The One Piece Of Facebook Advice That Will Kill Your Real Estate Business.

In one breath, people complain that Facebook has freely admitted that on average only 16% of a business’s page fans see any given post.

That is 16 out of 100 fans that see a single update you post. This 16% number was published back in 2012 by Facebook themselves.

What’s that number now? Less than 5%. On average. And, it’s dropping.

Yup. That means that less than 5 people out of 100 actually see what you post (at any given time).

And keep in mind . . . that’s “on average“.

What does “on average” mean? It means out of all of the millions of Facebook business pages that exist, the average amongst all of them is less than 5%.

WOW!

Do you see what this means? It means that very few business pages, out of the millions that exist, actually have any fans see their posts.

Why is this happening? No, it’s not all about “ad revenue”, despite all of the “conspiracy” babbling going on.

Here it is, right from Facebook (bold emphasis is mine):

” Brands have always been able to reach some of their fans in News Feed without using paid media and can continue to do so. But content that is eligible to be shown in News Feed is increasing at a faster rate than people’s ability to consume it. People are connecting to more Pages and individuals every day. And each day, more brands and organizations are posting on Facebook. As a result, we expect organic distribution of an individual Page’s posts to gradually decline over time as we continually work to make sure people have a meaningful experience on the site. “

That’s the reality.

The more people and businesses that use Facebook, the more connections as individuals we make (friend requests we accept, pages we like, etc), the more content there is to see.

Since we can’t possibly consume all of the content each of us could potentially see (based on our connections), Facebook works at making our experience on Facebook relevant to us as individuals.

It’s really that simple.

It’s a good thing.

It’s also frustrating for business pages.

On the flip side, in the next breath, people are warning that if you post more than 3-4 times a week, you’ll spam your fans.

Infographics are all the rage right now.

ALL the rage.

They are being touted as the “silver bullet”. The way to “get engagement” on your Facebook posts. The way to “go viral”.

Recently, a fairly well known company published an infographic that they used actual quoted sources to support their statements.

Sounds great, right?

Means that the infographic is accurate, right?

Means that you should probably follow the advice in that infographic, right?

Well, actually, you’d be wrong. Seriously wrong. Detrimentally wrong, detrimental to your business that is.

We tend to take something that “looks” authoritative as “fact”. The problem is, often it’s not.

Oh yes.

And I quote ” 47% of people don’t like brands on Facebook because “they clutter my newsfeed”. “

Here’s the original source of that quote, from 2012 by the way.

Side note: you do realize that the flip side of that “statistic” means that more than half (53%) of people did not agree that brands clutter their News Feed.

Here’s the infographic recently published (by a well-known email marketing company by the way) that is spreading this (mis)information.  Just as a reference, this infographic was created nearly eighteen (18) months after the original source posted their “survey” results.

And, it’s been three (3) more months since the infographic was created and published.

That means it’s been nearly TWO YEARS since this “survey” was done.

Do you understand what this means?

It means it’s old news. OLD! Generations old when it comes to social media. GENERATIONS!!

Not to mention it’s so incredibly WRONG. Based on an OPINION survey of consumers.

Don’t forget. Consumers LIE. What they SAY is NOT what they DO.

ALWAYS remember that. Consumer actions are NOT the same as their words.

Hum.

Anyone see the problem here?

Let’s look at this closer…

We’ve got a survey, an opinion survey (based on consumer opinion, not based on their actually actions) saying not to post more than 3-4 times a week on your business page.

and . . .

We have less than 5 people out of 100 of your fans seeing any given update you post (and let’s be real here, do you think it’s only the same 5 people that see your posts?).

[Tweet “The 1 piece of #Facebook advice that will KILL your #realestate business”]

If you followed this “opinion survey based advice” and only posted 3-4 times a week, that means that “possibly” 20 out of 100 of your fans will see your posts . . . once each week. (We’ve still got the whole “last actor” and “story bump” algorithms to contend with here)

Of course, that’s only if you know the exact right days and times to post your content.

Which you don’t.

In fact, no one can tell you this.  It’s based exclusively on your Facebook fans. 

Here’s the reality, based on consumer action.

You must be posting multiple times per day to your Facebook page.

I’ve said that before. I practically preach it.

Ok, I don’t “practically” preach it, I shout it every chance I get.

But, since it’s better to have statistical consumer behavior and data proof, check this out. Even this is almost a year old. However, it’s based on statistical consumer data after last years major algorithm changes for business pages in News Feed (unlike the consumer opinion survey referenced above).

” All of this data plainly points toward the conclusion: You should be making new Facebook updates at least every day to reach the maximum number of fans. In fact, you should be posting multiple times in 4-5 hour intervals through the day, if feasible, as that increases the likelihood of reaching more of your fans. “

Here’s the problem . . .

“Experts” are telling business owners, in an authoritative voice, when and how often they should post.

The problem, “experts” are basing their statements on personal preferences.

Personal preferences. Personal biases.

You can not run your real estate lead generation based on opinion.

That is dangerous. What you like or you find offense is not the same as what a consumer will like or find offense.

And, what a consumer says they like or find offense is not the truth. Their actions indicate otherwise.

” People don’t know what they want until you give it to them. ~ Steve Jobs “

You must run your real estate lead generation on ROI (return on investment).

On what actually works.

And yes, your Facebook business page is a real estate lead generation sales funnel. Yes, you must change your mindset on how you use Facebook for your real estate business.

Overwhelm your fans with service and value. Post value. Post often.