We take on a select few private clients for real estate focused online lead generation. A client of ours recently asked us about Facebook ad campaigns . . .

 “Christina, I received this proposal today about advertising on Facebook. Do you see the value of advertising on Facebook? What should we be aware of or look for?”

Of course, my defenses immediately went into high gear… there are a boat load of “scam” artists out there preying on the unknowing. Preying on people who know they need to be in the Facebook “space”, but not understanding enough about it to know when they are being taken for a ride.

Maybe calling them “scam” artists is a bit strong.

It’s just that they are seeking to lock real estate agents into a high monthly cost for a service that is so generic, so unfocused on any specific industry that they have no understanding of the specific needs for that industry. In other words, not all things work across all industries. Not only that, they aren’t creating and testing, testing and creating with a specific niche focus. This does not bode well for the results they will produce, if any.

I also know that just about every real estate agent that has spent any time on Facebook, gets approached with the concept of advertising on Facebook. I see ads by real estate agents all the time. I have yet to see one actually done effectively. I have yet to see a real estate agent’s ad on Facebook that is converting to closed business.

Oh, I see very effective Facebook ads all the time, just not from real estate agents. I see a whole lot of listing advertising and real estate agent advertising. I don’t see any ad capture. I don’t see any that do more than garner some likes for a Facebook business page (a page that isn’t even active enough to be effective) or that are not simply focused on getting eyeballs to see the listing they have.

I knew I needed to provide this free and valuable resource so that real estate agents could run highly targeted, highly effective Facebook ad campaigns that actually bring them business, not just an impression (aka presence) on Facebook or a “like” on their Facebook business page.

So with that said, here are the questions you, as a real estate agent, need to ask yourself before you run a Facebook Ad Campaign….

1. Who do you want to see your ad?

Don’t be that person that says “everyone”. That’s absurd. Do you want to target 13 year old girls? 16 year old boys? People who have no interest in your area?

How are you going to target your audience? By town name? Zip code? Fans of certain pages?

2. Where do you want your ad to be located?

Do you want your ad in the right hand column or in the newsfeed? Do you want both?

Do you know which one is better for your specific ad?

Do you know if your ad will reach both mobile and desktop users or just one or the other? Do you want to reach both?

3. How many people do you want to see this ad?

Does it matter how many people see the ad? Or, does it matter how many people click on the ad? Or, does it matter how many people respond to the ad?

Is it better to focus on as much as your single ad budget will allow or should you target fewer, more often?

4. What is your goal for this ad?

Obviously closed sales is the ultimate goal for your ad. However, what is your quantifiable, it’s working, goal? Is it Facebook page likes? Is it clicks? Is it impressions? Is it something else?

5. What kind of CTA are you going to use?

A Call to Action is important. The most important piece of your ad.  Do you have an effective one? Is it powerful? Do people want what you are offering?

6. Are you going to A/B test your ad?

Do you know what A/B testing is? Do you know how to do it? Are you willing to invest the time? It pays huge rewards when you do.

7. Do you have a followup campaign for this ad?

What are you going to do for people who respond to this ad? Are you going to call them? Email them?

How are you going to convert them?

An effective real estate Facebook ad campaign doesn’t need to cost anywhere close to $150/month (the amount the company above quoted my client – and this was their “introductory” level). Not even close. A good campaign integrates with your other real estate marketing.