What Real Estate Marketing Strategies Should Realtors® Be Using?

One of the biggest complaints that you will hear from unhappy home sellers is they don't feel their Realtor® is marketing their home correctly.  The reality is that it is probably true.  The days of putting a sign in front of a home, entering it into the local MLS, and waiting for offers to roll in are over!

With the evolution of real estate and the Internet, there are so many places that Realtors® should be marketing not only their homes for sale but also themselves.  These real estate marketing strategies don't only stop at the Internet though.  Traditional forms of marketing and advertising such as newspapers and television can still be helpful in certain markets.

One question that every Realtor® should be asking themselves is whether or not they are doing everything they can to give themselves and their clients homes exposure.  There are tons of websites and real estate marketing strategies that allow Realtors® the ability to do this.

Below are some of the best methods and strategies that Realtors® should be utilizing to market their listings, themselves, and their brand.

Print Advertising & "Traditional" Real Estate Marketing

There are many Realtors® who believe that traditional forms of marketing and print advertising is dead.  In some markets this may be the case, but very few markets.  One of the reasons why print advertising and traditional forms of marketing still can work is because the adaption of technology these firms have stressed.  

For example, many newspaper companies have begun providing an online edition of their daily, weekly, or month newspapers.  The local Rochester NY paper, the Democrat and Chronicle, provides a digital edition that allows viewers to read from their desktop, tablet, or other mobile device.  The readership for such newspapers can be pretty high, in fact, Western NY has one of the highest in the Country.

Other print & traditional forms of real estate marketing that Realtors® should consider using include;

• Just listed postcards
• Just sold postcards
• Expired postcards or letters
• Television (if available)

Online Exposure

The Internet has made a huge impact on the real estate industry.  With over 90% of home buyers going to the Internet to start their home search, it's important that a sellers home is being found online, EVERYWHERE!

I still cannot believe the number of real estate agents who do not have their own websites.  Not brokerage websites, their OWN WEBSITES.  Not only is it important that Realtors® have their own websites but also a website that is user friendly and one that actually gets traffic and visits.  It is pointless to have a website that no one visits.  

In order to get website traffic it must be filled with great content.  The reality is that every real estate agent should have a blog.  If they don't, they are missing out big time.  A blog gives Realtors® the opportunity to share their knowledge about real estate as well as keep locals up to date on market trends, statistics, and more.  

Finally when it comes to online exposure, it's vital that the quality of photos and videos is top notch when presenting a sellers home.  If a home that is for sale has no photos online or bad photos, it's very likely a buyer will pass by it because they don't like what they see (or cannot see).  The same can be said about real estate videos, they must be solid.  A video that is taken with an mobile device as a Realtor® is walking through a home is not going to WOW many people.  

Check out this example below of a video that was created while recently selling a waterfront home in Rochester, NY.

Social Media

One of my biggest pet peeves is when you constantly seeing Realtors® blasting their newest listing or their latest sale all over social media.  Most people don't care that you recently sold a home or what you ate for breakfast yesterday.  

The majority of people use social media to interact with others...I guess the proper word saying is they like to be SOCIAL with others.  Social media can be an excellent tool for Realtors® certainly for exposure for their sellers homes but that should not be the only reason to use social media.  

Social media provides Realtors® the opportunity again to be seen as an expert of real estate.  Real estate influencers on social media are continually writing and sharing top notch real estate con tent to show that they are the go-to person for real estate.  If a Realtor® uses social media properly and continually provides helpful real estate information, eventually (not instantly), they will be rewarded with buyers and sellers.

Content Marketing

Have you ever heard the saying, "Content Is King?"  If not, you have now!  Content marketing in real estate does work!  Content marketing can be easily understood as taking a bunch of useful information and sorting it into one area to help readers easily understand and find the information.

Many Realtors® ask why content marketing is important to be successful and to build their business.  When done properly content marketing will increase the viewership of a well written article.  A well written article when found will be shared.  The major search engines look at the number of shares a piece of content gets when deciding where to rank it in the SERPs.  The higher a piece of content ranks in the SERPs, the more traffic a website gets.  The more traffic a website gets, the more opportunities to obtain leads.  Is this starting to make sense?

There are tons of websites that allow Realtors to curate their content.  For a great example, check out this article by Bill Gassett over on Behance that provides a recap of 6 top notch real estate articles.  I'm sure this recap only took Bill 15-20 minutes to write and design the graphic, yet provides an awesome resource for him to share with his clients but also his social media following.  Pretty cool!

Some of the most popular content curation websites where you will find me active on include;

• Listly
• Bundlr
• Behance
• Tumblr
• LinkedIN Pulse
• RebelMouse
• Flipboard
• Learnist
• BagTheWeb
• Scoop.it
• Storify

Parting Shots

One of the greatest things about being a Realtor® is the opportunity I have to run my business how I please.  There is no one way that is an absolute, however, I promise that the above real estate marketing strategies will lead to more business and more exposure for a home seller.

If you have any questions about how the specific content platforms work, I'm always happy to share my knowledge with others.  Also, I'd love to hear what other real estate marketing strategies you are using in the comments below!  Are there certain real estate marketing techniques that you're utilizing that are paying off?