As a realtor, you get to enjoy the satisfaction of being your own boss and helping people through important journeys of their lives.
A study by (NAR) found 88% of buyers purchased homes through a realtor or broker. As people buy more houses, the demand for realtors also rises.
Getting your realtor license is the first step to starting your business, and the second step is marketing. There are 1.56 million realtors in the US, and it takes work to stand out. Getting the right clients is more manageable with proper marketing, making it easier to survive in Real Estate. It would be best if you marketed yourself properly as a realtor to succeed quickly in this lucrative yet competitive industry.
Let’s see 17 proven ways to market yourself as a Realtor and quickly get real success.
Note: We’ve divided the marketing tools and techniques into two parts – digital and traditional. None of the marketing channels mentioned are standalone; you can use them together, according to your needs, to get the best results. Also, we have it in chronological order rather than a random list to help you make step-by-step decisions in your marketing process.
Start with a real estate marketing plan
Before marketing yourself as an expert real estate agent on a full scale, have a basic marketing plan and brand identity. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and you can always make changes along the way. A marketing plan is a must to ensure you save time doing the right things. It gives you the right direction and a sense of being on track.
Let’s understand the components of a marketing plan briefly.
- Find a market gap and create your USP: There are probably others providing the same services you will. Simply offering the same won’t set you apart. Start with market research. See what gaps are present, which market is underserved, and what’s something no one else is doing.
Understand the market, and then position yourself accordingly. Develop your unique selling proposition and focus on your strong zone; what can you offer that others can’t? Understand the market and understand your strong points.
- Create a vision statement and set goals: Figure out what you want to achieve in the short and long term. Have a vision. It’s not just about making money. Think big and start small.
- Identify your target customer: Once you know the market to serve, figure out the different segments of customers. Categorize them as A, B, C, D, and fill out the details. Use gender, income, behavior, lifestyle, location, and many other factors to create these segments. Such as – 45 to 65-year-old males with x amount of income, living in y area.
Next, pick one or two of the most profitable segments suited for you. Something that resonates with your USP and Vision. So you can provide real value to people with real expertise. Understand your target customer thoroughly; note their pain points, problems, behaviors, tendencies, and everything else possible to discover. It’ll help you connect with them on a personal level fast.
- Have the fundamental brand elements ready – Name, tagline, and logo: Get help from a professional copywriter and a designer if needed. No need to invest too much in this, and you can probably do some of it yourself.
- Pick the most effective marketing tools and stick to a specific budget and timeline: Trying to do everything yourself won’t help. Pick specific tools that are more likely to work for your situation. Pick the most important and relevant ones from our list of 17 practical marketing methods. Test different methods to see which offers the best results. Also, put a specific budget and time for each goal or task. Without a limit, you might underspend or overspend your time and money.
- Measure performance: Without tracking your progress and performance, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and out of line soon. Our brains are wired to process and come up with ideas, not to store them line by line. Once the goals and tools are identified, tracking and measuring your performance with some key metrics is necessary. For example, you want to spend 100$ on Instagram Ads for two weeks and want to get at least 50 people on your website.
Once again, make sure to plan. Start as early as possible and change or update things as you move.
Let’s learn 17 proven ways to market yourself as a realtor and get real results.
Pro tip: Don’t try to do everything yourself. Hire freelancers and experts from marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork to make money work for you. Focus on building your business and what you can do well, and leave the rest to those good at it. Hiring the right people and outsourcing early is the best thing you can do for yourself and your business.
Top 17 digital and traditional marketing strategies for a realtor in 2022
Digital marketing strategies are easy to implement and can give fast results, but traditional marketing approaches are still relevant. For the best results, mix them and use them together. Each marketing strategy mentioned below complements the other.
First, we discussed digital marketing strategies to lay out the foundation of your business. Then we shared traditional marketing strategies to cement your position in the market.
1. Build a website to increase trust and conversion
A website is a foundation for your brand and business. A website makes your business more credible and trustworthy, as 70 to 80% of people were researching online before making a purchase or visiting, according to research from 2019.
