stop scrolling long enough to watch. They also won’t bother to watch the replay. Take the time to invest in crafting a catchy headline.
Set The Scene & Stabilize
Whenever possible, try to clear your set or background of any clutter. If you plan to do frequent Lives from your home or office, invest in a green screen (available for $50 on Amazon) that you can stand in front of. Keeping the clutter to a minimum will help your viewers focus on you and the valuable info that you are sharing with them. The same applies to keeping the phone stable. There are plenty of inexpensive stands, tools, and tripods you can buy to stabilize your phone for you to prevent viewers from getting distracted.
When Should You Go Live?
One of the most common questions that I hear from real estate agents and brokers about going Live on Facebook is when they should do it?
I always want to encourage you to create as much valuable real estate content for your audience as possible, so the sky's the limit. However, if you are searching for inspiration, here are some of my favorite times to tell real estate agents to go LIVE on Facebook.
Take Them Behind The Scenes
One of the reasons that networks like HGTV have been so successful is that people love to know what goes on behind the scenes in industries like real estate. They love to be included in the action! Your job as a real estate content creator is to give the people what they want. Facebook LIVE is the perfect medium for taking your followers behind the scenes of the challenges, funny situations, and interesting angles of selling real estate. If Bravo, DIY, and HGTV can make millions of dollars on this stuff, you can too!
What’s Good In The Hood
Is there a new construction community being built in your market? How about a neighborhood that deserves some attention from your followers? A walking, driving, or drone tour of neighborhoods are easily done and a fantastic way of generating hyper-local content. Include all of the important details anyone shopping from a home might want to know like information about the schools, crime rates, parks, and available amenities. Show them what an expert you are on the area so they know who to call if they want to see the neighborhood (and it’s listings) for themselves.
Open Houses & Listings
Have an open house coming up or a listing you’re desperate to get some exposure for? Create an event on Facebook and invite your followers to attend. Then during the event go Live and take viewers on a walk through the neighborhood and the house itself. Show them what their life could be like if they were to call that property home. Don’t forget to invite people to come out and see the home for themselves and share the video with their friends and family too.
Local Business Showcases
Just like people love to see what goes on behind the scenes of your business, they would love to see what’s going on in other local businesses. Reach out to other local business owners and see who would be willing to go Live with you for an interview, or behind-the-scenes showcase of their business. Both of you will have a valuable piece of content you can use to promote to your ideal clients and you will likely earn some referrals in the process.
Where Should You Go Live?
There is nothing wrong with having a personal Facebook profile. However, I don’t think it is the best place for you to promote your professional content or business. Usually, this will only turn off your friends and family that are trying to stay in touch with you on a personal or casual basis. Therefore, I suggest that you save your Facebook Live feeds for the following three digital settings.
Your Facebook Business Page
Ever since the last presidential election and the algorithms that followed, it has been harder and harder to get exposure and engagement on your Facebook Page. Going LIVE is now one of the best ways to up those numbers. The more that people engage with the content on your professional FB Page, the more they will see the content you are posting from there. Remember, your page is not meant to elicit a ton of engagement anymore. Instead, think of it as a billboard for your real estate business.
Watch: How Real Estate Agents Can Conquer Fears Of Social Media Marketing Before Its Too Late
Your Event Page
Hosting an event? Going Live on Facebook straight from the event page is a powerful way to promote it! Whether it’s a team meeting, broker open, charity event, or anything else you want to get the word out about, going Live is a wise move on your part. Since Live broadcasts are getting the widest reach on the platform, it is the best way to increase your exposure and hopefully capture the attention of some new people that may become clients or referral partners.
While You’re Streaming Live
Try not to overthink what you’re going to say and psych yourself out. Going Live is not something that comes naturally to most, but it will become easier and more comfortable the more that you do it. As you practice, try to incorporate these tips that will improve your results.
Remind Them Who You Are
Don’t assume that everyone knows who you are and what you do. Take a moment at the beginning of your feed to introduce yourself to the audience and make it clear to them why they are taking time out of their busy lives to watch, learn, and listen to what you have to say.
Educate & Engage
With so much content out there available for consumption, you have to inject yours with overwhelming amounts of value if you want to capture and keep the attention of your target audience. The two most important ingredients of valuable real estate content are education and entertainment. Some people refer to content that includes both as infotainment. Remind yourself before and during the feed to bring as much of that value as you can to everyone that watches and your reach will naturally expand.
Don’t forget to include calls to action to further increase your engagement. Common CTA’s for a Facebook Live could be to attend the event, subscribe to your email list, ask a relevant question, or book a showing. Repeat your most important CTA a couple of times throughout the feed so that people tuning in late won’t miss it.
15 Minutes Of Fame
While you are Live, Facebook will automatically boost your content to reach a broader audience and try to get you as many viewers as possible. Therefore, you want to stay live long enough to give yourself a fair chance of reaching a lot of people. Fifteen to thirty minutes seems to be the sweet spot for getting attention without being boring or bland. If you are unsure of whether or not you should go Live about something, ask yourself if you will be able to talk on the topic for at least 15 minutes.
Watch: How To Make Sure Your Social Media Is Ready For Millennial Home Buyers
After Your Live Wraps
You’ve practiced, prepped, and survived your Live broadcast on Facebook. Hats off to you, my friend!
But before you get too carried away with celebrations, you still have some work to do to make the most of your time creating that content.
Here’s what you need to do after you’re done being Live.
Download The Broadcast
As soon as you finish, Facebook will give you the option to download your broadcast. Always, always, always say yes and save the video to your camera roll to use later.
Edit & Polish For Distribution
Depending on your tech abilities and resources, you may want to polish the video with some graphics or edit out the “ums” and pauses. There are tons of apps and services available out there that can help you add some flare and branding to your videos to make them more powerful at capturing leads.
Upload & Leverage Your Facebook Live Recording
Once you’re happy with the finished product, you need to upload it to your Facebook Page, Group, and various other social media and content platforms. I know it can be time-consuming if you don’t have an assistant or support staff to do this for you but it is well worth it to upload your video to as many places as you can. At a bare minimum, you should add the video to your real estate blog, Youtube, and social media channels. You may also want to include it in your weekly newsletter to get even more eyes and ears on it.
Rinse & Repeat
As I said earlier, the more that you do this, the easier it will get! All of the work that you have to do to prep and promote your Facebook Live feeds will also become more streamlined and faster as you go. If you haven’t already, save this post to refer back to until you get the hand of going Live, and all of these steps come to you automatically.
(Other Popular Posts You Won’t Want To Miss)
How to Attract Millenial Homebuyers Using Social Media
How To Create The Perfect Listing Description For The MLS In 5 Steps
How & Why You Should Repurpose Your Real Estate Blog Posts
How Team Leaders Can Recruit Top Talent
