From Facebook Ads to AI: A Modern Marketing Masterclass

Travis Thom breaks down what actually works in 2024 Meta advertising for mortgage and real estate professionals: dynamic creative, the right ad types, funnel sequencing, budget minimums, and where AI fits (and doesn't). Best for LOs or agents running or considering paid ads on Facebook/Instagram who want a strategy overhaul, not just tactics.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Run a 'List of Homes' lead ad as your entry-point campaign: write copy like 'See all homes priced under $800K in [area] — click to view photos and details today,' send leads to an IDX property search, and add the question 'Do you currently own a home? Yes/No' in the lead form. Travis says ~35% of buyer leads who answer 'yes' are potential sellers — flag them for a separate follow-up sequence.
• Launch a Seller Guide ad that opens with fear/pain language ('Are you overwhelmed about selling your home?') and delivers a concrete 5-step guide. Make it educational, not salesy, and record a short face-on-camera video to pair with it so prospects see a real human, not a faceless brand.
• Set up a two-layer video funnel on Meta: Layer 1 — $7–$10/day brand awareness campaign (reach objective) showing a 60–90 second educational video (e.g., 'What salary do you need to afford a $500K home in [city]?') to a 15-mile geo radius. Layer 2 — $5/day retargeting campaign (brand awareness or engagement objective) serving follow-up videos to custom audiences built from video viewers and your uploaded past-client database.
• Use Facebook's Dynamic Creative feature: upload 10 different images or videos, 5 headline variations, 5 ad copy variations, and 5 CTAs in one campaign, then let the algorithm find the winning combinations — do not run single-image, single-copy ads.
• Create AI-generated video content at scale using this workflow: (1) Ask ChatGPT for '30 engaging real estate video topics,' (2) prompt it to write a 60-second script for each, (3) upload your two-minute face video to HeyGen (heygen.com) to create your avatar, (4) paste scripts into HeyGen to generate videos, (5) push finished videos through Repurpose.io to auto-post to TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts simultaneously. Use this to supplement — not replace — authentic on-camera content.
• Replace long landing pages with Facebook Lead Ad Forms or a concise bio-link page (Linktree, Milkshake, Stan) for initial opt-ins. Save detailed landing pages only for explaining specific loan programs. Meta actively penalizes slow, cluttered landing pages in the ad auction — Lead Ad Forms load instantly and outperform on mobile.

The playbook

1. Step 1 — Top of Funnel (Demand Gen): Run a brand awareness video campaign at $7–$10/day to a 15-mile geo radius. Use an educational hook video (e.g., 'Here's what $800K buys in [neighborhood]') with no lead capture required.
2. Step 2 — Mid Funnel (Retargeting Sequence): Build a custom audience of people who watched 50%+ of your Step 1 video plus your uploaded sphere/database. Serve 2–3 follow-up videos at $5/day per ad set using engagement or brand awareness objective.
3. Step 3 — Lead Capture: Run a List of Homes or Seller Guide lead ad using Facebook Lead Ad Forms (not a landing page). Include qualifying questions in the form, especially 'Do you currently own a home?'
4. Step 4 — Dynamic Creative Testing: Inside your lead gen campaign, activate Dynamic Creative and load multiple images/videos, copy variations, and CTAs. Let Meta optimize over 2–4 weeks before making changes.
5. Step 5 — Human Follow-Up: Contact leads personally. Do not rely solely on AI chatbots or automated text sequences for initial outreach — AI follow-up has killed deals by missing emotional context (e.g., responding with a showing request to someone who said they were in the hospital).

Worth quoting

“Your ad creative is creating the actual targeting — the things people need to focus on are strategy and ad creative.”

“73% of homeowners said they'd list with an agent who uses video, but only 15% of real estate agents are actually creating videos.”

Best for

LOs or agent partners who are running or planning Meta ads and want a current, structured approach — including budget minimums, the right ad types, and where AI tools fit without killing deals.

Links from the show notes

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