Excellent properties can sell themselves, but you need to get potential buyers there to see it in the first place. That’s where your efforts at real estate marketing help to set your skills apart from the rest of the competition in each community.
Most buyers will use a real estate agent to secure the home they want. That means it is up to you to reach those prospects first.
Top sellers might take individualistic approaches to their marketing efforts, but there are also several similarities in each effort that can help you to begin growing your opportunities. These real estate marketing ideas will help you to create a successful campaign that extends the reach of your presence – and hopefully closes more deals!
Best Ways to Approach Real Estate Marketing
Real estate marketing becomes useful when you create a blend of traditional and digital approaches. Some buyers might prefer a digital tour, while others prefer the conventional open house when touring a property. Your campaign efforts to reach both will ensure that no one in your community gets left behind.
You can accomplish that result by implementing ideas like these for your next real estate marketing push.
1. Build a website that is easy to find and navigate.
A useful website does more than offer visitors a look at your bio and properties. It guides potential buyers or sellers toward the result you want on each page. You’re creating a funnel of conversions that can push your sales and revenues higher.
Your website will be the connector that ties all of your branding together. Each promotional flyer or business card must have the same look and feel as your digital presence to create results. When people feel like your marketing campaign is consistent, then they will also believe your sales approach will be the same.
Adding specific tools to your website, like a property tax calculator, can help potential buyers have more information about their desired transactions. Then keep all of your data updated regularly to ensure that interested parties continue coming back to your website to find the perfect property.
2. Create an inventory of durable real estate signs.
The real estate industry is unique in the fact that offline marketing can sometimes be more effective than what happens through your website. If someone drives around your community to look at potential properties and discovers one for sale with your signage in place, then you’ll get a phone call or email if they want further information.
Several different materials are useful for signage, but it is coroplast that should be your top priority. This corrugated plastic is waterproof, while the hollow-fluted design makes the material lightweight and more comfortable to handle than other options.
You can produce real estate signs in today’s most popular sizes so that you can generate attention at each property for sale. Custom shapes, color match opportunities, and quick production times mean this marketing tool can be an integral and immediate part of your next sales effort.
3. Start writing a daily blog for your website.
When everyone in your community is using a similar approach to marketing, then the quality of what you create will set yourself apart from the competition. Having a blog filled with valuable information for buyers and sellers about the properties and processes you represent will build more attention to your listings.
A blog can push your search engine optimization rates higher so that you can receive more organic traffic on your website. People who click on your listings first are more likely to work with you to close on a property.
You can use specific keyword searching tools to find what kind of content to post on your blog. As other websites link to your blog, the expertise you offer will continue pushing your listings higher in the search results.
If you decide to take this approach, then make sure that you take the time to install Google Analytics on your website. This tool will help you to track several different metrics simultaneously so that you have a better understanding of who visits your site and blog.
When you have information about how long each session is on your site, then you have an effective way to measure engagement. Your bounce and exit rates will also contribute data that can make your real estate marketing efforts more effective.
4. Send real estate postcards to communities where you’ve made a sale.
Real estate postcards can help you to target specific areas of a community through direct mail. You don’t need to have a list available for a successful result. As long as you have a defined boundary for this product, then you can implement a compelling, passive door-to-door opportunity.
Real estate postcards also give you the option to hand the marketing product directly to potential buyers and sellers if an opportunity presents itself. You can leave them behind on properties if you want to go door-to-door to introduce yourself.
The benefit of this marketing approach is that you can provide consistent reminders of the value you provide. Your return on this investment can yield a profit of up to 12 times the cost, so it is worth consideration.
Effective real estate postcards will provide consistent branding and colors. You should include images of recently sold properties or the listings you have for sale. Have a call to action with your contact information so that people can act if tempted. It also helps to have beneficial info on both sides of the card to maximize this investment.
