As people increasingly rely on technology, the time is up to market your real estate business in ways that will better reach tech-savvy customers. Discover four ways property professionals may use digital marketing to generate leads.
In today’s digital age, we rely on the “Internet of everything” for practically every facet of our existence, from checking the weather to purchasing real estate property, a dynamic that has been exacerbated by the pandemic’s distance and health rules.
According to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey, 97 percent of homebuyers used the Internet to conduct property searches in 2020. As a result, enterprises urged purchasers to use e-signature, sign electronic contracts and paperwork, plan virtual meetings, and complete other associated chores online.
These real estate trends are expected to continue, and agents must respond by building a robust digital marketing plan that increases visibility and gets listings in front of the right buyers at the appropriate time.
Here are four ways real estate agents may use digital marketing to create leads:
1. Make use of geofencing: The location, location, location. You’re familiar with the adage, which is critical in real estate sales and may also be applied to narrowing in on a target audience. According to the same NAR survey cited above, 76 percent of homebuyers search for a property using a mobile device. This is why “geofencing” is such an excellent method for delivering a relevant, compelling message to a specific audience.
The word refers to setting a precise and focused mile radius around a given site, which allows smartphone audiences to be targeted after they enter that defined territory. People who do so will receive a push notice on their mobile device based on their interests. You may geofence surrounding shopping centres, office spaces, and parks based on the specific neighbourhood being advertised.
2. Create a local SEO strategy: Consider investing in local SEO because location is such an important aspect in selling.
Such a strategy aims to rank for local search terms such as “best real estate agent” or “homes for sale near me.”
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
• Establish and optimise a Google Business Profile.
• Publish content on a regular basis through that Google profile.
• Create a backlink profile by acquiring links from both professional and general directories.
• Gather good feedback on sites such as Zillow, Google, Facebook, and Yelp.
• Conduct keyword research for local SEO.
3. Invest in Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising: SEO is a terrific strategy for bringing traffic to your website and increasing listing visibility, but you don’t have to rely on organic traffic to generate leads. Another alternative is to launch a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign, which allows you to show tailored and relevant adverts to people who are most likely to buy. PPC advertising in real estate marketing is efficient because it helps you to target people who are actively looking for a house.
Placing ads in front of the appropriate people at the right time benefits them as well, since it directs them to the specific information or services they need. This also implies they’re more likely to become real clients and finally use your services to buy a home.
To get started with PPC, you must first:
• Understand your target demographic in order to choose the best keyword phrases for your campaign.
• Establish a maximum cost-per-click (CPC) budget, or how much you’re willing to pay per click for a certain term.
• Choose the appropriate ad platform for your PPC campaign (Google Ads, social media ads, etc.).
• Select the appropriate format (whether search ads, shopping ads, display ads, etc.).
4. Leverage the power of social media: Social media sites, with their billions of monthly active users, are a goldmine for generating real estate leads. This is especially true for millennials, who have recently constituted the largest group of purchasers. According to a 2021 NAR survey, 37 percent of homebuyers in 2020 belonged to that generation. According to the Pew Research Center, persons aged 18 to 29 (millennials and Gen Z) are the most active social media users in the United States. As a result, by utilising the power of social media marketing, you may reach an audience that now dominates the real estate industry.
Here are a few pointers to help you succeed:
• To promote your content, use the appropriate real estate hashtags.
• Educate purchasers.
• Interact with your followers.
• React to comments.
• Promote the neighborhood/town as a whole, rather than just the property.
• Tell your real estate success stories.
• Include video in your strategy.
Digital marketing was once a nice-to-have approach for real estate salespeople, but it is now a requirement. Otherwise, you risk slipping behind the competition and not realising your full potential. As technology advances and evolves, so will people’s dependency on it.
Whether a homebuyer takes a virtual home tour or clicks a link to schedule an in-person tour, they’re employing technology to achieve a goal, so why not meet them halfway and reach them through the channels they prefer?
