Real estate technology platform provider the Zillow Group has debuted a pair of new features, one of which integrates Facebook’s targeting platform to help agents optimize their campaign efforts.

The new features, called Premier Agent Direct and Seller Boost, help vendor-side users of Zillow and Trulia more adequately canvass for potential leads and advertise one or more listings to them. The move marks another development in the evolution of advertising through location-based apps such as Facebook, Waze, Twitter and Instagram and their natural progression into the industries it is more than compatible with.

“Each of these platforms has a unique consumer relationship. and the case with Instagram, which is owned by the larger Facebook, means that it can utilize synergies in integration,” said Marci Troutman, CEO of Siteminis. “One key element to getting consumer real estate business by agents is quickness of ad delivery, and, in Zillow’s case, simplicity in message delivery and platform integration.

“Agents need to create the desire and interest for their targeted audience to a particular property and then sling them directly the a comprehensive sales platform like Zillow.”

Location-based targeting
Zillow’s Premier Agent Direct works in collaboration with Facebook’s data collection services to expand their target audience by identifying consumer-side home shoppers on the Zillow Group’s properties and connecting with them on Facebook. Agents are also able to feature a specific listing or highlight new listings and recently sold homes.

“Location advertising to a target audience is one factor, but having the ability for agents to easily feature a specific listing is a real benefit,” Ms. Troutman said. “Simplicity in execution for this social targeted advertising has quicker and more accurate responses and is overall more efficient and effective at working realtor farm areas, where timing is a necessary variable in closing real estate deals.”

The Premier Agent app already includes some social integration

The Seller Boost service is another vendor-side revelation, allowing Premier Agents to leverage the Zillow Group’s audience of potential home sellers to generate listing leads. The information will be delivered in the form of ads that appear in the home details pages of homes that are not for sale.

Both of the services will be featured into the Zillow Group’s Premier Agent application.

They were announced at the Zillow Group Premier Agent Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Who, what and where
With the recent advancements in location-based technology compounded with consumers’ growing willingness to offer up the corresponding data, adept marketers should find themselves at the forefront of location advertising before the rabble moves in.

Theraflu finds themselves in this position, partnering with IBM’s The Weather Company to bring a cold and flu tracker into the palms of consumers’ hands (see story).

And an executive from Factual spoke at the MMA SM2 Innovation Summit 2016 about the importance of combining location data with place data and advised how brands and marketers can take advantage of these two metrics (see story).

“Facebook has an established advertising strategy surrounding targeted local ads for businesses,” Ms. Troutman said. “A realtor can target any type of Facebook ad to a local audience, including four designed specifically for local marketers; all a realtor needs to do is pinpoint their desired geographic area for the audience in their targeted ad options.

“It’s a pretty slick and easy implementation process.”