Facebook Ads for Real Estate Agents: Step by Step Guide to PPC Success

Winning with Facebook ads is about getting in front of the right people at the right time with the right message. This guide gives you a clear plan to set up, launch, and scale ads that bring real enquiries for listings, buyers, and landlords. The language is simple, the steps are clear, and the examples are written for life in Australian property markets.

What you will learn

• How to choose the right campaign objective for real results
• How to set up your account and pixel the right way
• How to build smart audiences for sellers, buyers, and landlords
• How to write ad copy that is easy to read and quick to act on
• How to track results and lower your cost per lead over time

Before you start

Get these items ready so your campaign does not stall.

• Facebook Business Manager with admin access to your Page
• An active Facebook Page and Instagram account
• A website with an enquiry page or a Meta instant form
• A clear Privacy Policy page on your site
• A short value offer such as a suburb sales report or a free price estimate
• Quality photos and a short video reel of recent sales or a feature listing
• Clear contact paths such as call, email, or book an appraisal link

Pick the right objective

Your objective guides Facebook on who should see your ad.

• Leads. Best for appraisal requests, landlord enquiries, or buyer list sign ups. Use Instant Forms or send to your website form.
• Traffic or Sales. Useful when you want high quality website visits to listings or a booking page.
• Engagement or Video Views. Best for building awareness in a new farm area or promoting an open home.
• Reach. Good for short bursts across a suburb such as a Just Listed or Just Sold announcement.

Tip. If the goal is a real contact, choose Leads first. If the goal is to warm up your audience, choose Video Views or Engagement and retarget those who watched.

Map your simple funnel

Think of three warm levels.

• Cold. People in target suburbs who do not know you yet. Show value content and social proof.
• Warm. People who watched your video, clicked your ad, or visited your site. Show offers and next steps.
• Hot. People who filled a form or messaged you. Follow up fast and book a meeting.

Keep your retargeting windows simple. Start with 30 days for website visitors and 30 days for video viewers.

Structure that keeps costs low

Use a clean structure so the algorithm can learn.

• One objective per campaign
• One to three ad sets per campaign
• Two to four ads per ad set
• Clear names. Example. Sellers Appraisals, Suburb Name, Radius 5 km, Lead Form

Budget guide to start.

• Lead campaigns. Twenty to fifty dollars per day per suburb
• Awareness or video. Ten to twenty dollars per day
• Short boosts for open homes. Ten to thirty dollars per day for three days

Set up your pixel and events

If you send people to your website, install the Meta Pixel.

• Place the base code on all pages
• Track important events. Page View, View Content, Lead, Contact, Schedule
• Test events with the Chrome helper tool inside Events Manager
• If you do not have a site or dev support, start with Instant Forms inside Facebook and add the Pixel later

Build audiences that make sense for property

Start with these three layers.

1. Core location audiences
   • People living in specific postcodes or a radius around your farm suburbs
   • Age guide. Twenty eight and older for sellers and landlords, broader for buyer campaigns
   • Keep interests broad. Property, home improvement, renovation, mortgage, parenting, small business

2. Custom audiences
   • Website visitors in the past 30 or 60 days
   • Video viewers at 50 percent or more
   • People who engaged with your Page or Instagram in the past 90 days
   • Past clients and enquiry lists uploaded from your CRM

3. Lookalike audiences
   • Create from your past seller list or appraisal leads if volume allows
   • Use a 1 percent lookalike to start, then test 2 to 3 percent

Note. If Facebook asks you to mark your campaign as related to housing, accept it. Some targeting options may be limited. This is normal and helps keep ads fair and compliant.

Creative that wins attention

Choose simple visuals and clear words.

• Single image of a local street scene, a sold board, or the front of a featured home
• Carousel showing three to five frames. New listing, recent sale, suburb median, your offer, your call to action
• Short video or reel. Fifteen to thirty seconds. Hook with the suburb name, show a result, ask a question, invite a click

Copy formula that works.

• Hook. Call out the suburb or the problem
• Value. Say what they get and why it helps
• Proof. Show a result, review, or case
• Action. Tell them what to do next

Exact build steps in Ads Manager

Follow this flow the first time and repeat.

1. Create campaign

2. Choose Leads if you want appraisal or landlord enquiries

3. Choose Conversion Location as Instant Forms or Website

4. Name your campaign with suburb and goal

5. Turn on Advantage Campaign Budget if you have more than one ad set

6. Set a daily budget based on the guide above

7. Create an ad set and set location to your farm suburbs or radius

8. Set age and gender if needed. Keep it broad to start

9. Choose Advantage placements so Meta can find low cost results

10. Set optimisation goal. For Instant Forms use Leads. For website use Leads or Landing Page Views

11. Set schedule start and end

12. Build the ad creative. Choose single image, carousel, or video

13. Upload your media. Use clear photos and readable text overlays

14. Write Primary Text, Headline, and Description using the copy formula

15. Choose a call to action such as Learn More or Get Quote

16. If using Instant Forms, create a form

17. Add a short intro that sets value and trust

18. Ask for name, email, and phone. Add one custom question that qualifies interest

19. Add your Privacy Policy link and business details

20. Edit the Thank You screen to invite a call or book a time on your site

Templates you can copy

Seller appraisal ad copy.

