How to get Seller Leads with Facebook Ads: a modern twist on a classic Real Estate sales strategy

I find it helpful to go with surprising imagery and/or messaging in ads. I’m a big fan of stuff like “DON’T BELIEVE ZILLOW!” Though that doesn’t help with targeting.

As so many have said, targeting would-be sellers is really tough.

Let’s look at how you can…ahem…inspire them.

How to target sellers

You can’t. Not reliably, anyway.

Facebook kinda sucks at predicting likely sellers.

So what to do?

Create your own sellers.

It’s good old fashioned sales, baby. Take someone who’s “not interested” and sell them on the idea. Make them interested.

Create your own sellers.

How to target YOUR soon-to-be sellers

My favorite strategy: mix curiosity and vanity.

We use narrowly-focused geographic campaigns centered around houses that have recently sold.

This is the equivalent of the 5/5/10 door knocking strategy: people notice when their neighbors are selling, so target the neighbors of recently sold homes.

Facebook lets you target people as narrowly as 1 mile away from any address.

How to get Seller Leads with Facebook Ads: narrow geo-targeting.

Skip the “likely to move” and all the other behavioral or age/gender audience filters. Just go w/ Locations near recent sales.

Put yourself in their shoes. Ask THEIR questions:

Then run ads that speak to the things they’ve probably wondered about:

How much did my neighbor’s house sell for?
What does that mean for my home value?
Is my house worth more or less than my neighbor’s?
What can I do to raise my home value?
How much house can I afford if I sell today?

Headlines

Your neighbor on Smith Street sold their house. Tap to find out how much they sold for.
Your neighbor on Smith Street sold their house for $397,900. Does that help or hurt your home value? Here’s how to find out.
Your neighbor on Smith Street sold their house for $397,900. Think your house could beat that?
Your neighbor on Smith Street sold their house for $397,900. Sound too good to be true? Here’s how you can beat it.
Your neighbor on Smith Street sold their house for $397,900. If you sold today, where could you move to? Here’s how to find out.

The last thing that’s absolutely crucial is to make sure your landing pages match your ad copy.

If you set people up with “here’s how to find out” or “click here to see ____,” make sure you deliver on that promise when they click. Otherwise they’ll feel misled and they won’t convert.