We love to say “X% of property buyers start their search online” but do you know how many agents are actually tackling online lead generation? 91% of realtors use social media and that’s just one digital marketing strategy. The takeaway here is that real estate agents are online and you’re competing with them.
So, you need ways to make sure you stand out and are able to compete with other top real estate agents in your market. Here are 7 tactics to have a competitive online real estate lead generation strategy that will ensure seller/buyer leads notice you.
#1. Create Blog Posts That Are Worth Reading
This is one of those tips for real estate agents you’ve probably been reading since day one. “Create valuable content,” right? But what does that really mean when it comes to effectively generating real estate leads? It means time, effort, and dedication. Posting 300 words every few weeks isn’t going to cut it. A successful real estate agent blog is one where you take the time to research and find out what topics your leads are actually looking for. You can do this by either frequenting forums, Facebook groups, or even the neglected comment sections on other blogs where real estate leads are asking questions that no one is answering. Also, consider using SEO tools to make sure leads can find your posts easily.
If you’re just not a writer and you have the budget to do so, consider hiring a writer. There are plenty of websites where freelance writers can be easily found at affordable rates. Whatever you do, make sure you’re posting content that your real estate leads actually want to read.
Don’t have a place on your real estate agent website to post content? Claim your free agent profile on Mashvisor where we’ve already created an SEO-friendly space for you to post so you don’t have to.
#2. Make Sure Everything Is Super Easy to Share
I’ve visited a few real estate agent websites where there was no obvious way to share blog posts, believe it or not. There are icons to visit the agent’s social media pages or even share the website itself, but not individual posts or even listings. Social media users and your real estate leads want to share things they find interesting, even if they aren’t ready to convert just yet. And when they do share your content or an appealing listing, it reaches a much wider audience. That audience could have qualified leads that are ready to work with an agent.
Related: 10 of the Worst Real Estate Lead Generation Mistakes to Avoid
So making things easy to share online can increase your chances for online lead generation. There are simple tools and plugins you can add to your real estate agent website to make sure everything can be shared. Be sure to use nice photographs for both your listings and your blog posts. This will encourage social media sharing even more.
#3. Take Advantage of Online Reviews
Agents work pretty hard to get real estate referrals but sometimes neglect one of the most powerful tactics: online reviews. In fact, one study found that 72% of consumers trust an online review as much as a personal recommendation. This applies to the real estate business as much as any other industry. So one of the best tools for real estate agents can simply be a review section on your website and Facebook page. Make sure to ask happy real estate clients to leave a review once you’ve successfully closed a deal for them.
Third-party review sites can be even more powerful when it comes to online lead generation for agents. Yelp, for example, is a great source of lead generation for agents. For one, Yelp gets 145 million visitors every month. So having a full profile on the website with hundreds of reviews can help you reach a much wider audience of leads looking for agents. It can also mean showing up on top Google search results for real estate agents in your city.
Once you make sure the profile is up to date, it’s time to start asking for testimonials. Follow up with real estate clients and ask them to leave a review directly on the platform. To make this online lead generation strategy efficient, add a template email asking for Yelp reviews to your automated campaigns meant for past clients.
You can also work to build reviews on pages like Google My Business and your Mashvisor Agent Profile. All of this can help build the reputation of your real estate agent career and increase the likelihood of online real estate lead conversion.
#4. Have a Video Marketing Strategy
A digital real estate marketing strategy cannot be complete without videos. They take more time and money to make and so many agents aren’t utilizing them. In fact, only 9% of real estate agents create videos for their active listings. That means that this is one online lead generation strategy that is sure to give you a competitive advantage. Here’s how:
- It’s a known SEO tip that videos have the potential to rank much better on Google than regular content.
- When it comes to social sharing, videos get 1200% more shares online than content with just text and images.
- Videos used on your website’s landing pages can increase real estate lead conversion by 80%.
The first way to approach this real estate marketing strategy is to figure out if you have a budget for it. You may need to hire some actors or professionals, so see what you can and can’t afford.
Even if you don’t have the budget, there are still a few things you can do to make this online real estate lead generation strategy work for you. For example, professional home staging is an art and it comes at a price. However, you can learn a few basic tips for real estate agents that will make your property walkthrough different than everyone else’s.
Consider creating how-to videos or guides. This kind of helpful content isn’t too difficult to put together and homebuyers and sellers find a lot of value in it. And this, of course, can boost your online lead conversion. Don’t forget to post and share on social media!
Related: Real Estate Marketing Tips for Agents: Old-Fashioned to Online
#5. Claim Your Free Agent Profile on Mashvisor
Online lead generation for agents requires having multiple channels where property buyers and sellers can find you. These sources need to be SEO-friendly so that they show up in Google search results. A lot of these can cost money, even your own real estate website. So why not claim your FREE agent profile on Mashvisor? Learn here how your Agent Profile will help you generate leads in real estate.
#6. Use Facebook Lead Generation to Its Fullest Potential
There are a few underutilized methods for Facebook lead generation for agents. Facebook groups are one. You probably joined a few when you were a new real estate agent, right? That’s because it’s a common strategy for online lead generation. But have you actually done everything to get more leads from this source? Have you been networking in these groups and offering value where other real estate agents may be silent? Have you tried creating your own Facebook group (with SEO keywords/title in mind) to be able to appear in searches? If not, then review this source of real estate leads to see what more you can do.
Facebook has had the feature of Cover Videos for some time now. Are you still using an image? If so, think of what video you can use to keep leads on your profile longer. The longer you can keep leads on your profile, the more likely they are to hit that CTA button.
Going live on Facebook when you’re doing a walkthrough is also a great method for online real estate lead generation. You can even give an exclusive showing of the property to your followers before it becomes active. This kind of offer incentivizes leads to make a move on a property before the competition kicks in. Be sure to interact with the comments on live videos and answer questions in valuable ways to push leads down the real estate sales funnel.
#7. Join an Online Lead Generation Program for Agents
Buying real estate leads online may seem like a strategy of last resort. However, if you choose the right lead generation program, it can give you that competitive edge online that you’re looking for.
Mashvisor’s website receives thousands of real estate investors every month so when you join our lead generation program, you’re opening yourself up to hundreds of possible online real estate leads. But we do you one better- we find the ones that are actually qualified leads and those are the ones you pay for. So rather than charging you thousands for all of those real estate leads, we charge much less for leads that you will actually be able to convert. And if you decide a lead we have passed on is not qualified, it doesn’t count towards the number of real estate leads you signed up for that quarter. We work to find you qualified leads you are confident you can convert.
Learn more about Mashvisor’s Lead Generation Program by scheduling a demo.
These may seem like simple solutions to beating the competition in online lead generation for agents. But when it comes to digital real estate marketing, sometimes the simple things can make a big difference.
In fact (as a final note) one study found the real estate industry as a whole to be the 4th most annoying when it comes to social media interactions (ouch!). So even though 91% of realtors are using social media, that doesn’t mean all of them are using it right. And if they’re not using social media marketing correctly, it’s possible a lot of the competition isn’t using online real estate marketing appropriately either. So if you approach online lead generation strategically, you can easily rise above them all.
Related: How to Generate Real Estate Leads: 6 Ways That Really Work