It’s not always bright and sunny in the real estate industry. In fact, as much as it a lucrative business to be in, it’s also a volatile environment that’s driven by economic conditions, job growth and retention, interest rates, political influence, and many more.
No matter how the real estate market is performing right now, both novices and seasoned pros should still apply marketing strategies that will help move their careers forward. Truth be told, real estate is a continuously evolving industry and the smart realtor knows that success is tantamount to never-ending efforts to enrich oneself and to market one’s brand.
The task of branding and marketing becomes all the more challenging in the age of the Internet, which brought in a different breed of consumers that digest information differently. How does a veteran and newbie in the property industry rise above the competition? Here are five tips that can help.
- Define your target market.
This is important to your success as a realtor. Should you focus on residential properties, or do you plan to be more of an expert in commercial real estate? Will you be honing in on first-time buyers or do you want to work with people who are looking for second or third homes? While you can certainly cover all bases, having a specialization will help bring you closer to your target market and will more likely end up in sale compared to being in all places at once.
By identifying your target market, you can create marketing strategies that are tailor-fit to this demographic. This way, you can equip yourself better with information that matters to them and you also build a more solid brand for yourself.
- Develop your brand.
Branding is everything; no matter what industry you are in. It can be under your business’s name or yours and make sure that every strategy you apply reflects this. Branding also makes it easier for people to identify you and with creativity will certainly land you a spot above everyone else.
- Create a website and utilize social media.
Everything is on the Internet nowadays and if you’re not setting up a website for your real estate business, you are missing out on tons of opportunities to sell. Regardless of your market, your will a professional website that adopts SEO for real estate investors so your clients can find you. In addition to a website, you should also be present on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Make sure these accounts are always updated with the latest news or related content to keep your readers engaged. Internet marketing is relatively affordable but will deliver a wider reach.
Another way of marketing your real estate business online is by paying for ad campaigns or sponsored posts. This brings you directly to your target market and positions your ad where they can easily see it.
- Maximize Internet and traditional marketing strategies.
While you should still set out brochures, hand out flyers, create newsletters and other traditional forms of advertising, you should maximize what the Internet can give you. Since you already have a website and social media presence, don’t just stop there. Continue to provide your followers with added value content by producing helpful articles that relate to them.
To ensure that your online efforts are not wasted, you can take advantage of AdWords for real estate investors and apply them to your content. This way, search engines can easily spot you when would-be buyers type in specific search terms.
- Be quick to respond.
Finally, be sure that you respond quickly to any query sent to you. If you own multiple online accounts, you can merge those using special apps so you only have to look at one place to see if someone sent you a message online. Answer your phone when it rings. Reply to emails immediately. Also, when you tell someone that you will call them back, be sure to do so.
If you fail to respond to your messages, no matter how fancy your marketing strategy is, you won’t likely land any clients. So be sure to engage with your target market and be available.
