The internet ecosystem provides a wide variety of ways in which realtors can generate leads. Some ways are more effective than others with several methods going as far as being a waste of time and valuable marketing budget. It’s important for professionals in the space to find the best mix for their real estate marketing and to combine the most effective online strategies with efficient offline tactics.
Your Current Marketing Plan
Real estate was a competitive space even before the rise of the internet and the advent of all its platforms. The web 2.0 years gave rise to the social media era and innovation with regards to advertising channels has gone virtually exponential ever since. If you are a real estate agent in today’s market, chances are that you currently have a website, several social media accounts and you probably advertise on search engines like Google.
While there is certainly nothing wrong with dabbling in all aspects of digital marketing, your primary goal should be to find the strategies that bring paying buyers through your door. The sooner you can do this, the sooner you will stop spending time on sub-optimal tactics. In order to achieve this, you need to understand the benefits of each strategy. Using your knowledge of the real estate industry will help you formulate the best path to maximizing your revenue.
Effective Online Strategy for Real Estate Agents
Each real estate market is different. What may work for one location or type of real estate may be ineffective for another. Having said that, there are some aspects to consider that will lead you to the best methods.
Having a website is a must for realtors. Relying heavily on existing online directories limits your flexibility and your ability to target specific audiences. Depending on the type of real estate you sell, you will often need to appeal to different demographics, different locales and different specifications.
A website on which you can showcase helpful content can give you a strong presence in the search engines for keywords that relate to your real estate offerings. If you already have a website and are running Google Ads, the cohesiveness between your web presence and your online ads needs to work in a synergistic manner so as to bring piping hot leads to your business.
Google Ads and Your Marketing
Google Ads is likely already a staple of your real estate marketing. Being able to show ads to people searching for specific queries can make your job much easier. Especially for prospective clients looking for local real estate, Google Ads can help showcase your offerings to these prospects and encourage them to contact you for more information.
Disadvantages of Online Marketing for Real Estate to Consider
While online methods allow for a great deal of flexibility in your targeting, there is a cost component to your decision-making that limits the extent to which you can grow on Google Ads alone. Google is constantly changing its algorithms in order to make each respective niche more competitive. With more competition comes more ad spend on the part of advertisers, and thus greater revenue for Google.
When trying to grow your real estate business, you cannot afford to get drawn into a bidding war against the other players in your market. Sure, Google Ads, or Facebook Ads for that matter, can be good ways of approaching potential clients but ad expenditures can add up and your cost per conversion will only rise in a saturated space.
Another disadvantage of digital promotional methods like Google Ads is the steep learning curve. New features are constantly being added to the platform and only large real estate firms can afford to hire experienced consultants to run their campaigns. If you have to spend countless hours on your core business tasks, devoting large amounts of time on learning the platform and keeping up with all the bells and whistles can evolve into a headache.
To be clear, incorporating digital marketing methods into your real estate marketing should not be discouraged or avoided. It’s simply necessary to weigh the pros and cons of all tactics and to act according to mix that will give you the greatest return on investment.
Taking a Different Path
If you wish to grow your clientele and increase the number of sales that you close, yet retain a low cost per conversion, you will have to find methods that operate outside the confines of these online ad platforms. The more directly you can communicate with your prospects, the more you can control the outcome of the interaction.
One of the ways in which some successful real estate agents are managing to get higher conversion rates is by focusing on offline methods. While it may seem counter-intuitive, print media is experiencing a resurgence in several industries and real estate is one of them.
Boosting Your Results with Direct Mail Marketing
A couple of decades ago, receiving even one more piece of direct mail was considered a nuisance and a full mailbox had become something of a running joke. However, in a society that has moved to the other end of the spectrum where the vast majority of communication is conducted online via some sort of messaging, conventional mail is seen as an oasis.
An intelligently designed mailing campaign that can work within your existing digital marketing efforts can offer a great return on investment. Creating mailings that showcase a recent sale in a neighborhood with a short presentation of your business and a sharp call to action can really drive incoming calls.
Bringing direct mail marketing together with digital marketing can result in higher conversion rates. By including contact information on your brochures, such as your website, e-mail address and social media profiles, you can encourage recipients of your direct mailing to communicate with you directly. For people that are even more smart phone-savvy, a QR code can make initiating a call as simple as running their device over a corner of your flyer. And if you are just starting out and have a tight marketing budget you can use wisepelican.com since they have no order minimum.
Doing it Right
While there is no shortage of ideas as to how you can combine the benefits of digital marketing with print media, finding the right professionals to help you accomplish this is the key. It’s important to find a company that specializes in direct mail marketing in the real estate space. The right consultant can help you design an effective mailing and offer you the necessary insights for how you can grab your target audience’s attention.