Facebook Messenger Ads Get Open Rates 242% Higher Than Email...

Okay, time to admit it. Your ads on Facebook face some pretty stiff competition.

Sure, your email drip campaigns work great, but you’re still only getting a fraction of your leads to read your messages.

Luckily there is a MUCH better way to engage with your leads.

It’s so good that according to a study by Hubspot, this method boasts open rates that are 242% higher than email.

It’s actually dead simple: Facebook Messenger marketing.

What The Heck is Facebook Messenger Marketing?

Facebook Messenger marketing let’s you reach your leads on the feature of Facebook they use more than any other. Facebook Messenger.

For some people, Facebook Messenger IS Facebook. Their feeds might as well not even exist.

For real estate marketers, it offers a few amazing benefits that email or display ads don’t:

You get access to their profile
People are much more likely to engage with you on Facebook Messenger
Many people, especially millennials, rarely use email
You can offer people instant responses via chat bots 24/7
You can target users on Instagram messenger as well as Facebook
A larger audience. Believe it or not, messenger apps have already surpassed active users on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin.

Don’t believe me? Check out this chart from Business Insider’s Messaging App Report:

Sounds pretty sweet right? Okay, let’s dive into the weeds a bit to see if this could be the real estate marketing strategy that takes your business to the next level.

The 4 Facebook Messenger Marketing Strategies

Okay, by now you’re probably dying to know more about Facebook Messenger Marketing, so here is a quick rundown of your options to reach leads with Facebook Messenger.

1. Facebook Click to Messenger Ads

Click to Messenger Ads are basically identical to regular Facebook ads. They show up in your audience’s news feed, and you can target your audience exactly how you would for a normal Facebook ad.

The main difference and reason they’re awesome is the CTA. A CTA on a Click to Messenger Ad entices your leads to start a conversation with you (or a chat bot) via Messenger.

FB Messenger - This Ad Strategy Gets Open Rates 242% Higher Than Email — Screenshot via Facebook

Here’s an example of what a Click to Messenger Ad will look like in your audience’s news feed.

On the left, we have what the ad will look like when someone is scrolling through their news feed. Note that the CTA here is “Learn More” but you can change that to “Send Message” or “Chat now” depending on your campaign.

Other than the CTA, Click to Messenger ads work just like normal Facebook ads. Your audience can like, comment, or share your ad like any other.

On the right, is what the ad looks like when someone clicks on the CTA. As you can see, the ad opens in Facebook Messenger and encourages the lead to chat with you or a chat bot you’re set up to qualify leads.

2. Facebook Messenger Homepage Ads

Another option that Facebook offers are ads that show up on the homepage of your audience’s Facebook Messenger account.

Here’s an example of what a Facebook Messenger Homepage ad:

These ads work just like the Click to Messenger ads. When your lead clicks on the CTA, they open up a chat window where they can interact with you or a chat bot.

Here’s what this particular Messenger Homepage ad looks like when a lead clicks on the CTA and opens a chat window in Messenger.Note how Facebook offers them a choice of two pre selected responses. In this case, leads can choose “Find a Nearby Store” or “Hours”. The response the chat bot gives them will depend on which response they choose.

Fun right?

These pre selected responses are customizable and offer Realtors a powerful new way to segment or qualify leads automatically.

Engaging Visitors to Your Website with Facebook Messenger Chatbots

Another way you can market your services to your leads with Facebook Messenger is to embed Facebook Messenger Live Chat or a Facebook Messenger Chat Bot on your website.

The cool part is that you can use Facebook Messenger on your site to offer your visitors a lead magnet like an Ebook to get their contact info, for lead qualifying, or even for general inquiries and customer service requests.

Here’s what a CTA using Facebook Messenger looks like on Botacademy.com:Here’s another one from their homepage that offers a free ebook as a lead magnet:When you click through each CTA, you open messenger and begin a pre-scripted chat with a bot designed by Bot Academy.

While there are a lot of great live chat options for your website like Drift that are free, using Facebook Messenger on your site give you the option of knowing who your leads are. You can also retarget them with sponsored message ads.

How to Design Irresistible Facebook Messenger Marketing Campaigns for Buyers and Seller

Now that you have an idea of why you should be using Facebook Messenger Marketing to generate leads, here’s some ideas to inspire campaigns:

Campaigns Ideas for Buyer Leads

Free Ebooks on specific market data

Think outside the new homebuyer’s guide and get creative. What behind the scenes data do you have that will be irresistible for your leads?

No matter what you choose, just remember to be as specific as possible in your title.

Something like “This one type of Austin Home Sold 4x Faster” will work much better than “Fastest Selling Homes in Austin”.

Did you notice how specific the title of this article was? That wasn’t an accident.

An “Ask Me Anything” No Strings Chat Session

Another lead magnet that works to Facebook Messenger’s advantages might be an “Ask me anything” chat session. This would be great for new buyers and can also be used later on in chat bot sessions.

Campaign Ideas for Seller Leads

A Locally Focused Home Staging, Renovation or Curb Appeal Guide

A great one for FSBO or first time sellers, these guides are pretty easy to write, and something that many sellers are looking for second opinions on.

Free CMA or In Person Home Valuation

These work great in display ads, and will work even better for Messenger ads.

Automating Replies Using Chat Bots

One of the most intriguing things about Facebook Messenger marketing for real estate is the ability to build chat bots to engage with your leads.

Chat bots are simple scripts that respond to your leads when they interact with your ad. While some bots can “read” your leads responses and respond accordingly, many just offer them multiple choice suggestions for responses.

For example, a chat bot for your buyer campaign might ask if they are looking to buy or rent. Or, you might ask when they need to move then give a range of “1-6 months”, “6-12 months”, or “Just Looking.”

You can program the bot to respond differently depending on the answer your lead gives them.

Where to Create Chat Bots for Free

While chat bots for Facebook Messenger campaigns are easy to build, for brevity’s sake we’ll just point you to some resources where you can learn how to build chat bots for free.Want to learn more about making and using bots? Start here.Chatfuel let’s you build your own custom real estate chatbot for Facebook Messenger for free. You can use the bot on your website or in a campaign.

The only drawback is that Chatfuel adds their branding to your bots. To remove the branding you can get a pro account for $30 per month.Onsequel is another place where you can build a bot for free and publish to Facebook or Kik.Manychat lets you build chat bots with an easy to use visual interface.Another great site to build your chat bot for free. Paid plans offer bots that work for Alexa, 1,000 users, and a website chat bot.