Real estate agents are in the unique position of reaching the widest audience possible – both existing and potential home buyers. After all, a home is something that almost everyone needs at some point in their life. That makes the real estate agent’s job very appealing. They can help people from all walks of life find a comfortable place to live, work, and enjoy life.
With that in mind, it only makes sense that they would want to advertise their services to as many people as possible. But, with so many options available to them, how do they find the most effective ways to promote their business?
Fortunately, the internet makes answering this question easier. There are numerous platforms where agents can share their content with the world and connect with prospective clients. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the most effective ways that real estate agents can advertise their businesses online.
Social Media
Keeping up with the latest trends is a must for any business, and using social media platforms to do so is both convenient and cost-effective. Real estate agents will want to make sure they are always sharing valuable and up-to-date information about their industry. And, as we’ve already established, a home is a valuable asset. So, if a potential client comes across an informative Facebook post, tweet, or Instagram story about real estate, home buying, or selling, they will undoubtedly feel compelled to reach out to the real estate agent who wrote the content.
Additionally, social media allows real estate agents to showcase a wealth of knowledge and experience, both of which are valuable assets in any marketing campaign. If someone is looking for a real estate agent in their area, they will likely turn to online platforms to find the best fit. So, be sure to develop content that will stand out among your competition.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Just as with any other business, a solid search engine optimization (SEO) campaign will prove to be the key to gaining valuable visitors to one’s website, social media pages, and emails.
As a real estate agent, you will want to make sure that when people search for your services in their local area, they will be able to find your website and digital assets, such as social media accounts and emails.
An experienced SEO consultant will be able to build a strategy to ensure that a particular keyphrase appears in the top three positions in the organic search results for your chosen keywords. When individuals see these results, they will naturally click on the top three listings, assuming they are the best match for their search query. Essentially, this will draw potential customers to your website.
Since the majority of real estate searches take place online, having a functional and optimized website is pretty much essential for every agent’s strategy. And, to make sure that your site is as effective as possible, hire a reputable SEO company to boost your rankings.
Email Marketing
With millions of emails being sent every day, it is essential that real estate agents learn how to use cold email to effectively communicate with potential customers. Simply put, cold email is a technique where a business sends an email to a person who had no prior relationship with them. These emails are often used to promote a specific product or service, as they are typically not as personalized as a typical email marketing campaign. Due to this lack of personalization, cold emails often receive a low open rate – typically below 10%.
However, that 10% rate can prove to be the key to unlocking the true potential of email marketing.
By carefully selecting a segment of the population to which you will email, your open rates can increase by 20–30%. Additionally, by sending a series of emails, you will be able to slowly build a relationship with the individual, developing trust and credibility before you resort to more traditional methods of marketing.
Having a functional email marketing campaign will also help you stay ahead of the curve, as technologies such as machine learning allow businesses to personalize and segment their email lists. With this email list segmentation, businesses can send highly personalized emails to individuals in their database, resulting in a much higher open rate and conversion rate – typically over 30%.
If you want to learn more, check out these articles from HubSpot:
Why Email Marketing Is The Key To True Growth
At this point, you might be wondering why you should care about email marketing at all. After all, none of the platforms we’ve discussed so far are something that your customers have experience with, and they may not feel the need to reach out to you – a real estate agent who doesn’t appear to be active on social media or has a poorly designed website.
The answer is simple – marketing through traditional methods, such as newspapers and magazines, don’t appear to be effective any longer. When was the last time you heard of an influential news publication driving a ton of traffic to a website or social media page? And, when was the last time you heard of a customer reading an article about a brand and then going out to buy that brand’s products or use those products themselves?
By understanding that your customers are already actively using social media and search engines to find your competition, you can effectively target your marketing efforts to a specific audience and effectively increase your conversion rates and growth.
Make Video Content Work For You
While written content still makes up the lion’s share of internet searches and social media platforms, video content is quickly gaining in popularity and could eventually replace text content.
As someone already mentioned, a home is something that most people need at some point in their life. And, as someone else mentioned, most people use the internet to find information about homes, real estate, and travel. If you want to attract potential customers who are searching for homes, be sure to create video content that will appeal to them.
Additionally, with the resurgence of TikTok, many people are increasingly turning to this platform to find entertainment and information. Therefore, you should consider creating videos to be used on your social media accounts.
Blogs And Journals
Blogs and journals aren’t just for fun these days. People are using them to create authoritative content that shows off their expertise and knowledge in a particular industry or field. Additionally, they can also use blogs and journals to distribute news and information about their industry, whether its real estate, medicine, or finance.
Since most people in your target audience likely follow blogs and journals related to their chosen industry, you can use this to your advantage by pitching your expertise in these platforms.
Additionally, since these platforms allow for longer form content, make sure to develop detailed and long-form content, as this is how people in your target audience are searching for content these days.
Build A Following On Instagram
Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms with over a billion active monthly users. And, since many people use Instagram to follow and subscribe to others who have interesting and informative content, it’s a great place for real estate agents to connect with prospective clients.
Although Instagram isn’t necessarily designed for marketing, many businesses use the platform to gain popularity and to build an audience. If you want to use Instagram as a marketing tool, make sure to follow these simple steps to effectively grow your account: