8 Smart Real Estate Marketing Tips
Do you want to try new strategies for standing out from the other realtors out there? Click here for 8 smart real estate marketing tips.
In 2017, an overwhelming 87 percent of home buyers in the United States made a purchase through a realtor.
If you’re a realtor (licensed real estate agent or broker), this is good news, until you learn that there are over 1.3 million professionals like you in the country. This means competition for clients is fierce, and only the ones who have effective marketing strategies standout from the pack.
Are you among the ones struggling to steadily attract clients? Here are a couple of smart real estate marketing tips to up your game.
1. Give Your Website a Homely Feel
Is there a real estate professional without a website in 2018?
But it isn’t enough to have just a realtor website these days. The quality of a website can mean the difference between converting visitors into clients and sending them away for good!
To give your website an edge, give it a homely feel. You’re selling homes after all, right?
If website design isn’t one of your strong suits, hire an expert to redesign and make it friendly to your users. The overall theme of the site, from visual imagery to written content, should be relevant to the industry.
Here is a prime opportunity to discover more about how a proper realtor website should look.
2. Social Networks Are Not Created Equal
A couple of years ago, most marketing pros would advise realtors to kill it on social media. Today, you have to be selective with your use of social platforms, because each tends to attract users with unique characteristics.
Facebook still remains a massive marketing platform for real estate professionals, largely due to it’s massive 2 billion+ active users. Instagram and Pinterest are also ideal, given their visual focus.
While Twitter is not that effective for running real estate ads (Twitters users love the platform for its ability to deliver news in real time), it’s great for organically growing your brand.
3. Invest in Video
Internet users seemingly can’t have enough of video! So much that by 2021, video will be the driver of 80 percent of global web traffic.
Consequently, video is a world beater when it comes to real estate advertising. Prospective clients want to see videos – 360-degree videos, in fact – of the properties you’re selling.
Many realtors shy away from using video extensively because they feel the strategy is cost-prohibitive, but the return on investment is very attractive. Plus, you don’t have to invest in your own video equipment. There are several companies out there offering video services at affordable rates.
4. Utilize Real Estate Databases
When you want to find certain restaurant or bar or beauty salon, you go to Yelp, right?
Similarly, the go-to directory for people looking for to buy or rent real estate property is Zillow. Trulia is also big, but Zillow has the bigger market share.
Listing your properties on these sites will give them greater visibility than they would get if listed on your site alone. With greater visibility, expect your phone to begin buzzing.
5. Blogging Never Loses Value
The allure of social media keeps increasing by the day, but blogging still remains a heavyweight marketing tool, and for good reason. Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13 times more likely to see a positive return.
If you don’t have a blog, it’s time to set up one and start publishing fresh, authoritative content. Blogging will give you an opportunity to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry. It’ll also give your site an SEO boost.
Wouldn’t you love your site to be #1 ranked for “best realtor” on Google? It’s completely doable, and blogging will get you several steps closer.
6. Give Local Real Estate Marketing a Priority
Realtors are typically licensed to do business in one state. However, it takes a lot of effort to become a renown realtor in an entire state. Most pros focus on specific local markets.
This is why your real estate marketing strategy has to have a narrower focus. If you’re licensed to practice in Colorado, for instance, start by conquering your home market before branching out to other metros in the state.
Hand out flyers, brochures and business cards to people in your locality. Let locals know you’re the go-to professional for their local real estate needs. Door to door marketing also comes highly recommended.
Gradually, your reputation will grow, as will your boundaries. People from other towns will find it easy to hire you when you already have a solid name in your hometown.
7. Make Connections with Journalists
You don’t have to pay or do something controversial to be on the news.
Journalists covering real estate are always on the hunt for professional input for their stories. You can be the voice they’re looking for.
Can you imagine what would happen to your brand if you appeared on TV to give you professional views on any real estate matter? Many viewers will want to know more about you and your agency.
The only problem is these slots don’t come easy. You have to build connections with business journalists, such that when a need for professional input arises, they have your number on speed dial.
8. Host Webinars
A webinar is an online conference. You can host it on your website or on a social media platform. Webinars enable you to interact with the attendees, answer their questions and market your listing.
For webinars to be an effective marketing strategy, follow these best practices:
- Keep them between 30-45 minutes long
- Host in the mornings
- Include a Q&A at the end of every session
- Record the sessions and post them for those who were not able to attend.
Take Action
We’ve given you the real estate marketing tips that can take your business to the next level. What remains is for you to put them to use.
Keep in mind that not all these tips will work for you. You just need to try them out and stick with the ones that bring in the dough.
As you do that, be sure to keep tabs on our blog for more marketing tips.
