Real estate is a saturated field filled with many trying to make it big, meaning the level of competition can make it difficult to set your business apart from the rest. Consequently, founders of these businesses will need to become experts at marketing, both online and offline, to attract clients and stand out from competing businesses.
Property buyers are increasingly doing the legwork of the home buying process themselves, making it best to cater marketing efforts directly towards them. Real estate marketing has evolved somewhat with the introduction of the internet, and with millennials increasingly making up the majority of buyers today, technology will play a big role in effective marketing.
These are the 10 essential marketing tips for real estate businesses to stand out:
Setting Up Social Media
In this online age, social media may be the most effective marketing tool businesses have access to. For new real estate businesses, having accounts on the bigger social networks is key to interacting with potential clients, sharing press and promoting properties for sale amongst other interactions. Social media, in essence, allows businesses to do quick engagement, advertising, brand reinforcement and social messaging, also fulfilling some of the tasks usually handled by customer relationship management software.
The best social media platforms for real estate (so far) are Facebook and Instagram due to the visual aspects of the apps paired with the capabilities mentioned above.
Follow The Competition
It’s always good for entrepreneurs to consider what their competitors are doing well, and doing not so well – and to ask questions like which marketing techniques do they use to attract clients? Entrepreneurs should take note of their competitors’ most successful efforts, and see where your business can make up for their failings. This information is easily accessible through online reviews left by their customers.
If the competitor is based in the same area as you are, their marketing efforts should give valuable clues as to which methods work well with local consumers.
Take Better Photos
Selling real estate is highly dependent on good photography. Property photos that are low quality will have a direct and significant impact on the number of interested buyers that come forward. Well-lit, detailed photos that can capture different angles are essential, and photography is a highly valuable skill for entrepreneurs to acquire or contract a professional.
The majority of real estate businesses hire a professional photographer, and there are many photographers who specialize in taking property photos. It’s best to view multiple options and select a photographer with a portfolio and style most suited to your business goals and target demographic for buyers Building up a partnership with a professional photographer could also be beneficial to your business long term.
Sponsor Community Events
An unconventional but impactful marketing method is sponsoring a local community event such as festivals, sports team or school event can be a great way to get exposure in a specific neighborhood. With events like these, sponsorship typically means your branding on banners, pamphlets or other marketing materials in the hands of dozens or hundreds of potential clients.
Local events are more often than not looking for sponsorship from businesses in their area, and if the results are promising the sponsorship could become a yearly fixture. This is also a smart way to build brand trust and consumer perception.
Send Out A Newsletter
Email marketing is one of the most powerful client-relationship building tools out there apart from social media. And in fact, social media can be a powerful platform to help acquire new email sign-ups. Email addresses can also be collected from your website, through direct outreach and other methods like giveaways or offering free quotes.Newsletters should then contain information relevant to your clients in the industry – news about your business, upcoming open houses and houses for sale, useful property tips and more.
If the business caters to multiple locations, the newsletter can also be segmented based on the receiver’s area so they only receive emails relevant to them.
Invest In Advertising
Paid advertisements online can also extend the reach of your business’s marketing to new clients. Even targeted advertising on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram are effective ways to get your business in front of targeted clients. Facebook, in particular, has specific targeting features which will show your business advertisements only to your set target demographic.
Outside of social platforms, other options for paid online advertising could include joining real estate directories such as the AAPLfor lenders or using Google ads.
Direct Mailing
In terms of marketing for real estate, the online space may be king but there is still a lot of potential in the direct mailing method. Sending direct mail to prospective clients can reap huge benefits – it’s possible that you will gain access to properties that are not necessarily part of the online listings that everyone else has access to. Recent research has found that direct mail typically has better response rates.
Real estate businesses typically send notes, letters or postcards to individuals with the expectation that a reasonable amount of them will have considered selling their property at some point and will agree to sell.
Testimonials From Former Clients
Testimonials from satisfied clients are a great anchor for marketing and provide the most trustworthy signals about your business to potential leads. After a client has had a good experience with your company, contact them and ask them for a testimonial, or to put a review on Google reviews or social media as a way to show their experience. The best testimonials should be displayed prominently on your website and be easy to find via search engines.
Surveys have shown that more than 80% of consumers check online reviews before working with a business, so don’t underestimate the importance of this step.
A Good Website
This may seem obvious, but a good website is often the first direct contact a client has with a business, and therefore the visual aspect is essential. A good website makes it easy for clients to access information about the business, see properties they have available, find property photos and virtual tours, read testimonials and much more.
A business website should be professional, use high-quality images and have well-crafted copy (without spelling errors). Your website should be a reflection of your real estate business and project your branding effectively.
Create Content
Sharing valuable real estate tips and tricks via an online blog or even ebook can also bring exposure to your business through bettering your Google rankings. Offering free ebooks in exchange for an email address is another great way to capture leads. Generally, content crafted around your business can be included in newsletter marketing and social posts.
With so many people joining the real estate industry and launching their own businesses, founders now need to be smarter than ever with their marketing. From the more old-school direct mailing solutions to modern online advertising, there are many ways to get ahead of the pack and set your real estate business apart. The key is to make sure your branding is consistent, and that clients are happy to share their experiences.
That’s the power of proper marketing in real estate – and what will make your business stand out a head above the rest.
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