5 Ways to Use Text Messaging In Your Real Estate Business

Today we wanted to share with you 5 different ways that KWKLY customers are using text message marketing in their real estate businesses. We hope you see these ideas and think about how you could adapt them to your own marketing efforts.

A Couple of Things to Consider About Texting Before We Dive Into the Ideas

• Today, consumers send more text messages on their phone than they make phone calls. 
• Someone who inquires or responds to your text marketing has no way to fake their information. 
• Everywhere you look, businesses and marketers are using text messaging. Look no further than Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, every time they got in front of a lectern, it had a text code on it.
• Text messages have a 98% open rate compared to 20% open rate for email

So, knowing this, here are a few ways that KWKLY clients are using Text Messaging in their marketing.

1. Having a Giveaway? Allow Them To Enter Via Text!

We did an entire write up about this concept and how Vanessa Noble, a Keller Williams agent in Alaska did this when giving away a Tiny House at the Alaska State Fair. It's a great story. She generated over 2200 full name, address, email and phone number leads!! You should read it. But, it doesn't have to be something big like a Tiny House at the Alaska State Fair. Maybe in your monthly newsletter that you email out, you could give people a chance to win a free $50 starbucks giftcard, and in order to enter they would text wincoffee to 59559. Then, as a response you would send them back a form they could fill out to enter to win the gift card while asking if they are planning on buying or selling in the next 12 months. 

 

2. Representing a Builder? Make it Easy For Consumers To Get Info About Their Next Project

One KWKLY user has built a pretty great business representing a particular builder in her market. Any time a new project gets started, they create a text code so that people passing by the development as it's being built can easily get pricing and floor plan details by texting the name of the development to 59559. When they do this, they are met with a response that gives them the link to the page on the builders website where they can check out all of the floor plans as well as the current pricing for these new homes. 

And the best part? Even if they don't actually go to the link, the agent has captured their cell phone number to be able to follow up with them later to see if they'd like to come tour the model home. 

 

3. Just Listed a Property? Use A Text Code on Your Just Listed Postcards

The Ben Kinney team has started testing this concept and it's working pretty well. Instead of sending out a just listed postcard with all of the property information on the postcard, they use a call to action that has the recipient 'text BenKinney to 59559 to see all of the pictures and get the current listing price' A postcard can only hold so many pictures. Allowing them to text in to get the property information and all of the photos gets you the most valuable piece of contact info in real estate, a cell phone number.

 

4. Just Sold a Property? Use A Text Code on Your Just Sold Postcards

We have a number of KWKLY users doing this. Whenever your team does a just sold postcard campaign, t use the phrase 'Your neighbors house just sold, which means your equity has changed'. The call to action? You guessed it! Say this, 'To find out how much your equity has changed, text __________ to 59559'. You can set the response to send them back a link to  property valuation page where they can fill in their address and get a quick estimate of their homes value. BUT, even if they don't head to that link and fill out their address to get the free valuation, you have their cell phone number to follow up with them. If you, instead, just put a link to your valuation page on the postcard, and they went there but never did anything on the site......you'd have nothing. Zip. Nada. Don't have a valuation page? You can get several of these seller lead sites easy by going HERE.

 

5. Hosting an Open House? Make it easy for potential buyers to know! 

Instead of JUST putting a sign in the yard that tells people that drive by there is an open house, take it an extra step and have consumers TEXT your keyword to 59559 to see a list of all open hosues in the area! We wrote up an entire post about how do to this. Check it out and see how the Ben Kinney team is generating leads when they host an open house.....even if the person doesn't actually come to the open house!

 

So there you have it. Full disclosure, Ben Kinney's team uses these methods very successfully (he is the owner of Active Rain and KWKLY). But, so do many, many other KWKLY users. Take a leap and contact KWKLY to learn how you can generate more buyer leads today, or TEXT DEMO TO 59559 to see how it works!!!