Social media giant Facebook has launched a new advertising feature dubbed Dynamic Ads for Real Estate, according to an article on investment website Investopedia. The new feature aims to help real estate agents advertise their listings on Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook, which has 2 billion active monthly users, is using targeting technology similar to Amazon’s to display user-specific real estate listings as people utilize the social media network. Users can view the listings in Instagram or Facebook feeds in a slideshow format.
The product is seen as a direct challenge to Seattle-based Zillow. “Real estate is an area we’re betting big on as a company,” noted Keith Watts, the head of real estate and financial services at Facebook. “I think there’s a lot of ways that we can help the industry in general.” The service, according to Facebook, is optimal for brokerages with at least 100 listings on their website.
“Dynamic Ads for Real Estate” is Facebook’s first ad product designed specifically for real estate — and it’s not alone in taking on the current digital real estate powerhouse over at Zillow. Amazon previewed a “Hire A Realtor” page on its website during Prime Day, signaling its intention to make a move on the real estate advertising sector.
In Q2, Zillow saw annual marketplace sales jump 30% year on year, real estate revenues up 45% year on year, and display and growing at 9% a year.