How to Use Facebook Live for Real Estate: A Step by Step Guide for Realtors®

Facebook Live was officially released in April 2016. This enabled users to host live broadcasts and share them with their friends and others on the platform. Facebook Live provides a mutual video interaction between the audience and the user for personal and business purposes. Realtors also have been using this feature to promote their business. However, many people do not correctly use Facebook Live for real estate.

This article will go through the steps to host a Facebook Live video on PCs and smartphones. This article does not focus on why real estate agents should use Facebook Live. If you need to learn the importance of live videos on Facebook for real estate and the ideas you can use for Facebook Live videos, click on the link to read more.

Where to Use Live Videos on Facebook

There are four places that you can go live on Facebook. We will briefly go through each of these options:

1. Your Personal Profile

Although not recommended, you can host your Facebook live broadcast right from your personal profile. We do not recommend doing so because not all of your friends on your personal profile are there to learn about your business and the offers you have. In the best-case scenario, they will ignore your business-related content, and in the worst-case scenario, they might unfollow you. Neither is what you want.  It is also against Facebook’s terms of service, and they might remove your profile from the platform if you use a personal page for business purposes.

2. Your Facebook Business Page

This is the place you should host your live broadcasts. It allows you to run retargeting ads to anyone who engages with your live broadcast.

Read More: Facebook for Real Estate 2020: The Ultimate Guide for REALTORS®

3. Your Facebook Group

Real estate agents should create real estate Facebook groups. Then, they can share valuable and compelling content with other group members to introduce them as someone who knows real estate in the area and to increase their reach as more people join the group. When group members have questions regarding real estate, agents can participate in the discussions and provide answers. This helps make sure they stay on top of group members’ minds.

This is where Facebook live broadcasts related to real estate can add more value to the group and help generate leads.

4. Facebook Events

An event page is the perfect place to host a Facebook live broadcast. Virtual open houses, QA sessions, tips and tricks, and many more live sessions can be broadcast on a Facebook Event page.

Read More: How to Host an Effective Facebook Live Open House: Step-by-Step Guide for REALTORS®

How to Prepare for a Facebook Live for Real Estate

In this section, we will stick to the technical preparations you must make for your Facebook live broadcast.

1. Make Sure You Are on a Fast Connection

You would not want your live video interrupted due to a bad connection. That will disappoint your existing audience and leave a wrong impression on your new audience. It will show you as an unprofessional agent who has not thought everything through.

2. Make Sure Your Battery is Fully Charged

If you are hosting your live broadcast, another embarrassing incident that might happen is if your phone’s battery dies. Due to the high network usage, your phone’s battery will have a heavier load and drain faster. Therefore, ensure you have it fully charged before starting your live broadcast.

3. Put Your Phone on DND or Airplane mode (on Wi-Fi)

While on your live video, any phone call or message notification can interrupt the live video or at least distract you. Ensure you put your phone on airplane mode so unwanted calls will not interrupt your live video. Of course, you need to be on Wi-Fi and cannot use cellular data.

4. Set the Scene

If you will be stationary and are not planning to move around, make sure you set the scene for the live video. Run your camera to see how your surroundings look. Remove anything that should not be there. Try to make the setting as professional as possible. Get rid of the clutter and make the place look neat.

How to Use Facebook Live for Real Estate: PC

On your computer browser, go to your Facebook business page. Find the Create: Live button and click on it.

Live Video: Page

To the right, you can choose where you want to broadcast the live video.

Right below are two fields: one for the headline and the other for the description.

Headline

Many real estate agents ignore the headline, which is a huge mistake. When you run a Facebook live video, it will appear on your audience’s newsfeed. Without a headline, they have to guess what your live video is about, and rest assured; most won’t bother to click on the video and find out. Your headline is vital in attracting visitors and getting them on the live video. After you finish the live broadcast, you can share it on your timeline, and others can search for your videos. Without a headline, the same case of ambiguity occurs. Try to make the headline catchy so that it encourages visitors to join.

Description

You can say what your live video is about in the headline, but as the name suggests, it is just a line. The description gives your audience an idea of what they will get from your live video and increases their chances of joining the live broadcast. Do not leave this space empty. Describe the purpose of the live video and mention the main features and points that appeal to your audience.

Audience Setting

Below the Headline and Description settings are the Audience Settings, where you can specify the Audience age range and the allowed and restricted locations. These options will allow you to decide who sees your live broadcast and who does not.

Create Polls

You can create Polls or Questions to ask your audience during the live video and increase user engagement.

Live Video Link

Next is a new feature added to Facebook that provides a link by which others can view your live videos in one place. You can copy and share this link on your website or social media channels to encourage people to watch your live videos. Copy that link and keep it where you can use it easily.

For the next step, you need to specify the source of your live video feed. You have three options:

Use Stream Key

External apps like OBS, Wirecast, and XSplit can be used. Live to broadcast live videos.

Use Camera

To use your PC’s camera, choose this option to record the video directly.

Use Paired Encoder

Choose the option to use paired encoders to stream live on Facebook. If you use pre-recorded content, make sure it is distinguishable from live content and includes appropriate disclosures about being pre-recorded in the description or through graphics.

Go through different settings and click on Go Live when you are ready.

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Read More: How to Host an Effective Facebook Live Open House: Step-by-Step Guide for REALTORS®

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How to Use Facebook Live for Real Estate: Cellphone

To host a Facebook Live video on your business page, download and install the Facebook Pages Manager app. When you open the app, click the Publish button on the main screen.

Then click on Live Video.

On the next page, add a short description for the Live video, and when ready, click Start Live Video.

When you are done with the live video, click on Finish.

Now you can decide what to do with the Live session. You can share, save, or delete the video.

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Takeaway

A Facebook Live broadcast is a great way to engage the audience and generate leads. To make the most of a live broadcast, it is best to use your Facebook business page and prepare before you go live. Using a decent internet connection and a high-quality camera are some of the things real estate agents need to keep in mind. The more you host live videos, the better you will get at them. You will learn and improve as you gain experience.

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Read More: Facebook for Real Estate 2020: The Ultimate Guide for REALTORS®

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