Oh dear! The holidays are just around the corner.

Which means now is the perfect time to think up a holiday-themed contest for your real estate Facebook Page.

That is why I’m sharing with you 10 different ways your business can engage with customers this holiday season.

These hopefully will help you make a great Facebook contest for your fans!

WHY RUN A CONTEST?

Brands host contests on Facebook for many reasons including a product or service launch, milestone or giveaway. For real estate agents, you may want to consider a contest so you can:

• Create Awareness about your business
• Drive traffic to your Page
• Refer friends to view real estate listings
• Invite people to attend your open house events or Facebook events
• Entice clients to call you to set up a meeting

Once you decide on the goal, next move on to the topic and type of contest.

GENERAL TOPIC IDEAS

You can create a contest around any Holiday theme. Take a look at some of these examples to get you started:

• Holiday items: Best holiday decorations, favorite food, costumes or dress,
• People: Kids, Caption this! (photo), holiday parties with family or friends
• Animals: funniest, cutest, adorable, animals with people, etc.
• Places: Best City To Spend the Holidays
• Fill in the blank: All I want for Christmas is…? I want to spend the holidays in  [insert your city] because…”, “I want to spend the holidays with [insert name]”

What is important is that you come up with a topic that is meaningful to your audience.

PRIZE IDEAS

Depending on budget capacity, prizes should be irresistible and valuable to your target participants. This will ensure participation from your fans.

• Freebie Items: Things such as branded novelty items to gadgets like USB sticks, mobile phone covers and Notebooks.
• Events: Like an “exclusive” Open House Party invitation to one of your most high-end listings.
• Complementary services: You can offer to waive or discount fees for valuable services like loan assessment, remodel planning, professional photography, 3rd-party house inspections, etc.
• Discount coupons or gift cards (for attending an open house) for commoditieslike gas, meals at  a nearby restaurant, free massage/ spa treatment or selected     products from a home improvement store.

USE UNIQUE SOCIAL MEDIA HASHTAGS

When you choose to run a contest that requires fans to share content as entries (photos or videos or status posts), make sure that all entries include the unique hashtags you prepared prior to launching the contest. Do some research and check to see that the hashtag (a phrase or keyword such as #100daysofgifts) isn’t already used by a brand, and that it makes sense for your goal.

The hashtag is a great way to easily track contestants. Just click the hyperlinked hashtag and a pop-out window will show all posts on Facebook that have included the #hashtag.

TIP: Usually your business name or top keyword are part of the hashtag.

10 EXCITING CONTEST IDEAS FOR YOUR PAGE

Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes are one of the easiest contests you can do on Facebook. You will need to create a form so fans can enter their email addresses and join the electronic raffle. Allow many winners for smaller prizes and one enticing major prize.

Photo contest
Photo entries should be consistent with your contest theme. You can also add specifications like minimum size, file format, image resolution, restricting photo-editing to text overlays, and number of entries.

Voting contest
You can create a poll question in which people vote for 2-3  choices. At the end of the contest check entries for the one with the highest number of votes and then draw your winners from there. You may also need photos that represent the voting choices to help the people decide.

Essay contest
Create an emotionally-meaningful prompt that excites fans to enter. They can use a Note from Facebook or upload texts into your custom-made form. You will also need to set word count limits.

Coupons
This is best for mobile users. Electronic coupons are best distributed through mobile content like QR codes or SMS text message fans can bring with them and show when claiming their prizes.

Group Coupons
Since it will be a challenge for the contestants to come up with a group entry, offer hard to pass-up prizes such as steep discounts and free gadgets for more entries.

Refer a friend
Entice people to promote your business for you! Offer an amazing prize that will get people buzzing and willing to refer 3-5 more friends for your campaign. Make sure you have an email gate-entry form ready.

Caption this!
Another easy and fun contest for Facebook! Post photos of animals or a fun scenario related to your holiday theme and get fans to compete for writing the caption. These types of contest can generate a lot of buzz!

Music video/Caroling
What could be a better way to celebrate the holidays than with music? Have fans submit their creative homemade videos or audio recordings of a seasonal tune. Then open the entries in a gallery for people to vote for the winner.

Video contest
Come up with a fill in the blank topic like, “What are you most grateful for this holiday season?” and let your fans submit their response in a video.

