[CASE STUDY] How Alex made $243K using Facebook
Do you have less than 1000 likes on your Facebook page?
No worries…
Because guess what?
You can still generate 50 new leads per month…without a huge Facebook following.
So many business owners think that the only way to build their businesses using Facebook is to generate tons and tons of likes. And that couldn’t be further from the truth.
I know it takes a little while to wrap your head around that.
So to prove it to you, I want to take you behind the curtain of one of my private clients’ Facebook strategy.
He’s one of the top 50 agents in Australia (out of around 30,000 agents). When we started working together, he was #29 within his network of over 600 agents. And now? He’s rocketing towards #1.
He also made $243K in commissions in just THREE WEEKS through our work together.
So suffice to say, I’ve convinced him of what I’ve known for years — that Facebook is THE smartest way to grow your business. You just need to know how to use it.
The secret sauce behind this agent’s success
Just to reiterate, my client Alex Mintorn, didn’t have a huge Facebook following. At the time of writing this post, he had 807 likes…which in Facebook terms, is not a whole lot.
But here’s the thing…
Likes don’t really matter anymore. In my mind, the only thing likes generate is social proof. Otherwise, they’re not important.
In my work with Alex, we didn’t focus on growing his number of likes. Instead, we focused on using Facebook for lead generation and branding.
We built up his 'know, like, trust factor' by posting regularly to his page. And we coupled that with a killer Facebook ads strategy that brought him new, qualified leads like clockwork.
First things first: the reason WHY this strategy works
Alex has seen both short-term and long-term benefits of our work together.
He generated hundreds of new leads, secured listings and sales, and made $243K in commissions.
25% of Alex’s sales now come from Facebook.
And he recently sold a $7million property, for a client that found him through Facebook.
…All for a $1000/month ad budget.
All this within only a few months of working together!
The long-term effects are just as powerful, though.
For starters, Facebook allows Alex to get in way before his competitors. His ads allow him to get into the prospects’ mind very early in the process. He hits them right when they’re starting to think about selling (which is typically about 5-6 months before they actually sell) with a free report. Once he gets their details, he nurtures those leads for a few months.
By providing consistent value to his prospects, Alex is the clear choice when it comes time for those prospects to list. They don’t even consider anyone else. Competition: eliminated.
Alright. Time to spill the details on the two-level Facebook ad strategy that got Alex these results…
The content strategy that grew Alex’s branding
Alex’s branding strategy included three separate parts:
1. Setting up his page for success
Before we started posting, I helped Alex update his page so all the basics were covered:
- His name
- His company’s name
- A personal photo for his profile picture (because that gets social engagement)
- His contact details: address, phone number, email address, website
- A short, punchy bio to give his audience a snapshot of what he does
- A cover photo showing his company’s name, to build credibility and trust right off the bat (and we’ve recently updated this to a branding cover video)
2. Showing his branding video to his target audience
The next thing we did was upload Alex’s branding video, to start getting it out to his local area.
Now, if you don’t have a branding video yet, don’t let that scare you! I’ll share an easy way you can create a workaround in just a minute.
Why video? Well, because it connects in a way no other type of ad can, because your audience can SEE you.
It also happens to be really cheap. We got video views for as low as 1 cent on Alex’s page!
Alex’s branding video went live and we started by investing $700 per month on showing the video to his target audience.
We targeted his local areas within a 2km radius. We also uploaded his database to make a custom audience — Facebook matched his list of emails and phone numbers to its data.
After a couple months, we took his video ad budget down to $300/month ($10/day). We still wanted people to be able to view the video ad but didn’t need to hit his market quite as hard as the beginning. Plus, we wanted to free up more of his ad budget for lead gen ads. (More on that in a minute…)
As of now, his video’s got over 107,000+ views. That’s branding at its best!
3. Regularly posting to his page
In addition to updating his page bio and running a branding video ad, I also started posting for Alex on his page. This keeps his page looking alive and vibrant, not like an abandoned warehouse. If somebody comes to him as a referral, they see an active and engaging page.
There are a minimum of 3-4 new posts going up every week, rotating in the 5 key categories for Facebook branding posts.
We don’t pay to promote these posts. Their purpose is only to keep his page looking alive, if someone clicks over to learn more.
