If you’re looking for social media lead generation best practices to grow your real estate database and convert more leads into clients, then you’ll 
this guide.
You’ll learn:
- Why you should advertise on social media
- Facebook ad best practices to attract more leads
- Social media post ideas & examples
- Lead conversion best practices
- The initial follow-up strategy to connect
- The nurture strategy to convert
Plus download the guide for these additional free resources:
- Scripts for initial lead follow-up (short game)
- Email & text templates to nurture & educate leads (long game)
- Home search worksheet to give to leads
Why Advertise on Social Media
One of the best ways to get leads is through social media marketing. Here are just a few reasons why:
- 96% of buyers use online tools during their search1
- Social media marketing is affordable
- Expand your reach because you’re not limited to specific factors like traditional marketing
- Get real-time analytics and feedback
- Can use for both awareness and lead generation
- Strengthen your brand presence & reputation
Facebook is the top choice for many
With nearly 3 billion active users today2 and an average of 33 minutes spent per day3, Facebook is a part of our daily lives. Here are just a few reasons why Facebook is the preferred choice:
- Targeted advertising: With so many customization options, you can target different areas and demographics.
- More affordable than other online methods: The average cost per click for Facebook is $1.72 compared to Google’s $2.69 per click4.
- Use the algorithm: You can display ads to prospects showing intention to buy.
- Paid solutions through 3rd parties: Because Facebook is a top dog, many solutions are available to help get you in front of your target market online.
- Facebook lead capture: Get better quality contact info, including phone numbers.
Here are some best practices to help you get the most out of this popular platform.
Social Media Lead Generation: Best Practices for Facebook
There’s a lot to consider when advertising your real estate business on Facebook, from strategy to getting your ads in front of the right audience to the type of images that will stop them mid-scroll. Here are 7 best practices to get the best ROI from real estate social media marketing.
Come Up With a Plan & Clear Goals
Don’t miss out on opportunities due to a lack of consistency and planning.
- It takes an average of 5-7 times just to get someone to recognize your brand5, let alone convert them. Create a plan of what you’re going to post and when to make sure your business gets the exposure it needs.
- Depending on your goals, how you set up campaigns will differ. For example, if your goal is to drive traffic to your site, link to your website from Facebook.
- Map out the entire journey - think about how you’re going to capture, respond, nurture and convert before you set up campaigns.
Have an Effective Ad Strategy
A mix of brand awareness + lead gen ads work best. Highlighting your active and sold listings is critical but mix it up.
- Offer value: Create a short video on a timely topic to educate and answer prospects’ questions. 🎥
- Show community love: Use an ad to highlight a worthy cause, such as animal shelter donations or a winter clothing drive. ❤️
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Use Lead Gen Forms
If your goal is to capture leads, use Facebook and Instagram’s native lead capture. Pre-filled forms make it easy for leads to express interest and provide contact info without leaving the platform.
And if you use the Facebook lead form Rich Creative, you can:
- Provide more info about your business
- Infuse more of your brand into the form
PRO TIP: With Facebook’s lead capture, you get better quality contact info, including phone numbers. Tools like Top Producer Social Connect combine Facebook lead capture with MLS-powered listing ads to generate a steady stream of quality real estate leads online.
Social Connect offers done-for-you social media marketing + automated
nurture to help you convert more leads
Come Up With Compelling Copy
People scan quickly, so make sure your copy grabs their attention.
- Keep it short: Think of the ad goal and communicate what action you want them to take.
- Test different variations: See what resonates the most. If using Facebook, Multiple Text Optimization lets you input different options for the Primary Text, Headline and Description.
- Use ChatGPT: Enter key details and get a great starting point for your ad copy in seconds.
🤖 Sample prompt: Write concise Facebook ad copy as a real estate agent to capture the attention of home buyers and encourage them to click to learn more about the property on 123 Main Street.
PRO TIP: Check out our ChatGPT for Real Estate Guide for more on how to use the chatbot in your daily business and get 15 free prompts you can use.
Experiment With Ad Media
Use a mix of single images, carousel and video.
- Make sure to use high-quality, beautiful images: It’s the visual that’s going to stop them mid-scroll, especially on Instagram.
- Follow image specs: Make sure images don’t appear cropped, distorted or covered by other elements.
- Limit text on images: Facebook for example may penalize images with too much text by imposing a higher cost.
Use an Enticing Call-to-Action
Come up with a CTA that encourages prospects to act:
- Be clear: Specifically state what action you want them to take.
- Use action verbs: Simple CTAs like Call Now, Learn More and Message Us prompt action.
- Test variations: When in doubt, always A/B test to see what resonates the most.
Source: Prosper Real Estate
Apply the 'Housing' Special Ad Category
Make sure to apply this category to prevent rejected ads. Facebook applies additional targeting limitations to prevent discrimination, including:
- Location: You can target by geographic area, but not by zip or postal code.
