Marketing and real estate marketing alike are constantly evolving subjects.
People change, businesses change, industries change.
In the 1980s and 1990s, real estate agents had total control over what the public saw.
We had the MLS books, the knowledge, and the exclusive power to conduct sales. Selling a home on your own (FSBO) was near impossible.
Nowadays, everything’s changed, and the role of a real estate agent is becoming questionable.
That’s why it’s essential for agents to adjust their approaches to business. As cold calling and traditional lead generation strategies begin to lose effectiveness; content marketing and digital media is taking off.
Let’s talk about the current state of real estate marketing.
Content is the Greatest Driver of Sales in 2020
If you follow marketing communities or pay attention to anything revolving around business, you may have heard the phrase “Content is King”.
I couldn’t agree with that statement more.
Traditional marketing equals “hire me for service and then I’ll give you all my information”.
Modern marketing is “all of my information is out there for you to absorb. Hire me if you trust me”.
Information in modern marketing is content. Items like this blog article, videos, podcasts, and whatever else feeds you information, is content.
It’s meant to build and solidify trust with potential customers.
If you’re a real estate agent and you’re still cold calling and going through your normal routine of prospecting. I’m afraid to let you know that the clock is ticking.
Millennials don’t like phone calls. They’re more likely to look up information about products and services before they ever make a phone call.
So, what are Realtors going to do when millennials and Gen Z dominate the real estate market?
Hopefully, they start getting onboard the content train now so that they don’t lose business in the future to the more attractive agent with all the content.
Social Media is Powerful for Outreach
I think social media is a requirement.
I don’t believe you can get away with any marketing plan or successful business structure without some sort of social media presence.
Here are a few of the platforms you should pay attention to.
Facebook remains the most powerful if used correctly, but it’s starting to lose its touch due to internal factors in their algorithm.
In fact, 2019 had negative growth in post reach, dropping 2.2% to a measly 5.5% in total reach.
Nonetheless, the sheer volume of users on Facebook makes it a viable market. However, I think agents need to move into all social media platforms going forward.
TikTok
TikTok is the latest sensation, but it’s dominated by Gen Z and younger.
Despite this, if we’re betting on TikTok’s continued success (I am), then those young TikTokers will become home-buyers in the not-so-distant future.
If you’ve built somewhat of a following by then, while the algorithm remains favorable to you. You might become the most popular agent on the platform.
Instagram, my favorite platform, is hot.
Real estate is a highly visual industry and Instagram is a visual-based platform. It’s the perfect mesh.
By simply posting listings currently available in your local market and by using the right hashtags, you can get a lot of followers and engagement with just a few months of consistent effort.
How Social Media Supports Your Marketing Efforts
Use social media to promote your content and connect with people.
These people don’t necessarily need to be prospects either. B2B (Business-to-Business) marketing is incredibly effective on platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn.
I often see too many agents pass on the idea of B2B marketing to other Realtors around the world.
Referrals are awesome and common when you cast yourself as the best real estate agent in your market to other agents online.
Whatever you decide to do, make sure you’re using social media.
SEO in Real Estate is Incredibly Powerful
If you have a real estate website, good.
If you have a real estate website without a blog, not good.
There’s no reason to have a website if no one can find the website. Make blogging a priority so that you can attract customers from the almighty search engine Google by using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tactics in your writing.
Think about it like this.
Traditional real estate theory states that when you come across a prospect, they’re going to be at a particular moment of the real estate graph.
This could be just before a sale, or way before or after a sale. It depends on when you come across them.
The idea is that if you follow up enough with them over a stretch of time, you’ll win their trust and they’ll buy or sell with you.
That’s completely ridiculous in 2020.
Follow up is very powerful and essential to a successful business. But calling someone every three months asking if they need a referral for home improvement just so they can remember you isn’t an effective strategy.
This is where SEO comes in.
People don’t just land on real estate websites for fun. They have intent.
They intend to do something with real estate in the near future or they’re doing research for something real estate related.
Whatever the case may be, they’re there for a reason.
If they happen to find you on the internet, then you have amazing odds of capturing a lead right at the moment before a real estate transaction.
It completely cuts out the agonizing follow up game agents play and makes life easier.
Instead, automate your follow up after the sale so that you secure referrals and future business from them via email campaigns and content.
Final Thoughts
Real estate marketing is changing and it’s almost all digital now.
While sure, print advertising is still somewhat effective. There’s nothing like digital media now.
I also won’t discount networking, as that will always work as long as humans can speak.
Let me know what you think in the comments below. Where do you think real estate marketing is going?
Stay Classy.
