Creative Online Marketing Ideas for Real Estate Success Building an authentic online presence is the key to attracting a steady stream of buyers and sellers.
By Chris Porteous Edited by Lisa Lombardi
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The success of your real estate venture is highly dependent on the creativity and efficiency of your marketing strategy.
Capturing the attention of potential buyers plays a considerable role in the growth of your investment. It's well known that the vast majority of consumers purchase their homes through a real estate agent. However, the competition is tough, and it takes out-of-the-box thinking to get people to go through you.
Although traditional marketing methods such as sending out flyers still work to get people's attention, you have to do more to remain competitive in the modern market. The internet has dramatically changed the way people shop and do business. It's estimated that more than 92% of consumers turn to the web to do their leg work before approaching a real estate agent.
So your business needs to have a healthy and active online presence in today's world. Here are some top ways to attract prospective buyers and sellers on the web.
Related: How Gen Z Is Transforming Digital Marketing
Set yourself up on social media
Designing a professional website is your first step towards creating an online presence. Next, you need to create a dedicated account on all the major social media networks including Pinterest, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram.
These accounts allow you to share good press, interact with users, and promote your properties. They're inexpensive, easy to use, and have a vast outreach potential. By paying for ad campaigns, you can also use search engines such as Google for marketing purposes.
Related: 10 Laws of Social Media Marketing
Identify your point of difference
What makes you stand out from the crowd? Compare yourself to other estate agents and find that which makes you and your business unique. Questions to ask yourself:
How do you describe yourself?
How do others introduce you? Do they always add the same interesting fact about you?
Do you have a slogan or a tagline?
Unfortunately, this is a riddle only you can solve, but add it to your website and contact information when you do. People tend to remember this kind of detail, and more often than not, it'll result in recurring business and strong word of mouth.
Build an engaging blog
Building a blog is another excellent way of creating an online presence. Creating or adding SEO optimized content will ensure that your posts pop up in search results every time. There are various guides and analytics tools available on the web that can teach you how to do this effectively.
It's essential to make it easy for visitors to navigate your main website and link to your profile pages on other real estate sites and social media. This'll enable potential buyers to learn more about you and your venture.
Add a chat service
In today's world, where people work around the clock, it's essential to be available 24/7. Many employees that work irregular hours will look for houses when they're awake. Now, this doesn't mean that you've got to give up your beauty rest to attend to these potential buyers. By adding a chat service to your website, you can keep a conversation going when you're not available.
It's estimated that more than 51% of consumers believe that a business should be available around the clock, and 92% of people are comfortable using live chat. Working in real estate isn't a 9 to 5 job. Using a chat service will provide your business with the coverage that you can't possibly deliver on your own.
Choose quality over quantity
When it comes to posting content on your website, blog, or social media, quantity isn't always productive. The internet is riddled with information — it's essential to ensure that yours doesn't get lost in the flood.
Sharing countless unnecessary info will overwhelm your audience, costing you followers and engagement. Therefore, it's essential to focus on quality content that your followers will find interesting; set a schedule to post it.
By sharing helpful, creative information once, or maybe twice, a week via social media and email, you'll present yourself as a thought leader and keep your audience engaged.
Use video to your advantage
It is clear that video is more important than ever. Thanks to social media platforms — which enable users to upload and live stream video clips — this medium continues to surge. Since the smartphone's introduction, most of us carry around devices capable of recording and sharing high-quality images. It's a fun and easy way of interacting with your audience. Some of the best ways to use video to help your real estate business:
- Record short clips answering FAQ's you get from clients.
Make videos of the interior and exterior of the homes you're selling.
Post an Instagram story about the volunteer work you do in your local community
Take control of your future
Success comes from carefully developing and following a plan. By designing a professional business website, engaging on social media, and building a blog, you'll have all the tools necessary to create a healthy and active online presence. Implementing these strategies will steer you in the right direction and ensure positive growth for many years to come.
