In the not-so-distant past, real estate marketing was all done offline. There was initially some reluctance to adopt the digital marketing channels that are popular today. Although sales are closed offline, many leads are generated on search engines and social media websites, be it through paid advertising or 'organic' methods. If you are just starting out in the world of digital marketing and want some tips, or you're looking for some new ideas to enhance your online campaigns & efforts; this article should provide some useful information.
Establish Your Niche
It is very hard to cover all the niches in your industry. This is especially true when it comes to making a presence online; if you are an independent real estate business. With this in mind, it is important to specialise. Consider the type of properties that you typically sell, the areas and the price range as a starting point.
Create Your Customer Persona
Search engines such as Google and social media websites such as Facebook, now allow you to target specific prospects by their online behaviour and demographic information. You can even target people with interests & hobbies.
Take a look at all the 'targeting criteria' that is available on these websites. Using the available variables, put together a picture of your customer persona(s) and your target audience. This will help you to target your ads and campaigns efficiently, saving you huge amounts of money.
Do Some 'Keyword Research'
Keywords are also referred to as "search terms" and are the phrases people use in Google to find what they are looking for. Keyword research can reap amazing benefits. Even when you are planning to start your business, you can perform important market research using tools such as Google Keyword Planner and/or Ubersuggest.
On ubersuggest.com for example, by entering a common search term such as "real estate Florida" you can see approximately how many people per month search for that specific term and how much per click it would cost per click for a Google Ad for that particular term.
You can also get more ideas about what home-buyers might be searching for online. Which can help inform your website design, your blog content and your ads.
A great way to start your keyword research is to simply ask people what they would search for. Or ask people in your agency to imagine they're looking for a house and record what they search for online.
Make a list of these and then head over to Google. Type in your first keyword and then add an "a" at the end:
Google will then show you a list of related search terms that append a word starting with "a" to the end of your keyword. These are common searches that people, typically in your area, have done on Google in the past few months. You can repeat this process with "b" up to "z" and make note of any relevant terms. Some of these may not show up in Ubersuggest or Keyword Planner but many marketing experts believe that regardless of what these applications/website might say in terms of monthly search volumes, the keywords found on Google's 'predicted search' are very valuable.
In addition, once you have performed a search, you can scroll down to the bottom of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) and see a list of related searches. Take note of these too.
Put together a list of all your keywords/search terms and paste them into Excel. Click the "Data" tab in the top menu bar and then "Remove Duplicates" and you should now have a unique list of terms to inform blog posts, campaigns and more.
Invest in a Professional Website
A website is the main hub, the nuclei if you will, of all your digital marketing efforts. It represents your brand in terms of its design and performance. The design must have a carefully selected color-scheme, a well thought out structure and should be designed with 'mobile-experience' front of mind.
A well-designed website is also a very important factor when it comes to ranking on search engines such as Google. If a website looks unprofessional, irrelevant or provides poor user experience, potential buyers will leave the website within a few seconds. Google is able to track user behaviour and will see this 'bouncing' from your site, back to its SERPs as an indication of low relevancy and poor user experience.
In addition, you can have the best ads and the best ad-targeting on Google and Facebook, but if you send visitors to a poorly designed website, they are unlikely to submit any personal details. People will also want to see 'trust-metrics' such as reviews, case studies and contact details clearly stated. Pro-tip - if you don't have an office, consider using a phone answering service such as Moneypenny. The service provides you with a dedicated virtual receptionist who will appear to be a full-time employee to anyone who calls - great for capturing all of your leads and great for your image and brand.
Build Your Social Presence
Have a social media strategy and plan. For real estate, focus on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Most importantly, make sure whatever images and videos you share on these websites are highly professional and on-brand. Videos tend to perform well for high-value-purchases such as homes, as people will want to garner as much information as possible before inquiring. Videos could be about the homes and the local neighbourhoods, even local companies.
Remember that Youtube is also considered a social media website and a search engine. Getting video on Youtube can also be a fantastic way to develop your brand and online presence. You will generally want to create longer videos for Youtube and use 'micro-content' or snippets of video for other platforms. A final note on video is that it is often said to be more powerful than the written word or static pictures. It gives more idea of your company, your personality and your brand and therefore gives a greater opportunity to build trust.
Get Reviews from Happy Clients
People trust online reviews and the influence of review scores on websites such as TrustPilot, Google and Facebook is massive. In fact, research indicates that 90% of customers are influenced by online reviews (more info on the research here). Also known as 'social proof' it is important to gather reviews as they directly reflect your brand and the likelihood of a prospect contacting your company.
Sign up for Yelp, TrustPilot, Facebook and GoogleMyBusiness - but be aware that some platforms state that you should not directly ask for reviews or offer incentives for reviews. For the ones that do allow it - sending an email asking for a review is the easiest and most direct way to get more. You will typically want to send the email around 5 days following a house completion and provide a link to the website you are looking for a review on.
Use a CRM System
CRMs hold your lead and customer data. If you have hundreds of clients, it can be difficult to search for people looking for specific types of properties in specific areas. With CRM, it is much easier to refine and locate lists of people.
Traditionally, real estate companies will send clients 'thank you' cards and Christmas cards etc. but using a CRM can make it easier to send personalised digital messages that will appeal more to a younger demographic.
Hubspot have a good article regarding CRMs for real estate companies here.
Whatever you decide to do online, start with a plan and research the best strategies and tactics. Social media, for example, can be damaging to a company's brand if done poorly.
