Here is a fact to think about: The number one computer-related activity that people in the US do daily is SOCIAL MEDIA.  It tops checking email, file sharing and gaming.

What does this mean for your business? It simply means that now is the perfect time to plan your Facebook marketing strategy for the coming year! As a year-end post, I have created a checklist for you to help organize social media activity and welcome 2015.

PLAN OUT A CAMPAIGN THAT INSPIRES PEOPLE

If you want to achieve a greater response from your fans and new fans, think of a general campaign message that inspire people on a broad level.

THINK OF YOUR AUDIENCE

What kind of posts get the most engagement? If you’re not checking your Facebook insights to understand this- start there. Insights will allow you to review your most successful posts for the past year. You can repurpose the good content and recycle, or spin-off and develop a new strategy.

USE COMPELLING IMAGES TO TELL STORIES ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS

A picture says a 1000 words.  Images are powerful tools, use them to give your audience a visual of your mission or to showcase your customers and employees.

LAY OUT CONTENT TO TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

A good content marketing plan is supposed to be a journey of learning. Valuable information is what keeps your followers sticking around and coming back to your page. Plan out a series of topics about your business that will help people.  Provide value and you’ll have a customer for life.

SIMPLE IS THE WAY TO DO IT

People in general have short attention spans… So it’s better to write short, meaningful words, blog posts and status updates. Use shorten URLs with bit.ly or another link shortening tool and avoid hidden messages.

Design great cover photos, especially for the occasion. Update your page with a great cover photo to start the New Year right.

USE ALL OTHER TYPES OF CONTENT

Aside from images, there are all kinds of content you can leverage for your Facebook page.  Videos are the #1 most engaging type of content – use them for client testimonials and to showcase How-To videos of your products.  You can also share links to other types of content that your fans and audience might like.

COMPLETE ALL FIELDS IF YOUR PAGE – ESPECIALLY THE ABOUT SECTION

If you created your Facebook page years ago, go back and make sure your profile is up to date.  You’ll want to make sure that ALL of the fields are completed.  This will make it easier for your audience to find you on Facebook and when doing Google searches. If you have a physical store, make sure to include your business address so a map can be generated on your About Page.

Hint: Use the Additional links field to take people to a specific page on your website.

CREATE AND SHARE POSTS THAT EDUCATE, ENTERTAIN AND EMPOWER YOUR FANS

Those are the most basic characteristics of a valuable post. If you are able to give your readers the content they want from your niche, then there will be no reason to hide you from their Newsfeed or unfollow your page as time goes on.

WRITE CRAFTY HEADLINES

Headlines like ad headlines, blog post titles, image text descriptions and video titles should serve one purpose: to catch the attention of your fans. Fans have so much noise in their newsfeed and with the new Facebook algorithm updates coming in 2015, you’ll want to create a headline that is going to STAND OUT!

ASK YOUR AUDIENCE

To maximize engagement, ask your fans to share their opinions.  Allow polls which will encourage people to choose their own answer.  You can also ask a question in your status updates that encourage people to answer – therefore, increasing engagement on your page.

GET SILLY

Posting something humorous from time to time breaks up the monotony of just posting information about your business and your products and services.  Get silly and post something that shows your personal side.

TIME AND FREQUENCY ARE ESSENTIAL

With Facebook Insights, you can check which times your audience are more likely to be online. And since Facebook posts have a short life span, (about 75% of post engagement happens for the first 5 hours upon posting) there are two essentials in posting: posting at the right time and regularly.

BE A TARGETING MASTER

Make sure you utilize the Ads Manager where you can get even more laser focused on choosing the best audience for your business.  You can also click Boost Post and while this has some efficient qualities, you lose some of the targeting capabilities you have when you create an ad in the Ads Manager or Power Editor.

Hint: Start targeting people who like competitor pages. You can also upload an email list and create lookalike audiences. Once you are comfortable with creating audience groups, you can save it as a custom audience.

WIELD THE THE POWER OF POWER EDITOR

If you want to understand Facebook Ads like a pro, then make sure you set aside an hour or two to learn more about using the Power Editor, a Chrome-plugin to help you make ads like a true Facebook marketing master. This is for a more advanced user and has more capabilities that the Ads Manager portal.

DEPLOY REMARKETING

Avoid wasted leads! Target visitors who visited your website, but left without signing-up or completing a sale. These people are already interested in your offer, so you can always include them as a custom target and remarket new offers.

BUILD A LIST

Yes, the success of a Facebook page can be measured with page likes and engagement; but the real deal with building a Facebook page is to generate leads that will turn to real sales.  Make sure you are capturing email addresses from those that interact with your page.  You can do this by using Facebook App software tools such as 22Social.