5. Take advantage of email marketing opportunities.
The easiest way to start an email marketing opportunity is to Include a signup box on your website that allows you to capture the email addresses of potential clients. Then send out a monthly newsletter that details the content you placed on your blog and traditional marketing materials. This option lets you send images and links to properties directly so that a single click can take someone to the full listing.
You can use your real estate email marketing efforts to link to virtual staging efforts, a video walkthrough, and other digital products.
A squeeze page is necessary to create this opportunity on your website. It is a lead generation tool that trades personal information from a prospect for something of value. The content on this portion of your site will directly push people toward giving you their email address.
Another option to consider is a blend of digital and traditional techniques. You could send out an email to your subscribers, letting them know that a postcard, flyer, or brochure is headed their way shortly.
6. Let your listings become part of your social media presence.
Real estate professionals should have at least one social media page that’s separate from their personal accounts. You don’t need to be on all of the major networks like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to be effective, but you do need to keep your content updated regularly.
If you only have time to keep one social media profile updated, then choose the network where most of your potential customers are active.
When you have an active social media presence, then your real estate marketing efforts can include sharing. Having the option for website visitors to put your listing on their profile or to send it through email is just as useful as word-of-mouth activities. Your reputation will build through these efforts without you needing to do a lot of work.
7. Use virtual staging technologies to increase buyer interest.
Some buyers like to walk into empty houses to imagine what they could do with the space. Staging the property with actual furniture and personal touches can get to be an expensive experience. Because photographs are an integral part of the property review process for clients, virtual staging is faster and more effective.
About 9 out of 10 potential customers in the real estate market begin their home buying search online.
It only takes a few hundred dollars to create realistic photographs of every room through the virtual staging process. You can avoid expensive furnishings while maintaining the final look you share if the listing remains on the market for some time.
That means you can avoid the problem of maintaining the property while it is on the market. The return from this work is also worth noting since staged homes can sell for up to 25% more than ones that don’t go through this marketing process.
8. Don’t forget to bring your real estate business cards with you.
Real estate business cards are an affordable investment in your future. Even with the preference of moving toward a digital marketing emphasis, the power of handing contact information to someone in a face-to-face meeting cannot be overstated.
If someone has an interest in your services, then they will keep the business card in a place where it is easily retrievable.
Real estate business cards are remarkably versatile. You can include a massive amount of information on this product to promote your brand and services. With the use of QR codes or URL links, you can send people to a specific place on your website that can provide them with more information.
This marketing tool is also convenient. People can store this item in a wallet, purse, or binder for future reference. You also have the option to leave them almost anywhere to draw more attention to your brand or listings.
That means a real estate business card never stops working for you. A TV or radio advertisement can be forgotten as soon as it airs, but this one product can remind someone of your value every time it gets seen.
9. Use experiential marketing to supplement your traditional and digital efforts.
Experiential marketing invites your potential buyers and sellers to interact in real-world situations. People today are doing more than purchasing a property. They are also investing in neighborhoods and communities.
You can host tours of the neighborhoods for your listings so that people can get to know the area. Seminars and events that help to teach people about the processes to follow when buying a home can give families more confidence in the process.
Then you can use these engagement opportunities to invite buyers to view the various listings that you have available.
This option can include local businesses in your community. You can partner with furniture stores, interior designers, and even coffee shops to help potential buyers become comfortable in your town. If you host an open house, different rooms could become an advertising venue that supports your partner companies.
10. Run paid advertising on social media.
If you have a presence on social media, then you should consider running paid advertising campaigns. Real estate marketing requires outreach to be effective, and this option allows you to choose ultra-specific demographics to maximize your return.
Think carefully about who your target audience would be for your active listings. Consider what their budget would be for buying a home, and then pick a post type that will encourage consumer interaction.
This option also gives you the chance to use targeted hashtags as a way to create additional search mechanisms for your real estate marketing efforts. Following this process allows you to put your advertising in front of the people who are the most likely to make a purchase.
