The Big Secret to Effective Facebook Advertising

We really can't overstate the importance of Facebook ad targeting. Ineffective targeting is the top way real estate agents waste money on Facebook ads.

The frustrating thing is that Facebook doesn't make it easy for you. There are a lot of different ways to target – like by gender, age, income, interest, or custom audience. If you're setting up an ad for the first time, it can feel tricky and intimidating.

The most common mistake we see is making your target audience too broad or too narrow.

Setting too broad a target

As always, when you turn to Facebook advertising, your most important target group is your already established, current sphere of influence. Prospective buyers and sellers are more likely to work with agents they see as "active." It pays off to get into the news feed of the people in your area.

But don't just use entire zip codes to define your target area.

If you use sweeping geographic criteria, your ad will show up in the feeds of everybody – even high school kids and college students — not exactly your most promising prospects!

Making your target too narrow

We get that you may have an ideal prospect in mind – but most other agents and advertisers will be targeting that same person, too. With more competition for fewer people, you'll pay more for each click – or may not drive many clicks at all.

Facebook knows a lot about us, but they don't know everything. You might miss out on good business if you try to target too specifically.

How to master Facebook real estate ad targeting

Put in some time and thought to build a custom audience that includes your current sphere of influence. Try to find that sweet spot between narrow and broad targeting.

We recommend erring on the side of making your audience too broad to start off. Then, narrow it as you gather more data and see which audience segments are clicking. It can feel like you're playing Goldilocks here, but it's worth the testing to find that "just right" target audience!

To view the original article, visit the Homesnap blog.