Are your real estate marketing strategies working? Is your funnel getting clogged? It’s time you thought about the different stages of marketing to improve getting qualified leads from the top of your funnel to the bottom. Attract potential customers by lubricating their thoughts, delighting them with quality information, converting them into clients and closing the deal. Begin by contemplating how to brand yourself in real estate. NAR reports that 88% of buyers purchased their home using a Realtor® and 89% of sellers had assistance from an agent to make the sale. Competition is fierce and you need to stand out so here are some proven marketing tricks to help nurture your leads and convert them into customers.
The funnel
You know how to become a successful real estate agent is all about implementing marketing strategies to your best advantage. Understanding the real estate funnel is a good place to start.
The idea behind a sales funnel for real estate is to capture new leads by generating interest in your brand. Once you turn those leads into prospects you can move them down your real estate funnel through the various stages where leads become prospects, then customers. So how do you get the consumer to take the plunge into your funnel?
The first step is creating awareness. Before someone becomes a bona fide client they need to find you. Once they find you they expect information. When you give them quality, usable information the consumer begins to trust in your brand and form a relationship. The final step is offering a benefit like a free consultation or assessment of their property.
When the consumer subscribes to the benefit it is your job to seal the deal with a listing or sales presentation. But before you get ahead of yourself the awareness stage has to come first.
The power of social
Social media is powerful. It can help you interact with millions of people at the click of a button. Interaction creates awareness of you and your brand.
When producing content for your social media channels you need to post often, provide engaging stories and be consistent with your message. Every post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok® should be representative of your brand and your niche. According to HubSpot®, 73% of consumers worldwide want entertaining videos on social media.
This is the ideal medium to include teaser 360° virtual tours of your listings, community news, relevant market updates, and of course show your personality. Real estate expert Tom Ferry has a great checklist to determine if your social content is up to the challenge. Using social media is how to brand yourself in real estate and is a great way to connect and promote your real estate expertise.
But it is more than likes, tweets, and shares. Your leads need a place to land and what better place than a well-thought-out website.
The strength of a website
Where do you go when you want to learn how to become a successful real estate agent? Websites with useful information help you learn and your potential customers are no different.
A well-designed website containing optimized content puts you and your brand in control. Use the pages of your website to showcase the benefits of using a Realtor® when selling or buying a home. Highlight how 3D tours and professional photography help sell listings faster.
You can also provide helpful information about the inner details of a real estate transaction to engage the consumer and turn them into a customer. Use landing pages linked to your website to offer something of value in exchange for the consumer’s contact information.
What can you offer? Free market evaluations, news feeds, and tips on how to get a home ready for sale are good examples of lead magnets that can get the consumer headed further into your sales funnel. It doesn’t end there, you also need content.
Content for SEO and education
Engaging content in the form of blogs or videos can help get your website ranking on the first page of an internet search. Regular weekly or monthly blogs not only provide information to the consumer but your blogs also help Google® find you when someone searches for a great Realtor® in your area. Writing blogs and creating a video may not be your forte’ but just because your sales skills outrival your composition skills doesn’t mean you should forget about content.
Leverage the services of proptech companies like iGUIDE® for virtual tours and immersive floor plans and hire a copywriter to compose your educational blogs. When you want to know how to brand yourself in real estate interesting useful content helps you connect to prospective clients.
3D tours and virtual showings help sell
Part of how to become a successful real estate agent lies in knowing what type of technology to use in your marketing plan. NAR reports that 58% of buyers ranked virtual tours as very useful in 2021 when deciding to purchase a home.
3D tours and virtual showings are valuable to both the buyers and sellers. For the buyer, having an immersive virtual tour allows them to engage with the property in their own time.
More time interacting with the home helps build an emotional attachment that leads to a sale. For the seller, 3D tours are proven to sell homes quicker leading to an increase in referrals for you from satisfied home sellers. Tie in virtual tours to your website and social media advertising to give the consumer the best possible experience on their real estate journey.
Get your marketing on track by working on how to brand yourself in real estate. Capturing the top sales spot in your brokerage requires getting your leads to the bottom of your funnel.
