The 5 Marketing Basics Every Successful Realtor Needs To Know
When you first get started in real estate, you get excited about your first client, your first sale, and your first paycheck. Once you experience the thrill that comes with helping someone find their dream home, you can’t wait to do it again. If you’re ready to expand your network, build your portfolio and your reputation, and grow your business, check out some of these game-changing suggestions from seasoned Realtors to help you market yourself effectively.
Websites and Blogs
It may seem obvious, but to reach potential clients and market your services, you’ll need a website. In the beginning, it’s ok to have a basic website that you build yourself. As long as it looks professional and allows interested buyers and sellers to reach you quickly, it is doing its job. However, if you are serious about connecting with high-end clientele, you will need to put a little more effort into your website. A professionally designed website is usually the first impression a client has of you and your business. A well-done website speaks volumes.
And your website needs a blog. If you don’t have the time or talent to maintain a consistent blog, hire someone to do it for you. A carefully thought out blog not only gives customers insight into your business, but also improves SEO and helps rank your website higher in online searches.
Connect With The Community
The Realtors who get noticed are the ones who are active in the community. If you want to be the one that people go to when buying or selling real estate in your area, you have to go to them. Host a “first time home buyer’s happy hour” at a local restaurant in your town. Sign up to be a vendor at a local community event or sponsor the town’s little league team. Get involved with the people and give back to the community in which you work. Host a block party or a chili cook-off. Facilitate a neighborhood garage sale. Sponsor a local 5k race.
The most important thing is not to make it too sales-y. People can tell if you’re disguising a marketing opportunity as genuine community outreach. Find something you’re passionate about and then find a way to use that to benefit the community. If it’s done right, everyone will have a great time, and people will start buzzing about your services.
Rethink Your Business Cards
Realtors do a lot of networking. It usually involves meeting other real estate professionals in a semi-professional environment, chatting about the industry, and handing out business cards. At the end of some of these networking events, you will walk away with a dozen business cards that all look the same. If you’re looking for ways to stand out, rethink your business cards.
Think outside the box when it comes to the size, shape, and text that is on your business card. A business card doesn’t even have to be a card at all. It could be a keychain, or a coaster, or a pen. As long as it has your contact information on it, gets people talking, and stands out from all of the other business cards in the stack, you’re doing it right.
Use Instagram
Every successful Realtor should be taking advantage of all of the features that Instagram has to offer. It’s a free form of advertising, it’s highly visual so that you can show off all of your listings, and it is not in direct competition with other home buying or selling websites. Using Instagram helps you connect with the people that follow you, engage with them, answer questions, and connect on a more personal level. It’s also an excellent platform for generating referrals and can be used by even Realtors with little technical skill.
Your bio should be informative, accurate, and straight to the point. Add on a professional photo, and then start posting! Use the stories feature to let potential customers in on the behind the scenes aspects of your job. Use the main feed to showcase professional-style photos of your listings. Instagram is also a free event marketing tool, so when you host open houses or community events, you can let everyone know the details on one innovative platform.
Create A Referral System
One of the most common ways that people find a Realtor is by asking their friends and family about the real estate professionals that they’ve used. There’s no better compliment than having someone you’ve worked with refer you to someone they know. Creating a referral system can encourage happy customers to tell other people about your services. Offer incentives for customers who refer you. These incentives could be anything from a t-shirt with your logo on it to a gift card to a local restaurant. Remember that you cannot pay people or offer rewards in exchange for positive reviews, but you can create a referral system that encourages happy customers to share your details with their friends, family, and co-workers.
If you are ready to take your business to the next level, you have to focus on your marketing. Traditional marketing techniques never go out of style, but in order to appeal to a modern generation of buyers and sellers, you may need to rethink some of these traditional strategies. If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to improving your marketing strategies, contact RealtyBloc today! From SEO services and branding to professional website design, we can help maximize your marketing efforts and grow your business.