TIPS AND LOGISTICS FOR RUNNING CONTESTS ON FACEBOOK:

• Set a time frame for the submission of entries, drawing the winners and deadline for claiming prizes.
• Make a list of possible prize sponsors which are located in your city and create a deal with them.  This could be restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores or gas stations. That way, winners can actually have the opportunity to see what other amenities your city or real estate territory has to offer when they come to and claim their prize.
• Target participants well and research to find the most enticing prizes that they will deem valuable.
• You can hold mini-contests on a weekly basis for smaller prizes, then the non-winning participants can be eligible for the grand draw/ judging day later in the month.
• Make sure your contest themes is fun!
• Make contest procedures a bit challenging; but still doable.
• Make sure rules and guidelines are concise in order to avoid misinterpretation and confusion.

WHAT WILL YOU NEED TO RUN A CONTEST:

• A good plan on how to run your contest.
• Contest graphics with clear rules and call to action.
• An updated cover photo for your Facebook Page.
• A custom tab or media album to show the gallery of entries for your Facebook page.
• Facebook Ads if you have budget to promote your contest.
• Your prizes and winners with their photos – of course!

Important Note:

Most Facebook contest are usually run in a way that requires contestants to upload their entries from their personal profiles and get “likes” from family or friends.

However, when you do this it does not result in many leads for your real estate business. So, you may want to suggests contestants reach out beyond their family network.

Since the goal or running contests like these is to get a fresh list of contacts, you want to consider having contestants fill out an entry form to be eligible to join, instead of “likes” to a post or page.

So what do you think? Do you have an idea for how you can host a holiday contest?
Share with me in the comments below!
Then sign up for my FREE video series FB Real Estate Pro and get instant access to 3 helpful videos that will help you grow your list!

READY FOR ANOTHER FACEBOOK UPDATE?

Get ready for another improvement, this time from Facebook Events!
As part of this update you’ll see changes on News Feed ads for Events, the addition of Event insights and improving the look and feel of Event pages.

All of these updates aim to boost awareness of Facebook Events and response rates of every event created.

Facebook explained the rationale behind the improvements on their news blog:

“Every month, 400 million people around the world use events on Facebook to discover and connect with everything from parties with friends to things happening in their communities. And nearly 30 percent of all the events people connect to – like concerts, community events and special nights at bars and restaurants – are created by pages.”

“IN THE COMING WEEKS”

Page admins will be able to create right-side panel ads for Events on behalf of their businesses. This can be done via the ads create tool in Ads Manager, as well as the Power Editor.

Here’s a sneak peak of how the new event ad will look:

A CLOSER LOOK AT YOUR EVENTS

Also, hosts can now see metrics on how their Event posts are performing. Admins can view metrics in the right-hand column of an Event page. Insights will show:

• The number of people who’ve seen a link to the event on Facebook
• The number of people who’ve viewed the event
• The number of people who have engaged with the post (clicked, liked or joined)

Facebook describes these changes in a blog post:

“To make it easier for businesses to reach even more people for their events, we’re announcing new features that help Pages promote their events and see how they’re performing.

In the coming weeks, Pages will be able to create ads for desktop and mobile News Feed that boost awareness of events and drive responses. Previously, these types of ads were only shown in the right-hand column on desktop.”

Plus, all you need to do is click Boost Event to make your event an ad! It’s super simple and an easy way to get more eyeballs viewing your event.

HOW TO HIGHLIGHT YOUR EVENTS

You can also customize your Page tabs to further increase your fans’ awareness of Events in a single view. To do this, simply click the “More” menu on your page and reorder the tabs so Events is one of the first to appear.

People using Mobile can simply scroll through the Upcoming Events of their Facebook account to check what’s happening around town in the coming weeks.

Lastly, Facebook has improved the look and feel of each of the users’ Events page. Users can now see upcoming events, the ones they are hosting, as well as their saved events, just in case you want to follow an event without attending. This area now also includes a list of suggested events based on the pages you’ve liked, location and the day of the week.

What do you think of Facebook’s new updates? Have you seen them yet?

Are you using Facebook Events in a creative way?
Share in the comments below!

A Facebook page is great to have to not only to boost your reputation as a professional, but to actually make that sale.

One way you can do this is to optimize your page using Facebook Apps. On a Facebook Business Page Apps are located on the left hand side under the cover photo and represented by small icon tabs. You can also reach Apps by clicking “more” under your Cover Photo menu bar.

Apps can be customized and rearranged according to the needs of your page. Read more on how do to that here…

Important things to know about Apps:

By default, tabs appear below your cover photo.

Three of these icon images can be swapped out with a custom image to match your brand. However, some icons like YouTube or the photo app will always be in the first position and cannot be changed.

They way you create custom apps is via the Facebook Apps marketplace or through a third party app designer or tool. Take a look at real estate businesses such as Zillow’s listing apps for examples.