It’s been amazing for Alex because he had moved to a new area right before we started working together. This strategy really ramped up his brand recognition.
A barista in his local cafe said, “hey, you’re Alex! The real estate guy!” To be recognised that quickly, by this central pillar of the community, was great.
What if you don’t have a branding video yet?
As promised, here’s an easy way to create a branding video…
You don’t need to jump in front of the camera or invest a ton of money in order to get big results. Instead, you can make what I like to call “bragging without bragging” video.
You can create a really simple video — a slideshow with photos of you, photos of happy clients, and slides with testimonials mixed in — and end on a slide with your email address or phone number, so people can contact you to take the next step.
This kind of video is more than enough to build your brand. So just because you don’t have a video right now doesn’t mean you can’t see results like Alex’s!
The lead-generation strategy for 50+ leads per month
Now, just to be clear, that’s not some generic claim.
In February, Facebook brought Alex 50 leads. And in March, it gave him 58. And after
following up with those leads, Alex generated 6 listings and nearly $250K in commissions.
How’d we do it?
We spent the first 2-3 weeks working together by ONLY showing Alex’s branding video. This was a very effective strategy because the branding video isn’t asking for anything. It’s simply providing value. We want that to be the first message people receive.
Then we slowly started integrating lead generation (with a $300/month budget).
The lead gen ad we used offered a free report, an “ethical bribe” that prospects could download. We made the report on a topic we knew potential sellers would be very interested in.
The ad linked to a Facebook lead form asking for people’s contact details in exchange for the report. And Alex followed up with them personally to continue nurturing them. (For more on Alex’s follow-up strategy along with a script you can use, click here.)
After a few months, (when we brought his video ad budget down to $300/month,) we ramped up the lead gen ad budget to $700/month.
At this point, Alex’s target audience had seen his branding video and were getting to know him. It was the right time to come in with the lead gen ad and ask them to take the next step to share their details.
I did something sneaky with the ad budget, though…
I didn’t do an equal split with his budget. I didn’t just assign $700 for the month and let it run the entire 30 days. I put the budget in and ran the ad for one week, then turned it off for the month. I repeated the process every month.
This strategy provided a lot of saturation in Alex’s area. Having a higher budget for a shorter period of time allowed us to hit more of his market than if we invested the budget evenly throughout the whole month.
(Just one of the many Facebook ad tricks I’ve learned over the years…)
The real secret behind Alex’s success
I’ve already given you the big building blocks behind Alex’s meteoric rise.
- The promoted video.
- The ongoing branding posts.
- The lead generation strategy, with the budget invested incrementally.
But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the secret fuelling all his success…
His lead generation ad.
Over the past few years, I made it my mission to discover the perfect lead gen ad.
I traveled to conferences around the world to learn from the foremost experts on Facebook ads.
I studied copywriting to craft irresistible ad copy that speaks so strongly to a prospect’s exact pain points, struggles, goals, and dreams that they can’t help but take action.
I learned what type of ad images work — and the type that don’t.
Most importantly, I invested tens of thousands of my own money into testing different lead gen ads and strategies with a group of real estate agents. We researched, tested, and scaled until I had the proven, fool-proof, best-converting ad formulas.
Because of the hours, dollars, and brainpower I’ve spent designing these ad blueprints, I only share them with my private clients.
My private clients skip the research and testing phases and go straight to profit. I’ve already unlocked the winning ad code — all I have to do is apply is to their audiences.
Private clients also save tons of time on lead gen. Alex was able to invest his limited hours following up with qualified leads — where the real money is made — while I optimised his Facebook ad to bring him even more. If Alex managed his Facebook ads himself, he never would have had time to turn those leads into paying clients.
I’ve shared as much as I can for free in this post (and in the rest of my blogs!) My mission is to help as many business owners as possible use Facebook to bring more leads, profits, and freedom into their businesses — and I want to give you the tools to do that. But there’s a limit to what I can give away for free.
There’s so much more we can do by working together.
If you’re a business owner who wants consistent, high-quality leads…
To experience results like Alex’s…
All while saving hours every week…
Click the link below to learn more about my private services. I can help you use my proven ad formulas and strategies to generate high-quality leads month after month, without lifting a finger.
Just pop in your details and have a chat with me to see if we’re the right fit.