REALTOR Megan Ruiz caught the eye of Agent Applause as she has found a clever way to grow her email list by capitalizing on those people who visit her Facebook business page. It’s her integration of Constant Contact as the landing page of her Facebook business page that has made her the subject of this Agent Applause. (Note that this functionality is used on a Facebook official page, not profiles. If you need clarification on the difference read Facebook Foundations: Profiles vs. Official Pages.)
When you visit Megan’s business page on Facebook, you are greeted by a “Join My List” tab.
Megan’s execution of this represents good modern marketing for several reasons:
- Seamless lead capture: There is seamless lead capture right into her database. If consumers sign up for her list on Facebook, they are automatically added to her constant contact database list. No need for her to do data entry into her email list.
- Welcome message: Megan has customized the message that appears on the tab to tell her customers exactly what they get if they sign up with her.
- Landing tab of her Facebook page. This is the tab you arrive at if you aren’t already a fan of her page (in other words, if you haven’t already clicked the “Like” button on her page). Megan has changed a setting on her Facebook page to make this lead capture form the default landing tab, or welcome tab, for people who visit her Facebook page.
Adding a Lead Capture Tab to Your Page:
Many major email marketing companies offer this functionality for your official Facebook page. First, you’ll need to have an account with a major email service provider. Then, there are two options for installing this kind of functionality on your page:
- Install a Facebook app on your page. This is the simplest option. Many major email service providers have created a Facebook app that you can install and configure on your page in a few clicks. This is what Megan has done with Constant Contact’s Facebook App. Another example is from Pixel Coaching which has used Mail Chimp’s Facebook App. Contact your email service provider for directions and a link to install the app on your page (they will likely have a blog post explaining how to do this). Alternatively, you can search for the app in the search bar on Facebook.
- Use FBML to have a form coded on your page. This is the techier of the two options and most agents will need the assistance of a coder/vendor to accomplish this. The level of visual customization on your tab is increased when you go this route. You’ll need the “embed code” for your sign up form from your email provider and then you’ll need to a custom FBML tab on your Facebook page that incorporates this code into your custom tab.
Applause Worthy:
In a business like real estate, where there is a long time between purchases, email marketing to your customer base and prospects is an important, if not key component of a modern real estate agent’s business strategy. Agent Applause has previously highlighted good examples of Realtors doing this (see post on Richard Silver). Not covered in that post was the process of lead capture – how are people getting onto your email list? Best practices dictate that your email list should be opt in on the part of the consumer – people should give you permission to market to them by signing up for your offering. There are many leading email providers that Realtors use to manage this process (Constant Contact, MailChimp, AWeber, VerticalResponse, iContact, etc) and often this is done via a form that appears on the agent’s website or blog. But, with the explosion of social media in the past few years, your website is no longer the only place consumers digitally connect with you. Megan recognizes this and has well positioned herself to benefit from this new avenue of consumer attention. As a result, we applaud Megan for keeping up with modern marketing.
