One of the most important things to consider when selling a home, other than proper pricing, is marketing. A popular question that home sellers have is about real estate marketing and how their real estate agent should be marketing their home.
The most common complaint from unhappy sellers is that they feel their real estate agent is not marketing their home properly or doing enough to market it. There are many real estate marketing techniques that top real estate agents utilize. Some of these real estate marketing techniques relate directly to promoting a sellers home and others do not, but certainly have a huge indirect impact on the overall marketing of a sellers home.
It is very important that sellers understand where their home will be marketed, how it will be marketed, and why. It is also important for all home sellers to understand that there are many other real estate marketing techniques that top real estate marketers use to improve their marketing exposure behind the scenes.
Print Advertising & Traditional Real Estate Marketing Techniques
Many real estate agents believe that print advertising and traditional marketing techniques are no longer effective. While it’s true that the impact of these strategies has decreased in recent years, they can still be a good marketing avenue for sellers.
Some of the top strategies that real estate agents use to market themselves are print advertising and traditional real estate marketing.
Newspaper Advertising
Newspapers can still be a popular source of information, depending on your location. For example, readership for newspapers in Western New York typically ranks high compared to other parts of the country. Many newspapers also have a real estate section where you can find information on homes for sale, upcoming open houses, and other real estate news.
More people are reading newspapers online than ever before. Newspaper companies are realising the impact of the internet and are focusing more on digital versions of their papers. This means that readers can access the news on their computers, tablets and other mobile devices. The convenience is key!
Newspaper advertising is still an effective real estate market strategy and is proven to increase web traffic for a few days after the ad is run. Most likely, if a potential buyer sees a home for sale in the newspaper, the first thing they will do is search online for it to learn more.
Local Gazettes, Heralds, & Posts
Many communities have their own local newspaper or magazine in addition to a city’s newspaper. Advertising in local gazettes, heralds, posts, and other newspapers can still be valuable for real estate.
The primary advantage of advertising in a local publication is that the readership is largely composed of local residents. People who live in a town are generally unlikely to move away, making them good prospects for selling a home. Therefore, placing an ad in the local paper can be an effective way to reach potential buyers.
Television
Do you ever find yourself repeating a quote or saying from a commercial you saw on TV the day before? Television advertising can be a very effective marketing strategy.
The viability of using television to market a home for sale depends on the real estate company and area.
Nothnagle Realtors, my real estate broker, has a 30 minute weekly television show called the “Showcase of Homes” which reaches over 40,000 Greater Rochester NY residents. The Showcase of Homes highlights approximately 40-50 homes that are for sale in the Greater Rochester NY area each week.
Postcard & Direct Mail Marketing
Door knocking and handing out postcards are two popular print advertising strategies that top real estate agents will use to sell a home. Postcards are a great opportunity to inform the neighbors that a home in their neighborhood is for sale with pertinent details relating to the home.
Postcards can be an effective marketing tool for real estate agents because neighbors who receive them may know of someone who is looking for a home in the same area. An informative postcard can be easily passed on to someone who is interested in buying a home.
Although postcard marketing requires an initial investment, it can be a great way to market a home. Sellers should expect their real estate agent to use creative marketing strategies, even if it means spending money before they’ve earned it.
Make sure that you have a modern-looking website that makes a great first impression.
Many home buyers and sellers now use the internet to start their real estate process. You can make a good impression by having a website that shows who you are and what your business is about.
The most important aspects of a good website are that it is visually appealing, easy to use, and makes visitors feel welcome.
Talk to a web designer and see if they can add the following design elements to your real estate website:
-
Beautiful, high-definition photos of the housing market you specialize in
Images are the best way to advertise for realtors. They help break up sections of text, get people’s attention, and most importantly, they showcase everything your area has to offer.
-
Custom Property Display
If you want to show off your high-profile listings, the best way to do it is with a custom property display. By doing this, you’re giving all of your listings the maximum exposure they need. Not only that, but you’re also letting people know that you’re trusted by high-profile clients. This is an instant boost to your brand and your reputation, and it should be a part of your real estate digital marketing strategy.
-
Value Proposition
It’s not enough for your real estate website to just be aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly. Your website should also be generating leads. To do this, offer something on your website that prospective clients will find irresistible. This could be anything from free real estate consultations to exclusive guides on buying or selling homes – anything that showcases your real estate expertise. If you make the value proposition attractive enough, you’ll probably start getting people emailing or calling you to learn more.
-
Descriptive Cards
You can present a lot of information on your real estate website while still keeping it simple and user-friendly. This can be done by adding descriptive cards. Descriptive cards are a way of presenting information that summarizes things in one or two sentences. This can be easily understood by everyone. They also act as teasers, inviting your visitors to click to find out more.
Incorporate a blog that you update frequently (at least once a week) and make sure to post interesting articles that can be shared.
Have a look at one of our blogs that is popular at the moment. You’ll notice we keep things straightforward; with simple graphics and a clear message.
If you want to reach out to potential clients, maintaining a blog and regularly adding new content is a great way to do it. Your posts can be about anything at all – from your latest real estate listings and other industry insights, to something more personal like recounting a day in your life. Real estate-related topics help to establish you as an expert in the field, while more light-hearted, personal topics make you seem likeable and relatable. Striking a balance between these two types of content will result in a blog that is both informative and engaging.
After conducting some research, you should take screenshots or save URLs of popular blog posts related to real estate. Then, check how many social shares each blog post has gotten on Buzzsumo. Try to stick to blog content that is relevant to your area and expertise. When you find blog topics that get a lot of attention, you can start creating your own content.
