Online and social media marketing for real estate companies
Digital Footprint
One of the first things new and potential customers will do when considering purchasing a house is a search for real estate agents online. For this reason using relevant popular hashtags and phrases increases the chance of people finding you. Searches will also be area specific so try to incorporate the area covered in your hashtags and profile.
To get the most from your social media accounts, only upload professional looking photos and write engaging, informative captions and posts. Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are the more common platforms used although Snapchat is becoming more and more popular among real estate agents.
Understand your target audience
Understanding your target audience and constantly reviewing and refining your aesthetics and online branding will help to create a consistent look which will help to be recognizable. For this reason, it is imperative to consider brand awareness in every aspect of a social media post.
Building an aesthetically pleasing website is the best way to drive sales and a few techniques to do so are to focus on being consistent with colour schemes, avoid cluttering the layout by keeping it minimal and easy to navigate, only use professional photographs throughout the website.
Content is Key
Writing informative, creative and well-structured listings is also one of the most important aspects to consider to drive sales and help to sell a home.
When promoting a property, always try to tell the story behind it, to evoke emotion and paint a clearer picture for home buyers seeking a comfortable and welcoming haven. Creative writing is key and understanding what viewers respond well to will help with conversion rates.
Come up with a formula for writing listings, by using analysis and reviewing successful competitor websites, a real estate company can further understand which type of writing is more effective and when a formula has been developed that works, it will also keep a consistency throughout the listings that help to create a stronger brand image.
Generating and Maintaining Leads
Generating leads is the end goal for any marketing campaign, especially when it comes to real estate agents. Though there are shortcuts for this – such as a website called ‘Market Leader’ which allows agents to buy genuine buyer and seller leads that want to be contacted – leads generated organically are more likely to receive higher conversion rates.
Using landing pages to convert visitors into leads is a well-used practice that can also produce strong results. Generating leads can be a difficult process but once an agent has a catalog of leads, maintaining and converting them takes a different kind of approach.
Not regularly following leads up is a common mistake made by agents; it is very important as to not lose contact with the potential client. For sellers, keeping contact makes sure that you are at the top of the mind and your company is first in line to sell for them. For buyers, sending regular but relevant properties via email will let them know that you understand their requirements and needs which will give your agency a higher chance of converting leads into sales.
As an agent, when you have developed multiple leads (around 15 per month), they can become difficult to keep on top of. When this becomes the case there are a number of different apps and software to download such as ‘Contactually’, which allows an agent to send out evergreen emails to multiple contacts and at pre-planned times, freeing the agent up to search for more leads.
The Benefits of Marketing Through Video
Videos are still by far the most viewed pieces of content used in marketing today – and it is no wonder that they are. All that is required from the user, is a click of a button, and he or she can sit back and absorb information. Also, with the option of adding music and images, videos are more engaging than any other type of content.
When a video goes viral it can create great results for a company, creating funny clips that capture the attention of the masses is a sure-fire way to expand your client base through shares on social media. The initial viewer doesn’t necessarily have to be part of your target audience, when a video is shared, you can be sure that it will reach the right people organically.
Virtual Tours
One of the most popular modern techniques in the world of real estate are virtual tours, as they give your company an air of professionalism and makes an agency stand out amongst the competition. As well as allowing customers to ‘walk’ through the listings offered to give a deeper understanding of what the property offers, it also saves time with unnecessary viewings as it ensures that the properties viewed are more likely to be seriously considered.
Another technique frequently used by successful letting agencies are virtual tours of the neighbourhood. These videos give customers a feel for the surrounding area and allow them to understand as much as they can about what it would be like to live in not just the property but the area.
Live Videos
When it comes to social media, a marketing strategy that is proven to generate more traffic is live videos. There’s something about a live video that makes users engage. Developing creative ideas for live videos can be a real game-changer for your agency. Creating original and fun content for users to watch and engage with is sure to develop a larger audience and create more personal relationships.
Optimizing Your Website
Google Advertising
Advertising your site via Google AdWords is a great way of generating website traffic. Google will target consumers that have recently searched for similar services to yours, giving your ads a good chance of being converted into website views. creating potential leads.
SEO
Getting your site higher on a search engine list such as Google or Bing is difficult, especially with the number of competitors out there, which is why a good understanding of SEO is important.
Using keywords to optimise your website, and software that evaluates your content and considers search engine optimisation will put you in a good position to crawl search engines and rank higher.
Blog
Adding a blog to your website is another great way for driving traffic, answering commonly asked questions will bring in users and offer them something different. Blogs also give a real estate company an excellent platform to engage directly with potential clients through comment sections and Q and A’s, as well as collecting a library of email address to send weekly newsletters and information on new and updated services.
Keyword Research
In-depth researching into keywords that relate to your website is essential when developing SEO strategies, there are a number of websites that can help with this process, although a basic understanding of what your customers will be typing into search engines is a start. You can also look at companies that rank higher on Google and Bing’s search engines and study the words they use as well as the tone of voice.