Real Estate Marketing Ideas that Really Work

Looking for a fresh and innovative Real Estate Marketing Strategies? Here are some ideas that really works!

A recent study set up by the National Association of Realtors indicates that 92 percent of prospective buyers start their realty search online…a massive figure indeed. Your website is your window to the world, and marketing experts know the importance of having a website that can do the hard work for you. Ensure that the design blends aesthetics and functionality. While pictures are essential, too many photos can impact the loading speed, to optimize the content to ensure that the performance of your website is top notch.

Visitors to your site should have a great user experience, or they will not come back again. The interface should be simple and enable the casual visitor to navigate the site easily. Information architecture must be well structured and meaningful. Offer easy access to Google Maps and Google Earth, and mention the best routes to reach your property.

Do make sure that your website is mobile friendly, as today’s customers are more inclined to use their mobiles for browsing. If you can get an app created, that’s even better. Buyers can view listings, connect with an area map and give their ratings and reviews on your app.

If you are not active online, you lose out on customer engagement. Create accounts on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and anything else you can think of, and start clicking and sharing pictures.

By having a call-to-action with your contact information on every page, you can make it easy for prospective customers to contact you. Promise them something free, or ‘just for a month,’ and the chances are that they will click and subscribe. Once you have their details, even if they don’t call you, you can follow up from your side!

If there is a scheduling sharing app like Doodle set up online, buyers will be tempted to set up a time to view your property. They can always reschedule if the timing is not convenient, but by setting up a schedule they are making a commitment that you can use to further the relationship.

Add social sharing buttons on your property pictures so that customers can share with their friends and family increasing your views in the process!

Paid ads on social media can target a specific demographic and get you noticed by your preferred audience. Clients who see your content on the top of their social feeds cannot help but notice what you are about. Online ‘likes’ really do translate to real life interest!

The adage goes that a picture is worth a thousand words, and this is particularly true in the case of real estate pictures. If you are not confident in your own photography abilities, it is worth paying a professional who uses sophisticated equipment. Great photos, taken from the right angles, will bring out the best in your properties.

Your website must include an informative blog that gives fresh perspectives on topics of current interest, and has interesting content that draws in visitors to your website. These blogs can also be built on other popular external sites like Quora, LinkedIn, Medium and so on, with back links to your website that connect to similar content which your readers will find useful. Once your readers are interested in your content, you can offer free e-books and collect their contact details, so that you can connect with them later.

Most customers would contact you through the phone, so if you can enable call tracking then you will be able to know exactly how they came across your number. Finding out which marketing route works best to create leads can help you invest your marketing budget in the tools that work.

If your content uses keywords that are oriented to the local places, you can get local buyers landing up on your page. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of your website, usually done by professionals in digital marketing, can help you use the right keywords in your content that will put your website on top of Search Engine rankings. That will surely give you the best bang for your buck, so do not hesitate to spend a little on these proven online marketing tactics.

Set up Google Analytics and you will be able to track metrics relating to the footfalls on your website. By understanding how well your posts are doing, you can set up goals and achieve traffic targets. More footfalls mean that more people are interested in you, which is good for business!

Google has a range of smart tools that help to build a buzz around small businesses. Set up a Google My Business account, and users can easily find you in Google Search, Google+ and Google Maps. A win-win situation that’s quickly done.

People love to hear stories and if your business built around a story, make sure you tell it well. Your “About Us” page can captivate your readers by giving a compelling reason for the circumstances under which you set up your business. If it’s a family business, give your readers names and dates. Emotional storytelling works wonders in making clients listen to you.

One way to stand apart from the competition is by offering something extra that targets a particular group of clientele. Temporary homes for students that are located close to their college, homes for divorcees that are in unobtrusive neighborhoods, quiet homes for older people, places where pets are welcome. If there is a niche that you are associated with, then you will be able to build up a class of clientele around it.

Create a brand identity that people associate with real value. Design a beautiful logo that conveys your message, and let your brand speak for itself. Make pamphlets that identify with your brand and hand them out with newspapers. During Christmas time and New Year’s, give out gifts with your logo on them.

Your logo needs to be on your business card too, of course, and the design of your card should speak of professionalism and creativity. Hand out your card wherever you go so that people can reach out to you when needed.

What do the websites of your competitors look like? Make sure that yours is better. Step up on your marketing efforts, and always keep ahead of what they are doing. Do something innovative and unique and get remembered for it.

Team up with local businesses who can help promote your brand you can pin up notices at the coffee shop next door, for instance, or give them mugs with your logo on them.

