The real estate market offers a highly rewarding career path, but many people struggle to achieve significant profits. One of the biggest challenges for real estate agents is effective marketing. You might have extensive market knowledge and understand the specific needs of buyers and sellers, but without strong marketing, success can remain out of reach. By identifying the best channels to reach your community and potential clients, you can build valuable relationships and drive growth. Read on to discover our top sixteen marketing strategies to boost your real estate business.
Marketing Through Publications
Publications are generally well-established ways to reach people from all walks of life. The written format allows for direct communication without the need for conversation or other types of advertising. It also gives people a chance to take your information with them if they feel that either they or another person can benefit from your services.
1. Magazines
Magazines have a longer shelf life than newspapers. Color magazines are also a good source for the promotion of your listings to buyers and sellers. Because of the broad market segmentations that magazines can serve, they present excellent opportunities to target your message.
2. Newspapers
Small newspapers, real estate industry publications, and newsletters (print or online) are often in need of contributing writers. This additional avenue could provide opportunities for showcasing your unique skills and talents (further solidifying your brand) and establishing you as a credible source of information for your profession. Some publications may advertise their need for content. For those that do not, you can offer to contribute content. Be prepared with topic suggestions and even suggested articles.
3. Press Releases
You should create a press release anytime you have something new to share with your community, such as accepting a new volunteer position with a local organization, hosting an upcoming event, or winning a local or industry award. Your press releases should be succinctly written and focused on one announcement. Resources for writing press releases can be found on the web, or you can hire a local ad agency to write press releases for you. Press releases are often a no-cost way to promote your business.
Television & Radio Advertising
TV and radio give you a chance to present yourself to many people at once in a personable way. Having a personal connection is often more than half the battle, and using these mediums can help to give you a foothold in the lives of the collected viewers and listeners all at once.
4. Radio
Advertising spots may be available on a local radio station. You may also find it possible to host a small radio segment about your area of specialty in real estate. Your voice can be enough to persuade someone to reach out to you just by hearing you over the radio.
5. Television
For advertising, you will need to contact the local television station to find out the costs involved and any specific procedures or formats of which you should be aware. If you have an idea for a segment that you feel would be relevant to the audience, you will need to “pitch” or sell the idea to the station. The first step is to contact the station to obtain information on the idea submission.
Online Advertising
The internet can be daunting at first, given the many avenues that you can take to try and make use of it for your business. With a realistic and creative mindset, you can find an approach that can turn into valuable leads and connections.
6. Internet Presence
An internet presence is not as simple as having a page with your name and business on it. People spend more and more time online, and you can use that time to start connections online and bring them offline. Your internet presence should be consistent, including the image you develop online through personal promotion and other advertising; be aware that your interactions online are effectively permanent, for better or worse.
A strong online presence offers potential for business growth, even if it may not be as personal as face-to-face conversations. Despite this, engaging with people online can develop leads into relationships, making it an essential part of e-branding and reaching potential customers.
7. Email
Email is a fairly inexpensive way to communicate and keep in touch with existing customers. You can also purchase lists of emails for your target areas from a variety of resources, but depending on the return, this can get expensive quickly. To find these companies, you can do a simple search on the Internet for “email lists for sale.”
8. Website
Everyone needs at least a simple web page, but the more time you put into it, the better potential customers will see you. There are many options available for developing a successful website; what you select will depend on your budget and time constraints. At a minimum, your page should include promotional information about you, such as:
- Mission statement
- Credentials
- Experience
- Education
- Areas of expertise
- Contact information
Your website should also prominently feature your name, a recent picture, and a personal statement that personifies your brand. Connect with your customers by providing a little personal information about yourself. Remember, you have defined yourself by what you do and like to do, and this is what helps define your market.
Additionally, if you are using WordPress, make sure to choose plugins that allow you to update your website more easily and make it useful for displaying property listings to your clients.