You can have up to 12 apps for your Page, but ideally you only want to have 3-4.

Why you should use Apps?

Apps are designed to tailor-fit to the needs of any business. Specifically for real estate apps can be used to:

• Build your list
• Build equity in your brand
• Run promotions and increase engagement
• Feature your real estate listings
• Link other social media efforts such as Twitter or Instagram to your page

However, not all Facebook Apps are created equal.

Some apps are well developed, while others aren’t. Do your research and find someone who can create the app you need for your marketing goals. I’ve discovered that 22Social is a really helpful third party vendor that works with business to develop Facebook Apps on many levels. Some of their apps can even generate leads 24/7!

It only takes a few seconds for the 22Social App to connect to your page and once installed you can build a custom looking mini webpage to gather leads as an app hosted within Facebook!

22Social has a very easy-to-use editor to help you build up your fanbase, funnel in leads and deliver information to your fans. The app also comes in mobile version.

How does the lead generation with 22Social work?

Leads on Facebook start with a “Like,” from a fan or potential customer. Next you collect their FB verified name, email, date of birth, city, state and Facebook ID. This information is emailed to you, stored in the SRM and can be passed to your autoresponder in your chosen email client.

 5 Ideas For Great Custom Apps

Still not sure if apps are right for you? Here are five ideas to get you started:

App 1: About Us App

An About Us App is a customizable web page within your Facebook page where you can introduce yourself and the members of your team to the public.

You can add media content such as videos and images; along with a summary of your expertise and the services you offer.

Including pictures of you or with your team is a great way to start a personal bond with your audience.

Make sure to include the following on your About Us App:

• Contact form
• Phone number
• Email address
• Address and Map of Your Local Office
• List your services

You could also rename the About Us app to “Welcome” or “Our Story.”

App 2: Featured Listings Template

You can install a custom-made app that showcases current featured real estate listings similar to the Zillow Listing App.

App 3: Reviews

Reviews are important for people who want to do some background research even before contacting you. It gives them an assurance just by reading positive experiences from other clients who have worked with you.

Real testimonials help confirm your credibility as an agent. You can add a reviews app using Zillow absolutely for free!

When you install this app, make sure to ask your clients to use this for giving feedback after you make a sale.

App 4: Free Offer App

People love to get free information! This is a very natural and effective way to attract the clients you want. Fans love freebies.

All you would need to do is create a worksheet or downloadable checklist to entice fans. Some examples include:

• The Best 10 Restaurants in Chicago to Take Your Kids On The Weekend
• The Top 5 Exemplary Schools in Austin
• The 10 Best Swimming Spots in Los Angeles

Offering freebies can grow your business since you are offering something  of value in exchange for a name and email addresses.

From there you can generate quality leads that can be used in your email marketing campaigns down the road.

App 5: Home Video Tours

This will take a little bit more work on your end, but can really pay off. Here is how to get started:

• Create an app on 22Social
• Choose the video template option
• Pull in your video link from YouTube
• Promote the Smart Link on your Facebook page or in Facebook Ads

Videos help a lot in people’s home buying decision. It allows them to get a 360 view of the house you are showcasing. Fans have a chance to get excited even before setting an appointment with you.

Here’s how to do a video tour page:

• Pull the video into your Facebook Video App
• Next, host the video on YouTube or other video hosting service provider
• Use OnVedeo to create a video listing in seconds for only $9.95 per video.

Great apps you can install for free!

Getting started with Facebook Apps is easy. Here are some great tools you can use to get you up and running in no time:

1. 22Social
2. Realtor.com Social Connections App
3. Shortstack – Note: They will only let you try one app for free before requiring payment.

Facebook Events is a powerful tool, not only designed to invite friends, fans and potential customers to your check out your Facebook Page; but it’s a great way to keep audiences updated on details surrounding a particular event.

For example, if there are changes in location due to the weather, simply it let attendees know about it by posting an announcement on the Facebook Events page area. Or, if you need to update a time or venue, you can also do this right in the Facebook Events portal.

Let’s be honest, creating a Facebook Event is very easy. But, it’s promoting the event that can be tricky!

Tip: Prior to creating an official Facebook Event consider generating buzz and creating a sense of excitement and anticipation with some prospective guests. You can do this with the following steps:

1. Create graphics and promotional materials before creating the Event on Facebook. Share this as a “sneak peek” with fans.
2. Post an interest check on your Page, such as a teaser question to spark up conversation for the event. From there you can gauge how people may receive your event announcement.
3. Create a group chat on Facebook and include the interested fans (those who commented on your interest check). Ask for suggestions or requests on ways to make the proposed event a success. Keep prospective guests in the loop with some of the background details of the upcoming event. This will help in maintaining the excitement and energy.
4. You can now create a Facebook Event with the people in your group chat as your “core group”. Having more people excited to promote your event can produce better response in attendance.

