Here are our 9 best cost-effective real estate marketing ideas for those who want to win at this game.
Buyers tend to research thoroughly to get the best real estate deal and make the right choice. Using the internet, buyers can save a lot of time by comparing the prices of houses from different neighborhoods and seeing pictures of homes before they visit them. Both real estate investors and homeowners rely on professionals to help them have an online presence.
A research conducted by the National Association of Realtors shows that about 92% of buyers rely on the internet when looking for a house.
Therefore, real estate agents are required to have an active online presence to get potential homeowners. Besides, buyers can know the reputation of the realtor by reading comments and reviews from previous buyers. Therefore, relying on the internet when looking for clients is a brilliant idea. Luckily, it can also be cost-effective!
Here are common marketing ideas for realtors:
Create a Website
If you are looking to start an online presence, you need to have a website. Nowadays, consumers look for products and services they need to buy from the internet. Typically, the search starts from search engines, hence having your own real estate website is crucial. Your website should be easy to use and have features that set it aside from other websites, for instance, a mortgage calculator.
Creating a website is not easy, especially if you want it customized. Therefore, you might not be able to do it yourself. Gather ideas on how the site should look like and then hire an experienced web designer to do it for you.
Build a Blog
Since you are looking to have an online presence, build a blog to your earlier developed website and start creating content. Remember to link the blog to your site or social media platforms to generate traffic.
There are numerous tools that you can use to find target clients, for example, Google Analytics and Ahrefs. Use specific keywords that are related to real estate.
Related: Improve Your Real Estate Website with 7 Local SEO Tips
Have links on your blog and other sites and use images to showcase the houses or real estate property you are selling.
Create Videos
Realtors should make real estate videos because they easily attract future homeowners. You don’t have to spend a lot of money making these videos because you can simply use a recording software and a laptop.
Alternatively, you can hire professionals to create high-quality videos, even featuring testimonials from clients. If you are trying to penetrate the local real estate business, video production and optimization can help you.
Here are the types of videos relators should create:
- Interview videos
- Listing videos
- Case study or review videos
- Special offer videos
- Live stream Q&A videos
- A home buyer or seller advice videos
Related: How to Make the Most of Real Estate Video Marketing
Create Social Media Accounts
Social media marketing plays a huge role nowadays because most people rely on such platforms to get information about certain products or services. There are 2.2 billion Facebook users and more than 500 million on Instagram so you don’t want to miss these communities.
Therefore, you need to have a social media presence on all platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.
Using Twitter hashtags can help you get target clients although you need to be cautious about how you use these hashtags. Instagram is ideal if you take high-quality photos and make short videos to market the houses or real estate property you are selling.
You can use Pinterest boards to provide images and information for specific real estate listings. Remember, you can share links of these platforms on your sites and on other platforms to market your property further.
Engage in Trade Shows
Trade shows are used to introduce new products and services using catalogs, booklets, business cards, and networking. If you participate in trade shows, you will find new business connections while strengthening the bond between your former clients and partners.
It is essential to understand that although some prospective customers will buy your services in the trade show, many will not. However, if you do your best to show you are a genuine person, there is a high probability that they will respond to your sales in the future.
Get a Real Estate Photographer
Although you can DIY, hiring a real estate photographer is the best move to get professional photos that will attract clients. In a business with stiff competition, using high-quality images and videos gives you an upper hand.
Use drone photography (by either hiring or buying one) to get exterior photos of the home and surrounding areas. If you are taking virtual tours, you can take short videos to show the outside features of the house, e.g., pools and patio.
Engage in Content Marketing
You can create great content and then identify external sites that you can use to market this content. When you share this content, share links to your website or blogs for users to visit and learn more about the property you are selling.
LinkedIn and Quora are some of the platforms that can help you market your real estate property via content marketing.
Choose a Niche
Sometimes in a saturated market, you can consider niching down to attract a specific audience. For instance, you can start selling property only to families with kids, dog owners, seniors, divorced people, etc.
To penetrate the real estate market, you will have to be very informed about the niche you have chosen. Share relevant content through the right channels, and people will start looking for you to give them advice.
Create a Lead Generation Tool
You have to be creative to get emails from prospective real estate buyers who are not willing to provide their emails. You can achieve this by creating a real estate leading generation tool. For instance, after a user completes a form on your website, ask their email address so that you can send the results and that’s the chance you will have to get the user’s email. After some time, you can use the email for marketing the properties you are selling.
This article has been contributed by Adam Smith.
