Sell Your Home on Facebook

Social networking has always been a part of our lives. We interact with people at church, at work and in the neighborhood. Let’s admit it, we would often be finished at the store much quicker if we didn’t constantly run into people we know and stop to speak. The Internet has made social networking even easier and made it easier for all of us to expand our social network to an almost unlimited scope.

Many social networking sites have become popular, and Facebook seems to be one of the most used among all demographics. My young nieces and nephews each have a Facebook account and so do my 70+ year old aunt and uncle. This tool is a great way to stay in touch, share pictures and videos and communicate both public and private messages. So why not take advantage of this free networking tool to sell your home?

First of all, if you haven’t activated a Facebook account you won’t have any idea what I’m writing about. If you have, then follow along and I’ll give you a few tips on how to use the various facets of your Facebook account in ways that could help you sell your home.

Status Updates: Update your status with good memories of things your family has done in your house. It could be as simple as, “Remembering Memorial Day family cook-out at our house. 12 adults, 16 kids and a 10lb box of hamburger patties. Great memories!” This simple post communicates that your house is spacious enough for big groups and entertains well. Use the status box in this way to communicate different benefits of your home.

Photos: Your photo page allows you to create albums and post photos of anything you like. Why not create several photo albums that really show off your home. Take pics of your home when it is “open house ready”. Post other photos in another album of times when friends and family are being entertained there. A powerful feature of Facebook is that it allows you to add a description to every photo. Tag your photos with information about the newly remodeled bathroom or kitchen, etc.

Video: Shoot a video tour of your home and post it here. Take a few minutes to storyboard the shoot, but begin with a shot from the street, slowly pan through all the rooms and finish with a tour of the backyard.

Blog: Post about how you found the house and why you decided to buy it. Post about late night slumber parties and movie nights. Post about landscaping you’ve added and updates you’ve made. The more personal your posts, the more the home is made personal and attractive to the reader.

Friends: The more Facebook friends you have the more potential “salespeople” you have helping you sell your home. The best way to grow your list of friends is to ask the friends you already have to recommend to their list of friends that they connect with you; then they will see your status updates on their Facebook homepage and have access to all the things you post. If you really want to expand your list of friends, go to your account settings and click on Networks. There you will be able to find other local networks and request friendships with a great many people you don’t currently know. Who knows, they could be looking for a home just like yours.

Messages: Facebook has its own email feature that you can use to request friends and family to place a picture of your home on their “Wall” so anyone viewing their profile can see your home for sale. Ask your friends and family to request their friends to help you sell your home by place the picture on their “Wall” as well.

Facebook has many other ways to get the word out about your house that is for sale. Spend some time getting familiar with the features of the site and think creatively about ways you might use the standard features of Facebook to sell your home. If you have other ideas or would just like to visit about this topic more, you can find me on Facebook. Let’s chat.