Many new real estate agents fail within the first five years due to ineffective marketing.
The median income for real estate brokers in 2017 was $56,730 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, the top 10% of real estate brokers earned more than $150,000 a year.
One key difference that separates the top 10% of real estate professionals from everyone else is their ability to market themselves effectively. If you start doing the same, your business will likely experience rapid growth.
In this article, we share 50 real estate marketing strategies that top real estate agents and brokers use. These are real-life examples, not just theoretical marketing ideas. We will also share the most useful tools you need to implement these strategies.
The article is divided into sections, each focusing on a marketing aspect. The sections are as follows: You can use the contents below to jump to a particular section that interests you.
Strategic Focus
The most important part of your real estate marketing plan is your strategic focus. It is essential that you get this right before you start using any other methods.
- Target a Particular Niche
People have no shortage of real estate brokers and agents to choose from. So how do you become their first choice? By specializing in a particular niche within the broad domains of residential or commercial real estate.John A. Jensen Realty Inc. is great for those looking for senior housing. They are one of the leading agencies in that area and have a lot of experience.
- Focusing on a niche gives you several advantages.
- Your marketing messages are targeted towards a specific audience and are therefore far more impactful.
- You can dedicate your limited time and resources to building your expertise in one niche.
- That expertise helps build your credibility which is necessary to connect with a particular demographic.
Here are some tips from Honey Bar Media on finding a niche for your business: -Think about what you’re passionate about -What are you good at? -What do you want to learn more about? -What are your hobbies? -What does your ideal lifestyle look like? -What kind of business would fit into your lifestyle? -What kind of business would you be proud to own? -What would you be willing to put in the work to make successful? -Brainstorm a list of ideas and then research each one to see if there’s a demand for it Brainstorm a list of ideas for businesses that you are passionate about, then research each one to see if there is a demand for it. Consider what you are good at, what you want to learn more about, and what kind of business would fit into your lifestyle. Be willing to put in the work to make it successful.
You should only use this strategy if you are familiar with your audience. It is best to pick a niche in the real estate industry whose audience shares the same interests as you. For example, if you are interested in the military, you can help army veterans find their future home.
- Know Your Audience
How do you ensure you meet your clients’ expectations?To be successful in a particular niche, it is important to know as much as possible about your target audience. This is especially true if you are planning to get into the luxury real estate market.You will be more successful in selling your product if you spend time understanding your potential buyers. Knowing their lifestyle, habits, and needs will help you give them what they want.
If you want to build strong relationships with your clients and earn their trust, try to emotionally connect with them.
Partnerships and Team
No individual can build a successful business by themselves. Partnerships and teams are essential.
- Co-list with Other Realtors
By co-listing with other agents and brokers you can ensure you will get enough leads to survive, by receiving important referrals that you otherwise wouldn’t have access to. If you are concerned about giving away half your profits to other realtors, remember that you will get the same in return. - Hire a Marketing Team Member/ Virtual Assistant
Executing any marketing plan will require time, and you will never have enough of it. You will never have enough time to do adequate marketing and service your clients at the same time. So go ahead and hire an employee, or a part-time virtual assistant if you are on a budget.You can save time on routine work by hiring a virtual assistant from websites like Cut Your Payroll. Barbara Kauffman from Iron Valley Real Estate says that her virtual assistant helped her qualify prospects in her database and focus only on those who are genuinely interested.Since real estate agents are mostly out of the office, the iovox mobile app makes it easy for them to collaborate with employees or VAs. The app allows agents to share records of phone calls with clients directly. Agents can also use the app’s messaging feature to have real-time discussions with their team.
Showcase Your Properties in Style
- Hire a Pro Photographer
Photos are an essential component of real estate marketing materials. 89% of all homebuyers believe photos are useful during their decision-making process.If you want to make a great first impression on potential buyers, it’s best to use professional photographs in your marketing materials. This will encourage people to call you or attend an open house.
Build a Rock Solid Marketing Foundation
The success of your real estate business largely depends on your ability to market to potential home buyers online. Considering that 44% of all home buyers and practically all Millennials begin their property search online, it’s essential that real estate professionals have a well-designed website if they want to see their business grow.
As home buyers search for homes, they expect quality, and the REALTOR® that best fits their needs. Tools that help you stand out include:
- Branded messaging and images
- Responsive design
- IDX integration
- Blog content
- Lead capture landing pages
- Area pages
A responsive website is one that provides visitors with an immediate understanding of who you are and your expertise, as well as how you are positioned to help them. No matter what type of device they use to access your content, your pages will show up perfectly.