Sponsor stalls at school events, or local festivals. You can get your business noticed with branded tee shirts, banners or standees. Give out freebies with your logo emblazoned on them people love freebies, make sure they are not the cheap kind that gets discarded after a day!

Word of mouth is the best form of advertising, and if you have customers who are happy with your services you should put them to work for you. Offer incentives for past clients to refer you to potential homebuyers they are more likely to listen to friends whom they know and will be more likely to sign on the dotted line as well.

Put up some genuine testimonials from former clients on your website, and show the world that real clients are endorsing your services. These testimonials can be shared on social media too, and linking them back to the Facebook pages of your clients is a great way to show how genuine the endorsement is. Word of caution fake testimonials can have the opposite effect, so be careful.

Staying in touch with past clients by sending them greetings at holiday time, or on their birthdays and anniversaries. Chances are, if someone they know needs a property, they will tell them to contact you.

Your relationship with your clients who have bought a property with you is special. Keep it that way by sending them a thoughtful memento that is personalised. Vouchers for a meal at the new restaurant in town, or a care package with chocolates that carry your logo, are good ways to impress them and keep the relationship going.

Pinterest Boards offer the opportunity to add pictures and concise information on your properties. You can talk about what’s around the neighbourhood, as well, and put the spotlight on all the benefits of your project.

With property deals going global, you are in a way selling your entire locality. Add pictures of local hotspots that are close by, so that your customers know the best that the neighborhood has to offer.

Build respect by letting the world know that you have real estate expertise. You could write a column in the local newspaper or a feature in a magazine. Think of hosting a question and answer session on the local radio channel, where you can talk about, say, how property prices have gone up and answer listeners’ questions related to real estate. Start a YouTube channel, with videos and 3D walkthroughs of your projects. All these are innovative ways to spread the word about your brand, by showcasing your knowledge.

Webinars and seminars are getting increasingly popular in the marketing world, and for all the right reasons. Those who want to make serious purchase decisions will love to sign up for information-sharing webinars or mini-seminars, especially if they are free. Host an open session on topics of interest such as home loans and mortgages and send out invitations through email to potential buyers. You can also announce your event on your website and social media pages.

You can set up and build excellent client relationships through online newsletters. Get subscriptions on your website, collect email ids and build up a database of clients who will look forward to receiving weekly or monthly newsletters from you. You can stay connected with them, and send them event notices, informative articles, and new listings. The newsletters do not have to be long, but they must have fresh and engaging content.

Then there are those people who are as yet not internet savvy, and you don’t want to leave them behind! Reach out to them through the old-school mail. Send them pamphlets, print copies of newsletters or postcards with event invitations in the mail.

Email marketing is one of the most cost effective ways to market yourself online. If a client has attended your webinar, send a follow up email. Connect with them again to give them information about new events in the neighbourhood. Send them free e-books, invites to new events, whatever it takes to stay connected. Avoid mass mailing campaigns that irritate clients; such emails get flagged as spam, or relegated to the junk folder and blacklisted.

3D video walkthroughs allow viewers to get a realistic representation of what space looks like in person. You can hire a professional to shoot a high-quality video or do it yourself if you have some experience behind the camera. A drone video can capture the immediate neighborhood as well, giving a virtual tour of the property extent and location for potential buyers.

Short and impactful 2D animated videos that are quirky, fun and not quickly forgotten can establish your brand in a classy way. They need to be less than a minute long and can feature as paid ads on YouTube to get you more viewership. Add a link at the end to your website or property pages, and you have the perfect way to engage customers further.

If your project is still in the pre-construction phase, an Animated 3D Walkthrough will help you to present your project to your clients dynamically and engagingly. Get them to see the value you will be creating, and highlight the benefits of living in the environment you are creating in the future. You can present these digital walkthroughs on your website or send them through email links to buyers, allowing them to tour the project online and buy into your concept.

Zillow is the go-to marketplace for real estate marketing. If you’re not on Zillow, you don’t get noticed! It’s that simple. Advertising on Zillow, while it can be a bit expensive, works wonders. Create effective marketing collateral for Zillow, so that your listings look unique and get you noticed. An excellent way to build up traffic through views would be to hire professionals who can do the 3D rendering for Zillow. A strong presence on Zillow and a high profile will help you rake up the numbers.

To set yourself ahead of the competition, you’ll need some out-of-the-box ideas and seriously creative thinking. Getting the right audience for your projects does take time, but with the right strategies, for instance, marketing collateral like 3D renderings, you can make it happen.

Do connect with 3D visualization experts like Rayvat Engineering who can get you started the right way!