Real Estate Messenger Marketing—using the old strategies! Agents have been relying on the pixel nowadays for retargeting ads to anyone who viewed their website over the recent years. It started once coaches realized what you could potentially use the pixel for, such as:
- Push a retargeting ad like, “How good am I? Let me sell your property,” and have them complete a Lead Form.
- Create a custom audience and use it for every ad set.
- Create a lookalike audience to extend your network and pull in new punters.
Well, now, thanks to Apple’s view on user privacy—conversion metric is not going to work for those punters using an iPhone.
This will happen at some stage because only Apple can track your user behaviour for their own benefit!
Well, there is a much better way to manage all of these. It’s a much simpler, reliable, and better way of getting in front of punters than you think!
It’s what we call Digital Letterbox dropping. What’s great about this is that you actually know who read the flyer, and you can communicate one-on-one. Also, it’s personalised the moment they engaged!
This is where Facebook Messenger will play an important part in your overall strategy. As soon as someone connects with you on Messenger and the conversation starts, these connections are now in your Facebook Inbox. Yeap, that’s the tab on your Facebook page where you can continue having a conversation. It’s a little bit like when someone calls or sends you an SMS looking for information about a property or someone comes through the door at an open home. This is also the place where you can see the previous ads they clicked on. Then, you can start building up information and build a profile on your connection. The power of the Facebook Page Inbox is going to be the number one tool used by real estate agents for years to come. And, it’s free!
Let us look at how you can start the conversation using all the mediums you have right now.
· SMS/MMS – Reach out to your database and add a link back to Messenger.
· QR Code – Add the QR Code to letterbox drop flyers, property brochures, print media, or homing pigeon.
· Email – It is just a link so, add a button and say, “Connect with us on Messenger.”
· Facebook Posts – Add the “Send Message” button to your posts or add the Messenger URL with your post comments.
· Facebook Ads – If you want cheaper ad conversions, use the Messenger option in your Ad Set, but… please drop the canned responses or frequently asked questions option. It’s the biggest roadblock. It’s like asking people to put in an email address for the same free report every agent uses!
Now, the first thing to remember when using this awesome weapon is that you still need to treat the conversations as though you’re on a social platform. This is where a lot of agents get it wrong. Not everyone likes you when you first pop up in their news feed or when they hear from you. To make people like you, you need to start building up a bit of trust and rapport, and actually help people. Using the dying art of conversation once connected, you can move into understanding a person’s requirements and how you can help, then collect the contact details. After that, your conversions will start to happen.
The Old Strategies all work on Facebook with Messenger!
If you are a real estate agent who follows processes that work, then here’s the old and the new way.
Using your database
· Old: Hit up every contact in your database and tell them that you are touching base. You ask them if they want your most recent market report.
· New: Knock up an MMS and fire out a link to where they can download from Messenger. Know who actually reads it and find out if they want a custom report.
The Letterbox drop
· Old: You knock up a newsletter, print it off, and spend the next couple of days wandering the streets aimlessly, dropping these in letterboxes, only to see 99.9% of them going into the recycle bin, or they are ringing up the agent they have dealt with previously. But hey, think of the positives, you’re getting fit.
· New: Run a reach campaign within the postcodes you’re working on. Point it to Messenger. Let them download and know who reads it. You can even drop in a video and make it better.
Cold calling your farm area
· Old: You open up RP data and start cold calling everyone in your farm area to find out if they read the newsletter you dropped into their letterbox.
· New: Work on those people who downloaded your newsletter. Stop wasting time on people who are not interested at the moment.
Hitting the streets looking for business
· Old: You get your joggers on and start dropping your business cards street by street, telling them that you’re in the area this week. Then, you can give them an indication of where their property is currently sitting.
· New: Run another reach campaign within the post using a video. Build up a custom audience from those who viewed the video and add them to a post-engagement campaign.
Thinking positive, you’re getting listings. You need to get it into the market and show your vendor that you’re working hard and looking for enquiries and interest.
· Old: You get photos, video, and ad copy ready. Put your brochure together. Get it ready for the real estate portals, and get on the phone to past buyers.
· New: Put together your “Just Listed” Messenger funnel with the photos and video. Knock up a Facebook ad. Set up your targeting, and point to the Messenger funnel. Start collecting heaps of buyers coming through your funnel, and invite to a VIP open home before it even goes up on the real estate portals. You also send out an MMS to the buyer database pointing back to the Messenger funnel where they can get more information. All the way along, you know by name who are interested, and they are now in your Messenger list.
Even better, that listing gets offers and sells. Now, you need to tell everyone that it has been sold and that you have a truckload of buyers who are willing to pay more than what it’s worth in the current market.
· Old: Pick up the phone. Call all homeowners about your great achievement, get your joggers on, and do a letterbox drop.
· New: Put together your “Just Sold” Messenger funnel with all the campaign details. Run a Facebook Ad targeting your post engagement audience, pointing to your Messenger Funnel.
The end of the month comes up; it’s time to get your market report ready, which you email out. Prepare the same info for your next letterbox drop as well.
· Old: Prepare a report in PDF format. Hit up everyone in your database with an email, then follow up by phone and leave voice messages.
· New: Prepare a report in PDF format. Add it into your automated Messenger funnel. Set up a sponsored Messenger ad for a week. Ask them if they are buyers or homeowners. See who downloads the report, and follow them up within Messenger, asking how you can help.
Regarding the above, the old strategies work seamlessly with Facebook Ads and Messenger if you’re using automated messaging designed specifically for Real Estate Agents or Agencies. We have been running Real Estate campaigns on Facebook since 2008, and we have used Landing Pages, Lead Ads, and the Pixel in the old days. However, since 2016, we have been building up Messenger lists successfully for agents using the above strategies using automated messaging, which you can do yourself or outsource to agencies that can manage this for you. Please note that the costs are mostly vendor paid except for your own personal promotional campaigns.
If you would like to download the weekly and monthly calendar outlining this strategy, just click here!
