The Facebook Funnel is a series being published on how real estate agents can use Facebook for lead generation. This post is the fourth post in the series. Take a few minutes to read the entire series.  You won’t regret it.

Guess what question I get asked every single day by real estate agents?

There are several, but this one ranks amongst the top most asked question.

Here goes.

"How do you get more Facebook likes so you have a larger group seeing what you post?"

Voila.

The “How do I get ‘likes'” question.

Do you know what the first thing most real estate agents do after they “launch” their Facebook business page?

Can you guess?

What’s the first thing you did?

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Did you start “sharing” your page with your friends and connections?

Did you start “inviting” them to “like” your page?

That’s normal. It’s what every real estate agent does.

They make their page, and then they consider their next goal to be getting likes.

Lots of likes. They are failures if they don’t get likes.

Not.

However, it makes logistical sense.

But does it make practical business sense?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Here’s why . . .

Ask yourself these questions . . .

• Who did you share and invite to your page?
• Was it some of your past clients?
• Your friends?
• Your family?
• Your colleagues?
• Everyone you are friended with?

Sometimes I think there is an unspoken pressure out there that a Facebook business page is ineffective without lots of likes.

It certainly makes sense.

How do you get people to see what you are posting if they aren’t connected with your page?

In reality, having lots of likes means absolutely nothing.

Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Oh, it may “feel” good, after all, your page has five bajillion likes and your local competitors page only has 78 likes, but really, it means nothing.

Especially if those likes are not your targeted prospective clients.

Do you know how many requests I get to “like” real estate agents pages across the country?

Every single day.

Dozens.

And dozens.

I’m none of their targeted client.

I don’t live in their area. I’ve made no movement towards being interested in real estate in their area.

And yet, I still get asked.

Now, I happen to fulfill their request. I “like” their pages. But for my purpose, not theirs. Well, they think I’m helping them by increasing their likes, but I’m really not helping them, I’m helping me.

I connect because I know that sometime in the near future, they are going to need my services, not because I might need their services.

In reality, asking the wrong person to like your page, just for the sake of likes, will harm you later on. It will negatively affect your Facebook business page and it’s reach.

The #1 reason that nobody’s interested in your Facebook page is because you aren’t targeting people who would be interested in your page.

It’s really that simple.

Instead of inviting everyone you know, step away.

Consider who your targeted client is. You don’t even have to be all that narrow focused. A targeted client for you would be someone who lives in the area (as a first step). Yes, I realize that you may want to reach people moving to the area, you’ll get those, later. For now, let’s focus on your locals.

A targeted client would be a local. A strong targeted client would be someone who has done business with you in the past. Someone who is a current prospect. Someone you interact with on a local level who you’d like to help with their real estate needs.

Maybe you have a specific niche.  Your target client would be a combination of a local and interest in whatever your niche is.

Stop inviting real estate agents from around the country. Stop inviting trainers, speakers, vendors, etc.

Start inviting your targeted locals.

So now you’ve done that.

You’ve gotten all of 30 likes.

Now what.

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Well, first and foremost, keep promoting your Facebook business page to your sphere, those most likely to want to buy or sell a house.

Start running Facebook ads targeting your ideal real estate client.

Put a link to your Facebook business page in your email signature and send it in every single email, personal and business focused.

Promote your page as a “community” and invite people to participate in your community when they take other actions online, like visit your website or subscribe to your email list, or even, when you connect with someone on your Facebook personal profile.

Every time you make an “in real life” connection, send them an email inviting them to join you on your Facebook business page.

Stop subscribing everyone you meet to your email list and instead invite them to participate in your “community”.

It’s non-threatening and more inclusive. You are inviting them to participate instead of throwing canned email crap at them (canned email crap they don’t want, cause they didn’t sign up on their own).

It’s called permission marketing.  It’s powerful.

Now, you may have noticed me mention earlier that asking the wrong people to “like” your page can harm you later on. That it can have a negative effect.

Here’s the deal. If you are using your Facebook business page to it’s fullest and working on engagement and capturing real estate leads then those people who have liked your page are going to decide that your page is not what they want to see in their newsfeed and they are going to take action.

Negative action.

They are going to do one of two things.

Either they will hide your page from their newsfeed or they will “unlike” your page.

Sounds innocuous enough, doesn’t it.

But both actions are seen as “negative” actions and Facebook penalizes negative actions. Which means that those actions lower your engagement score putting your page in front of fewer of your page followers (likers).

So, what should you do?

Be much more selective in who you invite to your page. Allow people to invite themselves through your promotions, whether it be through sharing on your personal profile, organic growth, or Facebook ads.

Make sure you are targeting people who want to connect to your page and be the tortoise, grow your page slowly, organically.

It will pay off for you, I promise.