A proper website lets you redirect your customers to a good landing page that can address their problems and convert them into customers. Your website will make it easy for you to connect and communicate with your customers efficiently.
Your website can have all this necessary information in one place:
- Your Bio
- Contact details
- Catalog of your listings
- Service details
- Testimonials
- Offers
- Any other relevant information
Your website can also offer you a professional email like this – contact@yourwebsite.com instead of “something@gmail.com.”
Also, your website is the foundation for all the following marketing strategies we will explain.
Pro tip: you can easily make an awesome real estate website with the help of Getresponse, and you don’t have to get confused with the technical aspects. You only need a few clicks to get an excellent and functional website.
Real Estate agents’ business website examples:
2. SEO and blog to provide value and get consistent traffic
Whenever people need something, they search for it online. A typical customer might search something like these – “top realtors near me” or “best real estate agent in California Fresno.” There are thousands of keywords searched by genuine customers every day, and when they search, you want your website to appear in the search engine and maps.
To do this, complete the “Google my business” process and optimize your website with the proper local SEO practices. Plus, having a blog section on your website will help you rank for more search terms on search engines and provide value to your target audience. An SEO-optimized website with a blog section is the best option to get tons of organic traffic at a meager cost for a very long time. Mind you, a massive 77% of internet users read blogs. Notorious Rob and his blog are a great example.
Pro tip: Hire an SEO expert and a couple of writers to make the process faster and get quick results. Doing the whole process yourself will take a long time. The more content you get, the more keywords you rank for. Definitely maintain quality, but know it’s a game of quantity.
3. Be present on social media
Social media is the fastest way to let your audience know you are there.
Through social media marketing, create helpful and relevant content to engage with your potential customers and drive them to your website. Multiple social media platforms are still thriving (Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tiktok, etc.), but maintaining them can take time and effort.
Figure out the most relevant social media for your goals. Select a few popular ones and see which works best. Besides, you’ll need social media to run ads and content marketing.
Pro tip: Once you make content for your website or youtube channel, you can repurpose it to post on other social media channels. For that, hire a VA to take your YouTube video and turn it into an article, Facebook post, video short, or any other engaging form of content and post it on relevant channels.
4. Content marketing
Since we discussed setting up a website and social media profiles above, the next step is to use those mediums for content marketing. Content marketing can help you generate organic traffic, start real engagement, and make it easy to reach more people.
It’s easy for people to share your content if they find it valuable. Educate people on relevant topics and position yourself as an expert realtor. Today, 81% of marketers view content as a core business strategy.
Don’t be afraid to add humor to your content. Memes and funny content can get viral quickly on social media platforms. Also, focus on video content rather than only written and static images. Videos stand out and engage people much more than any other form of content.
It’ll be great to present yourself smartly in front of the camera. For example, you could educate people on the most important things to consider when relocating from location X to Y; the rules of the state, the price of housing, law enforcement, job opportunities, and other relevant information. This helps create trust and authority and build relationships with your audience.
Photos or videos of your listings, testimonials, blogs, success stories and educational tips and tricks for your audience can be great content with which to start.
Pro tip: Focus on Facebook reels or Youtube shorts to get super-fast results. These are new features of these platforms, hence getting excellent organic reach currently.
5. Email newsletter to create your own audience source
One thing is sure about websites or social media platforms: you don’t have 100% control over the audience. You may post something on Facebook, and you never know who will see it and who won’t. You might lose your traffic if something happens to search engines or your CMS.
Because of all those reasons, a personal email list is your practical best friend. Once you have a list of emails from your target audience, you can reach them no matter what.
Collect tons of emails by creating a “lead magnet.” It’s a free gift or downloadable asset that you give to your audience for putting their email. For example – give away a pdf, such as “A Guide to finding the right home in California.” Once you have the email list, send weekly emails with helpful content people want to read.
