Geographic farming is an established marketing method in real estate that consists of concentrating your efforts in a single area. Additionally, it is referred to as ‘geo farming’ in some circles. Accomplished properly, farming can aid in strengthening recognition, collecting contacts, procuring listings, and gaining endorsements.
“Geographic Farming” is something you may not have ever heard of before, similar to when you first began real estate but then came across the term “Sphere”. Perhaps up to this very moment, you are still unclear about what geographic farming requires.
It may not be a fresh idea in the world of real estate marketing, but it is certainly worth taking a more thorough look.
Despite the advantages of geographic farming in building connections with potential vendors, a lot of real estate agents find it difficult to initiate the process. Here, you’ll be given tips on how to choose the right locality, create a list and execute direct mail campaigns to make an impact.
Determining the Best Neighborhood for Geo Farming
When you start geo-farming, the initial and most essential task is to decide which area is the optimal one to work with.
Most of the details required to locate the perfect community can be obtained from your local or regional Multiple Listing Service directory. Below are some pointers to assist you and what you should search for.
An Area You Know Well is Best
Having a farm located near the community you live in is a sensible decision for many reasons.
Besides having an easily accessible commute and being able to promote the zone continually and cheaply over time, it will also give you the capability to advertise to clients in an area where you presently have knowledge.
People are aware of your presence, and you could state, “I was the one who found a buyer for your neighbor’s house a couple houses away.”
It is essential that you are familiar with the region and can recognize its advantages for buyers. You understand the inhabitants and those who desire to be members of the community.
It is essential to pay attention to figures like turnover rate, agent saturation rate and other statistics, however, it is important to build a presence in an area where you can share your knowledge. If you pick an area that is foreign to you, make sure to research it thoroughly.
Sufficient Average Home Price
If you wish to make more money from selling upscale properties, you should absolutely go for it. Be aware that bigger, pricier houses need a better marketing budget and usually take much longer to sell.
It is important to not put yourself in a situation of needing to sell a lot of properties and gain many more listings every month just to make ends meet. In other words, you need to cultivate a region with an adequate average house cost.
Agents are compensated with commission, so it’s important to consider that the average price of homes in your target area needs to be high enough to make your promotional tactics worthwhile.
Even without a lot of expertise, some simple math can show if a particular place or region is worth looking into.
Solid Turnover Rate
An essential part of determining a potential agricultural region is the rate of change. The turnover rate means the amount of residences that have been purchased in the preceding twelve months. To determine the turnover rate of a specific area or neighborhood, you perform this simple equation:
The percentage of homes sold in an area can be determined by dividing the number of homes sold by the total number of homes in the area and then multiplying the result by 100.
The turnover rate in the area would be 10 percent if there were 30 out of the 300 homes sold. You can acquire the date from your area Multiple Listing Service.
For successful geo farming in real estate, it is often necessary to achieve a conversion rate of no less than five percent. Unless more houses are available for sale, the location won’t offer enough opportunities to be rewarding.
Agent Saturation Rate
No matter which sector of the real estate industry you are in, there will always be competitors. Figuring this out and making the necessary arrangements is essential when creating your farm area. It is essential to seek out locations where no brokers hold a specified proportion of the market.
Farming an area where a single or a duo of realtors list greater than 25% of the homes is not a desirable situation. Someone else already has a stronghold on the area. It would be wise to try to find a place where you can do the same activity.
You can determine if an agent already has control of a district by quickly looking at MLS and seeing if the same agent is regularly appearing as the agent in charge of the region.
If there were a total of 50 homes sold in a particular area over the last two years, and an agent was responsible for 13 or more of these sales, it would be advisable to look elsewhere for another geographical region to focus on.
Match the Budget to Your Real Estate Farm
The objective of any real estate agent promotion campaign is to be seen by more prospective buyers and sellers than any other agent.
Nonetheless, you must keep your geo farming initiative going by using marketing plans that match up with your ultimate goal. Essentially, you must be committed for an extended period of time. This means keeping costs and your resources in mind.
If you have too many homes in your chosen real estate area to market repeatedly throughout the year, then reduce the number of houses that you can manage according to your budget.
As you secure clients and increase your company’s success, the area you focus on selling to can likewise grow. Real estate agents may have to spend a lot of money getting their business up and running, particularly at the start before any deals have been successfully concluded. Give yourself a helping hand in choosing a farming space by doing the calculations first.
Obtain a Mailing List
If all the criteria on the list have been met by the geo farm you have decided to use, the final step is to obtain a mailing list. Every successful realtor consistently mails to a mailing list.
By having a focused mailing list, you can be sure to accurately convey brochures, seasonal cards and other promotional items to the right folks at the ideal time.
It has been established that geo farming, strengthening your company’s name, and gaining long-term victory in the real estate industry are achievable.
