5 Real Estate Marketing Ideas The Pros Use
There is no “one size fits all” in marketing. Marketing depends on your goals. Whether you are a commercial broker selling office buildings or a residential agent renting luxury penthouses, the way you want to be perceived by your clientele will vary. Your tone, your style, and your content need to be relevant to your target audience. Below are the essential marketing tools we believe a real estate agent/broker should have.
1. Real Estate Website: Brand yourself as a marketing machine
Brand yourself. Let clients find you online. Not only will it help you look professional, but it also shows your marketing capabilities. If you know how to brand yourself, it means you know how to market your listings as well. You can also showcase your recent closings and show your personality. Your website is your online resume. It is easy to put in place and is one of the first things I would do as a real estate professional.
2. LinkedIn Account: Rank on the first page of Google
LinkedIn is an incredibly powerful SEO tool and a great professional social media platform. Translation: You will pop up first on Google search via LinkedIn and look like a pro. It is a free resource that I find is often underutilized by agents. If you’re not much of a writer, hire someone to do it for you. A nice biography with all your credentials can only make you look more legit.
3. Email Newsletter: Stay in their minds; get referrals
Again, you don’t have to do it yourself. Newsletters are time-consuming, and you want to send relevant content to your audience. Hire someone to do it for you: Pick some topics, the frequency, and a design-and-feel for your email blasts, and that’s it. To do an excellent newsletter, you need to know your clients well. What do they want to read about? Newsletters are great for staying at the top of their minds. Consistency is king. It’s better to pick a lower frequency with quality content than to annoy with weekly emails having “meh” content.
4. Blog: Brand yourself as an authority
Whether you are in residential or commercial, you will want to appear as an authority in your field. Not only can your blog help you with search optimization, but it will also brand you as an expert. And we know that real estate is all about trust (and referrals!). Once again, you don’t have to do it yourself; hire someone to manage your blog for you.
5. Headshot: Professional photograph
Yes, it should be common sense, but it still looks as though it is not. I am amazed to see what the brokers I am working with are using: outdated headshots taken in the 90s or selfies taken with their iPhones. I think the worst is old photos: When you meet your real estate agent and discover that he/she is ten years older than the picture he/she has online, it’s just plain deceiving. Be genuine, and show your true colors!
Overall, if you’re not going to keep up with your marketing platforms and just keep a ghost blog, for instance, or send inconsistent newsletters once in a while, don’t do it. Marketing is all about frequency and consistency. Sometimes, less is better. Also, remember that you don’t have to do it yourself; you have plenty of resources to assist you with your marketing. Focus on closing deals, and let professional marketers handle your brand.