Some things always stay the same. Every year, we orbit the sun at the same speed, people argue about politics, and donuts (unfortunately) remain unhealthy. However, the only constant in the marketing and tech spaces is change. New techniques emerge, old ones are replaced, and we’re all left in the dust trying to figure out what to do next.
Now that we’re nearly a quarter of the way through 2017, it’s time you ask yourself if you’re doing the things that are going to make you successful in today’s market.
Here are four real estate marketing trends you’re going to need to follow to stay relevant in such a highly competitive industry.
1. Read up!
This can’t be stressed enough. Not only will reading about marketing keep you up-to-date on any changes that occur, learning about it gives you the opportunity to place yourself head and shoulders above your peers and stand out in the crowd.
Think about it.
There are nearly 2 million active real estate agents in the U.S. Some of them know how to market themselves, and some of them don’t. Can you guess which group is more successful? Which side of the coin are you on? One of the coolest things about living in today’s technological age is the fact that all the information you could possibly need is right at your fingertips on the Internet.
Check out these sites to stay ahead of the game and learn what you can do to bring in more business:
2. Get comfortable with live video
Have you ever gotten a notification on your Facebook page letting you know that one of your friends has gone live? Or maybe you’ve tuned into a livestream of an event on Twitter/Periscope. No matter where you’ve experienced live video, the fact remains that it’s becoming the new norm for people and businesses alike to connect more directly with their followers.
In the real estate world, live video has even more possibilities than it does for the average person.
For starters, you can take your followers on walkthroughs of your listings even when they can’t make it to an open house or showing. Combine that with streams like live Q&As with home shoppers or home buying tutorials and you’ve got the ability to showcase your expertise and value to potential customers in the easiest possible setting for them. If you aren’t immediately comfortable with broadcasting yourself live, practice with a staged or prerecorded video first.
But, remember, live video gets much more engagement. Just think of it like talking to someone in person like you do every day!
3. Advertise on social media
Even though there are plenty of great, free ways to market yourself on social media, your approach shouldn’t be strictly based on the results you can gain organically.
Right now, ad space on social sites like Facebook is inexpensive and isn’t oversaturated in the way Google AdWords is. Set aside some of your 2017 marketing budget and put it towards social ads. You can advertise pages or content on your website to drive traffic and gain leads. Just make sure wherever you’ve directed them includes a lead capture page so they have a place to input their contact information. Always make everything as easy as possible for your potential customers. It shouldn’t require a lot of thought or effort to choose you.
4. Start conversations
Let’s get one thing straight – if you think it’s enough to just share your real estate listings on your social media accounts, you’re wrong.
It’s called social media for a reason. Talk to people!
You need to make them like you and trust you. Show them that you’re an expert when it comes to real estate in your local community. Post about things like upcoming events in your area, your favorite coffee shops or places to eat, or start conversations about real estate topics. Whatever you do, don’t just plug your listings over and over again. Shoot for them making up only about 10 percent of your total social posts.
Marketing techniques change constantly. But that doesn’t mean doing them should take up a lot of your time.
At Pipeline ROI, we supply you with everything you need to market your real estate business, all with one login.
From drip e-mail marketing, social posting and sharing, and lead-generating IDX search to blog capabilities, tons pre-written content, a beautiful SEO-boosting website, and more, you can do what it takes grow your business within a single platform.
We even supply you with tons of training and a helpful support team completely dedicated to making you and your marketing a success. Plus, we help you stay on top of the most effective real estate marketing trends.
Interested in learning more? Click below for a free demo of our one-of-a-kind inbound marketing platform.