Social distancing sucks. Quarantine, lockdowns, isolation – all words that describe what many Americans just aren’t good at: Being alone.
Even those of us with families seek social interaction with others. It’s part of being human.
Social media has come to the rescue, apparently. According to the folks at Axios, “Social media use spikes during pandemic.”
A recent Nielsen study compares the amount of social media time spent by Android mobile users, in select categories, from January to April 12 of this year.
What they found is that Americans aren’t listening to more music, watching more sports or seeking financial information. In fact, watching videos increased a paltry 0.4 percent.
If you aren’t using this time to generate Facebook real estate leads, you’re missing out.
The largest increase in time spent on mobile apps was time spent on social media.
“… beginning in mid-March, when statewide stay-at-home orders went into effect, social media app usage began to increase significantly, and now consumes around 25% of all mobile app usage for U.S. adults,” according to Sara Fischer at Axios.com.
“In times like these, everywhere you exist in digital is a potential customer service channel,” suggests Jay Baer at ConvinceAndConvert.com. “You simply must expand your efforts to find, engage, and answer customers everywhere online.”
Become a joiner to meet Facebook real estate leads
If you don’t belong to local Facebook groups, now is the time to join. Not only will it help you generate real estate leads but, if done subtly, it will expose your brand to an entirely new audience and, act as a boredom buster during the lockdown.
Go online and navigate to the “browse groups” section of Facebook. Here you’ll find suggestions from Facebook about groups you may be interested in joining along with categories from which to shop for a local group.
Look for groups with lots of members (at least a couple thousand) who post frequently. Remember, these groups don’t have to directly deal with real estate. Try some DIY decorating groups, gardening groups and any other type of group a homeowner would likely join as well as those that have to do with your interests outside of real estate.
Check out these 3 tips for a stronger Facebook presence.
Become a stalker
Once you’ve been accepted into various groups, start stalking them to learn what the members are most concerned about. A hot discussion about the new school rankings report, rent increases and even the new café that recently opened are all the makings of brilliant content.
Facebook garage sale groups are a gold mine for Facebook real estate leads. Many of these (and estate sales) are being held because the homeowner is moving.
Become a writer (or at least a re-writer!)
Sure, Easy Agent Pro supplies you with two blog posts a week and they may fit the bill when it comes to Facebook group members’ interests.
If not, there are plenty of ways to attract their attention with posts of your own.
Garage sale groups: How to hold the perfect garage or yard sale; Buy a bunch of garage sale signs and offer to “rent” them out for free;
Mommy groups: 5 places kids eat free; Best local parks for kids; How to fill your mommy’s day off (local gyms, yoga classes, eateries, shopping, etc.)
Gardening groups: Right now, the groups I belong to are experiencing a rash of new members with no experience in gardening (pandemic gardeners). In fact, the moderator said just yesterday that in the past three weeks she approved more than 2,000 new members. Content can include how to landscape to increase the home’s value; anything having to do with curb appeal; DIY backyard makeovers.
A good place to find ideas that are currently popular – “… content that performs best” — is at BuzzSumo.com. See for yourself by going there now and typing in “gardening.”
You’ll find popular blog posts and articles that you can use to craft your own or on which to base an infographic or other content. The most important thing is to make sure your content is shareable.
Publish that content on your website. Then, when the topic comes up in the groups, link to your post.
Remember: your aim is to build trust, get your name out there and establish your brand as the authority in your town. The best way to get Facebook real estate leads is by being friendly and offering fun, useful and engaging content. Avoid being salesy at all costs.