Every property owner and manager knows that in order to effectively market your building and sign more leases, you have to list your vacancies on apartment listing platforms. You’ve probably tried all the popular ones — Zillow, Trulia, and Zumper. But one rental listing site you might not have tried yet is Facebook Marketplace.
That’s right — property owners and managers can list vacancies on the social media giant’s marketplace. But is it worth listing a property for rent on Facebook Marketplace? Read on to learn more.
Navigate this guide:
- Can I post real estate on Facebook Marketplace?
- Is Facebook Marketplace good for apartments?
- How do I list a property for rent on Facebook Marketplace?
Can I post real estate on Facebook Marketplace?
Yes, you can post real estate on Facebook Marketplace. In 2017, Facebook launched a “Housing” category in its Marketplace, allowing real estate agents and property managers to post rental listings.
At this time, it’s completely free to post a rental on Facebook Marketplace. There are also no commission fees.
Watch an instructional video on how to post your rental on Facebook Marketplace:
Is Facebook Marketplace good for apartments?
Facebook Marketplace is a good place to post apartment and rental listings because it increases exposure and generates leads for free. It’s also quick and easy to post a rental listing, making Facebook a great platform to market your property.
Since launching its Marketplace in 2016, Facebook has reported that one in three Americans use the platform. So, needless to say, there are millions of people skimming the Marketplace every day. And since Facebook started honing in on property rental listings in 2017, more and more people have been using Marketplace to find an apartment.
In fact, Facebook Marketplace has slowly been dethroning Craigslist as the go-to apartment-hunting tool nationwide. While plenty of rental listing sites have gained popularity over the last several years, Craigslist has remained a staple for its free listings and easy posting process. But now, people are starting to use and trust Facebook more.
Facebook Marketplace beats out Craigslist for a few reasons:
- People already use Facebook for other purposes, and the Marketplace platform is easily accessible.
- Facebook lets users see the poster’s Facebook profile, which builds trust.
- There are more people actively using Facebook than Craigslist.
Why you should list rentals on Facebook
- Large audience: Facebook is the largest social media network, boasting roughly 3 billion users worldwide. So, you’ll enjoy high visibility when you post to the Marketplace.
- You can boost a listing: If you want to maximize exposure, you can pay to boost a listing. Boosting essentially increases the number of people who see and engage with your post.
- Simple conversions: If a prospect is interested in your rental, they can quickly and easily contact you, request a tour, or save the listing to revisit later. You’ll receive the prospect’s contact information to save in your CRM.
- Partnership with other listing services: Facebook Marketplace has announced partnerships with leading apartment listing services such as Apartments.com and Zumper. So, this means you can publish listings on a platform like Zumper and they’ll be automatically posted to Facebook, too.
- Showcase multiple units in one building: Facebook Marketplace allows you to publish multi-unit listings if there are multiple units available in the same building.
How do I list a property for rent on Facebook Marketplace?
Posting a rental on Facebook Marketplace is simple, and anyone on your team can do it.
There are only five steps to listing an apartment on Facebook:
- Set up your account
- Create a listing
- Add photos and details
- Choose your publishing options
- Respond to leads and inquiries
Step 1: Set up your account
As of 2021, it appears that only select businesses can sell on Facebook Marketplace through their business page. All other sellers who create a listing on Marketplace must use their personal Facebook profiles.
As a result, you’ll likely have to list your rental properties on Marketplace via your own personal Facebook profile. So, either log into your Facebook account or create one for free.
Pro tip: Consider creating a secondary Facebook account that you’ll use strictly for publishing rentals. That way, you can keep things separate from your personal account.
Step 2: Create a listing
Once you’re logged into Facebook, follow these steps to create a listing:
- Navigate to the Marketplace from the side menu or by typing “marketplace” in the search bar.
- Click ‘Sell Something.’
- Click ‘Homes for Sale or Rent.’
Step 3: Add photos and plenty of details
Now, you’ll have the opportunity to describe your unit(s), attach photos, and provide details about the unit.
- You can add up to 50 apartment photos. Make sure they’re bright, clear, and high-resolution. And include photos of both the unit and the building’s interior and exterior.
- Generate a title for the listing. Keep it short yet descriptive — for example: “[#] Bedroom Top-Floor Apartment in [Neighborhood]”
- Answer all the drop-down questions (such as number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, and price)
- Write a thorough description. Include details about the unit itself and the building — the more the better. Also include details about when the unit is available.
- Select which amenities are available from the options Facebook provides.
Step 4: Choose your publishing options
You’ll obviously want to publish your listing to the Marketplace, but you can also opt to post the listing in up to 20 groups.
After you publish, you can opt to boost the listing. When boosting a rental listing, you can either select your budget with Facebook’s recommended campaign duration or choose a custom option.
How to set up a custom campaign:
- Click ‘Select custom budget and duration.’
- In the Duration section, click (+plus) or (-minus) to select the number of days you want the ad to run.
- In the Total Budget section, use the slider to set your budget. Or, click the pencil icon to type in a number. The budget you set will be the amount of money you pay in total for the ad campaign.
- Optionally, you can also edit the audience for your ad. This lets you define the location that you want to target with your boosted listing.
Step 5: Respond to leads and inquiries
Now that your rental listing is live, wait for the leads to come in.
When a prospect reaches out to you with questions or to request an apartment tour, you’ll receive a simple form with the prospect’s contact information and other relevant details.
Remember to respond quickly and professionally to all inquiries. After all, the resident experience begins before a resident even signs a lease.
Watch how ButterflyMX works:
How to post a rental on Facebook Marketplace through a listing site
In 2017, Facebook announced its partnership with listing sites like Zumper and Apartments.com to automate Facebook Marketplace rental advertisements.
Depending on how many buildings or units you want to advertise, manually listing each one could be extremely time-consuming. But many platforms now make it easy to automatically syndicate your listings.
The process of syndicating your listings from one listing platform to Facebook Marketplace depends on which platform you’re using. For many platforms, the process is automatic. For others, you may have to opt into syndicated listings. Check with the listing platform you use.
Facebook Marketplace rules for rental listings
Before posting any apartment or rental to Facebook Marketplace, familiarize yourself with Facebook’s rules and policies. Violating any of these policies could result in your listing not being approved or getting deleted after it goes live.
Adhere to these two key policies:
- Your listing description and photos must match.
- Listings that discriminate against a protected class or violate any sort of tenant screening laws can be reported and removed from Facebook.
Step up your property marketing with Facebook Marketplace
Whether your goal is to generate more leads or sign leases faster, posting a rental on Facebook Marketplace is a great solution. Your target prospects are probably already on Facebook, so why not take advantage of that? With just five simple steps — or connecting your account to a listing platform you already use — you can have your vacancies published to Facebook in no time.