Related article: How to Create Real Estate Newsletters that Sell – 11 Tips and Examples
Meanwhile, promote your offers or upcoming campaigns easily. When you write a new blog post or have new listings, send the link to thousands of people from your email list within a few seconds. Real estate email marketing can do absolute wonders for you.
Email newsletter for real estate examples:
There are tons of predesigned real estate email newsletter templates out there, but you can also use any non-industry-specific and easily edit them in a newsletter creator.
6. Paid advertising for super fast results
For those who want fast results and your money to work for you, paid advertising is the best investment. Ads can increase brand awareness by 80%. You can run ads on Google, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media or search engine platforms.
With paid advertising, you can target a tailored audience. You can select age, gender, occupation, area, and pretty much anything to target your ideal set of audience. You can target the right people, get results quickly, and always measure your performance with just a few clicks.
Yes, paid advertising in digital marketing is that powerful. You don’t have to design a campaign by spending thousands of dollars and waiting months to get real results. With proper paid advertising, you can get results overnight.
Paid advertisement example for real estate:
7. High-quality images, videos, and virtual staging
People buy with emotions, and you have to get them excited about what they’re getting. Investing in a house is nothing less than a dream for most, and that’s why you need images and videos that speak to their hearts.
Before any customer visits the property, they want to ensure it’s worth their time. Your images, videos, and presentations go to them before you can; the first impression is crucial to lock your customers.
Ensure you use high-quality images, smart video presentations, and 3D visualization or virtual staging of the interior. Yes, it does cost some money, but it’s more than worth it. It’s time-consuming and expensive to get people to come and visit.
Having digital assets to showcase your property makes it easier for everyone. Some people feel shy interacting with others. Once they can view the property and details from the ease of their home and in their free time, they are more likely to consider working with you. A study found that 85% of staged homes sold for 6-25% more than unstaged homes.
Pro tip: go the extra mile of investing in drone photography to take things to the next level. Adding drone shots to your virtual tours or walkthroughs can make you stand out and give you a professional outlook.
8. Linkedin is your professional best friend for authentic leads and connection
LinkedIn is the best place for professionals to grow their network and establish their brands. The audience is serious and business-focused on this platform. You can easily connect to the right people and share your success stories to get more direct leads. Also, you can share your expertise, tips, and suggestions to show yourself as an expert in your niche.
Related article: 14 Best Ways to Generate Real Estate Leads (plus examples)
9. List your properties on popular real estate websites for easy reach
The easiest way to reach a large audience without putting up much effort is to list your properties on popular real estate sites. One such site is Zillow, it gets over 188 million monthly viewers. Although there’s competition, it’s the easiest way to grow your business by making more sales.
10. Network with other real estate agents and make connections
A strong network can take you to places where hard work and talent won’t take you. Knowing the right people can give you opportunities you couldn’t even imagine. Getting active on social media platforms and LinkedIn can immensely help you do that.
However, it’s equally important to make online and offline connections. Attend seminars, professional gatherings, webinars, and podcasts, and form mutually beneficial friendships. Genuinely share what you know, give what you have, and soon, you’ll get back when the time comes. Let people know who you are and what you do. Build your personal brand with authenticity, genuineness, and kindness.
Pro tip: Reach out to influencers, bloggers, coaches, and Youtubers who talk about money and finances. Make connections that are complementary to your field of work.
11. Cold calling still works
Although many avoid this old method, cold calling is still effective. It seems intimidating, but you can get over it quickly once you start. You have unlimited access to people and can even start with a targeted list suited for your business.
Combining email marketing with cold calling can offer exceptional results. You can always refer to the email you sent; this will give the audience a sense of connection and common ground. 82% of buyers accept sales meetings after a connection that started with a cold call.
Pro tip: do pre-call research and have a cold calling script that has a single call to action at the end.
12. Business cards and postcards are mandatory
Handing out business cards to people never gets old. It works and is something you absolutely must have as a realtor. Printing business cards isn’t expensive, but ensure it’s a good design without overdoing it. Business cards are easy to make, work like a charm, and give you a professional look.
