Top 5 Tips On How Facebook Got Us To The Top!
Hey, it’s no secret. We are intensely passionate about what we do here at Tech Savvy Agent! And that PASSION, DRIVE and AMBITION has been instrumental to our (seemingly) overnight success, which was solidified by our winning the “Most Innovative Blog” award by INMAN yesterday! So, we thought it would be appropriate to share what has been a large aspect of what has also been instrumental in how we have got to the place we find ourselves today.
It will come as no surprise that Facebook has been a driving force behind how Tech Savvy Agent has exponentially evolved. And so we’re going to give you an inside look via the Top 5 Facebook Real Estate tips that we believe can take your Fan Page from blah to bling!
Tip #1 -Custom Landing Tab
Branding consistency and having a professional online (and offline) appearance is essential within the Real Estate world and Facebook has a way to make that a reality. A custom landing tab (or page) will be the first impression you will be giving your new Facebook visitors, and since Facebook is the #1 lead generating social networking site on the planet, it better be good!
With some design, HTML and FBML knowledge, these fan pages can be created to model your website or blog, therefore keeping your branding in check.
Tip #2 – Contact Forms – Get Your Leads!
Never forget what the purpose of all your hard work is – Getting leads and selling homes! One way to add the likelihood of this happening is by adding a Contact Form to your Facebook Fan Page. We discussed this a few weeks ago and it became a huge hit within our Real Estate community – if you didn’t read it yet, now’s your chance - How To Add Contact Forms in Real Estate Facebook Fan Pages. Personally speaking, we have received well over two dozen leads from our Contact Form on Facebook – which is probably two dozen more than we would have had if was not for the form!
Tip #3 – NetworkedBlogs
What’s a Fan Page without Fans? Well, the same can be said about your Fan Page itself – What’s a Fan Page without Content? You’ll probably find you have a fairly small following if you don’t have consistent, relevant information being posted to your Page, and similarily, if you stop, then you’re fans will probably stop too.
We often hear Realtors say, “How can I get more Fans (or “Like’”s) to my Page? The answer is Consistent Content! One way to ensure this is happening is to link your blog (you DO have one, don’t you?!) to your Fan Page through an application called NetworkedBlogs. This is a widget that is added to your Blog site which is then verified on Facebook and automatically links the two up together. Then, your updates on your Real Estate Fan Page will be posted not only on your Fan Page wall, but on your Fan’s walls automatically – and if you set it up right, to Twitter too! You can have your new posts show up on your Profile page too, but I don’t recommend it – Don’t mix business with pleasure!
Yes, there are other apps and widgets out there that do the same thing, but this is our favorite – the below descriptive diagram shows why:
Tip #4 – Additional Consistent, Relevant Content
How often do you update your Fan Page? Once a day, Twice a week, Once a month? If you want to stay fresh in the eyes of your followers, then adding additional content to your Fan Page is a MUST! But how can you do this when you are so busy as it is? Do you have a phone? Then you can probably update it while you’re out having lunch, or waiting for your next appraiser to arrive… spending a few minutes here and there throughout the day updating your Fan Page will pay huge dividends to your fan base and your the eye balls on your site and you! Keep them engaged and they will stay – wander and they will too.
Tip #5 – Applications
Last time I checked, there were literally tens of thousands of Facebook Applications that had been created by just as many website developers all over the world. These applications have been graciously added to Facebook’s deep abyss to help you make your Real Estate Fan Page one that works like clockwork. Two of our favorite applications (other than NetworkedBlogs noted above) are Static FBML (to create your Custom Fan Pages) and Involver’s Video application (to add your neighborhood video recordings). You can check these and all the other ones available out by typing the keywords of the application you are interested in within the search box on the top of Facebook’s page and then clicking on the “Applications” link on the left.
Listen, we didn’t just use tools of the trade to get where we are now (nor did Gary V for that matter!). Each of us have MAD passion for what we do, and we have worked unbelievably hard every day (ok, and night!).
To be at the top of your game you have to WORK, and WORK HARD! And while you’re doing that, put these items above to the test and see how your traffic, and business grows!
There are 13 responses to this post! Join in...
Definitely some great tips to make any Facebook page stand out above the crowd. My favorite is the opt in form (of course.)
Great info, I’m actually looking to spruce up my FB page now. I added GA according to the instructions on your previous post but still having to work out some issues. All in all, I’ll definitely try to be more consistent about content.
Do you know if there are any available websites where can I get a custom FB landing page with really basic code that I can work on myself? Every site I’ve encountered charges for it, I know that these type of FB pages haven’t hit the mainstream yet so it is more difficult to find free resources.
Nathan Latka has some code that is free and does awesome work. Check him out here http://www.facebook.com/FanPageFactory
Hi Let me know if you need to get your FB page done.
vickensm@gmail.com
great post, loved the post
Great post, I’m going to look some more in Facebook. The site is huge, but sometime a little messy.
Great information. I’m using jotform for my contact form and social rss for my blogs but I need to create a custom welcome page.
Darrell Walters, Integrity Mortgage Funding – Newnan mortgages
[...] recorded on Monday, August 9th, 2010, the Real Estate Custom Fan Page webinar was a HUGE hit and so we wanted to make sure we shared it with all our custom fan page [...]
[...] August 19, 2010 Posted by caimagemaker in Uncategorized. trackback Would you like to take your Facebook Fan Page from Blah to Bling? The objective of your Fan Page is to create a loyal following of people that trust and respect you. Do those principles sound familar? How do you create meaningful long term relationships offline? Answer: develop trust and respect from the people in you sphere of influence. This can be done online as well. The old adage that says you have one chance to make a first impression. There are a handful of things to add to your to do list to put your best foot forward on Facebook. This is an outstanding article, check it out > Click Here [...]
[...] Would you like to take your Facebook Fan Page from Blah to Bling? The objective of your Fan Page is to create a loyal following of people that trust and respect you. Do those principles sound familar? How do you create meaningful long term relationships offline? Answer: develop trust and respect from the people in you sphere of influence. This can be done online as well. The old adage that says you have one chance to make a first impression. There are a handful of things to add to your to do list to put your best foot forward on Facebook. This is an outstanding article, check it out > Click Here [...]
Thanks, TSA – I’ve tested custom landing pages on RE clients whose marketing I manage. If your objective is to get “likes,” a wall landing page with updated, quality content achieves this objective for us better than a custom landing (or squeeze) page. As with everything web-related, one must test and be clear on his/her objective. Jumping on the “hey, this is cool” bandwagon doesn’t generate $commissions$ or goodwill…necessarily.
Mike
[...] words. There are dozens of ways to incorporate your videos into your Fan Page, including the Involver application or directly through Facebook’s own Video uploading tool. If you use their’s they give [...]