facebook

Ad AgencySmart builders use social media – and Facebook specifically – for mission-critical reasons that drive business results. It’s critical to know what consumers are saying about you company, the homes you build and the service you provide.

Because of this, BDX is launching a new Facebook App that is available to builders listing all of their communities with BDX. Now you can include your listings on your company Facebook page with our app!

  • Your listings will show up as a dedicated app on your Facebook page
  • Visitors to your Facebook page can use the app’s geographical map or search by market area or city
  • The app has links to your communities with drilldown to your homes and plans in each community
  • The app features calls-to-action including a “request info” form and links to your website
  • All data is powered by the info you already provide to BDX
  • Email leads are delivered in the same manner as other BDX leads, with a dedicated source “Facebook SeaFB App Exrch App”

Having a vibrant social media presence protects and improves your website’s organic rank and traffic. Google places great value on social signals. The likes, shares and comments you earn – especially when you share inspiring photos, floor plans, renderings or videos of your new homes on Facebook – pay off with traffic from your posts and increased organic rank.

Facebook is a great way to crowdsource your design and marketing. Start by asking your fans which elevation they prefer, how they would build out a bonus room, or which cabinet color or style they like best. You’ll engage with prospective homebuyers and gain useful insights.

You can also elicit and share testimonials from homebuyers and to engage with shoppers and Realtors. According to Facebook Insights, 74% of adults with a college education use Facebook as well as 72% of adults who earn more than $75,000. Half of Facebook users are on Facebook, often on their mobile device, every day.  Your customers and prospects live on Facebook. Isn’t it time to reach them effectively? Make your Facebook page even more engaging by adding your listings with our new app. Contact info@thebdx.com to get started.

facebook thumbs downSocial media, specifically Facebook, has become one of the most popular means for businesses to market to current and prospective customers.  Did you know that 757 million people use Facebook on a daily basis? While Facebook has become an invaluable marketing resource for many builders, there may be situations where a friend or follower of your page posts negative comments about your company or an employee on your Facebook page.  If this happens to you, don’t panic.  Below are steps you can consider taking to resolve the situation.

Respond Calmly and Reasonably – and Publicly

As a builder, you may have encountered the sales training maxim that “an objection unanswered is thought to be true.” That applies to Facebook comments. Answering promptly and politely can solve (or at least start to resolve) many issues. Not replying can cause other social media users who see a public complaint to assume the comment is true, or to assume that you don’t monitor your social media, or that you are unwilling to reply.

Start by taking an honest look at the comment or complaint. In many cases, a calm, courteous, reasonable and prompt public reply will resolve matters – and it reassures others on Facebook that you’re committed to great customer service. If you or your firm has fallen short of your typical customer care and service, consider acknowledging that and asking for the opportunity to make things right. You can reach out to the person who commented and ask them to contact you privately by sending you a direct message.  By doing so, you take the search for a solution off-line, out of the public’s view. Most of your social media fans will be glad to see your prompt, courteous reply and not feel the need to take part in the resolution.

Hide the Post

After you review the comment or complaint honestly and calmly, you may decide it is so inaccurate (or, in rare cases, so inflammatory) that even the prompt public reply outlined above may not be enough. In that case, Facebook allows you some options. When someone comments on your posts, you can elect to hide their comment.  The person who made the comment and their friends can still see the comment. However, no one else can, which greatly limits the reach of the negative comment. We recommend that you still respond as outlined above – calmly, courteously, and promptly – so the person who made the comments feels heard and so their friends can see your response and your sincere attempt to set things right.

Another advantage of hiding a post as opposed to deleting it entirely (see below) is that the person who commented does not feel censored. Deleting a comment can anger the person who made it and it can simply lead to a game of “whack a mole.” The person adds a new negative comment on Facebook, which you delete, etc. The original complaint (which may have been possible to resolve) can get forgotten and a now-aggrieved social media follower can spiral to a new level of anger or frustration. The person who complained on Facebook may also show up with the original or new complaints on your other social media accounts. They may even post something like this, “Avoid Builder X. They delete my requests for help, can’t take criticism, and won’t take responsibility or try to fix my problem.”

