With cut-throat competition in the field of real estate and the use of technology to get ahead, it is no surprise that real estate agents and brokers may get confused when deciding how to plan their marketing strategy.
Lead generation can be one of the best ways to overcome your competitors and by taking digital marketing seriously you can build brand visibility as a real estate agent, increase exposure, and attract more customers to your business.
Why Digital marketing is a game changer for your business:
- People frequently use search engines, like Google, Bing, etc. to get information.
- Online reviews are an important way to engage an audience and build brand awareness and trust.
- Easily track your performance and improve to higher levels.
- The target audience can be accessed easily as most of them spend time on the internet, particularly on Facebook, Instagram, etc.
- Paperless marketing is cost-effective and has a higher reach.
- It is a more creative medium to communicate with potential clients.
- Everyone else is taking the digital route, plan properly and get ahead in the race.
Top ranking Lead Generation Strategies for the Real estate:
Lead generation refers to the process of attracting and transforming prospective buyers into leads with a genuine vested interest in your product or service. In real estate, generating leads has its own set of difficulties, including getting the best software and websites to use various customer experience strategies. Thus, lead generation is an important marketing strategy for realtors, similar to marketing rules in other industries.
Some of the best ways to generate leads and build brand visibility are as follows:
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Using positive customer feedback:
Your results speak louder than your promises, so why not use them to establish your reputation, Customer reviews and testimonials can help in doing that. You can explore both internal and external options by setting up a review page on your website, testimonial sharing on major real estate platforms, and putting videos of happy customers. Some of the best external sites to do so would be Mouthshut.com, 99acres.com, and Magicbricks. com, etc.
In addition, a referral program can be created for existing clients to spread your word to prospective networks. Thus, the fruitful experiences of your customers can serve as a big PR function.
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Role of Social media in enhancing traffic and visibility:
As modern marketing has speedily become digital, social media image has now become an integral part of any marketer’s strategy. Some of the best social media sites are LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
LinkedIn is the primary choice as it is inclined more towards professional networking but you can pull a lot of traffic and attention with Instagram. Short and interesting posts on Instagram will keep you relevant in the daily life of potential customers.
Facebook ads are a very cost-effective means of generating leads through the Custom Audiences feature by targeting existing leads in your database. Also, you can create local groups around your firm which will allow clients to share their experiences and engage with new leads looking for homes and land for sale near them.
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Lead segmentation for getting insights into your database:
Most of the people who receive your newsletters and promotional emails are the leads already existing in your system, however, arranging them on a different basis will give you an idea about your database and help in lead generation.
- How “hot” or “cold” they are ( i.e how frequently they engage with your content, site, social media, etc)
- Demographics, i.e buyer age groups.
- Specific behaviors like signing up for your mailing list or downloading an e-guide, etc.
Equipped with this knowledge, you can manage the outreach for your segments through emails, educational content, and the nature and frequency of your clients.
Hot leads may need a more personalized touch to get them on board, while cold leads may be better left on email notifications. Marketing resources can thus be wisely invested in guaranteed customers via segmentation. This will yield you higher profits with better efficiency.
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Effective video marketing campaigns:
Did you know that 73% of homeowners tend to list with a realtor who offers to make a video for them? According to MarketingSherpa, videos attract two to three times more visitors to an agent’s site and double the time spent by them on it.
There are several ways to do video marketing, some of the tried and tested ways are:
- Client interviews
- Q&A live streamings
- How-to and general information videos
- Agent profiles
- Yearly reviews
- Videos of local community events
The basic idea behind video marketing is not the use of sophisticated devices but simple techniques like mobile cameras, basic editing software, good voice-over narratives, etc. which arouses the interest of the leads.
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Email campaigns:
Emails are one of the most effective digital marketing strategies in the real estate game.
They allow you to connect, engage, and pursue your new leads while keeping existing customers within your influence. A recent report suggested that 86% of consumers preferred to receive emails. However, you should make relevant content for the audience.
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Creating a user-friendly website:
According to data, more than 40% of real estate website visitors access through their mobiles. So optimizing your website for mobile use is essential to not to lose out on profits. A mobile-friendly website should have the following features:
- Pictures fitted to mobile screen size
- Faster loading speed.
- Easily accessible contact and address information on the website
- Simpler search bar and menu bar with all relevant information
- Live chat feature. This will enable people to quench their curiosity on the go.
Apart from these, make sure to be available whenever potential leads try to contact you.
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Content marketing through relevant and SEO-processed content:
Content marketing is the cornerstone of a qualified real estate website. A mobile-friendly, highly responsive website without valuable content is worthless. Content marketing is a crucial part of SEO (Search engine optimization) and the guaranteed way to get your website indexed and get noticed.
Website content aids you to build trust, credibility, and popularity and connecting effectively with the target audience. Writing articles, guides, and reviews to help them make informed decisions on home buying is a beautiful way to engage with them. In short, your website must address an issue by solving the problem and giving accurate and concise answers.
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Invest in SEO tools:
With a powerful SEO strategy, you can take your website to the top of search engine results and thus increase visibility. However, search engine algorithms get updated regularly. That’s why updations in algorithms are required. Thus it’s pivotal for your marketing plan to spend more time and effort on SEO than ever.
Keywords are a vital component of SEO. They are what users choose to search for information in search engines. Therefore it is necessary to do keyword research and incorporate them into your articles and blog posts. Some other SEO tools to consider include:
- Backlinks
- Social media pages
- Online directories
- Title and meta descriptions, readability, snippets, etc.
- Regular updating of blogs.
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Hosting virtual tours of homes for sale:
Buying a home is a tedious task, that’s why customers require your marketing services to help smoothen the process. Hosting virtual tours is highly beneficial for real estate agents and many experts recommend it. For creating a successful virtual tour, here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Digital illusions should be avoided; instead, actual footage of the home should be used.
- Videos should be creative and engaging, both on PC and mobile.
- The tour should be user-friendly and in a 3D version.
- Develop a social media marketing strategy with a full-fledged social media marketing plan for gaining actual benefits. Here are a few techniques to apply – Creating new or existing lists, Putting heartfelt and moving stories, Writing blogs of relevance, etc. The goal is to share a variety of content and listings which customers are looking for.
Summary:
Every real estate agent and broker applies several or some digital marketing strategies as a part of their business plan. However, the difference is in how the strategies are implemented and how they work.
So the focus should be on creating digital content that tackles the issues and solve the problems of the home buyers and give genuine answers to their questions. Thus, the usage of multiple online strategies to increase the chances of getting noticed by potential customers is the need of the hour. The ultimate aim however should always be on the quality and rate of conversion of people you reach through digital marketing campaigns.