9. Social Media
Should you decide to utilize several social networks, ensure that your profile remains consistent among them. The more networks you join, the more you will need to make the time to keep up and maintain your presence there. The social media pages you provide will need to be kept up to date in order to provide ongoing relevance to your customers.
Although important, it isn’t enough to just include your biography, experience, and testimonials when utilizing social media for personal promotion. Social media is a chance to subtly showcase your brand as well as your personality and build relationships—it is not an avenue for aggressive marketing. As in “real life,” your actions, words, and participatory choices reflect your brand and affect your image.
The top social media platforms for real estate agents are:
10. Blogs
You’ll need to have a blog strategy that addresses what your purpose is and who your intended audience is. Determine how often you will post and make sure that is a sustainable pace for you. You will need to select a hosting option. WordPress and ActiveRain are two hosting options, with ActiveRain being specific to real estate.
Most importantly, you’ll want to focus on your specific target topics (i.e., what you’re going to talk about). Your blogs need to be interesting and informational to your audience and open for comments. Again, think about what is relevant to your customers and prospective customers.
11. Vlogs
A vlog (or video blog) is a blog that contains video content. Vlogs, for the most part, are not meant to generate income. This allows video bloggers to create content about their interests, such as real estate. Creating a video blog is easy with basic tools like a camera, editing software, and a high-speed internet connection. But don't be afraid to hire a professional video production company if needed. There is an abundance of free resources on sites like YouTube tutorials. You can even study successful vlog channels for the best advice.
12. Podcasts
A podcast is an audio file made available online for downloading or streaming to a computer or mobile device. Typically, podcasts are offered in episodes that a user can set up to automatically download.
Podcasts are a wonderful tool for offering mini real estate “why buy” seminars, first-time homebuyer workshops, and actionable tips for buyers and sellers or any other information you want to share. This gives you a chance to build your credibility as well as your online presence, though be aware that podcasts rely just as heavily on defined, likable personalities as they do on quality sound equipment.
Additional Advertising Options
13. Flyers / Brochures
Flyers and brochures do have a place within your overall promotion plan. As with any communication vehicle, remember to establish the purpose and objective. Have a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish. Are you trying to promote recent sales or listings? Are you showcasing your specialty areas?
14. Telemarketing
While telemarketing is certainly an option when considering a communication plan, it’s become increasingly less popular in terms of contacting prospective customers. If you choose telemarketing as a component of your communication plan, you need to be aware of the federal and state requirements and limitations.
15. Company-Specific Lists
Whether a phone number is registered on the national list or not, the FCC requires that companies comply with any request to remove a person or entity from a solicitation list and to maintain a record of that request. Companies must also honor that request for five years.
Auto dialing or pre-recorded messages can only call those numbers for which there is an established business relationship or permission is given by that number.
16. Direct Mail
Don’t underestimate the power of the direct approach. Direct mail is one way to distribute your flyers and brochures. Mailers are a crucial part of personal promotion strategies, allowing you to maintain contact with former customers and promote your current listings. Foster goodwill by staying in touch with former clients on occasions like birthdays, closing anniversaries, tax reminders, and holidays.
To avoid bad mailing addresses, use an updated mailing list. You can also build your own mailing list through the "Add me to your mailing list" option on your website, email campaigns, and open house collection of names and addresses. Coding responses to prospect lists based on which list generated a lead is crucial for tracking leads and measuring campaign success, especially when using direct mail responses to track potential leads.
Start Your Journey With VanEd
Not all of these channels will be effective in your area, but by doing some research and experimenting with your options, you can better understand the best ways to reach your market. Don’t be afraid to try new things, and don’t feel defeated if one strategy doesn’t work; there are many marketing channels to explore and many ways to find success in each one.
To learn more about promoting, advertising, and marketing your real estate brand, enroll in one of our online Continuing Education courses. Our courses are designed to ensure that real estate agents and brokers stay current with industry standards, laws, and best practices. View our full catalog of courses on our website today!
Written and Published by: VanEd