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By Maddie Jostol, Marketing Manager
With new marketing tools hitting the market daily, it’s up to you to navigate the changing market, putting in place a marketing strategy that works for you. There are so many marketing trends buzzing – Snapchat, live video, search engine optimization, hyper-local, drones, and more. Drones? Yes, drones. In fact, it’s estimated that by 2020, the real estate industry will account for approximately 22% of commercial drone use (source). That’s right, crazy things are happening. Regardless of what’s trendy at the moment, we’ve outlined the do’s and don’ts of agent marketing to help guide your strategy.
Do:
1. Use video
It’s all about video right now, and video isn’t going anywhere. It’s become the easiest way for consumers to consume content and gives marketers the opportunity to engage with their audience on an entirely new level. As an agent, video is a major opportunity for you. With the outstanding quality of smartphone cameras and the simple online tools offered inexpensively, it’s easy for anyone to create video content without high production costs or know-how.
Use video to add variation to your website, to engage with followers on social media, to showcase your expertise of the local area, to make your CMAs more engaging, and to thank your clients. The possibilities are endless.
2. Make it personal
This is where you will stand out from the crowd. What makes you an outstanding agent in a sea of good agents is providing your clients with a personalized, exceptional experience. Begin this experience with your marketing. Your CMAs should be personally tailored, your follow-up with leads should be specific to their request, and your communications should be personalized. Think about ways in which you can add a personal touch to your existing process. Consider adding a welcome video to your presentations, sending a meaningful closing gift, and leveraging your tech tools to remember when clients’ house-versaries are so you can send a card.
3. Appeal to millennials
Millennials are now the largest group of home buyers in the US. While this doesn’t mean you should shift your strategy solely to attracting a millennial audience, it does mean you should keep your eyes peeled for trending strategies that appeal to those 37 and younger. Keep in mind millennials currently make up about 36% of home buyers, and 65% of those are first-time home buyers (NAR). Think about what resources you offer for first-time home buyers and how you could better attract them through sharable content and events.
Don’t:
1. Forget about old clients
Remember: your past clients are your core source for repeat and referral business. These are the keepers of the highest quality leads. Making sure they’re taken care of should be a primary strategy. While it’s easy to close a transaction, thank the clients, and move onto the next, that’s where many agents go wrong. It’s vital that you keep in touch with those clients in the long-run, staying top of mind so that whenever real estate is mentioned, you’re their go-to expert. Yes, this can be time-consuming, so our recommendation is to find ways to automate these touchpoints. Subscribe them to newsletters so you remain relevant, make sure they follow you on social media so you appear on their feeds, and thoroughly thank them for any referrals they send your way.
2. Think social media is overrated
Social media is still an important component of your digital marketing strategy. Instagram is a key platform for people to consume visual content. It’s gaining popularity, meaning Facebook isn’t the only platform you should be focused on anymore. Instagram is a great place for you to share pictures of your listings, walk-though videos, testimonials from happy clients, and day-in-the-life snapshots of being a real estate agent. Facebook is a great place for you to share blogs and other content from your website, and promote new listings by advertising them and sharing reports with clients.
3. Manually track your leads
Rely on a CRM. Now more than ever, we are expected to be on top of our game at all times, knowing exactly where we left off with every lead and client. Let a CRM do the heavy lifting. Save yourself time and effort so you can focus on the things that really matter.
Keep these do’s and don’ts in mind as you craft a marketing strategy that fits your business. While successful tactics vary by agent, there are some fundamentals that are universal. The life of a real estate agent is a busy one, so make sure your marketing efforts are truly impactful on your business.
