Today, most agents dismiss open houses as ineffective. Who cares about open houses when all the information is one tap away on your phone? Naturally, agents are thinking of abandoning this idea. But could it be a premature assumption to make? And what if you can harness the power of the world’s most popular social media to make open houses effective again? Let’s explore how to promote open houses on Facebook.
It’s true that in the digital age, people are mostly turning to the Internet to find their next homes. Inevitably, agents ask themselves whether it’s still worth the time to hold open houses at all.
Do open houses still work?
The answer will depend on many factors including what strategies you have put in place to promote your open houses. But one of the major factors is what type of local market you’re working in, a seller’s market or a buyer’s one.
In the US, for example, 2017 is reported as a mostly seller’s market. The supply of homes is low nationwide and developers are struggling to catch up. So buyers are eager to grasp any opportunity to find a home that would match their criteria.
In a seller’s market, holding an open house is usually a good idea. Even if you’re actively promoting the listing online, open houses can provide another avenue for exposure which would eventually help to strike a better deal.
So if you’ve found that the timing and market are right, don’t listen to agents who are quick to dismiss the idea, and do throw a couple of open houses. And if you’re looking to get more people to attend, check out the great tips below.
3 ways to use Facebook to promote open houses
For obvious reasons, Facebook is probably the most effective channel to promote your real estate business, and open houses are not an exception. In fact, you can combine Facebook with traditional techniques (like dropping signs across the neighborhood) to promote open houses and get better results.
Let’s see what exactly you can do on Facebook.
P.S. Remember that you would need a landing page for each property you want to promote on Facebook before launching any campaign.
1. Facebook ads
Facebook ads are huge for at least two reasons: they are affordable and provide hyperlocal targeting options. Facebook also offers lots of features agents can use to reach their audiences:
- Facebook tracking pixel;
- Conversion campaigns;
- Carousel campaigns;
- Behavior targeting;
- Demographic targeting;
- Interest targeting;
- Creating custom audiences;
- Video ads.
To get started, check out this great guide on how to run real estate Facebook ads.
2. Facebook Slideshow
Facebook Slideshow feature is another opportunity to promote open houses in a compelling and engaging manner. This is a tool that helps you convert photos into videos and that’s something your open house could benefit from greatly.
The process is very easy:
- Go to your Facebook business page and click “Share a photo or video” which would be right in front of you;
- Select “Create slideshow” and start adding images. You can add 3 to 10 photos and you can use the ones that are already on Facebook or upload the new ones;
- Play around with settings like image duration, aspect ratio and transition if you need;
- Select background music.
That’s about all you need to create a slideshow on Facebook and start promoting your open house.
3. 360° photos
Not so long ago, Facebook rolled out support for 360-degree images. This means you can now upload panoramic photos to Facebook just like you do with ordinary ones and they’ll start showing up in the news feeds.
Facebook and other social media platforms are constantly adding new ways to showcase your images and your posts, so make sure to stay up to date. Open houses are one of the most important ways that an Agent can secure more business and Facebook is a perfect way to promote open houses.
