Facebook is a phenomenon used by hundreds of millions of users worldwide. According to Facebook.com / comScore — Facebook has over 110 million active users, is the 4th most-trafficked website in the world, and is the most-trafficked social media site in the world. These are staggering numbers for a website that was started by a student at Harvard University and saw most of its early growth from college students.

The latter is what turns most people off from using Facebook to market themselves and their listings online: college students. Many believe that their customers are not on Facebook, or that Facebook is just a place for college kids to share party photos; it is the largest photo-sharing site on the web after all.

However, the following statistics will help put that belief to rest: more than half of Facebook users are outside of college and the fastest growing demographic is those 25 years old and older. This makes Facebook the ideal place to build and maintain your network of customers and associates.

I was having a discussion with a friend and he told me his girlfriend’s grandmother uses Facebook to share photos of the grandchildren with family members. This says something about Facebook users: they’re not just college kids anymore.

Facebook is a great platform to connect with current friends, old friends, and new friends. Adding someone as a friend means they get updates when you post something. Whether it be a new listing, blog post, website, or anything else you want to let your group of friends know about. Below is an example of how I promoted my last blog post on social media:

When I posted that, my hundreds of friends saw it (and hopefully clicked on it). Now, that post wasn’t for everyone, since not all of my friends are in the real estate industry. However, they may know someone who would be interested in it and pass it along. The same goes for a new listing. Post your new listings and hundreds of people will see, comment on it, and pass it along to others. It takes only minutes and will add hundreds if not thousands of otherwise nonexistent views.

Groups and fan pages are another powerful tool on Facebook. I belong to a number of groups and fan pages related to real estate. Whether it be my local Massachusetts Association of REALTORS fan page or the Inman News page, joining groups connects you with hundreds other people in your industry and keeps you up to date with what’s going on. Group administrators can send out updates to group members keeping them informed and engaged. You or your office can form a group or fan page in minutes and invite everyone you know to join. Also, look for local groups to stay up to date with what’s going on in the community.

Events are another great way to let people know what’s going on. If you have an upcoming open house you can create an event for it and invite others to attend. This spreads awareness of the open house because when people RSVP and say they’re attending all of their friends also see that they plan to attend.

If you’re using your Facebook profile for both personal and business be sure to check out the privacy settings to make sure only the people you want to see your content are seeing it. You can create different groups such as Friends, Business, Family, etc. This way if you don’t want your business associates seeing your personal family photographs you can specify in the privacy settings.

If you’ve been hesitant to join Facebook, I hope this post has put your worries at ease. If you’re already on Facebook, I hope this post has taught you a few tips and tricks on how to use this powerful platform to promote yourself and your listings online.

Be sure to add me as a friend and let me know your thoughts and success stories!

James Shiner's Facebook profile