11. Use real estate door hangers to encourage more interaction.
If you take the door-to-door approach to real estate marketing, then what can you do if no one is home? Have you wasted your time if the resident refuses to answer when you ring the doorbell?
Door hangers might be considered an outdated marketing tool for some industries, but it provides you with guaranteed contact with the public. Unlike flyers or business cards, you know for sure that the homeowner will see your information.
The cost of creating thousands of door hangers is a fraction of the expense you would pay for most traditional and digital marketing services. Even if the effort doesn’t generate an immediate sale, the brand recognition you achieve from this outreach can provide ongoing value.
Real estate door hangers give you a way to provide people with relevant, fresh information in a tangible way. You can offer a specific deal on this product, show off the value of properties in a neighborhood, or encourage homeowners to contact you if they’re ready to put their home on the market.
12. Use aerial photography as a way to show the entire property.
Home listings often show the interior of a property for sale, but the exterior shots of the area don’t always get to potential buyers. Aerial photography can help you to show off the entire boundary area.
Drone technologies today give you a variety of options to consider with this real estate marketing option. You can take a high aerial view like they used to do with airplanes in previous generations. Your flight can include various exterior shots to show the property from a unique perspective. It can even take videos that could supplement your virtual walkthroughs and tours.
If you don’t want to do the flying work on your own, professional photographers could provide this service for you. It would also be a fantastic way to promote some of the other businesses in your area.
13. Take some time to engage in content marketing.
Content marketing goes beyond your website or blog. You can provide information to relevant third-party sites where potential clients in your community seek information about property listings. Leveraging sites like LinkedIn, Quora, Medium, and others with your expertise can funnel visitors toward your listings and pages.
The one error that real estate professionals make with this marketing effort comes from an assumption that their expertise already provides authority. The digital world operates differently in this area. You must build relevant and useful content on popular authority sites that link back to your own before you’ll see benefits from this activity.
Answering questions without these links is still helpful, but it may not provide that boost in conversions that you want to achieve.
You can write guest posts for other blogs, share digital renderings of your real estate business cards and print marketing materials, and engage in conversations on other social media pages while undertaking this approach to marketing. All of them can help to build a network of success that eventually leads to more sales and a better income.
14. Use real estate brochures and flyers to supplement your marketing information.
Real estate brochures and flyers are like having a blog post that you can place in a prospect’s hands. It is one of the most versatile and affordable ways to put relevant content in front of someone. When these items are well-designed, then it provides a simple product that consumers will find is easily readable.
Flyers and brochures allow you to include incentives if you wish, but you’re also able to reach more people in your community. Fewer guarantees exist when you focus your efforts solely online during your real estate marketing push. You also have the option to leave these items at local businesses, mail them to neighborhoods, or hand them out to people in person.
Making sure that the correct people are viewing your listings can be one of the most significant challenges you face in real estate. Brochures and flyers might take a simple approach, but it spectacularly effective in creating better results over time.
15. Create profiles on real estate sales websites.
Some platforms allow you to place a profile on their site to show that you’re available as a local Realtor. Zillow is a popular option since it receives nearly 200 million views per month. You’ll need to follow the site’s guidelines to set up this information, but in return, you’ll have a higher chance of reaching potential clients.
You may wish to tread carefully with this real estate marketing plan. Premier listings for agents often come with an additional charge that may not make the expense worthwhile. There might even be a requirement to provide a percentage of your sale for compensation with this promotional effort.
The cost of your ZIP code might also influence this cost. If you have several of these ideas already in play, then this option could be a way to get your business the boost it needs to maximize your reach.
16. Reach out to social media influencers for a marketing boost.
If you have a small real estate marketing budget, then try to reach out to some of the social media influencers in your community to boost your brand. It doesn’t need to be someone in the luxury housing sector to be effective for you. As long as the individual can connect your listings to potential viewers, even someone with a couple of thousand followers might make for an productive investment.