OFFER THE RIGHT FREEBIE

To get your ideal leads, you must have the right offer. Study your market well and think of a specific digital tool you can create that fans can’t resist.  Think about creating a free e-book, a digital guide or a video series that not only helps fans, but promotes your brand.

SETUP AN AUTORESPONDER SERIES

Once you have captured the email addresses of those that have downloaded the freebie, follow up with an autoresponder email series to introduce them to you and your business. These pre-scheduled messages aim to build rapport, boost credibility and introduce your products or services.

CREATE MULTIPLE FACEBOOK GROUPS

Group pages are highly-recommended for building stronger relationships with followers. You can build several groups for your email list, hot leads, coaching groups and business partners.

When you work with premium members, a private Facebook group provides a more “at home” feel with you and your program. Whereas email subscribers will benefit more with public groups in which members can invite other friends to join. With Facebook groups you maintain a closer relationship with customers.

NETWORK YOUR WAY WITH OTHER GROUPS

Join groups to widen your presence and follow other brands related to your business.

BE REAL

Post, comment and reply as you would personally. Keep your mind open to what people are saying as their feedback or criticism are as valuable as a praise. Put a person behind your company and make people connect with you. Be a human.

BE POLITE AND HONEST

As any company would do, always practice social media etiquette. Be polite and respond to positive AND negative comments/posts.

SPLIT-TEST YOUR ADS

Run several ads for a certain time and pause the ones that are not performing well, while letting the more successful ones continue.  Switch out new copy and images for ads that are not performing well.  Still not performing?  Make sure you are testing different audiences and that your creative speaks directly to that specific audience!

Check out Insights

People tend to shy away from the data.  I get it…most people hate numbers.  But without this knowledge, your page isn’t ever going to perform at it’s optimal level.

Get in there and get educated on which posts are performing best.  Understand your demographics so you can create posts and ads that are targeted.  Check out what time of day your fans are online and adjust your posting schedule.

OBSERVE YOUR COMPETITION

You can learn a lot from your competition. One easy way is to watch competitor pages using Pages to Watch. You can add up to 100 pages at a time so you can observe how they grow their page likes, engagement and strategies. You can discover what post content, post types and times work.

Another trick is to add them to your interest list. You will need to like their pages first then click the options down-arrow to add them to your interest list.

I sure hope this list helps you get smarter about the way you are using Facebook to market your business and wish you luck for you and your business in the new year.

Happy New Year to you and wishing your business prosperity in 2015!

Holiday season is here and I created a quick, last-minute guide to using Facebook Ads to help you grow our business during this time of year. Just follow these few tips and watch your Facebook ads deliver!

5 WAYS TO USE FACEBOOK ADS FOR THE HOLIDAY

Let’s assume that you have set up at least a few ads on Facebook before.

1. MAKE A CALENDAR AND WORK BACKWARDS

Taking note of important dates especially those crazy shopping holidays. This will enable you to determine execution and delivery timelines, including the best dates are to post for your business.

2. HAVE CLEAR MARKETING GOALS JUST FOR THE SEASON

After setting up your calendar, try creating achievable goals for the season.
Do you want more page likes?
An increase in brand awareness?
More visits to your website, local store or office perhaps?
Increased sales?

Or, maybe you have a new product or program to introduce for 2015. You name it! Use these goals and then align them to your calendar.

3. HAVE FUN WITH CONTENT

This is the season to be lighthearted, creative and festive so come up with a few different festive holiday images for ads, offers, sponsored posts ads and landing pages. Here are some  examples of when to use seasonal imagery:

• Use images as choices for insight-seeking poll questions
• Post virtual greeting cards, rewards, coupons and announcement posters.
• Run fun contests that will make people submit content to you (photo & video contests)
• Giveaway something exciting and compel readers into real conversion!

4. ADJUST TO THE RIGHT AD SETTINGS: TARGET LOCALLY

During the holidays make sure you target locally, with the right age group. If you have a month-long promotional activity, then schedule how many days as well as the optimal times your ads are going to run in a local setting vs nationally and vs other parameters.

5. COMMUNICATE LIKE A REAL PERSON – NOT LIKE A BUSINESS

People will be more active on Facebook this month so take advantage of increased outreach from potential customers. Communicate with them through comment replies or private message (PM) as a live person – a real connection. Continue supplying your Page with engaging content to support your paid ad efforts and watch your business grow!

Enjoy the holidays!

As a follow up to this blog post that I wrote previously, I am sharing with you information on how to increase your Facebook engagement without paying for ads.

FIRST STEP: UNDERSTAND HOW FACEBOOK ENGAGEMENT REALLY WORKS.

