Real Estate and Digital Marketing

Social media was actively used by real estate agents seeking ways to get leads online. From purchasing Facebook Business Ads to sharing photo albums of new listings, various social media platforms allowed real estate agents to build their brand and business. In the real estate industry, the real estate agents understand that over 90% of renters and home-buyers start their property search online rather than contacting their real estate agent directly. In fact, 94% of millennials and 84% of baby boomers went online to find their future homes. People were not relying on salespeople telling them ‘yes’ or ‘no’ anymore. That is why it is so important for the real estate agents to make sure they are ready to engage home buyers / sellers / renters in the digital space in a way that translates to real-life business. Traditional methods of connecting buyers and renters with property owners and landlords has now fundamentally changed by digital media and technology.

The three most popular information sources home buyers used in the home search were:

Online website (93%)

Real estate agent (86%)

Mobile/tablet website or app (73%)

First Steps taken by home buyer in the home search:

Looked online for properties (44%)

Contacted a real estate agent (17%)

Looked online for information about the home buying process (11%)

Top 3 most valuable website features about online properties:

Photos (87%)

Detailed information about properties (85%)

Floor Plan (52%)

The real estate agents are now spending most of their marketing budgets on digital and web-based advertising tools and features, which provide for an increased return on investment (ROI). Besides listing properties on the web using real estate finders, these websites also offer realtors and landlords digital real estate marketing tools, such as property and amenities videos, 3-D floor plans, neighborhood, etc.

6 most effective digital marketing tactics for realtors:

1. Develop an Email Campaign

Email campaign is a valuable tool in connecting with new leads and staying relevant with past clients. The key point is that the more relevant your content is to a client, the more likely they will be interested in opening the email to see what you have to say.

2. Create a User-Friendly Website

The website should be loaded fast enough and completed on a mobile device. With so many photos and links, realtor websites can sometimes be a web developer’s nightmare. However, with the help of a professional web designer and knowledge of what the clients are looking for, real estate agents can develop a responsive website that is optimized for mobile browsing.

Almost half of all web browsing is completed on a mobile device, so if the website is not designed to be responsive, the clients will not be able to browse the website comfortably on mobile device. The mobile-friendly website should include all new listings and related service, such as home inspectors, lawyers and movers. In addition, it is important for the real estate agents to consider implementing a live chat feature on their website. The real estate business is people-centric. Investing in a live chat software allows people to connect 24/7 and schedule appointments without necessarily speaking directly to the real estate agent.

3. Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Pay-Per-Click advertising is an excellent strategy to generate new leads based on ads that they pay for every time the ad gets clicked on. PPC is a great digital marketing option for real estate agents seeking potential clients who may be interested in their offerings, as they only pay when someone clicks through their ads. PPC ads can be targeted towards individuals who have searched for correlated keywords in Google or another search engine.

4. Create and Post Valuable Blog Content

A blog is a great way to build a positive reputation online and provide the clients with actionable advice on buying or selling a home. A real estate agent’s digital marketing strategy is offering valuable content, whether it's shared on the website or social media. With a responsive website, real estate professionals should make sure that they regularly write content that buyers and sellers can come back to for answers to their most pressing real estate questions.

The key to develop a social media strategy for the real estate business is to share varied content. Although sharing listings is an important factor of real estate agents’ digital strategy, the professionals need to ensure that the content is useful for a broad audience, not just leads in the market for a new home.

Start posting relevant content: high-value content is what attracts readers and builds the agent a reputation for being a well-informed expert online. Try to update the blog once a week, and include valuable content for a variety of buyer profiles.

5. Host a Webinar

Sharing all expertise as a real estate professional is vital for successful digital marketing. Techniques such as webinars and online workshops make it easy to reach a large audience. Digital marketing for real estate agents relies highly on generating inbound leads, so getting the agent’s name and expertise out there is vital for a successful digital marketing campaign.

6. Spend Time on SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, is a critical technique to drive leads to the agent’s website. When done correctly, the website and web pages will show up higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) during relevant searches. Because content is such a valuable asset to a good SEO strategy, the blog needs to be updated regularly. Typically, the material that is ranked highest on Google is between 1,140 words and 1,285 words, so it may be a good idea to write high-value, long-form content on a regular basis.