It is essential to go through a vetting process with each potential influencer before allowing them to promote your brand. Their behaviors will become a reflection of who you are to prospective clients. You also need to verify that the followers on an account are legitimate before investing any money with this marketing effort.
17. Leverage the influence of local TV and radio.
Although radio and TV spots aren’t always an effective marketing solution, you can take advantage of ultra-local stations and low costs. Then you need to put together a creative product that can air so that clients can view your listings or learn about your business.
When people can see your face instead of your logo, then it can help that person to start building a relationship with you. If your voice is on the radio, then it will create a similar connection.
The effectiveness of this medium depends on when the advertisement airs. Your goal is to put something in front of a client at a time when they are likely to pay attention. That’s why you will see real estate listings during daytime programming and news reports since that’s when a lot of people pay attention to local channels.
You could advertise in large markets, but the price can be excessive compared to the return you receive. Talk to smaller stations to see what kind of deals are available in this area, and then don’t compromise on the value of the final content to maximize the impact of this real estate marketing effort.
18. Create a system to begin building referrals.
It might be a simple action, but this real estate marketing option can supercharge your impact. You can even integrate this option into your email signature to create passive results. You can take advantage of this option by asking people for one. The worst thing that someone can do is turn you down.
When you have a few successful transactions under your belt, then network with your clients to see if they’ll refer you to their friends and family. You have the option to offer something in exchange for another successful deal, like a gift card to a local restaurant.
If you have a unique way to pitch the power of your effectiveness in the real estate industry, then your hard work and dedication will encourage others to seek you out to get results. What’s great about this idea is that it can work around the clock for you in ways that you don’t always see.
19. Request online reviews from your clients after a transaction.
Several platforms allow consumers to review their real estate transactions. These comments are treated in the same light as a personal recommendation from a family member or friend, so a series of positive feedback can help you to close the deal.
Yelp is an underrated platform that real estate professionals could use to increase their business opportunities. As the number of reviews builds upward, the value that your company provides to others will grow.
This value can increase the influence of your other online marketing endeavors.
Set Yourself Apart with These Marketing Elements
When you implement your preferred real estate marketing approach, it is imperative to have a plan in place that differentiates what you do from the rest of the competition.
You can accomplish that result by using a vision statement in each marketing item you create. Identifying all of the goals you want to reach while interacting with your clients makes it easier for everyone to see the overall mission you hope to accomplish.
Then develop the goals you have for each real estate marketing outreach effort you make. Don’t create brochures, door hangers, or websites until you have specific accomplishments you want to achieve. You’ll find it is easier to close on more deals when there are metrics in place for you to follow.
As a final step in this process, you will want to look at what your unique selling proposition is for your community. You’ll want to look at what you can offer that other agents cannot right now. Do you have a unique approach, or does your personality add value to the relationship-building process?
When you focus on your strengths in these areas, then potential clients will pay attention to your real estate marketing efforts. Then stay consistent in your approach to prove that you have more value and expertise to offer than the rest of your competition.
How Can You Grow Your Real Estate Business this Year?
Digital real estate marketing efforts can help to grow the reputation of your brand. Print-based services will guarantee that you’re connecting with potential customers on a one-on-one basis.
Several different products can help you to expand the reach of your efforts. Real estate business cards, brochures, and flyers provide information that potential clients can retain indefinitely so that they can come to you when they’re ready to pursue a property transaction.
You can use real estate postcards and yard signs to promote specific properties that might be of interest to buyers in your community.
Although most real estate marketing products today are low-cost methods of growing your business, digital assets do not have the same lasting value as printed items. You don’t need to worry about keeping your blog updated when you hand someone a door hanger!
People might discover you because of your listings, but real estate marketing efforts can help you to earn better results over time because it is easier to find you. Consider all of these ideas today, and then choose the options that you feel will expand your opportunities in the coming days and weeks ahead.