Primary text. Want a free price estimate for your home in Suburb Name. See what buyers paid for homes like yours in the past 90 days. Get your report in minutes.
Headline. Free suburb price report
Description. Recent sales, buyer demand, and a guide to selling this season
Call to action. Learn More

Buyer list ad copy.

Primary text. New homes in Suburb Name each week. Join the VIP buyer list and get early alerts before portals. Free and quick to join.
Headline. Join the VIP buyer list
Description. Off market and pre market alerts
Call to action. Sign Up

Landlord lead ad copy.

Primary text. Leasing in Suburb Name. Get a rental price update and see how our average days to lease compares. Ask for a free rental review today.
Headline. Free rental price update
Description. Reduce vacancy and protect your yield
Call to action. Get Quote

Instant Form questions.

• What is your property address
• Are you looking to sell or just curious
• When are you thinking of moving. One to three months, three to six months, six plus months
• Best time for a quick call today

Budget and bidding made simple

• Start small and stable for seven days so the system can learn
• Use Lowest Cost bidding to begin
• Do not make large budget jumps. Increase by no more than twenty to thirty percent at a time
• If a suburb needs more reach, add another ad set, not a large budget spike

Compliance and care

• Ensure your ad is truthful and not misleading
• Include a clear Privacy Policy link in Instant Forms
• Only use images you have rights to use and vendor consent where required
• Respect local rules for price guides and disclaimers
• Do not target by race, health, or other sensitive traits

Tracking and reporting

Set weekly targets so you know what good looks like.

• For Leads. Cost per lead, number of qualified leads, appointment bookings, listings won
• For Traffic. Landing page views, average time on page, enquiry form submissions
• For Video. Thru plays, three second views, percentage watched
• For All. Click through rate above one and a half percent is a good early sign

Simple weekly report outline.

• Spend and cost per result
• Leads by source. Instant Form or Website
• Quality notes. Contact rate within five minutes, booked appraisals, feedback from calls
• Best performing ad and audience
• Actions for next week

Retargeting plan that compounds results

After two to three weeks, switch on retargeting.

• Website visitors in the past 30 days. Show recent sales and a free appraisal offer
• Video viewers at 50 percent or more. Invite them to download a suburb report
• Page and Instagram engagers. Share social proof and invite a call
• Use small daily budgets. Five to ten dollars per retargeting ad set is often enough

Automation and follow up

Speed wins listings. Connect your lead flow so no one waits.

• Use Meta Leads Centre or connect to your CRM with Zapier or a native integration
• Send an instant email with the promised report or booking link
• Send an SMS within two minutes that says you will call shortly
• Call within five minutes during business hours
• Use a seven day nurture sequence with helpful tips and case studies

Troubleshooting common issues

Low delivery or learning limited.

• Broaden location or remove tight interests
• Use Advantage placements
• Increase budget slightly and give it time

High cost per lead.

• Shorten the form and remove hard questions
• Improve the creative. Use local suburb names and clear offers
• Test Instant Forms versus website forms and pick the winner

Poor lead quality.

• Add one qualifying question
• Use a value offer that suits sellers rather than pure giveaways
• Retarget warm audiences and reduce spend on cold if quality is low

Ad rejection.

• Remove too much text on images
• Avoid personal attributes in copy such as you look like or people like you
• Keep claims accurate and supported by your results

A simple 90 day plan

Month one. Build and learn

• Week 1. Set up Business Manager, Pixel, and one lead campaign
• Week 2. Test two creatives and two primary texts
• Week 3. Add a video views campaign for your farm suburb
• Week 4. Review data and keep the winners

Month two. Add depth

• Launch retargeting to website visitors and video viewers
• Add a second suburb or a landlord campaign
• Build a seven day nurture sequence for new leads

Month three. Scale smart

• Raise budgets on winning ad sets by twenty percent each week
• Add a quarterly suburb report offer to refresh creative
• Review cost per listing won, not just cost per lead

Your next steps today

1. Choose one clear goal. Appraisals, landlord leads, or buyer list

2. Build one Leads campaign with Instant Forms and one Video campaign for awareness

3. Use the templates above for copy and form questions

4. Launch with a steady daily budget and review after seven days

5. Follow up every lead within five minutes and book the meeting

Follow this guide and keep things simple. Focus on one goal, one clear offer, and fast follow up. Small daily improvements will lower your costs and lift your results across your farm suburbs.

Author – Ken Hobson