Homebuilders wanting to increase leads in 2016 will be wise to focus on brand development. For builders, brand awareness is not just about name recognition, but overall company/product perception. Believe it or not, the way you're perceived on social media can over time have an influence in where your site ranks in a Google search. The top four social media sites builders are using today are Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Houzz. While you can certainly develop your brand on all of these channels, Facebook is going to deliver the most and best traffic to your site, so it's the only one we recommend focusing on. Also, Facebook is the only social channel where you can get reviews from homebuyers, engage with prospects, and advertise your inventory simultaneously--plus, it now integrates with Instagram, which is the most up-and-coming social channel for builders. Building your brand on Facebook is about getting local homebuyers to prefer your brand. Whether this is through promoting better photography/model home staging than your competitor or through building a reputation of a hands-on builder who cares, the aim is to make homebuyers aware of what makes you better than other builders in the area. When homebuyers prefer your brand, these things start to happen that benefit your SEO and increase your online leads: 1. You'll get more clicks in search results, which will yield higher search rankings over time. How this works: If you're already ranking in the top 10-15 results for a local new home or home builder search, it's likely that homebuyers will recognize your name in the results from seeing you on Facebook. The positive association they have with your Facebook presence will likely cause them to click on your link even though it may be the last result on page 1. Google pays attention to the click-through rate of all results in search--the more clicks you get, the higher Google will rank you. 2. You'll get more return visits to the site, which will lead to Google being biased toward your brand in search. How this works: It's a well-known fact in the SEO industry that part of Google's algorithm includes brand biasing--meaning Google is able to associate the amount of people purposely navigating to a website through search, bookmark, or direct visit with the keywords that website is trying to rank for. When Google understands a brand is well-liked, it promotes that brand in the search results. By sending homebuyers back to your website through Facebook promotion, you'll increase your chances of being bookmarked or searched for directly. 3. You'll build a captive audience for marketing and increase likelihood of conversions. How this works: Page likes are essentially an opt-in marketing list of local homeowners or homebuyers who are interested in your product. By engaging with users on Facebook daily and posting interesting content, you'll increase your following and have more people see your marketing promotions. Additionally, when you promote what is cool, unique, and desirable about your company, you're increasing your opportunities to grab leads by getting people to prefer your homes over your competitor's. 4. You'll improve people's perception of the quality and value of your product, which will result in more leads. How this works: It's no secret that brands have a huge influence on buyer behavior. When making a purchase, we want the best, and we associate the best with what is the most popular and well-known. This goes back to brand recognition somewhat, but more than that, if homebuyers are seeing your name come up frequently on Facebook and they see homebuyers who have worked with you commenting nice things on your posts, or other users saying they're wowed by how beautiful your new model home is, they're going to perceive your brand as high quality. Similar to how we gravitate toward a particular make of car because of what's behind the name, you have the opportunity to influence the way homebuyers perceive your name by how you promote yourself on Facebook. When your homes become something people aspire to attain, you'll see it reflected in the amount of leads you're getting.   If you're ready to invest some of your marketing dollars in promoting your brand on Facebook, check out our top Facebook strategy posts: How to Get the Most Out of Facebook in 2016 What the New Facebook Messenger Icon Means to Your Business Tips for Building a Better Facebook Presence