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Your Facebook business page is useless for lead generation if you insist on using your posts to sell listings and advertise open houses to the exclusion of being, well, social.
Rule number one: Be of value
Use “value” as your cornerstone. Here’s an example.
I love LinkedIn for real estate agent marketing. Its users fall under the ideal demographics for the average home buyer and seller. But it’s one place you do NOT want to be salesy. People use the platform to network, not be sold to.
Which is why I stopped following a certain virtual assistant service. Everything she posted was an ad for her company. And, I mean, everything.
Demonstrate your expert knowledge (Available in the Postcard section under Content Cards).
Ads aren’t of value to me. At least not at LinkedIn. Not at Facebook, either, come to think of it.
To be of value to a Facebook follower, your posts need to be, above all, social.
They don’t need to always be real estate-related, just interesting, surprising or helpful.
Chicago’s Dream Town Realty nails it in the “interesting” and “helpful” categories. All posts (at least the ones we saw) are locally-oriented and full of pride for their city. The recently had a post on “Where to Go Sledding in Chicago” with a great photo of kids sledding at a local hill. This is a post that’s highly shareable and ultra-local.
Yes, they share open houses and the occasional listing, but “occasional” is the operative word. And, they don’t use the typical “salesy” jargon when they do share these items.
Where do you find these hot social media topics? Start with your hometown newspaper, your city’s magazine (such as Dream Town Realty did), or another local source.
Scour the internet to see if your town or city made it onto the many “best places to retire,” “best places to raise kids,” or “best places to live” lists. Just enter into Google, with the quotation marks, “best places,” “best neighborhoods or “best cities.”
Trulia recently put out a list of the “best” neighborhoods in the country, broken down as best for kids, best for friendliness, etc. Maybe your market made it onto the list.
Compile your own, like the Dream Town Realty list. Here are some ideas:
The best yoga studios
Top spots to watch the sun set
The best dog parks
Best restaurant patio dining
Top hiking, biking, walking trails
Do a series on day trips from your town
Best restaurants for date night
Top staycation ideas
Provide valuable information (Available in the Postcard section under Content Cards)
The list of local topics is just about endless when you start brainstorming. And, people love local topics.
Rule number two: Engagement is key
Real estate pros, by and large, do an admirable job posting to Facebook. Sadly, most aren’t engaging their followers.
So, why do non-profits on Facebook have such a high rate of engagement with their posts? This is just my opinion, but non-profits, because they aren’t selling anything, are non-threatening. But, the top organizations are also posting the right content.
The number one non-profit on Facebook is Ted, an organization “devoted to spreading ideas”. It’s a place you can find answers to your most burning questions.
Which makes for excellent Facebook fodder. A recent Ted Talk video post showing ‘how to do math in your head’ received a decent amount of engagement (nearly 700 comments, so far), it was shared more than 3,000 times. It was viewed 387,000 times.
Who knew so many people wanted to learn how to add and subtract in their heads?
When you’re stuck for content, share a post from Ted, or NPR, number 3 on the list of most popular non-profit Facebook pages.
Don’t make every post all about you. Nobody cares that you’re willing to help them “buy or sell a home.” Few care that you’re holding an open house or that you took a new listing.
Keep them informed of what’s important (Available in the Postcard section, under Content Cards).
Think about what makes you interact with a Facebook post and head in that direction with your real estate page.
Engage your audience by sending at least 100 Demand High, Inventory Low postcards from the Content Card Series to an area where you want more listings.
Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list toolto create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
PLUS: When you have time…here are Free ways we can help you have an INVINCIBLE 2019!
1. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar
“Get MORE Listings & Begin to Dominate Your Market!” Free online webinar. Learn the 3-7-27 strategy for explosive growth, why 95% of agents have less than 20% market share, and how to become the agent everyone competes against. Watch it now. – Click Here
2. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here
4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan
Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here
5. The Free Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
Quick! What’s the one thing all homesellers expect their listing agent to do for them?