A well-kept blog that is up-to-date can improve your image and brand. Also, it can help increase your website traffic by continuing to publish material. Doing this will also make you more trustworthy as a real estate expert. Furthermore, a blog can help with increasing your search engine ranking.
SEO or search engine optimization is an essential component of any real estate digital marketing strategy.
This area can be unclear due to Google’s constant changing of ranking criteria for websites on their search engine. However, it is still a powerful way to make sure your website is one of the first to come up when your potential customers are looking for specific keywords. There are a lot of SEO experts out there. Choose one you feel comfortable with and who has a history of success. Give them 3-6 months to show their worth (SEO is not a quick fix!)
What exactly is SEO? If you’re new to the term, let’s do a quick introduction. For those of you who already know, this will be a refresher.
SEO is a way to make your real estate website more visible online so you get more traffic. You do this by making sure your website comes up when people search for related topics. The goal is to be in the top five search results, which shows that you have a successful SEO campaign.
It becomes very competitive. It is important to choose the right keywords. It is also important to have on site optimization which means having information that is easy to find. You need to keep making changes to your SEO strategy to see what works and what does not work. This trial and error process can be time-consuming, but if you have the right formula, the results can be great.
Here’s a super quick overview of what your SEO strategy should have to get the best results:
- Crawl accessibility for search engines
- If you want your blog to be successful, you need to make sure it contains content that is both captivating and shareable, and that it aligns with what your audience is interested in.
- The right set of keywords
- Great user experience
- Your page should include snippets and descriptions so it will stand out on search engine result pages (SERPs).
Consider investing in a Google AdWords campaign.
So, if you’re selling a product or service, you only have to pay Google when someone expresses interest by clicking on your ad. Google AdWords is a set of ads that appear on your browser when you search for something. The ads are only charged when someone clicks on them, so you only have to pay when someone is interested in your product or service.
Your ads will only be shown to people who are searching for terms related to your chosen keywords. You only pay for clicks, not impressions. Pay-per-click can be a complex area of digital marketing, so unless you’re willing to study it full time, it might be best to find a professional to manage your campaigns.
Here are a couple of other reasons why you should consider including Google AdWords in your real estate digital marketing campaign:
-
It’s scalable!
If you’re short on time, Google AdWords will be a lifesaver. It’s quick and easy to use, which is why so many businesses are willing to spend a lot of money on AdWords ads. Every penny spent on a targeted AdWords campaign is worth it.
-
The metrics are easily available
Google AdWords is very transparent compared to other pay-per-click advertising options. You can easily understand which PPC metrics are working and which need to be improved. This way, you can make necessary changes to your PPC campaign.
-
It’s faster than SEO
Although it can take a while to see the effects of an SEO campaign, PPC is still a method worth trying. If you’re just starting to build your brand, Google AdWords can be especially helpful.
PPC can also help you improve your SEO campaign. Seeing the results quickly can help you determine which keywords are worth adding to your SEO strategy. For example, if the keywords worked well on Google AdWords, you may want to pursue them for SEO.
-
Google tends to give a lot of space for ads
Since Google AdWords is one of Google’s key sources of revenue, it’s not surprising that ads take up a lot of space on search engine results pages. This can be frustrating if you’re trying to improve your SEO, but if you’re also using Google AdWords, you can use this to your advantage.
-
It works well with your other real estate marketing strategies
The text explains how cookies allow display ads to follow people around the internet. This is beneficial to businesses because it keeps people aware of the brand and what the company has to offer. There are even options to have ads show the product or listing that the person searched for.
Social media. I’ve saved the best for last. Love it or hate it, it’s here to stay, so you may as well put it to work for you.
It’s crucial to have a strong social media presence because this is often the first thing potential clients will look at.
It’s important to keep your posts relevant and interesting, without making them seem like an advertisement. Make sure to engage with every person who interacts with your posts, whether they’re just liking a photo or leaving a comment.
Choose the social media platform that is most popular with your target market and run ad campaigns on that platform. For example, LinkedIn is a good choice for reaching business professionals, Facebook is good for reaching moms, Instagram is a good way to reach people 18-25, and so on.
To make effective use of your social media pages, come up with a strategy that fits your brand and real estate persona. Here are a couple of tips to help you create the perfect social media campaign:
-
Identify your goals
It is important to set goals for your real estate business in order to ensure its success and measure the effectiveness of your social media strategy. Your goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (S.M.A.R.T.) in order to be most effective.
After you set your business goals, you can track your progress by using key metrics, like lead generation, conversion rate, number of followers and likes, and web referrals.
-
Know your audience
If you don’t understand your audience, you could create content for your social media pages that doesn’t align with what they’re actually interested in. Creating an audience persona can help you avoid this by using real-world information to better understand your potential clients. This way, you can determine what kind of content to offer them and how you can expand your real estate business.
-
Know yourself
It’s important to have a real estate branding strategy as part of your marketing campaign. Your brand should be clearly defined on every social media page you own. Inconsistency in your brand’s style and tone can make it difficult for potential clients to understand your message and what you do or offer.
-
Check out what the competition is doing
To get a competitive analysis, research your competition’s social media campaigns and real estate marketing strategies. Doing this will help you understand their strengths and weaknesses, and give you a good idea of what is expected from real estate experts.
Final Thoughts
If you’re selling a home, it’s important to have a good real estate agent who knows how to market your home effectively. There are certain things you should expect from your agent in terms of marketing, such as having a good understanding of the local market, using various marketing channels to reach buyers, and creating attractive marketing materials.
A real estate agent who knows how to market a home using different channels will be more successful in selling the home than one who does not use these methods.
