Strategic Online Marketing for Generating Real Estate Leads
Strategic Online Marketing for Generating Real Estate Leads
Traditional methods used for generations by Real Estate Agents to find buyer and seller leads are slowly being phased out. Your direct mail post cards are getting lost in the flood of junk mail consumers throw away daily. Cold calling is becoming more and more difficult as people continue to ditch their landlines in favor for cellphone and smart phones.
In order to connect with customers you need to market yourself where they are most likely to see it, and that’s online. Over 90% of home buyers and sellers start their search online. That means that if you want to have a chance at capturing these leads, you need a strong, strategic online marketing plan.
In this two part series we will go over the basics that will get you set up for success when getting started with online marketing. First, let’s talk about creating your online presence.
Your Options for Establishing an Online Presence
Content is KING when it comes to online marketing. Attract and draw in viewers by offering free content like blog articles, local news, videos, podcasts, property listings and searches, etc. You’ll need a place to house all this great content though so first you need to build a branded, personalized website. You can register a domain name for just a few dollars and host your website on a popular and easy to use platform like WordPress. You can even use a premade template made just for Real Estate Agents like “Agent Press” and customize it to fit your needs.
You can also create branded social media sites that link to your main website like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. You can also create hyper-local micro sites and landing pages targeted to your niche. (More on landing pages and social media later!)
Tips for a Successful Website
Search engines love videos, and fresh content so make sure you have both! Fresh content can be provided by consistently posting new articles or blog posts to your website. Here is a little secret for you, WordPress allows you to write several blog posts at a time and set them to release at specific dates and times. So write content when you have time and have it automatically parcel it out on your website over a period of time.
Make sure your website has an IDX property search and several places for customers to provide you with their name and contact information.
Your website should be well written and free of errors, easy to navigate and uncluttered. Feature your best properties with beautiful high resolution images to make your home page more attractive. And above all, make sure there is compelling content that will keep visitors on your site longer and make them want to come back for more!
Part Two of our series will cover how to drive traffic to your website, and how to convert these “lookers” into “leads!”
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