So how does Facebook define “engagement”? In simple terms, Facebook engagement happens whenever your fans:

1. LIKE your post
2. COMMENT on your post
3. SHARE your post, or
4. CLICK a link in your post

SECOND STEP: PLAN.

While getting your fans to engage on Facebook is extremely important for organic reach, I believe creating a Facebook content & marketing strategy is equally important. And the best way to start with this is by creating an editorial calendar. Your editorial calendar doesn’t have to be anything complicated, a simple shared Google spreadsheet will do.

To get the planning started – consider these key elements:

• Your fans – Who are they? What are they looking for? How can you help them?
• Your content – Generally, share content that your fans can resonate with. Vary content type from text updates, images, videos and links to relevant articles.
• Your voice – This should be consistent with your business or brand. For me, I like to write posts that sounds like I’m having a chat over coffee with a friend. Be helpful. Create a standard turn-around time to reply to fans comments – within 12 hours is preferred.
• Your words – Write posts that are compelling and invoke strong emotion – at least strong enough for your fans to follow your call-to-action. Also “snackable” and straight to the point posts are most likely to have more engagement.

You now know the basics but don’t stop there. Be open to other ideas on how to increase your engagement with your fans. Here are other things you can do:

• Run a contest.
• Spotlight a fan.
• Host Facebook Fan Page Friday.
• Tag other pages when you mention them in your posts
• Ask close-ended questions.
• Ask your fans to vote.
• Repurpose content that you already have.
• Repost top performing posts you shared previously
• Host a Live Q and A hour.
• Post updates about trending events.

THIRD STEP: MAXIMIZE PAGE INSIGHTS.

Here are the key things that you should consider:

• Know when your fans are online and post updates whenever your fans are online – simple, right?
• Post updates 2-3 times a day. If you don’t you will definitely miss out.
• Monitor which posts created most engagement. Do this more often and fewer of the things that don’t get engagement.

FOURTH STEP: PROMOTE OUTSIDE OF FACEBOOK

Increasing engagement on Facebook doesn’t mean you can’t promote your posts outside Facebook.

• Add a link to your Facebook page in your email signature.
• Encourage people in your email list to like your page and comment in your posts
• Tweet your posts
• Pin image posts on Pinterest
• Embed top performing updates in your blog

Now, what are you waiting for? Use these tips to generate more engagement in your Facebook page! I would love to hear which of these tips worked for you.

Like what you’re reading?  Sign Up Here to get the most up to date Facebook info on the planet!

What other tips do you have for increasing reach and engagement for your Facebook page?

Leave me a comment in the comments section below and let me know what tips you’re using on your page that are working!  I’d love to hear from you!

Facebook is an amazing social platform to grow your client list for your real estate business.

It is one of the most powerful social media network to date. With it’s boundless reach and business-savvy features, a lot of small businesses are taking their businesses to the next level using Facebook. Even big corporations have Facebook pages to reach out to their target markets. The beauty of Facebook is it’s ability to micro-target.  This means your real estate business can definitely benefit from using Facebook.

Before you can maximize the use of Facebook for your business though, you must be clear about these 3 requirements in growing your client list:

1. Your Facebook page must have the RIGHT Fans
2. Your fans must convert from “likers” to “buyers”.
3. Your fans must love the content you provide on your Facebook business page so much that they come back to and engage with your page.

Keeping these 3 things in mind, here are 6 Facebook tips to help you grow your client list:

1. INVITE YOUR CONTACTS TO LIKE YOUR PAGE

Make use of your email contacts list to build your network on Facebook. If someone has already opted in to your email list, there’s a greater chance that they would want to connect and interact with you on Facebook as well. Invite them to “Like” your Facebook page to be in the loop about everything that’s new in your real estate business. Ask your family, friends and current contacts to recommend your page. This is social media’s new-age “word of mouth” advertisement. In addition to this, you can add a link to your Facebook page in your email signature. Here are 2 examples:

2. SHARE COMPELLING CONTENT

Share stunning images

A picture paints a thousand words! This is very true in real estate. Post stunning photographs of real estate property. People LOVE to comment and sharing amazing photos of homes!

Post or share interesting articles or tips related to real estate

Real estate is a big topic. Post various articles on your page that might be interesting to prospective clients such as tips on finding the right property or how to increase the market value of a property. You can also share a link to your own blog or you can write your own tips that you can share. You can convert these tips to images.

Run a contest to promote your page

Contests are a great way to invite people to “Like” your page and let people know what your business is all about and what you have to offer. Take this opportunity to create a promotion they can’t pass up. For instance, you can offer a hassle-free loan approval and partner with a mortgage lender or even a room make-over & free consultation with an interior designer like this:

3. MAKE USE OF FACEBOOK’S AMAZING FEATURES

Utilize Facebook APPs to create a lead capture system.