You got it – market the home so it sells for the most money the market will allow.
They expect, and sure sometimes they receive, the services of an ace marketer. Most of the time, however, they’re getting someone who has had to learn marketing on the fly.
The truth is, how effectively you market yourself is an indicator to consumers of how well you’ll market their home.
Gain their interest with a Free Offer. (Available in the Postcard section of our site, under the Call to Action Series.)
It’s tough to find the time to figure out creative new ways to promote yourself and your business. However, the tail-end of the so-called “winter slowdown” that’s upon us right now, may just provide you with the time necessary to enter the spring market with guns blazing.
A born extrovert?
When someone is considered “bold,” she exhibits confidence, courage and a willingness to take risks, according to the dictionary.
If this even partially describes you, the world is your proverbial oyster when it comes to ways to market yourself in the real estate industry.
Unlike many of us, you aren’t afraid to step away from the pack, you aren’t concerned that one potential client might be alienated and your biggest fear is being lumped into the rest of your town’s “pack” of real estate agents.
Instead of running from the spotlight, you run, headlong, smack-dab into the middle of it.
Before Silicon Valley’s Ken DeLeon became Wall Street Journal’s number one agent in the country, he did some deep thinking about what would set him apart from the masses.
Now, this is a guy who, if he likes the song the DJ is playing, thinks nothing of getting up on the dance floor at the local dance club without a partner. And, he’s not even that great of a dancer, according to his own admission (“but I am the fastest” he boasts).
Naturally, his personality fought to be featured in any marketing he did for his brand. “I did some pretty crazy ads,” in the beginning, he admits, “such as a two-page spread in the local newspaper with me dressed as the Village People.”
“Instead of ‘Y-M-C-A,’ I was singing ‘S-O-L–D.’” A little Orphan Black-esque, It got the phone ringing and, when last we heard (which was a couple of years ago), DeLeon sold about 12 percent of the available homes in his market.
He’s not always crazy in his marketing, but he meets his goal of standing out from the crowd. Instead of a one-page market analysis, the former attorney beefs his up to 200 pages which includes neighborhood guides along with current market statistics.
Then, there are the spotlight-driven brokerages, agents and teams who shine best in the YouTube realm, with branded videos. One of our favorites is, “Teach me How to Dougie” from The Smith Group in Newport Beach, California and Santa Clarita, California’s Real Estate Rockstars.
Show off their property with style (Available in the Postcard section under Property Showcase Series).
Grab some inspiration and hog that real estate spotlight!
For the less-outrageous agent
OK, so you’re not outrageous. You’re not alone. And, thankfully, there are understated yet wildly effective ways to stand out from the other agents in your market.
In fact, to some, nothing is funnier or more entertaining than not taking yourself seriously. Self-deprecation, dry wit and irony, if you can pull it off, can be your key to uniqueness.
When People magazine dubs a video “the most inventive video advertisement the real estate world has ever seen,” you understand that people get this type of humor.
They’re referring to the brilliant work of New York City agent Brian Keith Lewis. You may have seen Lewis on stage at a past Inman Connect. If not, get inspired by more of his videos on his YouTube channel.
If real estate videos (even the understated variety) are a bit elaborate for your budget, there are other easy and inexpensive ways to promote your brand.
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorns have roses,” claimed the late French journalist and novelist Alphonse Karr.
It’s all in how you look at things, right? Try looking at those “things” through a new or different lens.
Use that lens to check out tasks that you can perform in your real estate business better than any other agent in town. Open house? Make yours different. Or, focus on broker’s opens and make them the talk of the local MLS meetings and tours.
Something as simple as returning phone calls within minutes of receiving them sets you apart from the masses.
Become amazing at one thing that’s important to real estate consumers. Brag about it, become amazing at it and you’ll be known for it.