- Age: Generally fixed to 18 – 65+ for housing ads.
- Gender: Audience must include all.
- Demographic, interest & behavior: Most options are unavailable.
PRO TIP: While limitations apply to housing ads for property listings, home insurance, mortgages and more, they DON’T apply to tips related to home ownership or home buying.
Social Media Ad Ideas for Real Estate
Here are some post ideas to get you more views and leads online.
Active and Sold Listing Ads
A Social Connect ad created by advertising experts that showcases an agent’s
active & sold listings in their target area
Why this works:
- You’ll attract potential buyers and sellers with eye-catching property images.
- You showcase the property and highlight your experience with sold listings.
Testimonial Ad
Source: MA Properties Online
Why this works:
- Social proof! 88% of customers trust user reviews as much as personal recommendations6. Reviews and testimonials are powerful for every business. ⭐
What's Your Home Worth Ad
Leads enter their contact info in exchange for a market report
Why this works:
- You’re offering a free service and who doesn’t want to know how their biggest investment is performing?
PRO TIP: Tools like Market Snapshot and Top Producer Websites offer MLS-powered market reports combined with done-for-you landing pages. All you have to do is paste a link in Facebook and, like magic ✨ you get the above ad.
Do a Video Tour
Source: Zac McHardy Real Estate
Why this works:
- More than 4 billion video views take place on Facebook every day7.
- A video not only captures attention right away, it helps build trust with your audience—what you see is what you get.
- Video is favored by the Facebook algorithm. 👨💻
Offer a Lead Magnet
Offer a valuable buyer’s guide in
exchange for a lead’s contact info
Why this works:
Offer something of value to attract and capture prospects. Some examples:
- Home buyer’s guide
- Staging tips checklist
- Neighborhood guide
- Home seller’s checklist
Real Estate Lead Conversion Best Practices
The #1 lead conversion mistake for real estate agents—focus too much on lead generation and not enough on the follow-through.
It takes a systematic plan to convert leads into clients:
- The Short Game—Initial Follow-up Strategy: It can take up to 6-12 attempts before you connect with a lead.
- The Long Game—Nurture Strategy: Consumers looking at properties online aren't generally ready to buy/sell for a median of 10 weeks8. (This is up 2 weeks ⬆ from the 2020/2021 reports.)
If you take a systematic approach and use technology to automate the nurture process, it can have a big impact on your conversion rate. Here are a few best practices.
Initial Follow-up Strategy
⚡ Speed to lead is critical
The demands: If you respond within 5 minutes you’re:
- 100x more likely to connect
- 21x more likely to qualify
The solution: Use technology that can immediately send an automated and personalized response on your behalf.
Automated lead response with Top Producer Social Connect
💯 Impress with relevance and quality
The goal of both your initial follow-up and nurture strategies should be to build trust. Educate with:
- Branded MLS market reports
- Free guides and checklists
- Home buying and selling tips
Branded Market Snapshot reports that use live MLS data, allowing you to
share hard-to-find sold data.
🥉 Use the triplet approach for follow-up
- Call 📞
- Text 💬
- Email 📧
An auto-response via email is great but follow that up with both a call and text too. You’re more likely to reach them and give the choice to use their preferred contact method.
An example of the first few days with a lead
The Nurture Strategy
💰 Increase your reach and ROI with a multi-channel approach
Businesses that market to at least 4 different channels see ROI increases of up to 300%. Here are popular channels:
- Magazines and newspapers
- Social media
- Direct mail
- Blogs, vlogs and podcasts
Tools like Smart Targeting offer AI-powered farming and handle all of the marketing
for you so you can focus on building relationships.
💧 You can drip via email but kick it up a notch
Send next-level nurture that matches their intent and use multimedia. Videos, PDFs, infographics, check-in emails and texts—variety is the name of the game.
Tools like Top Producer Social Connect combine online lead generation and automated campaigns to nurture leads on an agent’s behalf. For up to 4 months after receiving a lead, prospects receive branded market reports, infographics and other educational content designed to educate prospects about the market and home buying process.
Next-level nurture created by marketing specialists designed to educate
prospects on your behalf
🏆 Use data to highlight your successes
There’s no better way to prove you’re the bomb. 💣
- Sold a home quickly? Include how long, how many offers, and how much over asking, if applicable.
- Did your listing get crazy reach on Facebook? Include how many people you reached and how this helped to sell the home.
Sample listing report you can send to clients on a weekly basis
PRO TIP: With today’s cutting-edge lead gen solutions, metrics for your social media campaigns that you can use to impress your clients are just a click away.
Facebook ad campaign analytics included in Social Connect
Sources:
1 & 8 - NAR 2022 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
2 – Meta
3 - Statista
4 - Hevo
5 - Marketing Nutz
6 - Invesp
7 - Yans Media
