Whether you’re a seasoned agent or just a beginner, you know that the competition for clients in this business is fierce, which is why marketing plays an important role in your real estate agent career.
Today, traditional marketing strategies (like mailers, workshops, and networking events) have become less relevant to customers. Instead, top real estate agents are turning to digital real estate marketing to generate leads. Why? According to the Real Estate in a Digital Age 2018 Report by the National Association of REALTORS®
- 58% of Millennials and 46% of Generation X found their home on a mobile device compared to 33% of Younger Boomers
- 76% of all buyers found a home on a mobile device
- 17% of all buyers found an agent with a mobile device
- 44% of homebuyers looked for properties online first
As you can see, the majority of prospects and potential clients are online, so if you’re nowhere near digital marketing, then you’re missing a pool of opportunities! And you better believe that your competitors are also trying to take advantage of digital real estate marketing. In fact, according to the same report by NAR, “over 90 percent of REALTORS® are also using e-mail, laptops/desktops computers, and smartphones daily”.
Related: These Are the Tools Successful Real Estate Agents Are Using
If you’re wondering how you can start generating online leads in real estate, here are the 5 best real estate marketing ideas that will help you.
1) Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is a critical strategy to drive real estate leads to your website. When done correctly, your website and web pages will show up higher on search engine results pages during relevant searches. It’s a huge topic that real estate agents should learn more about. Keep in mind, your search traffic volume is not the most important SEO factor; it’s all about getting relevant, local traffic.
Relevant, local traffic will help solidify your personal brand as an expert real estate agent in your micro market. In addition, local traffic is more likely to be prospective clients. Since search engines constantly change their algorithms, it’s critical to keep reviewing this digital real estate marketing strategy periodically. The most important elements of a strong SEO strategy include:
- High-ranking keywords
- Backlinks
- Meta titles and descriptions
- Social media pages
- Online directories
While most people think of Google when they hear search engine, there are many others including Yahoo and Bing. Don’t forget about making your website searchable to other search engines as SEO doesn’t just apply to Google. If your website is not visible to other search engines and potential clients, consider SEO to generate more leads in real estate.
2) Content Marketing
Content is king. Anyone buying real estate will want to learn as much as they can. So, creating a blog on your website in which you provide potential clients with the answers they’re looking for and useful information that will solve their issues is a top digital real estate marketing idea. In fact, according to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing can generate 3 times as many leads as traditional marketing and a conversion rate 6 times higher!
To make your content stand out, you need to build your brand as an expert agent in your housing market. Start by identifying who your audience is and what they value. Then provide content online that is packed with valuable information that answers their questions. Real estate agents need to keep in mind that content is a valuable asset to a good SEO strategy. Therefore, make sure to update your blog regularly.
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3) Social Media Marketing
Social media has become an essential tool for businesses and entrepreneurs to compete and succeed, including the real estate industry and agents. This doesn’t surprise us as real estate is a people business and 77% of real estate agents are using social media as a marketing strategy according to NAR’s Report. However, if you’re an expert on digital real estate marketing, you’ll know that having a presence on social media is not just about posting property listings. Instead, agents need to focus on something called “social selling.”
Social selling is what happens when the real estate agent engages and interacts with prospective clients on social media. This also includes employing new and effective tactics like 360-degree images, panoramic images, infographics, and videos. In addition, social selling is also useful for networking and staying in touch with past clients (who are a major source of referrals).
As you can see, social selling is an extremely effective form of selling for real estate agents. When done right, these real estate marketing ideas help you build your brand, keep your name on top of mind, and generate new leads for your real estate business.
Related: How to Get More Leads for Your Real Estate Business in 2019
4) Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is one of the most popular digital real estate marketing ideas for agents. It helps you become more efficient with your time and money in generating leads and closing deals. When you install some marketing automation tools on your website, you’ll probably notice an increase in engagement.
Marketing automation tools can do a lot of things for real estate agents to make lead generation easier. For example, one tip for real estate agents is to contact prospective clients online first as many professionals have found this more effective than waiting for prospects to contact you. This is something marketing automation can help you with through message bots. These tools can:
- Engage with visitors as soon as they land on your website. This allows you to immediately gather that person’s information
- Send a friendly introductory email or message to that person so that engagement can begin sooner rather than later
- Send targeted messages based on the visitor’s browsing history with a call-to-action
Furthermore, marketing automation also informs you the moment a lead takes action, helps you identify the position of your leads in the sales funnel, and guides the real estate lead on the next step in nurturing and closing.
Related: 5 Tips to Close More Real Estate Deals in Less Time
5) Paid Advertising (Pay-Per-Click)
Paid advertising is not the cheapest option (which is why we left it to the end), but it’s definitely a great digital real estate marketing idea for agents to generate leads in real estate – qualified leads! PPC can also support your existing property listings, which is essential because exposure is extremely important in real estate marketing for agents. There are two main types of paid advertisements: social media ads and paid search ads. And while paid advertising is an excellent marketing strategy, you shouldn’t rely solely on it to bring new clients.
Need help qualifying leads? Check out Mashboard and learn how you can start qualifying real estate leads WITHOUT asking questions.
The Bottom Line
If you are in the real estate business but miles away from digital marketing, then you’re losing out on a lot. There is a wide range of strategies and digital real estate marketing ideas that agents can use to reach qualified leads online. With strategic planning, the right tools and a will to succeed, your online marketing can generate organic traffic that you can convert in no time.
Got other digital marketing ideas which have helped you generate leads in real estate? Share them in the comments below.