By Ben Spowart
The real estate industry has undergone a massive digital transformation in recent years. Today’s homebuyers conduct extensive online research across multiple platforms before making purchase decisions. They expect real estate professionals to have a strong online presence and be accessible on digital channels. For individual real estate agents and real estate brokerages to stay competitive and continue attracting new real estate clients in this environment, implementing an effective digital marketing strategy is absolutely crucial.
Many real estate digital marketing experts recommend focusing marketing efforts on the latest digital marketing trends and tools. Video content, social media marketing, and marketing automation platforms are powerful digital marketing strategies relevant to the real estate space today. Agents should leverage these technologies to establish their brand, build relationships with clients, generate leads, and stand out from the competition.
An agent’s website serves as the hub for their online presence and one of the most powerful digital marketing tools for real estate professionals. To build a strong real estate brand, ensure your site loads quickly, displays properly on mobile devices and makes it easy for visitors to find information.
Use target keywords related to your services so your pages rank high in search engines. Many real estate agents overlook on-site SEO, but optimizing with relevant keywords can help dramatically boost your visibility.
Create compelling content highlighting your listings and expertise. Share photos, videos, and detailed descriptions of your properties. Post regular blog articles focused on topics relevant to the local real estate market you serve. Content builds brand awareness and establishes trust and credibility. Help build relationships with clients by offering tips for home buyers and sellers.
When it comes to marketing themselves effectively, real estate agents have many digital tactics and strategies to choose from. But there are a few key methods that rise above the rest for their ability to build brand awareness, attract clients, and drive sales. Three of the best digital marketing channels real estate agents should focus on are visual content, social media, and local SEO.
Visual content is one of the most powerful digital marketing tools for grabbing attention and engaging today’s real estate clients. Investing in professional photos of your listed properties can go a long way towards enticing potential buyers browsing online. High-quality images give buyers a detailed virtual look at homes and help them envision themselves living there.
Video content has also become a must for real estate marketing. Create video walkthroughs and virtual tours to showcase listings and allow buyers to explore properties thoroughly without visiting in person. Videos bring listings to life and build excitement. Share the videos across your website, social media channels, and YouTube.
Social media platforms allow real estate agents to engage directly with potential clients in an effective way to build relationships. Maintaining active accounts on popular channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn should be a priority. Share listings, market insights, event announcements, and relevant lifestyle content to provide value. Respond promptly to any messages and inquiries to provide good customer service.
Real estate social media marketing helps agents expand their reach and get their brand and listings in front of targeted audiences. Tailor content to each platform – share listing photos on Instagram, market updates on Facebook, host Twitter chats, and publish blog articles on LinkedIn. Promote content across channels to maximize engagement.
If you would like to learn more about building your social media presence, check out our latest article here.
Ranking high in local search results is crucial for real estate agents, as it ensures you appear prominently when buyers are searching for real estate professionals in your area. There are several key local SEO strategies agents should focus on.
Optimize your website and content with geo-targeted keywords, like “Hartlepool real estate agent” or “Hartlepool homes for sale”. Add a Schema markup to highlight your address, phone number, and other business info to search engines. Having an optimized Google My Business listing gives you a built-in presence on Google Search and Maps.
Earning citations on local directories and review sites helps establish your Agent as an authoritative local brand. Consistently publish local-focused, keyword-rich blog content on your site. Encourage satisfied clients to leave online reviews on sites like Google, Facebook, and Zillow.
A real estate agent’s website serves as the central hub for their online presence and one of the most powerful digital marketing tools. To build a strong real estate brand, agents must ensure their site loads quickly, displays properly on mobile devices, and makes it easy for visitors to find information.
Optimizing pages with target keywords related to their services and local market helps the website rank higher in search engines. Many real estate professionals overlook on-site SEO, but it’s crucial for visibility. Create compelling content highlighting listings, neighbourhood info, and real estate expertise.
Share high-quality photos and videos to showcase listed properties. Post regular blog articles with tips for home buyers and sellers to establish trust. Feature testimonials from satisfied clients earned over your career. Clearly communicate what makes you one of the best agents in your area.
Paid platforms like Google Ads and Facebook provide real estate agents with highly targeted promotion opportunities to reach potential clients. Agents can run localized ad campaigns focused on specific geographic areas or tailored to desired buyer demographics.
Ads can promote listings, open houses, service offerings, and the agency’s brand. Dedicated landing pages should be used to convert ad clicks into contacts by capturing emails or other lead info. Retargeting past website visitors with new relevant ads keeps your brand top of mind.
Continuously track paid ad performance using metrics like click-through rate, cost per lead, and conversion rate. Analyze the data to optimize budget allocation towards top-performing ads and high-converting demographics or placement types. Refine targeting and messaging over time.
Consistently producing articles, videos, guides, and other valuable content is a great way for real estate agents to display expertise and attract clients. Create content that answers common buyer questions and concerns, so they look to you as an authoritative source.
Share details and tips on navigating the real estate purchase process from start to finish. Address topics relevant to your local market based on target demographics. Promote new content through your website, email lists, and social media channels.
Formatting content in easily digestible ways with visuals makes it more engaging. Use bullet points, charts, images, animations etc. Make content shareable by enabling social sharing buttons. High-quality, helpful content builds trust and credibility for agents over time. It shows you truly understand and can guide clients through the real estate journey.
Content marketing involves consistency and a long-term strategy. However, the ROI of establishing yourself as a leading industry voice can be tremendous for real estate professionals. It’s one of the most valuable digital marketing activities for agents today.
Forming referral partnerships with other real estate-related professionals in your local area is an excellent way to steer new business your way as an agent. Strategic teams can be mutually beneficial.
Good partners may include mortgage lenders, home inspectors, contractors, moving companies, title companies, and others. You can exchange referrals, co-host events together, collaborate on content, and more.
For example, when you close on a home sale, refer clients to a trusted lender partner for financing. In turn, that lender can recommend you when their customers need a real estate agent.
Satisfied clients you have worked with make great referrals too. Provide amazing service so they recommend you to friends and family. Consider incentives for referrals that close
Analytics platforms are invaluable for real estate agents to monitor traffic sources, engagement metrics, lead conversions, and more. By tracking performance data, agents can identify which digital marketing channels and campaigns are producing the best results and ROI.
See which lead sources, campaigns, and content are driving the most contacts. Then double down on those high-converting areas. Use analytics to uncover where a website or campaign drop-off occurs and make improvements. Continuously assess efforts and optimize budget allocation towards top-performing initiatives.
Let data guide your real estate digital marketing strategy. Analytics provide the insights needed to expand reach, attract more qualified buyers, and increase sales. The online space offers immense potential for agents to build their brand and grow their business. However, a data-driven approach is key to maximizing digital marketing success.
By Ben Spowart