Many Realtors have been asking lately about the thought process behind setting up a Facebook fan page. They’ve seen other Realtors setup pages for themselves and they want one too. The problem with this is that in general, other than your friends, family, and potentially past clients, few others will want to become your “fan” without knowing you. People are fans of things they love and without a previous interaction with you they probably won’t love the brand of Joe Smith, Realtor. They will however, fan things that they are passionate about. For example: There are 5 million fans of Coke, 1.4 million fans of Chick-Fil-A, etc. The most we’ve ever seen for a Realtor is around 1200.
However there is a related topic that Realtors can have a fan page on that does build an immense amount of engagement on, the communities in which they live in and service. Building a community fan page such as “Living in St Louis” or “The Newport Beach Lifestyle” can be a great way to gain respect and “trusted advisor” status as the top Realtor in the area. By building a page and not spamming the wall with countless messages about your open houses, searching your IDX, etc. You’ll have a great chance at long term success in building fans.
One such person that has done this very well is Dale Chumbley in Vancouver, WA. His site has over 8200 fans in just over 30 days without sending a single person a request to become a fan. Of the 8200 fans, Dale estimates that at least 60% of them live within his service area! His page : 365 things to do in Vancouver, WA has a tremendous amount of user engagement. A recent post had 53 comments and 38 likes! As each of these people like or comment on the site, more people see the page join.
The only branding toward Dale that is seen on the site is a link to his Clark County Real Estate Guide, and a video explaining the service mentioning his name and that he is a Realtor. This allows people to engage each other without feeling like they will be spammed.
A few suggestion items to do when setting up a Facebook Community Fan Page are:
- Photos and Videos Of The Area
- Reviews Of Local Establishments Such As Restaurants and Entertainment Locations
- New Business Opening Lists
- Discussions of Community Events
- Coverage Of Major Community News
How To Guide: Setting Up A Real Estate Community Fan Page
