In 2021, 6.12 million homes were listed for sale and sold successfully. The effectiveness of these sales depended heavily on how well the listing agent promoted them. In very few markets can you expect to get the best price for a home by putting up a “for sale” sign on the lawn. You’ll see your property sell faster and for more money if you use purposeful real estate marketing techniques. The National Association of Realtors recently released a study that revealed 92% of individuals begin their home hunting journey online, emphasizing the critical importance of online presence for real estate agents. If you’re not active, engaging, and networking online, you’re missing out. Here are the best tactics to promote your real estate listings.
1. Use Social Media
There are both local and global buyers searching for real estate on the market. You may post your listing on your Facebook business page, group pages, and other social media platforms such as Instagram and Tiktok to reach a wider audience. Provide a description in the caption and show off your home’s finest features with professional listing images. However, make sure not to overuse these channels and seem overtly commercial. Simply publishing listings without context can have the opposite result, and the Likes and Followers you’ve slowly accrued will quickly disappear. If you come across an intriguing narrative in a listing, make sure to comment on it and explain why you believe your network would benefit from seeing it.
Create your own Facebook real estate channel
Make a public post on your company page, and distribute it across groups that may attract your buyer demographic! Would you like to know if it’s a starter home or a duplex? Post the post across young families Facebook groups or real estate investors to discover if it is available. You may also inform neighborhood Facebook groups about what is available in the area. Active neighborhood Facebook groups indicate concerned residents who are willing to speak to their friends about living in the area. If that’s the situation, you have got something for them to consider. Prospective buyers may be watching the neighborhood to figure out what it’s like, and they’ll be waiting for the right listing. If that’s the case, you’ve got something for them.
Run Instagram ads
Using Instagram as a marketing tool to connect with homebuyers, promote your listings, and grow your business is another effective way to do so. Paid promotions can help you reach even more people with the most stunning photographs. Choosing an audience, budget, post type (for example, picture, video, carousel), and duration for your Instagram ad is simple. You may also use targeted hashtags to ensure your posts are seen by the people you want to reach.
LinkedIn groups for real estate marketing
Make sure you’re on LinkedIn and look for real estate groups in your city and the phrase ‘real estate.’ Join all the groups you find and read their content. Look for groups that post real estate opportunities rather than just listings. Then post your best listings in those groups. Avoid groups that only post listings, as your listing will get lost in the crowd. Don’t waste your time if it’s all listings; find a pond that is not already crowded with anglers.
Promote your listings on Twitter with the right hashtags
Be sure to include an image with a link to the listing page when you share it on your Twitter account. When you promote your listing, notify people in your bio that you are helping someone in the area sell their home. Make interesting and eye-catching visual content to accompany your tweets so you’re good to go! Be original, enjoy yourself, and jump on chances to chat about the area—it will boost your reputation with people in the area!
Use the right hashtags
The use of hashtags on social media posts will help you to get found by the right people. Your hashtags should include real estate terms and location keywords in order to take your social media marketing a step further.
For example:
- #[city]realestate
- #[city]realtor
- #[city]realestatebroker
- #[city]living
- #[city]homes
- #thingstodoin[city]
- #realestatetips
- #homebuyertips
- #realtorsofinstagram
- #luxuryhomes
- #newhomes #
- #houseforsale
- #openhouse
- #justsold
- #homeforsale
- #starterhome
- #renovated
- #newlisting
- #walkscore
- #walkableneighborhood
- #uptown, #downtown
- #theneighborhood+homeforsale
- #thecity+homeforsale
Leveraging your social media profiles
One of the better approaches to position oneself as a trusted advisor to clients is to maintain an active, engaging social media presence. Participate in local Facebook groups and answer relevant questions on them, as well as on Twitter and LinkedIn. You may also share helpful material with your followers. Regardless of the approach, position yourself as an expert in your field by demonstrating that you know what you’re talking about. Prospective clients want to connect with real estate agents who understand the practice, their specialty, and their neighbourhood. Demonstrate your grasp of all three by establishing a strong social media presence.
2. Use a Pro Photographer
It’s best not to take a few pictures of the property with your cell phone when posting your listing online. It’s worth hiring a real estate photographer. If you don’t have a favourite photography company, search Google for “real estate photographers near me.” Professional real estate photographers understand lighting, composition, and angles, among other things, to showcase your home’s greatest benefits. Potential buyers are motivated to see the property in person after seeing professional pictures.
Employ virtual staging
How can you pique buyer interest? By using a virtual staging website, it is possible to give a sneak preview of the property. Saving you time and money, online staging is a time-saving alternative to physically staging the property. A 2018 study of 4,200+ homes found that 85% of staged homes sold for 6-25% more than unstaged homes.
(be sure to check out Havah’s virtual staging service here)
Use drone photography
Use drone photography to capture sweeping shots of the home’s exterior and surrounding landscape. HouseLens or Sold by Air are great options for drone photography. Include photos in your listings to give them a little extra pizzazz. Include video of exterior features like patios and pools in your virtual tours or walkthroughs to show clients’ homes in their finest light. If you don’t have the drone photography skills you need, consider using an expert photographer such as one from Drone Base, which has thousands of worldwide expert photographers and works with both residential and commercial real estate.