IDX allows you to integrate your listings into your website. This is beneficial because it provides potential buyers with high-quality images of the homes you are selling. This allows them to see what their life would be like if they were to purchase a home from you.
6. Provide a complimentary moving truck
This is an effective way to make your business stand out in your local market. By investing in a moving truck with your branding on the side, you can offer it to your clients after they purchase or sell their home. Your business will benefit from additional branding and advertising every time your clients use the truck.
Give it a fresh paint job that is attractive and easy to read. Think outside the box when clients don’t need your moving truck. Use it for other purposes such as home shows or parking in high traffic areas. Give it a fresh paint job that is easy to see and reads well.
7. Answer buyer/seller questions on your blog
An effective way to get ideas for blog content is to identify questions your target market is asking. Two tools help you find these lists of questions:
- Answer The Public
- People Also Ask
8. Add some flavor to your real estate video marketing.
Although sending an email to your contacts wishing them a happy holiday likely won’t have the same lead-nurturing effect as blog posts and promotional email messages, it can help humanize your brand by getting you in the spirit for widely celebrated local or national events.
Modern Life Realty and ERA Justin Realty teams both did something unique with their video marketing techniques. Modern Life Realty took a typical approach and instead had the featured gentleman speak to the camera with whatever he was wearing. ERA Justin Realty team saw the potential in the “Call Me Maybe” bandwagon and 15 minutes of fame.
You have to take chances with your real estate marketing strategy from time to time as these tactics can often pay big dividends.
In addition to making videos of unusual things, you could also do interviews with people on the street. These don’t have to be about your business or even real estate. You could ask people their opinions on life, or on local colleges or professional sports teams.
9. Develop a blog post or video series highlighting great area restaurants and entertainment.
Even though property prices, size, style, and features are the most important things that modern home buyers consider, more and more people are also beginning to care about whether the community they live in has plenty of food and entertainment options.
If you’re looking for an honest movie theater, restaurant, or business review, you might want to ask a real estate agent. These websites can take forever to sort through, and an experienced agent will be able to tell you what you need to know.
Share your favorite places to eat and drink in your neighborhood with would-be homeowners interested in your market. Write blog posts and/or create videos showcasing the best local restaurants, cafes, bars, etc. Highlight what makes each spot special and worth checking out.
talking about your favorite places to see a play or eat with friends. After that, explain why you love those places in a blog post or a YouTube video, like REALTOR® Michelle Calkins does in her blog post series and REALTOR® David Gonzalez does in the YouTube clip below.
Answer The Public is a free tool that generates a list of questions based on your keyword search. For example, if you type in “los angeles homes”, the questions received from this search may include:
- Should I buy a los angeles home?
- How much is it to buy a los angeles home?
10. Use Instagram Stories
The best way to build your brand on Instagram is to get your followers to engage with you. You can use Instagram Stories to generate engagement and gain brand recognition.
If you want to use Instagram Stories for a fun contest, have your followers take screenshots of your IG Live segment and direct message you those images. Choose a winner and give them something helpful or fun!
You can use the above method to get your Facebook and Twitter followers to discover you on Instagram. Just cross pollinate your social media channels, and use it with your Facebook Lives or tweets.
Lead capture through opt-ins is one of the most effective ways to grow your email list. By adding opt-ins to your website or blog, you can increase the number of leads you capture significantly.
Pop-ups that are triggered when a visitor meets certain conditions on a page, such as staying on the page for more than 20 seconds or scrolling down more than 30% of the page, are great for capturing leads.
OptinMonster helps you create forms, personalized pop-ups, and welcome messages that have a call to action. For example, you could create a pop-up inviting visitors to sign up for your newsletter.
12. Post ideas and tips for homeowners, buyers, and sellers in Reddit
Reddit isn’t just a website where people post funny memes. It’s also a place where people looking to buy or sell properties can go for advice. There are endless amounts of “subreddit” forum boards on the site devoted to the most specific topics in the world, including homeownership, home buying, and home selling.
13. Create in-depth graphs, guides, charts, or maps.
If you want your real estate marketing plan to be successful, it’s important to use plenty of graphics. However, it’s not enough to just use any old graphics – you need to make sure they’re high quality. You can improve your Photoshop skills (or hire a professional graphic designer) to add stunning images, charts, graphs, and other visual elements to your blog and social media posts. Make sure that your graphics add value for your audience by, for example, highlighting the best aspects of your local market.
The infographic below, created by Startup Seattle, an organization run by the City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development to help foster a great environment for local startups, explains the current startup landscape in the Emerald City.