OTHER TIPS TO OPTIMIZE YOUR FACEBOOK EVENT:

1. Update your Cover Photo with the short link to the event itself. A new cover photo is a great way to promote your Event. Add a teaser text plus the short link to the event in the description of the photo once its uploaded.
2. Ask your most active fans and peers to promote the event among their friends. Identify fans who regularly engage in your page. Send them private messages to help you promote your event. You can also ask permission from other related pages if they can promote your event link too.
3. Make a friend list of people who might be interested to go to your event.
   In your personal profile, identify friends in your list who are interested, or at least will be willing to help you out promote your link. In your event, click Invite Friends> Search by Name> Select List. If you cannot see your list name, then click on “See More”. You can also send them an invitation over private message for a more personal touch.
4. Write catchy posts to invite your page fans to the event. Insert the event to your content mix and post updates regarding your event to tease the audience. Don’t forget to include the Facebook Event short link so people can RSVP.
5. Create teaser images about the event. For an open house, you can have a picture of the property with a sample captions such as, “Planning to move to ____ soon? Check out this dream home!”. Again, always include the short link to the event.
6. Give “exclusive” backstage passes to the event. This is better experienced in grand openings or ceremonies of real estate projects. Guests love to have a VIP treatment, so you can offer them tickets or backstage passes to your event. These VIP’s get special freebies like drinks, parking assistance, raffle tickets, souvenirs, or a better table at the reception.
7. Upload short videos as teasers. People want to know what to expect in an upcoming event. This will help them decide if the event is worth their time or not. For open houses, make a 20-30 second video teaser of the home. Think along the lines of the MTV show Cribs. No need for narration! Just shoot some  property footage on your iPhone or camera. Add some lively music background in the video for a professional touch. Then, upload it to the Facebook Event and you’re set! (And remember that all important event RSVP link on the video description!)

Updating your Real Estate Facebook Page on a regular basis is key to increasing audience engagement and awareness about your business.

When it comes to posting there are two schools of thought: Strategically post on your Facebook page 3-5 times a day, or post randomly whenever you have the time to login to Facebook.

Although, did you know there is a way to systematize and optimize your Facebook posts without spending a whole day on Facebook? This way you can spend more time on building your business and closing deals.

Before you start to schedule posts, it is important to be aware of optimal publishing times to ensure your fans are seeing content. Here is a quick guide to help you discover when is the best time to post on Facebook.

HOW DO YOU PUT YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE ON AUTO-PILOT?

There are two ways to automate posts on Facebook:

1. You can use Facebook’s pre-scheduling feature or
2. You can use 3rd party apps.

The Facebook Scheduling Tool

Facebook’s pre-scheduling tool allows you to set posts to publish at a later date and time. The tool corresponds to your default timezone, so it looks as if you posted manually. You can post as often as you need for a given period of time, for example a week in advance to a month!

While you can pre-schedule most post types, not everything can be scheduled. You can only schedule status posts, videos and photos. You won’t be able to batch schedule photo albums, Facebook events, questions, offers and milestones.

Here is how to use Facebook scheduler:

1. Choose the type of post you want to create (ex: Status,Photo/Video) at the top of your Page’s Timeline
2. Type in your content or post update. Don’t forget your links or call to action!
3. Click the Schedule icon at bottom left
4. Choose the date and time you want the post to appear
5. Click “Schedule”

If you need to go back and edit your queued posts: On the Admin toolbar, click the “Activity” tab and then select “Scheduled Posts” on the left sidebar. Here you’ll see a list of all your upcoming posts and can edit the date, time and content of any post.

Third Party Scheduling Apps

If you want something more robust than the internal Facebook tool, apps such as Hootsuite, Post Planner and BufferApp are designed to help page admins with scheduling and managing social media posts.

Other benefits of 3rd party apps:

• You can schedule updates on other social media sites such as Twitter or LinkedIn, in addition to Facebook
• You can schedule bulk posts by just utilizing a .csv file. Here’s an inside look on how you can do that using the Hootsuite app.

Managing your Facebook page is not time-consuming if you just put it on auto-pilot!

If you have any questions about scheduling your posts on Facebook, I’d love to help you. Just leave a comment below.

Want to learn how to use Facebook to get a consistent source of leads online?  Sign up for my FREE video series FB Real Estate Pro and get instant access to three free videos!