Delete the Post – Where Warranted, and Where Responding and Hiding the Post Won’t Solve the Situation

Are some comments so over the top that simply hiding them isn’t sufficient? The answer is definitely yes, but thankfully this is rare. Let your conscience and your firm’s values be your guide. We recommend a zero-tolerance policy for comments that are racist, sexist, violent or extreme in their profanity. It should be pretty clear when important lines have been crossed. When that happens, deleting the comment entirely – and immediately – is often the best solution. In such situations, any of your other fans who briefly saw a comment that most would agree is unacceptable will not be surprised if it is removed. Many fans may think that step was needed. It also signals to fans that you pay attention to your social media, which is reassuring to prospective homebuyers.

As a Last Resort, You Can Ban a Facebook User From Commenting on Your Facebook page – But You Can’t Stop Them from Commenting About You on Their Facebook Page or Other Social Media

If the person is not open to reason and continues to post negative or inappropriate comments to your page, then you can ban them.  They will no longer be able to post a comment to your Facebook page. However, this is definitely a tool of last resort. You should be aware the banned user still can tag your company and post negative comments on their own Facebook page or on their other social media accounts.

It can be frustrating when someone posts a comment about your firm that you feel is one-sided, unfair or untrue. Today, social media is a key stage, a public platform on which a company’s reputation is earned and made. Drawing a deep breath and responding courteously, promptly and professionally is usually your best response, followed by concrete action where appropriate to fix valid complaints. If someone posts a negative comment about your company or employee on Facebook, following these suggestions will help you gain more control over the presence of your company on social media.

If you’d like to learn more about BDX’s social media solutions for builders, please contact us at Info@thebdx.com. Are you connected with BDX on Facebook?   If not, we hope you’ll Like us here.  

By Jay McKenzie, Director, Content and Social Media, BDX

Most builders agree social media has moved well past the fad stage to assume its rightful place as a core tool to drive their business.

At BDX, our team of professional social media agents manages more than 30 social media channels for our brands. We also manage social media for an increasing number of top builders across the nation.

As we conduct social media reviews for our builders (or share the latest on social media for builders at industry events or webinars) I speak often with builders from all regions and buyer segments.

In each case, I ask builders what metrics they track for social media and how they track it. Their answers vary widely and many seek our advice on what to track. Here’s a recommended, two-tier approach to tracking the core social media metrics that most impact your firm’s success:

Tier One: Musts Benchmark your firm against major competitors. Set goals. Actively manage to goal. Measure month-over-over month and year-over-year; week-over-week is overkill for most builders.

1)      Reputation Management – Like it or not, buyers, shoppers, Realtors and others are talking about your brand, the homes you build and service you provide. You can’t share great comments or reply to concerns if you’re not listening. In addition to listening and responding courteously and promptly, track what’s being said and trends in both positive and negative comments over time.  Tracking complaints can help you root out and fix any recurring issue.

2)      Audience Growth – Many builders believe a Fan will stop following them once they buy, build or settle in. That seems logical, but I see less evidence than you might think. Plus, smart builders make heroes of current and recent homebuyers. You want testimonials to share with future home shoppers and doing so also keep owners in the fold. Measure total fan growth overall and by social media platform (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Google+, Instagram, etc.)

3)      Reach – According to a top Facebook exec, the average post by a brand reaches 16% of Fans. Facebook has billions of dollars of cost. Advertising accounts for more than 90% of Facebook’s revenue and the 1 billion user platform faces intense shareholder scrutiny. By an astounding coincidence, your reach soars when you invest $10 per day to promote your best posts. I wait to see which Posts get the most Likes/Shares organically for a day or two, and then back one with $10 a day for 4-5 days. Do this four or five times a month. It’s a big reason why BDX’s social media fan base grew 5x last year. It’s also a popular service we offer our social media clients.

4)      Referring Source and Traffic – Which social media platforms are driving the most traffic to your website and to your blog from your social media posts and how is each trending?

5)      Engagement – How many Likes and comments are you earning? This is a function of the quality and relevance of your posts and how many people see them (see Reach, above).

