When you’re looking to make an impact in your geographic farm, Facebook can be a highly effective tool. Its advertising options allow you to target your campaigns down to the individual zip code, as well as by demographics and interest.

Of course, merely getting your ads in front of prospects is no guarantee for success. When your goal is to get potential clients to know, like, and trust you, you need to follow up.

Keep reading for effective follow-up strategies that will help you get the best return possible from your Facebook farming efforts.

Respond to user comments.

When you engage with your audience, they will be more engaged.

Since you’re looking to build trust with your audience, responding to comments makes perfect sense. You’re showing that you’re a real person who’s committed to your customers and potential customers alike.

Answer questions asked by your audience, and always thank people for kind words about what you’ve posted. If someone has a criticism, answer it directly and professionally, but don’t get sucked into an argument with someone who only means to do your business harm.

Remember: you’re building rapport with people who might be willing to work with you in the future. You wouldn’t ignore a question or comment from someone who called or came to visit in person, and you should take care to be as respectful on Facebook.

Invite farming prospects to like your page.

Here’s a tip that not all businesspeople know:

When someone likes or reacts to a post or ad from your Facebook business page, you can send an invitation for that person to like your page. It’s a really easy way to grow your following at no added cost to you.

Start by clicking the number of reactions to your post. In that list of people who’ve reacted, you’ll see boxes to the right of each name. Some will say “Liked,” indicating the person already likes your page. You can click the “Invite” button next to any of the names where it shows up, and they’ll get a notification asking them to like your page.

If you’ve got a lot of interaction on one of your posts or ads, be sure to space out your invitations a little—sending too many in too short of a period of time will result in you being temporarily blocked from the feature.

Communicate via direct message.

Depending on the privacy settings of your individual farming prospects, you can most likely send them a private message to respond to questions, thank them for support, or see if there’s anything else you might be able to do to help them.

Download a PDF sample of American Lifestyle to stay in touch with past clients.

Private messages can be a great way to make people feel appreciated and take your business relationship to the next level. Just take care not to message them too often or when they’ve made it clear they would rather not hear from you.

Not sure how to message a prospect? Check out this short video for a quick tutorial.

Add qualified leads to your email list.

While Facebook is an excellent way to create awareness of your business in your geographic farm, it’s important that you take steps to ensure the relationship progresses beyond social media.

For qualified leads who aren’t quite ready for a listing appointment or full sales presentation, an email drip campaign can be an excellent conversion tool. You can get someone’s email address by asking through direct message or creating a sign-up form.

If you’re already sending an email newsletter, try sharing the HTML version on your Facebook page, then boosting it to people in your farm. Provide a link to sign up, and there’s a good chance you’ll see some new prospects join your list.

Take the conversation offline.

While you might make a few sales from your email marketing campaigns, you’ll see a lot more success from farming if you’re able to communicate in other ways. Ultimately, you’ll want to have a phone call, followed by an in-person appointment where you can present your unique value proposition and ask for their business.

You can do this in a few ways:

• Encourage prospects to call you for a free home estimate.
• Ask for a listing appointment via direct message.
• Have your phone number/appointment request form on your website for people looking for your services.

At the end of the day, your goal is to use your Facebook farming efforts to cultivate awareness of your brand, so, when someone has a need for your services, you’ll be the professional they decide to work with.