How property developers can cook up a storm on social media
Discover our winning recipe for property marketing on Facebook, guaranteed to cut through the noise and create high quality conversions!
Surprisingly, nearly a quarter of all property leads across our client portfolio are generated by Facebook ads. And, despite some persistent industry pessimism, these often convert to sales.
According to a recent Hootsuite report, the average Facebook user clicks on 12 ads per month. But how many do we see and ignore? Probably hundreds – if not thousands.
Competition is fierce on social media, and nobody will give you their attention without a good reason. And yet advertisers persistently cast a wide net with lacklustre creative. This is a recipe for disaster, and it abounds in the property industry.
So how do you cut through the noise of Facebook advertising and create high quality conversions for your property clients? With a specific combination of ingredients that you could call the winning recipe.
CREATIVE – Show me the product
When someone is actively looking for property they want to see the property you’re asking them to consider. That’s why static images showcasing the lot and stage plans attract more interest than lifestyle or stock images.
Video and GIF ads can evoke a reaction while telling your brand story. But only if the first three seconds are so interesting that your audience will stop what they’re doing to watch.
The shorter a video is, the easier it is for the customer to be engaged. In our findings, 15 seconds is the magic number: bite-sized and digestible but long enough to communicate a powerful message.
COPY – Engage your audience
Be creative with your copy. It’s one of the most important elements of a successful ad. Lead with the most interesting selling points (location, amenities, price point, etc) and remember that you’re not just selling a house, but an entire community.
Segment your market (investors, first home buyers, local buyers, empty nesters, etc), understand their needs and write a specific ad for each group. In fact, write several. We’ll test up to three ad copy variations per segment, looking for the one that delivers the most leads and conversions.
Write with an appropriate tone of voice for each segment, try not to repeat information, and ensure your call to action will motivate them to click through and find out more.
PLACEMENT – Be where your customers are
One of the most important ingredients – often overlooked – is ad placement.
Where you place your ads can impact click through rates (CTRs) by 400 per cent or more. Higher CTRs will raise the cost of running your ads, but they are also linked to higher conversion rates and our goal here is to generate leads.
Facebook News Feed ads are highly sought after as they occupy the largest real estate and can be viewed on mobiles, desktop computers and laptops. News Feed ads also have a higher CTR and lower cost per conversion than other ad placements, and they reach a wide audience. Just don’t forget to optimise your ads for mobile.
TARGETING – Keep it relevant
According to InSite, 24 per cent of all property leads and registrations are generated through social media, so making sure your ads are targeting the right audience at the right time has never been more important. After all, purchasing property requires a lot more consideration than buying a new pair of pants.
To generate high quality leads with a high potential to convert, list the demographics of your target audience and specifically target those most likely to drive leads.
THE WINNING RECIPE
With all the tips mentioned above, we’ve come up with a winning recipe you can whip up in your own creative kitchen and run across your social media campaigns.
SHOW + TELL + TARGET = LEADS
Facebook marketing shouldn’t be intimidating. Just keep some of these learnings in mind and you should get a bigger bang for your marketing buck.
Of course, there are many other aspects of property marketing we need to discuss, such as organising events to get your community involved and engaged, reaching out to those who have shown mild interest but have not yet converted, and more. In subsequent articles, we’ll dive deeper into ways you can further optimise your ads to generate even more leads!
