I was invited to Facebook's headquarters in Palo Alto several years ago, when their advertising platform was in the infant stages. We were brainstorming with Facebook executives about what would make their platform most useful for advertisers. 

It was an interesting meeting, if for no other reason than their headquarters was like a college dormitory. There was graffiti all over the walls, and every conceivable candy and soda - literally over a hundred items, full boxes of each - in the conference room. 

At that time, we knew Facebook had awesome, unprecedented potential as an advertising platform. However, the implementation was far behind Google, and they had a lot of catching up to do. Well, that was some years ago, and boy has Facebook caught up.

So what does this have to do with real estate? Today Facebook represents an incredibly powerful tool for advertising a home for sale. When you know what you're doing, you can laser target the audience, and generate really high quality showings.

Most agents are overlooking this powerful tool because they don't know how to use it. They are sticking with old fashioned methods of advertising like newspapers and magazines because it's all they know. 

To sell, you have to go where the buyers are. Virtually all homebuyers are searching online today. It's extremely rare for anyone to buy a home who hasn't been searching online.

Trying to use print advertising to get people to look at your listing is like using a horse and buggy on a freeway. You'll get there eventually, but you're really making it hard on yourself.

When I take on a listing, I put my Facebook advertising skills to work specifically for that property. 

When I say specific, I mean specific. Let's imagine you were selling a 6,000 square foot home in Paradise Valley with a tennis court, wine cellar, and a 6 car garage. Here are some of the things I would target and build campaigns around:

1. Residents of Paradise Valley with income over $500k annually who are likely to move in the near future. Yes, Facebook cross-references other databases and can tell who is likely to move soon.

2. High income residents of PV and surrounding areas who have an affinity for cars. Ads would specifically showcase the large garage.

3. Ads targeted to wine drinkers with numerous pictures of the lovely wine cellar.

4. Tennis fans -- and only tennis fans -- will see the tennis court from multiple angles to pique their interest. 

The possibilities are endless. To do Facebook advertising properly takes some knowledge and experience. Once you have it though, it's incredible what you can do with it. And it works quickly.

If you're planning to sell your home, this is a tool that you should use from day 1 of the listing. You are missing out if Facebook isn't a critical component of your strategy.

When you combine this new technology with good, old-fashioned hustle, it's really powerful. I still pickup the phone and make calls for every listing, technology can't do all the work. The two together, though, are an incredible combination.

To learn more about selling your home, please reply back with your address. 

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