Postcards are similar to business cards. They’re easy to make and work great for building brand recognition in target areas. Postcards make it easy to advertise and introduce a new real estate agent to the community.
Real estate business cards and postcard examples:
13. Partner with local businesses and host informative events
Partnering with local businesses helps gain trust quickly and gives you access to existing networks created by those businesses. For example, you can team up with a local construction business to provide offers and deals to your clients, or you could even host a webinar on building your house at a lower price. Partnering with local grocery stores, community clubs, home improvement service providers, and others is possible.
If it feels too challenging to host an in-person event, go for an online or webinar. How to solve legal issues when buying a house can be an excellent topic for the audience looking to buy a home.
Pro tip: sponsor local events like concerts or kids’ sports tournaments. Parents attend those events most of the time, and you can quickly get into their good books when you are helping their kids with sports. This works as CSR and helps you get positive recognition.
14. Showcase your testimonials to earn trust and increase conversions
Customers read online reviews before buying or considering something. If you have worked hard to help someone, then there’s no point in hiding that. Testimonials are an excellent form of content that helps build trust and make customer decisions. Real estate investments are something where a customer needs all the validations they can get before they make a move.
Pro tip: always make sure you have the clients’ permission when sharing their information publicly.
Real estate customer testimonial example:
15. Keep an eye on your competitor to find opportunities
If you’re in a saturated market, keep an eye on your competitor. See what they’re doing and what’s working for them. You don’t always have to try and build a successful method from scratch.
If you have done market analysis and worked on your marketing plan, as we discussed, you should already have a list of competitors. Always do things differently to stand out in the market.
What opportunities you can get and where to focus greatly depends on your competitors. Always know what you’re up against.
Pro tip: find out your competitors’ mistakes in the market. You don’t always have to make mistakes by yourself to learn and grow. Focus on those mistakes and try to solve those to climb the ladder and get positive word of mouth quickly.
16. Ask for referrals and keep up with previous clients
Once you close a deal, it’s not the time to cut your relationship with the client. It’s much more expensive to hunt a new client compared to the existing client list you have.
Sometimes one family can make multiple purchases and think about their relatives and friends. 36% of sellers who used a real estate agent found their agent through a referral from family or friends.
Once you close a deal, keep following up. Talk to them and simply ask how they’re doing. Humbly ask for referrals, and don’t make it obvious. Genuinely communicate with your customers to make them feel valued. Start a referral program where people get monetary benefits for leads and successful closings. You can always do it through email if you have a long list of customers.
Pro tip: send small gifts (with your brand tag) like key rings, pens, mugs, bags, or decorative items to your previous customers now and then to be on the top of minds when they need a realtor.
Related article: Top 10 Real Estate CRMs – Which One Offers the Best Value?
17. Use traditional media to create top-of-mind awareness
Whenever you think about coffee, Starbucks comes to mind. When you think of burgers, it’s Mcdonald’s. When you think of smartphones, Apple or Samsung. These are examples of top-of-mind awareness.
Once you repeat something for a prolonged period, you get the benefit of TOMA on your customers. Whenever they think of a realtor, they should think about you. That’s what traditional media like billboards, print ads, local newspaper ads, and sponsorship events can do for you.
Traditional real estate agents’ promotion example:
Nothing is stopping you from becoming an a-list realtor
If you choose the right marketing techniques, are assisted by the right tools, and have the right mindset, nothing will stop you from becoming the amazing realtor you’re supposed to be. The right mindset includes – thinking win-win, having a genuine willingness to help people, and doing anything and everything to outperform the competitors.
If you have the right mindset, GetResponse is here with the right tools to assist you in marketing yourself as an expert realtor.
To sum it up – take the time to really think about why you became a realtor and integrate it into your brand and marketing. Have a marketing plan and choose the right mix of marketing methods from the above list to start your journey.
Feel free to leave a reply in the comment section if you know more ways of marketing yourself as a realtor.