6 Marketing Tips to Grow Your Real Estate Business
Real estate markets wax and wane, flow and ebb, advance and retreat. Yet down times need not be so for every business. The challenge is in positioning a real estate firm as the go-to professional service when property is up for sale, lease or new management. Promoting a business is all the more essential when the pickings are slim. Still, not all marketing efforts are created equal. A real estate office aiming to increase its recognition should select only those marketing strategies that can keep business coming during lean times and thriving when the market surges. Here are six tips to achieving that goal.
#1: Create a Comprehensive Website
This may seem obvious, but it is all too often the area where brokers, agents and investors cut corners. Appearance is just as important as ease of use. There should be a balance between text and photos — the textual content must be clear and concise while the property photographs should be of high resolution. Functional speed is preferable and ads should always be minimal. Furthermore, content is best refreshed early and often to ensure visitors will return frequently.
#2: Maintain a Blog
Why on earth does anyone want to see a new blog? You would be surprised. First of all, this is the best way to keep website content new and current. More importantly, the keywords used and distributed launch your site to better search engine optimization. If a real estate professional is unique, the blog will be likewise. Focus on problem-solving, relevance and consumer education. Blog posts are a crucial tool in any real estate marketing plan because they provide valuable information about a particular topic while promoting your firm’s expertise.
#3: Apply Content Marketing
A well-designed website and authoritative blog can only go so far without traffic. An effective method to boost traffic is content marketing, whereby the realtor places content on popular sites with links back to the website and blog. Other content recipients could be podcasts, videos, books or even public speeches. Through these forums, the real estate professional extends expertise beyond the office and website.
#4: Employ Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms have reputations for attracting narcissists, trolls, sociopaths and the desperately lonely. That all may be true but social media venues are also marketplaces connecting goods and services with consumers. Sort of content marketing in miniature, posts, tweets and stories are bite-sized pieces of information that can build a public appetite for what is offered on the website. The National Association of Realtors offers continuing education on the optimal use of social media for real estate businesses.
#5: Give Something Away
Free offers might come off as cheesy but evidence demonstrates that they work to expand the pool of prospects for brokers and agents. These gifts might be in the form of information, e.g. a report on the market, dealing with appraisers, mortgage issues etc. Alternatively, the realtor or investor can pony up for some maintenance and upkeep for leased properties. Courtesies of this king solidify relationships and grow the professional’s reputation.
#6: Work the E-Mail List
Many offices engage in multiple services. Reaching out to current contacts as reminders for all the offerings of which they may avail themselves are tasks worth repeating. For example, a primary residence customer may be ready for an investment property or for a commercial investment. Keep them informed.