No need to boast, but our mailing list builder is fantastic. Using Wise Pelican mailing list campaigns as opposed to EDDM direct mail campaigns offers the benefit of being able to personalize and focus your efforts on a chosen geographic area.
Why Geographic Farming Works
Real estate agents have been utilizing farming techniques for a long period of time, and this sort of approach is still effective due to its careful planning. But let’s drill down even further into why…
If you would like to become a renowned professional in a specific area, utilizing this approach will enable you to achieve that.
By dedicating extra attention to the targeting of a particular locality or region, your brand will become increasingly recognizable in that area over the course of time, if you use the correct marketing tactics. No matter if you are a novice real estate agent or a veteran in the business, you can strive to establish your own identity in any area you choose.
Farming lays out a steady pathway: If it has proven hard to get going with your promotion or figure out an approach to concentrate on, farming can serve as a helpful guide.
You will be clear on the target audience you are trying to appeal to and the specific geographic locations you should be concentrating on. By doing that, you can cease to go quickly from one concept to another and ultimately commence to make headway.
Focusing your efforts on farming rather than splitting it up for various channels, campaigns, and strategies will help you get the optimum result. By putting your efforts into one area, you become more productive and use your time and resources more effectively.
The great advantage of farming is that you have the power to aim your efforts towards your target market. This implies that you are analyzing prices, lifestyles, and the individuals who are interested in those markets. You are determining which individuals you want to collaborate with, and farming gives you a way to make that connection.
Farming can be done by anyone, even if they don’t have a lot of experience. Even though a real estate agent with a lot of sales in the area has a leg up, it’s not necessary for success.
You do not need to have any prior experience in real estate in order to use farming as an approach to expanding your business. Everyone has opportunities with farming. Despite the potential gains that can be made from farming, it is necessary to be deliberate in selecting which areas to concentrate on in order for it to be successful.
Applying Target Marketing Principles
The basis of target marketing is to pick either a particular type of client or a location and design your promotions to draw in that desired audience. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
It’s due to the fact that target marketing combines modern geographic farming. You are forming the neighborhood you intend to manage with purchasers and sellers and then carrying out imaginative procedures to create commerce.
Modern Marketing Ideas for Geographic Farming
Once you have decided on a district or area that is advantageous and confirmed it is a shrewd decision, then you can begin the enjoyable aspect – promotion! Some ideas you can try are:
- Produce Video Material: Videos on the surrounding area and community are always appealing because they are useful for customers who desire to be informed about the vicinity. It also helps to present you as an authority on the local market, which can draw in potential vendors. Learn the framework of a successful video.
- Increase your visibility on the web and enhance your search engine optimization (SEO): People still turn to Google when researching information about buying or selling a house in their local area. Be available for people when they search for something on your website or blog. Gain knowledge about generating material for the web to lure people to you in Episode 42: Reasonable Search engine optimization for Regional Real Estate Agents.
- Post content that resonates with your target audience on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Let’s have a chat about the real estate market in your neighborhood.
- You can pass on helpful advice to local buyers and sellers, update everyone on new postings, hold tours of available properties, spread knowledge about the district, offer people a look into the locality’s way of life, and much more. Instagram Reels would work great for this!
- Consider running digital ads; Google Adwords or Facebook & Instagram Ads might be effective in reaching local customers.
- Generate interest in XYZ Neighborhood among potential buyers or sellers by creating a downloadable guide like a Homebuyers Guide or an informational article featuring 10 Tips to Get Top Dollar when Selling in XYZ Neighborhood, and then offer this item as an incentive to get people to act. Discover the ten components of an effective real estate lead acquisition.
- Deliver frequent newsletters: Connect potential clients and those presently in your list of contacts that reside in the region or are hoping to move there with a periodic newsletter. You could discuss events in your area and also add material related to the local housing market. Take a look at The Marketing Suite for monthly email newsletter formats crafted to link you with your arena and draw in new prospects.
- Form a Facebook Page/Group: Head up a local Facebook page specifically for people living in the area or set up a public Facebook page entirely dedicated to the community. Make sure you stay within the boundaries of your marketing regulations when you are actively advertising for your real estate company and listing them on the page.
Don’t limit yourself to communicating electronically; go out into your local area and interact with the community. Go out and engage with the community by showing up or funding local gatherings and intentionally seeking to create relationships in person.
It is evident that there are alternatives to geographic farming that do not require door-to-door visits or postcards. You may not have ever contemplated that video or Instagram Reels could be used for farming, however, by utilizing what is popular right now, you will be able to find success with a successful tactic.
And stick with it!
If you desire to witness progress, you must remain consistent. It won’t happen immediately or suddenly that you are regarded as the most reliable real estate agent in an area. Allow yourself the time it takes to gather force, remain dedicated, and focus in on your particular field.
