Effective Online Marketing for Realtors {Updated}

The Real Estate Market is one of our favorite topics when it comes to offering advice on digital marketing; or more specifically, online marketing for realtors.

It’s so challenging and competitive that realtors need to be constantly innovating and completely involved with the latest technologies to offer something different to a huge target.

Real Estate agents and homeowners are conscious that this is a hard battle.

The good news is that they can always count on professionals, to assist them in this highly complex field of online marketing.

These are the exact Online Marketing for Realtors methods Finepoint Design uses for their clients – and has helped many real estate companies.

The truth is that most agents, investors or owners don’t have a large online platform so getting into the right audience will take some time and it’s completely normal.

We will focus on these issues by sharing with you some secrets and the best Real Estate marketing strategies you can apply in your business to sell a home faster and more efficiently than before.

The idea is having success in the online environment through the improvement of your Blogging, Social Media, Video and Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which is related to the ranking and visibility of your website in search engines like Google.

Take in count these important aspects so you can attract the right clients because the less you want is finding yourself floundering in a sea of competition.

1. Develop a Professional Website:

For agents and agencies in the Real Estate market, having a professional website makes a huge difference. In this field, you need to focus on both, aesthetics and functionality.  Improve aspects such as:

• The overall speed of the site.
• Ease of navigation.
• New properties.
• Quality and fresh content.
• The sharpness of the photos and videos.

2. Include IDX:

For those who don’t know, IDX is an acronym for Internet Data Exchange, which allows agents and professionals of Real Estate to display the most comprehensive and up-to-date property listing data on their own websites.

We are talking about a policy under which brokers exchange permission to show their readers and potential clients one another’s listings on the internet.

IDX is also known as Broker Reciprocity to refer to this cooperative exchange between brokers and it’s provided by a (Multiple Listing Service) MLS System.

They include a set of rules for how listing data is displayed.

IDX companies typically download updated property data from an MLS System several times per day, storing it in a database and making it available for search and display on their clients’ website.

This is only available for members of Real estate board MLS System for display on their websites.

Know that agents, brokers, teams of agents and entire offices can have IDX on their websites.

In all areas, agents or brokers in different brokerage offices can’t share IDX accounts and each one needs to be licensed under one designated local broker.

3. Take advantage of Zillow:

This program is a leading real estate and rental marketplace dedicated to enriching consumers with data, inspiration, and knowledge.

It help people looking for a home in a pre-determined place research where they want to live. This system helps by connecting clients with the best local professionals who can help.

This service provides the full lifecycle of owning and living in a home, this means buying, selling, renting, financing, remodeling and more.

Zillow has a database of more than 110 million U.S. homes, including those for rent, for sale and the ones that are not currently on the market, as well as Zestimate home values, Rent Zestimates and other home-related information.

We love it because it operates the most popular suite of mobile real estate apps, running more than two dozen across the biggest platforms!

You must be wondering how is IDX different from Zillow?

As an agent or broker who is a member of a real estate board that operates an MLS System, IDX allows you to show listings from throughout that board on your website.

Whats nice about this is the data feed automatically updates every few hours.

Instead, they receive listings from various sources that can be brokerage syndication and MLS Systems in limited cases.

The biggest downside we are seeing for some people using Zillow is the listing information is not as comprehensive or as up-to-date as the IDX data.

A recent study has shown that in some cases, 30% of the listings in websites as Zillow or Trulia were no longer for sale.

Additionally, about 20% of active listings in MLS Systems were missing on these sites.

4. Being effective in using Facebook:

Facebook is the main social media platform that real estate agents use to capture new leads in today’s technologically advanced society.

This is because the average people spend 40 minutes per day on Facebook, giving the realtor a wide opportunity to show their Facebook ads to the correct audience.

On top of being the biggest social network where people are spending all of their time, Facebook advertising allows you to really drill down to find people with specific needs.

For example, you can target your Facebook ads to only show to people within 25 miles of a specific location.

Then research people who are looking to move in the next few months, and who are in a specific income range.

Just as Real Estate itself, Facebook is an inherently visual platform, providing you facilities to reach the exact market you want.