Make videos
Video can be a powerful tool for realtors, and it doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars. Whether you record a message on your laptop pitching your services to a potential client or create a highly produced video with client testimonials, you can use video to set yourself apart from the crowd.
Film a walk-through of your properties
Consumers today are seeking more immersive experiences. When it comes to purchasing a home, consumers are particularly interested in having a deeper understanding of the residence. By posting video tours of the properties you are selling or leasing with your ad, you can improve the credibility and intrigue of your real estate marketing.
When describing your video, include the address, MLS number, and keyword-rich text. Include a link to the property detail view page on your website rather than just a link to your homepage, so you direct visitors to the correct page rather than forcing them to search for it again on your website. Property video tours can be either cheap or premium. If you showcase a luxury property with a lucrative commission, it is worthwhile to invest upfront to advertise the property in its finest light. If you are in front of the camera to demonstrate the property, you’ll be able to build more trust with clients by showing that you know the property well. It’s also a good marketing strategy to capture other sellers looking to list their property since this demonstrates that you know the industry.
Post your virtual tours on YouTube
You can create a slideshow video using real estate images and post it to YouTube. Animoto, for example, provides video creation platforms where you can include an engaging soundtrack to catch the buyer’s attention. You may promote your YouTube video on other social media sites as well. Although you may not get as much reach as embedding the video on Facebook, it is still beneficial to promote wherever you can.
Use Google’s 360º street view feature
With the release of Google Street View’s new app, users can create their own 360º content and instantly publish it to Google Images and Google Maps for the listing address, adding digital pop to marketing materials for free. These are eight great ways to promote your listing without spending a dime. While you may already have a well-established routine for promoting your listings, these suggestions may help you get a bit more mileage out of your promotion efforts!
Take a 360-degree photo of your property’s main floor, for example, and upload it to Google Street View. Buyers who look at your property’s location online will immediately see a full view of the main floor. A virtual 360-degree image is one of the best ways to market real estate online.
Use animated videos too
Quality animated videos can be a great way to establish your real estate business’ brand or give it a personal touch, as well as being short, cute, and high-quality. You may also want to consider using local landmarks or sites in your animated video to make it ultra-unique and targeted.
3. Cross Promote Your Listings with Other Agents
There is no longer any benefit to working alone; clients can find 50 of their closest competitors in a second on the internet, and unless your listing is their dream home, they have no shortage of alternatives. If you want more ‘dream’ clients, you should ‘hedge your bet’ by collaborating with other listing agents.
Real estate agents can help you sell both of your homes if you establish connections with them. Look for realtors in your area to discover who lists a variety of homes, as some real estate agents prefer to focus on specific kinds of properties. You’ll quickly determine who you may work well with, and then seek to advertise complementary properties. It’s important to know who farms where and what sorts of listings they specialize in—take an interest in them and look for chances to cross-promote. Make sure you have something to offer in return, though! As your relationships grow and people come to know and like you, you’ll find more and more opportunities to cross-promote. Take them all!
Establish relationships with local businesses
Partnering with clothing boutiques, home décor showrooms, and coffee shops is a great way to promote your listings—and invite them to participate in an open house event. Setting up pop-up shops in different rooms of the house is a fun way to entice prospective buyers to visit your open house. You can work with local businesses to come up with goods to be offered at the house that they offer a discount.
Get referrals
According to a study, 41% of real estate agents were referred to by friends or family members. You should be requesting referrals, not the other way around. Send a follow-up email to buyers a few months after they’ve moved into their new home to see how things are going and ask for a referral.
For example, you may compose an email such as this:
Dear [buyer’s name]
I’m thrilled that you were able to purchase a house in such a great location. I hope you’re enjoying your new home. It was great working with you and I would be delighted to assist your friends or family if they are thinking of buying or selling in the area. Next week, I’m hosting an open house to talk about the current real estate market. Please feel free to pass this invitation on to anyone you think might be interested [link to event page].
Sincerely,
[your name]
Gather testimonials
Achieving adequate credibility and developing trust with real estate marketing can be achieved through referencing satisfied previous clients. After a sale goes well, contact the consumers you helped and get a paragraph-long description of how helpful you were. You can then put that content on your website so that prospects can see how well you’ve previously served people in their position. Try to get a picture of them as well if possible. Make the most of these testimonials by placing them strategically on your website and sharing them now and then on social networks.
Promote on third party real estate sites
Zillow
Zillow offers over 188 million monthly viewers, giving you the chance to reach thousands of new clients. By posting your listings here, you can reach a large number of prospective customers and connect with them. This will increase the likelihood of receiving a new customer. Users can also review real estate agents on Zillow, so put on a smile and boost your ratings, as a strong star rating will significantly increase your leads.
Conclusion
Using these marketing ideas, you will impress your prospective clients and draw them to your services. A marketing plan will help you establish objectives for your marketing campaigns and outline the methods for reaching them.
