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

by TJ Kelly Published Mar 10, 2019 · Last updated Mar 10, 2019

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?

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Social Media Explained with Donuts: 2019 Version

by TJ Kelly Published Feb 22, 2019 · Last updated Feb 22, 2019

Doug Ray lives outside Tampa Bay, FL. He published a photo on Instagram in 2012, and you’ve probably seen it.

Doug didn’t know it yet, but his photo was about to go viral.

The gram shows a hand-written list on a whiteboard, with a 2012-standard Instagram filter and black boarder. It had a short caption and a few hashtags— #socialmedia #socialmediaexplained… and #socialdonut.

Buzzfeed, Business Insider, and FunnyOrDie republished it within a week. Before long, AdWeek wrote about it.

Even The Atlantic referenced it in a piece about Google Plus.

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“Beat Zillow” is a thing. Here’s why you should care.

by TJ Kelly Published Dec 16, 2018 · Last updated Mar 30, 2021
Full disclaimer: this article is not part of the Stop Zillow movement. We’re not real estate agents. We don’t compete with them. They help agents grow their reach and so do we. But we have no plans to sue them anytime soon.
  • They’re eating your lunch
    • They made $761,600,000 in 2017 from their Premier Agent platform. That’s up 26% over 2016, by the way. Which means when 2016 was over, a ton of agents said “man I hate giving my money to Zillow. Better give them more!”
    • The number of Premier Agent advertisers spending more than $5,000 per month was up 70% over 2016. (source)
    • HOW MANY AGENTS DO THEY HAVE???

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Spy on your Competitors: How to See any Facebook Page’s Ads

by TJ Kelly Published Jun 28, 2018 · Last updated Jun 28, 2018

Spy on your Competition's Facebook Ads: Screenshot!As of this week, it’s free and TOTALLY EASY to spy on your competition. Facebook just rolled out a way to see ANY Facebook Page’s ads.

Starting immediately, it’s now incredibly simple to find competitors Facebook ads and see exactly what sorts of creative and copy they’re using.

It’s almost like your very own Facebook ads gallery, where you can go window shopping to see what your competitors are doing.

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Real Estate marketing is complex. Here’s how to simplify it.

by TJ Kelly Published Jun 14, 2018 · Last updated Jan 6, 2020

There’s no rocket science in Real Estate marketing. But there are a lot of moving parts. And every week, there’s a new startup or conference promising to revolutionize the industry.

So what do you do?

Learn.

Arm yourself with knowledge. You won’t have time to do it all. Plus, you probably didn’t go into real estate because you like Facebook ads. You have a real job. Marketing is just one of the necessary tasks.

But when you educate yourself on all the best tools and strategies for real estate online marketing, you’ll be better equipped to decide where to spend your time and money for maximum ROI.

Ok cool. But how do I learn?

Glad you asked. That one’s easy. Here are a few examples….

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Real Estate SEO Podcast Interview: Onion Juice

by TJ Kelly Published Apr 9, 2018 · Last updated Apr 16, 2018

I took over a podcast this week. My good friend Mr. Neil Mathweg handed me the keys to his Onion Juice castle, and I ran with it.

Neil interviewed me for almost an hour. I explained how real estate agents can maximize their search engine optimization and increase exposure.

We even went into how SEO started and how it has evolved, a few best practices and several tips that realtors can implement today.

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What I Learned (and taught) on Future of Real Estate – Real Estate Marketing Podcast Series

by TJ Kelly Published Jan 30, 2018 · Last updated Jan 6, 2020

Real Estate Marketing Podcast Series: TJ Kelly on Future of RE.Have you ever thought, “I’ve seen that guy’s picture everywhere! Who is he??”

Probably.

A combination of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon1 and the fact that Americans see 4,000 ads a day2 almost guarantee it.

Oh, and everybody else has too. That’s why you need to invest in Real Estate SEO.

Why? What does the recency illusion have to do with organic search marketing for real estate agents?

I’m glad you asked.

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Link Building for Local Business: The Cup of Coffee Method

by TJ Kelly Published Jan 29, 2018 · Last updated Jan 30, 2018

Link Building Local Business: the Cup of Coffee Method.The Cup of Coffee Method is simple, and incredibly effective for Local Business Link Building:

  1. Reach out to other local businesses in your area
  2. Ask if you can buy them a cup of coffee
  3. Spend 30 minutes listening to their story
  4. Record the conversation (video preferred but audio works too)
  5. Promote the other business on your blog. Tell their story.
  6. Politely ask if they’ll link back to your blog post from their site.
  7. Rake in the local links.

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101 Best Real Estate Websites, Ranked & Reviewed (UPDATED!)

by TJ Kelly Published Jan 16, 2018 · Last updated Sep 26, 2018

101 Best Real Estate Websites Mxt Media.Let’s face it. Most real estate websites are terrible. Like, really bad.

It’s nobody’s fault. Agents don’t have time (and most don’t have the resources) to design and develop a custom, professional real estate website.

The overwhelming majority of real estate websites run on a done-for-you solution like KW’s Placester partnership or any of the other systems licensed by the big franchises.

Those licensed systems get the job done, but they kinda suck. One-size-fits-all doesn’t work in real estate, especially on the web.

So we set out to find 100 examples of great real estate agent, broker, or team websites. We personally reviewed every site listed in this post and we ranked them according to several factors.

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Snappack + Curaytor’s Chris Smith: Real Estate business expert interview

by TJ Kelly Published Dec 3, 2017 · Last updated Jan 30, 2018

Curaytor + Snappack.If you’ve ever wondered how sales and marketing overlap, where they differ, and how to improve at both, you need to read this.

Snappack co-founders Shannon Milligan and Dustin Brohm interviewed Chris Smith, founder of Curaytor and author of The Conversion Code.

Chris is an undisputed monster in the real estate sales and marketing world. He’s a USA Today bestselling author. He’s spoken at Inman.

Oh, and he founded a company making nearly $15 million in annual, recurring revenue without raising any venture capital.

His work has been featured in AdWeek, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, Fortune, The Huffington Post and by many other publications.

Prior to Curaytor, Chris worked for a near-billion dollar company (Move Inc.), a startup that was acquired by Zillow Group for $108 million (DotLoop), and two billionaires—Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Lou Pearlman, manager and producer of both NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys.

The man knows his stuff.

Shannon and Dustin hit him with questions about Facebook ads, lead funnels, and sales strategy.

Here’s what we learned.

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