6)      Shares – The big payoff from engagement. You want fans to like and share your posts, especially posts that contain links back to your website and blog, which send their friends back to you.

7)      Conversion – Hopefully, you’re using the many great and free features of Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools – and setting goals for key conversion events that drive your business. Set goals, track them obsessively: visits to your site from your major social media accounts, pages viewed, time-on-site. Focus on vital actions that will ultimately drive sales: lead forms completed, newsletter sign-ups, driving directions viewed, printed or sent to a smart phone, phone number reveals or clicks, model home and sales center hours and address, etc.

Tier Two: Valuable to Track/Manage

Other Valuable Metrics

  • First-time and returning visitors – Ask how BDX can help you re-target and re-connect with visitors to your listings on BDX and your website
  • Bounce rate
  • Click-thru rate
  • Cost per click
  • First-touch, last-touch and assisted conversions
  • Influence – Klout and Kred offer you a free measure of your social media influence and clout. Is it increasing? How do you compare to other builders?

This list of metrics is just a fraction of what can be tracked and the list could go on and on! Let us know what metrics that you track not mentioned here and we’ll share them with our builders and credit you.

Jay McKenzie heads up content and social media for BDX. His team of social media agents focuses solely on home builders. For a free review of your social media or to discuss how BDX can assist you in fully leveraging the fast-changing world of social media email info@thebdx.com.

 

By BDX Guest Blogger, Carol Morgan, mRELEVANCE

If you haven’t visited the Facebook ads manager recently, you might be pleasantly surprised next time you take a peek. Facebook recently rolled out new updates that give businesses more control over campaign objectives and ad placements, as well as access to more accurate reporting.

The biggest change is that advertisers can now select from one of eight campaign objectives whereas previously businesses only had a choice for ad type. The new objectives include page likes, post engagement, website clicks, website conversions, app engagement, app installs, offer claims and event responses. Based on the chosen objective, Facebook will then recommend the type of ad your business should run.

The revamped ad manager also allows businesses to choose where they want their ad placed (in the news feed or in the right hand column and on desktop or mobile). However, Facebook still offers the option to let the site automatically determine where the ads will be placed based on where it believes they will perform best.

With both of these changes, making sure your business’ campaign is effective will be more important than ever. Thankfully, new ad and campaign performance statistics now display how many times a particular objective was met and what the cost per result was.

These new changes to Facebook advertising literally put businesses in the driver’s seat when it comes to social media advertising. With more ways than ever to use Facebook to grow your business, this form of advertising is definitely one of the easiest and most cost effective out there today.

 

By BDX Guest Blogger, Carol Morgan, mRELEVANCE

How many fans does your Facebook page have? 100? 500? 1,000? 10,000? Now, how many of those “fans” are actually engaging with your company? More likely than not, not as many as you’d like. While gaining new fans on any social media site these days can be done through social media advertising, actually getting them to like, comment, retweet, share, etc. is something that must be done organically. And, according to Hubspot, photos are a great way to engage fans and solve this challenge. In fact, Facebook posts that include photos receive 53 percent more likes and 104 percent more comments than the average post.

Sounds impressive? It is. However, Facebook isn’t the only place marketers are seeing picture engagement. The rise of Pinterest and Instagram over the past year has also played an important role in determining that pictures really are worth more than one thousand words.

By posting more photos on Facebook, you’re not only increasing engagement, but also increasing EdgeRank, which is Facebook’s visibility algorithm based on user interaction. The higher your EdgeRank, the more likely it is your content is showing up in your followers’ newsfeeds.

Does this mean that your page should strictly start posting photos? No. Variety is still essential. Just like no one wants to see a Facebook page filled with just text statuses, they also don’t want to see just photos. However, you can spice up your links by posting a photo from your post as the main status with the link URL in the description or comments section. In fact, by posting a photo with a link, you are increasing your odds of getting a click through by 84 percent.

So, what’s the main takeaway? Photos are important. Make sure you are taking lots of them and sharing them everywhere you can in order to get the most bang for your buck in terms of social media.

If you’re company is looking to visually engage customers in order to increase your ROI, contact Marketing RELEVANCE.