Social media might not always be the first thing you think of when it comes to marketing your rental property.
But it’s an excellent option to attract potential tenants.
Two of the most popular social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, can be particularly effective for marketing your property.
With this in mind, let’s look at how they can help you attract more rental property leads.
Facebook Marketplace Rentals
In 2017, Facebook expanded its Marketplace listings section to include Facebook Marketplace Rentals, a specific section of the platform set up for rental properties. Mark Zuckerberg announced earlier this year there were around one billion Marketplace users across the world, which means this platform gives landlords access to a lot of people.
Facebook Marketplace Rentals uses Internet-based targeting to show your listings to people looking for a place to rent. This free, easy-to-use tool helps level the playing field for residential landlords and smaller property managers by giving you access to a plethora of potential tenants.
Before you can advertise your properties on Facebook, you first need to set up a Facebook page for your business. Facebook makes it pretty easy to set up on your own, so simply follow the prompts.
Once you have a basic Facebook business page created, you’re ready to set up listings on Facebook Marketplace Rentals. As a landlord, you can list apartments and homes for rent without paying any charges or commissions to Facebook. The four steps to posting a listing advertisement on Facebook Marketplace are as follows:
- Go to the Marketplace by clicking on “Marketplace” in the menu or searching “marketplace” in the search bar.
- Click “Sell Something” and then click “Homes for Sale or Rent.”
- Set up your listing. Include all of this in your Facebook Marketplace rental ad:
- Photos of the property
- Whether the home is for sale or rent
- Property type (single-family home, condo, etc.)
- Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
- Property address (which can be set to public or private)
- Rental rate
- A thorough property description
- Square footage
- Lease length
- Date available
- Any additional features, such as pet-friendliness, laundry, parking, and heating or cooling features
- Before you post your Facebook Marketplace rental ad, select whether you want the listing to be shown only on the Marketplace, or on your “newsfeed,” as well. Marketplace will make the listing public, and it will reach everyone within a certain mile radius of the property. It is also searchable within the Marketplace itself, whereas only those you’ve permitted can see your newsfeed.
Instagram is a fast-growing social media platform that also offers marketing opportunities for landlords. It’s free, easy-to-use, and has over one billion users. It’s a predominantly visual application, so photography and videos are essential.
Your photography and videos should be high-quality and give people an honest look at your property. Keep your supporting captions short, but make sure they supplement your photography and videos with valuable information.
Hashtags
Hashtags are another thing to keep in mind on Instagram. When you utilize hashtags properly, you’ll get more visibility for your posts. So, find hashtags that relate well to your brand and help put your posts in front of people looking to rent. How many hashtags should you use for each listing? Opinions vary, but using more than six hashtags can decrease engagement, according to a 2020 study from Hubspot and Mention.
Instagram Stories
While your profile and posts are important, Instagram stories also help build your brand. Are you funny? You could post short videos showcasing your humor and tie it back to property management. Are you an expert in a different area that you can relate to property management? Show people a different side of you. Don’t be afraid to inject personality into your brand.
Putting It All Together for Instagram
Instagram encourages sharing and interaction. By leveraging great photos and videos and interacting with relevant accounts, you will increase your property’s visibility and make it a topic of conversation. Instagram can be a referral machine. And few things are more powerful than word-of-mouth and recommendations.
Paid Advertising
Depending on your budget, you can also utilize Facebook Business Manager to set up paid advertisements on Facebook or Instagram. Both platforms can be effective. It all depends on your goals and who you’re targeting.
On both platforms, you can geo-target and define audiences by peoples’ demographics. You can narrow down your audience based on various filters. Paid advertisements allow you to get more granular and specific. They also put your content in front of more people.
Conclusion
Facebook and Instagram are highly effective tools that can boost your rental property leads. We live in a digital world now, and you need to be where people can find you. Facebook and Instagram are two of the most effective social media platforms to engage potential tenants. Now is the time to make them a part of your marketing strategy.