In this manner, you need to develop a good Facebook advertising strategy.

You can work between the limits of your budget and still make sure that you are not wasting your time and efforts. This would prevent any failed marketing campaigns.

Consider these effective tips to ensure you successfully capture the right audience on Facebook:

• Take advantage of the targeting options:

The popularity of Facebook is one of the main features of this platform, making it perfect to advertise.

After you configure the main goal of your campaign, you can use different targeting options such as.

• Location Targeting: set some location targeting based on the region where you sell your properties. Work with the Zip Code that generally moves to where you are selling based on past selling history. Don’t be extremely precise about working within a one-mile radius.
• Age Targeting: it seems obvious but sometimes we forget that it’s a waste of time and money to show your real estate ad to an 18-year-old. Keep in mind any demographics like this that wouldn’t make for a good client.
• Demographic Targeting: you can go further and target your audience based on how much they are making. This will help you to determine which kind of properties people are able to buy.You can also consider its Home Ownership status that will lead you to three options; first-time homebuyer, homeowner, and renter.
• Similar Audiences: By using the “Custom Audiences” Facebook feature, you can upload a list of people who have recently purchased a property, so this platform can find similar individuals who are ready to invest in your properties.
• Likely to Move: If you navigate in the sections Detailed Targeting > Behaviors > Residential Profiles, you will find the option for those individuals who are likely to move.
• Use Video to show the best of your properties:

You need to start giving more importance to the role of video in Real Estate.

Stop feeling intimidated thinking that it’s a challenging field you can’t catch on. An Australian study affirms that listings with a video receive more inquiries than those without.

Photos are a very outdated way to show a property. Even when a video is not the same as being there, we can’t deny that it offers the viewer a more realistic look into the property.

This becomes a quick and easy way to give them a virtual tour.

In fact, if you want to make it even more professional, create a 360° video, which will enable the potential buyer to move around with their mouse.

Believe us when we tell you that your potential client will thank you for making it save its time. Avoid having them visit the property in person. Provide enough details to proceed with the rent or the purchase.

• Show multiple properties with Carousel Ads:

It’s time that you get familiar with this type of Facebook format because it’s great for any industry with a visual appeal and Real Estate is definitely one of them.

It allows you to display a series of images in a catalog type format which improves the user’s experience by letting them scroll through and view multiple images or listings.

5. Be Trustworthy

As realtors, you need to understand that building trust must be one of the main goals to reach.

Especially because we are talking about people who will make important personal and financial decisions, one that will affect their day-to-day.

In this case, they will prefer to work with a respectable company.

Think about being transparent by showing realistic imagery and being very direct in the Facebook ad copy.

As more details you offer, the better, because the idea is telling your potential customers what they will obtain even before they have to click in the ad.

Make sure to include information like price, square footage, location, number of bedrooms, etc.

Using testimonials and reviews is also a good way to evoke trust in your services.

There isn’t better marketing than the one that your satisfied clients make through authentic recommendations or by sharing good experiences.

6. Work in a stunning imagery:

This can seem obvious too, but you need to make sure that your image gallery is absolutely stunning and high quality.

It’s better if you appeal to a certain lifestyle through the use of powerful images in order to draw in potential buyers.

For this purpose, it’s better that you hire a professional photographer with experience in homes and architecture itself. Remember that first impressions always matter!

7. Don’t leave the marketing behind, ever:

In real estate, we know that there are specific months where people are more likely to buy or rent.

However, during these peak times, we focus more on administrate our potential buyers and we forget to work in our marketing. This is exactly what you have to avoid!

Understand that this is the best chance of selling if you get your listings out to the right people on Facebook during the busier times. Invest more in your ads to reach a larger audience during these days.

8. Create a Blog

Starting a blog in the real estate industry can help you to create an important audience over time.

If you already have time in this field then you shouldn’t wait long to develop a Blog. The more time that passes without blogging, the further behind you will be.

Generate useful content about Real Estate that puts your company or agency as a reference in the industry.

Create infographics, integrate videos and share them everywhere you possibly can.

If you want to get started with or improve your Real Estate site, contact Finepoint Design to help you build an online marketing strategy.