It’s no secret that Facebook is a goldmine for businesses that want to target and connect with their audience. It has a massive reach that’s continued to grow and it is both an effective discovery platform for companies to increase awareness and a validation platform where they can drive last-mile decision-making. Facebook offers both unpaid (organic) and paid options for companies to connect with their desired customers, including several different advertising formats and strategies. In this post, we’re breaking down the advantages of using video for Facebook advertising and, in particular, best practices for leveraging Facebook video ads for real estate.

What is Facebook Video Advertising?

Advertising on Facebook comes in a variety of formats such as image carousels, boosted page posts, Facebook lead generation ads, video advertising on Facebook, and more. The use of video on Facebook has become so popular that Facebook now sees an average of eight billion video views per day. Video advertising brings digital marketing for real estate to life and can be a great way to get more listings online and promote your listing videos. Plus, 80% of viewers remember what they’ve seen in videos, which is much higher than for just words or static images.

Facebook’s platform favors video, especially native video (video uploaded directly to Facebook or taken via Facebook Live), and it offers several types of video formats for businesses to leverage:

• Video in post. This is the most common type of video and can be found on your Facebook feed; posts with high engagement have the option of being boosted. It comes in three specs: vertical, square, and landscape.
• Carousel. You can add up to 10 videos in a single ad that can feature separate click throughs to specific landing pages. This is one of our favorites!
• Instant experience. These ads open up to a full screen when a user taps on them using their mobile device.
• Collection. This format features a main hero video (displayed larger) and multiple images below the video for users to scroll through.

Facebook advertising can seem daunting at times and it’s important to consider whether Facebook ads for real estate are worth it for your business. There’s a lot to Facebook video ads, so below we break down what you absolutely need to know when running video ads on Facebook. If you’d like to get more information, connect with us to discuss your specific needs and get personalized recommendations.

How to Leverage Facebook Video Ads for Real Estate in 5 Easy Steps: 

1. Engage your audience quickly. Capture your audience’s attention within the first three seconds of the video ad. Videos that have an intriguing element to them in the first few seconds are more likely to be watched all the way through than videos that take longer to get to the value of the video. 
2. Optimize videos to be watched without sound. 85% of Facebook users prefer Facebook videos without sound, so adding closed captions will increase your video’s chances of being watched. Facebook already has the ability to enable automated captions on videos or you can add text overlay when creating the video, which is important.
3. Include copy for context and a call to action (CTA). Even though the video will be the star of the ad, it’s important to provide copy introducing the video content, a clever one-liner, or a call to action (CTA) to entice people to watch the video. To maximize your Facebook video’s impact, you can also include more information about your services in the video and link to a customized landing page on your real estate website where users can get more information and connect with you. 
4. Set a time limit. Facebook recommends keeping your video around 15 seconds so there’s a higher chance of people watching it all the way through. These videos are also eligible to be used for Facebook in-stream placements. However, Facebook also supports longer videos for the Audience Network, up to 120 seconds. 
5. Optimize videos for mobile. Of the three Facebook video specs – vertical, square, and landscape – video ads that are vertical or square are more effective due to the majority of Facebook’s users being on a mobile device. Square and vertical videos also get higher engagement and take up more screen space than landscape videos. 

As with any real estate digital marketing campaign, it’s important to test which Facebook Video Ads strategies are best for your audience. Understanding Facebook advertising insights will help you identify your best performing video content (like videos with sound or without sound, listing videos or customer stories, etc.) and what is most effective in driving conversions so you can adjust your strategy accordingly.

Want more information about running Facebook video ads for real estate? Let’s connect today to strategize on the most effective digital strategy for your business.