Building a personal brand as a real estate agent – A simple guide
Marketing & Branding
Benefits of digital marketing in real estate
January 4, 2023
A note from the writer
Hello! Riley VanderKaay here. To be honest with you, I could EASILY make this blog 100,000 words. Don’t worry, I wont do that! However, it shows just how beneficial digital marketing is for realtors. Instead of reading this, start reading the blog!
Digital marketing as a real estate agent
Digital marketing has revolutionized the way real estate professionals do business. Gone are the days of relying solely on traditional marketing methods such as print ads, billboards, and open houses. Nowadays, real estate professionals must have an online presence in order to reach a wider audience and stay competitive.
But why is digital marketing so important for the future of real estate? Here are just a few reasons:
1. Increased reach
The opportunities for a video to get 10,000 views in hours has never been greater. Platforms like Tiktok, Instagram, and YouTube are giving the creator (you) an opportunity to reach millions of viewers nation wide and thousands locally like never before. A report published by Pew Research Center in 2021 shows that around 69% of adults in the united states use social media. This statistic shows that your potential clients are on these platforms! Posting consistent video content on these platforms will allow you brand exposure and awareness to reach astronomical levels!!
2. Interest based targeting
We are now in the world of interest based targeting. This means that instead of algorithms connecting content with viewers based on general demographic information (age, marital status, income level, etc.), they are now able to effectively track content that users are interested in and give them more content like it. The result of this is finding your desired end user MUCH faster and building a community.
3. Cost effective
Traditional marketing methods can be expensive, especially for small real estate businesses. Digital marketing, on the other hand, allows you to reach a larger audience at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.
4. Measurable and transparent ROI
Digital marketing allows you to track the success of your campaigns in real-time. This means you can see how many people are visiting your website, how long they are staying, and which pages they are visiting. This information can help you make data-driven decisions about your marketing efforts.
5. Increased Credibility
In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for building credibility. When potential clients search for you online and find a well-designed website with valuable information, they are more likely to trust you as a professional.
Now that we've covered some of the general benefits of digital marketing in real estate, let's look at some specific statistics:
– 92% of home buyers use the internet to search for properties (National Association of Realtors)
– 48% of home buyers first learned about the home they purchased online (National Association of Realtors)
– Homes listed on Zillow with professional photos sell for $11,000 more on average (Zillow)
– 72% of homeowners would consider hiring a real estate agent who offers 3D home tours (The National Association of Realtors)
– 80% of internet users have used the internet to search for a real estate professional (The National Association of Realtors)
These statistics show the importance of having a strong online presence in the real estate industry. If you’re not utilizing digital marketing to its full potential, you could be missing out on a significant number of potential clients.
Speed to market
Another advantage of digital marketing is the ability to easily update and change your marketing efforts. We have all heard about how important speed to lead is, right? Imagine if all your leads were so dedicated to work with you that they would wait in line… We create that through speed to market. With traditional methods, making changes can be time-consuming and costly. However, with digital marketing, you can quickly make changes to your website or social media accounts, allowing you to stay current and relevant. These platforms, the trends, and even the consumers themselves are changing at an exponential rate and the agility within the digital world is quickly starting to prove that it is truly the way of the future if you want to be a successful agent.
What is coming down the pipeline?
Now for a taste of the future… Have you ever considered using virtual reality (VR) in your digital marketing efforts? While it may seem like something out of a science fiction movie, VR is becoming increasingly popular in the real estate industry. With VR, potential buyers can tour a property as if they were actually there, without having to physically visit the location. This can save time and money for both the buyer and the seller. We have a blog on this coming out soon…
Your 'Digital Database'
If you are a client of The Speculo Group, you know how much we talk about your digital database. Ask yourself, where did the majority of your business come from last year? I’d bet the answer was sphere and referrals!! Why? These leads close almost every time because they know, like, and trust you, or someone who does. It is quick and easy to build a connection and more importantly, build trust.
One of the main downfalls of most lead generation companies is they play the game of quantity. This means their goal is to get as many leads as possible without paying much attention to the stage of the funnel that lead is in. It would be like running down the sidewalk, throwing $5 dollars at everyone you see and saying “do you want to buy or sell a house with me?!?!?”.
In reality, that lead just isn’t familiar enough with you to trust you with selling their largest asset or buying the most expensive thing they will ever purchase. One effective way around this is to build trust with a series of consistent social media videos so that person can build familiarity with you on a consistent basis. Once they are ready, they know what you look like, sound like, and what value you can bring them. In other words, lead generation on auto pilot. NAR shows that 74% of home buyers and sellers go with the first agent they interview. Be there for your community and they will choose you!
Organic traffic to your content
One specific aspect of digital marketing that has become increasingly important in the real estate industry is search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is the process of optimizing your website and online content in order to rank higher in search engine results. This is important because the higher your website ranks, the more likely it is that potential clients will see it. Not only is SEO important for search engines like Google, but it is becoming increasingly imperative on platforms like YouTube and Tiktok. Trends show there is an increasing number of consumers searching on these platforms for information because they prefer learning through video.
There are a few key factors to consider when it comes to SEO for real estate. First, it’s important to have high-quality, relevant content on your website. This includes information about the properties you are selling, as well as local market trends and useful resources for potential buyers and sellers. BIG TIP: Create pages for each community/city that you serve and focus heavily on SEO to grow organic traffic based on unique locations.
Digital strategic partners
In addition to on-page SEO, it’s also important to have high-quality backlinks pointing to your website. Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. These backlinks serve as “votes” for your website, and the more high-quality backlinks you have, the more likely it is that your website will rank higher in search engine results. In other words, create strategic partnerships on the internet the same way you do with referral sources in real life!
Value first email marketing
Another aspect of digital marketing that is particularly useful for real estate is email marketing. By collecting email addresses from potential clients, you can send them updates about new properties, market trends, and other valuable information. Email marketing allows for a more targeted approach to marketing, as you can segment your email list and send specific messages to different groups of people based on their interests and needs.
In conclusion, digital marketing offers a wide range of benefits for real estate professionals. From increased reach and interest based targeted advertising to cost effectiveness and measurable results, digital marketing allows you to connect with potential clients in a way that traditional marketing methods simply can’t. And with the added ability for personalized communication, easy updates, and the opportunity to showcase your brand and properties, there’s no reason not to incorporate digital marketing into your business strategy.
