Content Written By: April Wilson, Ryan Winter LLC contributing writer
As with many industries, online marketing is an important strategy for anyone working in real estate. Real estate professionals, Jacksonville title companies and title companies around Florida and the country are seeing more and more people find their future homes online. A National Association of Realtors study found that “94 percent of millennials” and “84 percent of baby boomers” found their new home online, according to a Forbes.com article.
Without a functioning online presence, Realtors will find it difficult to compete. There are many portions of a full digital marketing strategy Realtors can capitalize on to increase their business. There are many other advanced marketing techniques you can build onto these basic, yet key, parts of your digital presence.
Website Function and SEO
Every Realtor today needs a business website. Your website needs to run smoothly and render quickly. The readability of your website needs to be clear, concise and easily searchable. All of this will help your website rank on Google.
Search Engine Optimization is a tricky and convoluted topic, but it’s important to think about as you build your website and add content. Forbes.com has an article focusing on real estate marking. The article says it is important to have an aesthetically pleasing web design that functions correctly and quickly.
The Forbes.com article provides these suggestions, “ensure that you address things like the overall speed of the site, ease of navigation, quality of the content, sharpness of the photos and so on.” All of these tips will help increase your Google ranking.
In addition, you will want to define and capitalize on SEO keywords. There are free sites that find SEO keywords and long-tail keywords to help you get started. One of the best programs out there is Google Analytics, however, there are many other programs available. Once you define your keywords, start building content around these words to gain legitimacy for your site.
Create Compelling Content on Your Website
After you have your website built and all your basic information added, you’ll want to start adding content to draw people to your website. You are a real estate expert in your area, so write about it. Pump out helpful content that answers real questions and concerns for people in your area.
Many people do this through blogging. If you used SEO keywords to build your website, then you should have a good idea of what people are searching for in the real estate market in your area. Build off of this information. Make sure to use the keywords you defined for yourself inside the content.
“Deliver enormous amounts of value on a regular basis and watch as your readerships soars,” Forbes.com said.
Create a Lead Magnet to Grow Your Email List
Now that you have a full website that functions correctly and has helpful content, create what OptinMonster calls a “lead magnet.” This is a desirable, free piece of content individuals will be willing to give out their email address for.
This is important because this allows you to build up an email database, which opens up the door for you to start using email marketing strategies. The goal is for the lead magnet to attract the people you want to email in your future email campaigns. This will depend on who you are trying to reach to expand your business. Who’s your target audience?
A lead magnet can be many things. OptinMonster, an online lead generation software company, explains in their guide to email marketing that a lead magnet is a free digital material that provides helpful content to people in exchange for their email. “It doesn’t have to cost you anything to create; most lead magnets are digital materials like PDFs, MP3 audio files, or videos that you can create yourself at minimal or no cost,” OptinMonster said.
Here are a few examples of lead magnets:
● Guide to real estate in your area
● Breakdown of neighborhoods, schools and shopping centers for people new to the area
● Monthly or weekly “what’s new on the market” newsletter
● Free home appraisal
● How-to guide to help a home sell
Use Email Marketing to Stay in Touch With Potential Clients
At this point, you will start to build an email list. These individuals will get the document promised on your website. While you do not want to spam the individuals on your email list, you do want to continue to send them relevant and helpful information.
Communicate with them about important things coming up, well-thought-out and helpful blogs you write, or deals they can benefit from. Keep the communication channel open while not becoming another spam email.
According to OptinMonster, “Email is the #1 communication channel.” OptinMonster claims that “at least 99% of consumers check their email on a daily basis.” This makes email a vital form of communication.
Combine These Tactics With Social Media
Social Media is a great tool for displaying your hard work. You’ve written in-depth and helpful content for your website, now go display it. Push your work out on different social media platforms that link back to your website for the full article, blog, ebook, guide, etc.
Ivan Misner, founder and chief visionary officer of BNI, has many tips for a successful social media strategy. Misner explains that it’s important to not only actively post your content on whatever platforms you choose, but to also to post on different “threads that deal with your area of expertise.” He adds that it is also important to “respond to other’s postings” on relevant and related topics. “The more you’re seen, interacted with and talked about, the more visibility you’ll gain on the site,” Misner said.
Investing Your Time Into Your Business
These digital marketing tactics can be time-consuming, but it’s worth the investment into your business. The success you will grow from creating new communication outlets in the digital world will be well worth the time invested. “Because today’s consumers want accurate information quickly and conveniently, real estate professionals must harness the features and capabilities of online marketing to meet these ever-increasing needs,” NAR said.