By adding a “Contact Us” or “Book Now” tab to your Facebook page you can make it easier for your leads to sign up without sending them away from Facebook. You can also create an app that features your upcoming open house with a video.  22Social is a great tool that you can use to set this up.  If you’d like to see what a complete app looks like from 22Social – check one out here.

Advertise to gain more page likes

Facebook’s “Like” ad is probably the easiest ad type to set up. It’s also the least expensive but it gets your page instant exposure to new fans.

Watch this short video about how you can get more likes using Facebook ads!

4. LINK YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE TO YOUR OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS

Not all people join the same social media network. Linking your Facebook to other social media networks such as Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn will broaden your reach to possible clients. Your posts, articles or announcements gain more exposure when your social media sites are linked to each other.

5. BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR FANS

Create a conversation with your fans. When your fans comment on your posts, it trigger an engagement metric to Facebook and they’ll start showing more fans your posts.  But more importantly, it starts the conversation and relationship with future clients.  Make sure you take time to respond to posts on your page.  Here is a quick and easy way to monitor comments on your page – click here.

6. STOP ANALYSIS PARALYSIS & GET STARTED!

Go do something awesome each day on your Facebook page. Taking action is always better than doing nothing at all. Just start today, and before you know it, you’ll have something great – a page where your fans love your content and a Facebook community that trusts you and wants to use YOU for their real estate transactions.

 

What do you think? How else can you use Facebook to grow your client list for the long-term? Share your comments and questions in the comments box below. I’d love to hear from you!

Facebook’s Embedded Posts is a social plugin that allows users to embed public posts from Facebook to a blog or website.

With this plugin, people can now Like and share the Embedded Post straight from your web page. It displays just like it is on Facebook, can show pictures, videos, trending topics and most of its content.

Here is how an embedded post looks:

Embed a Facebook public post in these simple steps:

1. All Facebook page posts are “public” so no need to worry about post restrictions.
2. Click on the drop down menu, then select “Embed Post”.
3. Get the embed code then add this to your webpage.

Here are ways Facebook marketers can benefit From Using Facebook’s embedded posts:

#1: Increase Facebook Page Engagement

Facebook Embed Posts are interactive because site visitors can like and share your posts. To comment, they must click through the post in order write their comments within Facebook. Bloggers can also embed your posts into their own blogs, thus sharing your content elsewhere in the web. Site visitors can then like your page straight from the embed posts. Whichever way you look at it, an embed Facebook post gives an extra edge in getting more likes, shares and comments from ideal followers.

#2: Support Content with Examples

Instead of providing screenshots of the status posts to support your article, you can simply embed the post straight to your page. Also if you are comparing metrics such as engagement, comments, likes and shares, embedding the entire post is the best way to do it. If you want to quote your resources, embedding the post can add interaction to your website content. When quoting others, make sure you share your link to the owner of the post you quoted, to let him know that you have quoted them.

#3: Make Your Website Fresh

Embed posts provided up-to-date and timely information from Facebook straight to your website –without the hassle of clicking through separate sites.

#4: Reach More People Outside Facebook with Media Content

Do you have media such as video or photo and you want to get it out there? Then think about sharing the video on your Facebook page first, then embed post with the video on it, as compared to just embedding just the video. This allows video increase virality -to be liked and shared more from the webpage. Your readers can also click through Facebook so that they can also comment and share using the links that comes with the post.

#5: Cross-Promote Pages with Known Brands

Do you follow entrepreneurs and brands on Facebook? With the consent of your source, you can embed their post that is related to your site content. This establishes a professional connection with these brands, online. Great examples are: sharing testimonials or a photo of the first meetup over coffee.

#6: Refresh Your Old Viral Content

Another great way to use embedded posts is to show off your best viral content, highlighting your most popular Facebook posts. To determine which post is is the most popular, Go into Facebook Insights and under the Posts column, check which posts had the most engagement. Click on a popular post, then on the detailed statistics screen, you can find the drop-down where you can embed the post on your site or blog. This gives an opportunity for other site visitors, who haven’t seen the post before to see it: making the post more viral over your website or blog.

You can opt to showcase top post or an entire list of best Facebook page posts you made in a roundup. Ideally this refreshes old posts and can potentially get new engagement from Facebook fans.

What’s best with using the Facebook embedded posts feature is that you can utilize the Like and Share features of Facebook in a few clicks on your own web page. This invites your site visitors to become Facebook Fans. But keep in mind that this is only effective if they would click through your own page, not through the embed posts of other Pages or people.

Have you used embedded posts yet?  Did you see any additional reach?  Like what you’re reading?  Sign Up Here to get the most up to date Facebook info on the planet!