Don't be a dunce – follow our advice on Facebook!
Let’s face it, few things are more painful than a Facebook user who has little grasp of the medium. We’ve all seen it – posts written entirely in ALL CAPS, cheesy videos, meaningless status updates – an all with far more regularity than human decency should warrant!
But thankfully, using Facebook effectively is much easier than it may initially seem, and we’ve got five of the most important ways to be a wiz in no time.
- Use Third-Party Apps – There are literally thousands of free third-party apps out there waiting to enhance your profile, so why not take advantage of them? Of course, use them in moderation; another major cardinal sin of Facebook misuse is overloading profiles with apps. Consider just two or three, and make sure one of them is Realtor.com’s Social Connections app, which InmanNext recommended in a wonderful post on social media.
- Consider Ads – Ads are not quite as essential as apps, given they are much more passive and, of course, costly; granted, you can control how much you spend per ad (Facebook uses a pay-per-click method, where you pay based on how many clicks the ad generates), but we wouldn’t recommend centering your Facebook presence around ads.
- Bring Clients Into the Fold – This was another great recommendation from the InmanNext piece, having seller clients put their listings on their personal accounts. It’s a direct approach for them but indirect for you, and it exposes the listing to a potentially huge base of potential buyers.
- Use Your Wall Wisely – Naturally, you can still use your own wall to promote your business, but you’ll want to do so selectively. Facebook spammers are among the cardinal sinners in social media, and you can’t want to be that guy or that girl who posts endlessly about his or her business.
- Balance Business with Pleasure – You can avoid that pitfall by mixing up your posting. Sure, maybe plug a listing once or twice a week, but also post about some cool restaurants in the area, or a really fun neighborhood grocery store, or about park district events that are going on – the possibilities are limitless!
The key, in all these tips, is to have fun. Facebook is an organic, versatile tool, and when you treat it as such, it can be a blast interacting with your clients on a more personal, human level.