Generating leads and selling homes has always been about word-of-mouth recommendations and familiarity with local clients. But, as competition increases and more buyers enter the housing market, agents, brokers and lawyers are now searching for more ways to market their services and stand out from the crowd. The best way to do this is to get the help of a real estate marketing agency and build out a professional digital advertising campaign.
The real estate business is going digital
Real estate companies did not need to do much digital marketing in the past. Most leads for potential clients came from recommendations and feedback from traditional broadcasts and print marketing. While these were (and still are) foolproof ways for lead generation, real estate professionals have found that more people are looking online for information on buying houses and hiring help. This has become especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As governments around the world ordered people to stay home and practice social distancing. Mortgage interest rates also fell due to a downturn in the economy. Due to a combination of these factors, the only way people could find realtors, brokers and real estate lawyers to help them sell or buy a home was online.
Why develop a digital marketing strategy?
Our world is becoming increasingly technological. The reliance on the internet and our devices during the COVID-19 pandemic have shown us that. This means that real estate businesses – like all other businesses – will need to increase their online advertising to create more leads and make more sales.
This is especially true as competition in the real estate industry increases. As the housing market improves and more real estate agents, brokers and lawyers join the business, professionals will need to optimize their marketing strategy to ensure that they come out on top. Whether they do this for themselves or recruit the help of a real estate marketing agency, they are likely to find great success in their digital marketing endeavours.
The benefits of digital marketing
There are many benefits when it comes to using online marketing. Here are some of the reasons why you should consider using digital marketing to promote your business and generate leads:
1. Reach a wider target audience than those beyond your local market
Most real estate marketing strategies only use traditional print and broadcasting marketing strategies. This is because they naively assume that their target audience is only individuals living in their local community. This isn't necessarily true. Real estate services are needed by many people beyond your local area, and those individuals can turn into qualified leads if they are advertised correctly.
Social media advertising, paid advertising, and websites are effective ways to reach a large demographic. These strategies can help reach prospective buyers wanting to move to a local area, people who want to learn about the home buying process, and more. As a result, an agent can gain new clients and increase their client base.
2. Save money with inbound marketing
As previously mentioned, traditional marketing is a type of marketing that uses print and broadcast services to reach the desired audience. This type of marketing is outbound, meaning the company reaches out to their target demographic with its services. These traditional marketing methods can be costly and almost invasive ways of generating leads.
Digital marketing is a more affordable and less-invasive way of real estate marketing. Companies create online content, optimize them for the best circulation and ranking, then upload them onto the World Wide Web for their prospective clients to see. This inbound marketing method then appeals to users and encourages them to learn more about the person or company behind the ad.
3. Develop an online presence for you, your team members and the company as a whole
Just like other service providers, establishing credibility is important to gaining new customers and making sales in real estate. One of the best ways to do this is to establish an online presence for your business using digital marketing strategies. This can be done through a mixture of a website, social media accounts and advertisements. A professional, user-friendly website and Google My Business page with reviews will appeal to everyone.
4. Establish your brand and market your expertise in your selected niche or area of specialty
Any marketing agency will stress that a business or individual will need to establish their niche to stand out from other service providers. A niche is an area of specialty and is something you are known for your expertise in. This expertise encourages clients to choose your business over another.
For example, a real estate agent may find that they are great at selling homes to first-time buyers. They can market this as their specialty, encouraging other first-time homebuyers to approach them for help.
Digital marketing efforts are a great way to establish a niche. By using a content strategy like email marketing, free resources, and online seminars, real estate agents, brokers and lawyers can present themselves as one of the most knowledgeable professionals in the business – whatever their niche is.
5. Social media marketing, online ads and websites are automatic lead generation strategies
One of the most time-consuming parts of real estate marketing is making the effort to network, find leads and reach out to them with your services. This can take precious time away from other important work and it may even come across as pushy to come clients.
Real estate agents, brokers, and lawyers can save time and market their services easily with digital marketing, an inbound marketing method. It is as easy as establishing an online presence with a website and social media accounts like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. This makes it easy for potential clients can find a business and learn about its services with a single search.
As customers become familiar with a real estate business online, they establish themselves as qualified leads. This can quicken the conversion process because customers will already know about a business, reducing the need for an agent to answer questions or convince them to invest in their services.
Get help from a trusted real estate marketing company
Digital marketing is a great solution for every single real estate professional, but not many have the skills or time to optimize their strategy. Thankfully, there are many real estate marketing agencies that can help. Merged Media is one of them.
Merged Media is a Canadian digital marketing company based out of Guelph, Ontario. First established in 2019, they have worked with countless real estate agents, brokers and lawyers in the past to help market their services online. Their team of copywriters, web designers, brand strategists, account managers and social media strategists work with passion, dedication and commitment to get each and every one of their clients the results they deserve.
Unlike other real estate marketing companies, Merged Media offers comprehensive marketing services. Their web design, web hosting, search engine optimization (SEO) services, social media marketing, photography and Pay Per Click (PPC) ad services can help agents attract potential customers and sell homes faster.
Professional real estate marketing services
Real estate agents, brokers and lawyers can take advantage of professional real estate marketing services to establish their presence online, reach a wider audience and drive more traffic to their website. Keep reading to learn about the various services you can take advantage of.
Web design
In today's day and age, it is nearly impossible for a business to get by without a beautiful and user-friendly website. Yet, many real estate companies don’t make their site a priority.
A highly trained web design team can create a new website or refresh your existing website for your business. Their expert knowledge in design, user experience, and conversion optimization will ensure that customers will reach your landing pages and move through your website just as you would like them to. Web developers will also ensure that your site is mobile-friendly for phone users.
Web hosting
Unlike other agencies, Merged Media offers web hosting services. This service ensures that a website is optimized, has fast loading speeds and has a large amount of storage and bandwidth to protect and store its content.
Search engine optimization (SEO) services
SEO is a strategic method to help a website rank higher in search engine results like Google Search. SEO strategists will complete keyword research by assessing local competition, the target market and trends, to discover words to incorporate into their content development. This will help a business and its content stand out in search engines.
Social media marketing
Merged Media has perfected its social media strategy over many years of experience and completed social media ad campaigns. Their social media strategists can create, target and optimize Instagram and Facebook advertising to ensure that your ads reach your desired audience and get a high level of engagement.
Photography
Every professional in the real estate industry knows how important photography is. It helps advertise and promote the properties you have for sale, as well as yourself. That's why Merged Media's real estate marketing service includes photography and video production. Their quality photography and video marketing can help stand out against the competition and increase sales.
Pay Per Click (PPC) ad services
Many real estate marketing agencies have found that Pay Per Click advertisements like Google Ads are a great way to drive more traffic to a website. They have proved to be highly successful and provide insightful data on how customers behave, allowing them to plan better advertising for the future.
Get Leads Improve Sales With Strategy
Overall, there are many benefits to using social networks, websites and other digital media in a marketing strategy. Whether you are looking to increase your sales, generate more leads or simply stand out from the crowd, a real estate marketing company can help.