Should real estate focus on social media?

In 2019, 7.5 million Belgians used social media. 79% use a social media app every day, for an average of 49 minutes a day. So, it’s no wonder that Belgian companies spend 40% of their marketing budgets on social media. LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook are what television once was, but much cheaper.

Some marketers and opinion makers have been announcing Facebook's death for years. But the statistics say otherwise. While the number of Facebook users are indeed declining, Zuckerberg's company remains the absolute frontrunner in the social media landscape. At least 78% of the Flemish use Facebook monthly, compared to 72% for WhatsApp and 44% for Instagram. In addition, all age categories are represented on Facebook. From people in their 20s who want to buy their first home, to people in their 60s who want to exchange their spacious mansion in the suburbs for a centrally located apartment. Facebook remains a good option for advertisements with immediate results.

Facebook and Instagram are viewed as “leisure” forms of social media, but are ideal for investment real estate and residential real estate. The great advantage of advertising on social media over TV is the magic word "targeting". In other words: conveying the right message to the right target group. The possibilities on Facebook and Instagram are incredible. For example, you can target the ad for your new real estate project to retired married couples in their 60s within a radius of 15 km around Ghent who follow investment pages and enjoy taking their dog for a walk in the forests. Although of course not every Facebook user reveals the same amount of personal information.

For commercial properties it’s better to use other channels. This is because Facebook interprets the term "interest" quite broadly. When someone watches a UPS video, Facebook thinks logistics is among their interests. The Facebook user will therefore also see the ad for your warehouse. And these irrelevant visitors "pollute" your traffic.

hooox uses a clever trick to maximize your budget on social media. Curious? We’re happy to tell you. We first target the relevant audience on LinkedIn with the first ad. If the visitor clicks on the ad but is not immediately converted into a sale (which will occur pretty often), we will remind him of your ad on Facebook. This is called remarketing. By seeing your name, website and advertisement several times, he will begin to trust and recognize your company. Eventually, he’ll be happy to fill in the contact form.

Another trick?

Thanks to an accurate measurement of your website, we know what type of visitors fill in your contact form. The Facebook pixel then instructs Facebook to find similar people ("lookalike audiences") within the correct region and will show them the ad as well.

In short: LinkedIn provides relevant leads, then we look for similar profiles via Facebook. This way you get extra relevant leads in a cheap way.

Social media helps you find and convert your target audience, provided you use the right channels and combine them correctly. With a mix of different social media platforms, you get an optimal result within your budget.