Offer them something they value (Available in the Postcard section under the Call to Action Series)
Refuse to be average
Successful people, according to Zen Habits’ Leo Babauta, harbor one similar trait, “the willingness to challenge mainstream ideas … the ability to not only question what others do, but the courage to try new ideas, different ideas.”
So, what if a tactic doesn’t work? Try another. Push the boundaries, be brave, be bold and vow to be successful in promoting your brand.
Send at least 100 Free Market Analysis postcards from the Free Offer Series to an area where you want more listings.
Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list toolto create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
PLUS: When you have time…here are Free ways we can help you have an INVINCIBLE 2019!
1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
2. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here
3. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar
“Get MORE Listings & Begin to Dominate Your Market!” Free online webinar. Learn the 3-7-27 strategy for explosive growth, why 95% of agents have less than 20% market share, and how to become the agent everyone competes against. Watch it in-demand. – Click Here
4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan
Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here
5. The Free Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
Who started the thing where new agents should go after buyers? Sure, right now there are lots of buyers in the market, but it isn’t always like this.
And, there is a truism in real estate: If you list, you last.
So, let’s get you some listings before you stereotype yourself as a strictly buyers’ agent.
Do it right
While shooting a bunch of arrows into the air may result in you eventually hitting something, a planned, disciplined approach to lead generation works far better.
This means choosing which methods you will use, planning your marketing approach carefully and scheduling a time to perform the necessary follow-up.
Most important of all is that, should you seek advice from your colleagues, ignore the unsuccessful among them and definitely pay close attention to anything offered by the most successful agents.
Target neighborhoods
You’ll often hear this approach to real estate lead generation referred to as “geographic farming,” and for good reason.
To be successful requires certain farming techniques, such as choosing a fertile plot of land, planting marketing “seeds,” and having patience while these seeds germinate.
Then, you need to nurture them along.
To find that fertile plot of land, research. While there’s no consensus among the experts, many suggest that you start with an area of about 500 homes. Ultimately, it comes down to your budget – how much money you have for marketing – that will determine the size of your initial farm.
To narrow down the choice of area, agents use different techniques. Some choose an area based on its current sales activity.
“Look for movement,” suggests Martin Bouma with The Bouma Group in Ann Arbor, MI in an interview with Gary Keller.
Others choose by home price point. For instance, if you know how much you want to make in gross commission income, it’s easier to hit your target if you’re consistently listing homes in a particular price range.
Bouma suggests that you research each area of interest to determine how many commission dollars were earned last year (by all agents) and then determine if any particular agent dominated in listings. If the dollars are high and competition is low, go for it.
Ok, so you’ve chosen your ideal geographic farm – now what?
It’s time to start communicating with these people. Again, how you’ll do this depends on how much money you have to spend on marketing.
If you aren’t crunched for money, consider using “things that people will hang on to,” Bouma suggests. He mails 4-page market reports in a color-magazine-like format.
Successful lead-generating marketing ideas include postcards, flyers and door hangers with the following information:
“If I was brand-new I think I’d do it every month,” suggests Bouma.
More important than how often, however, is that you reach out consistently. Gary Keller calls consistency “the magic pill” and Bouma agrees: “I just keep reaching out in a bunch of ways, consistently.”
“The medium is the message”
In the 1960s, Canadian professor Marshall McLuhan studied the media as a way of understanding society. He coined the phrase “the medium is the message” to describe how the medium is as, if not more important than the message, because of its enormous influence on how the message is perceived.
What medium (or mediums) will you choose for your message?
While digital messaging can be inexpensive, it’s also hit and miss in its effectiveness. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. Consistent blogging and social media use coupled with direct mail, however, is the bullseye you should aim for.
Postcards, capture the recipient’s attention instantly making them less likely to be thrown away than something sent in an envelope.
If you’re a door-knocker, consider printing up your message on door hangers. You can blanket an entire neighborhood (up to 400 homes) for less than $200.
“Having the right attitude is probably more important than any other factor,” when trying to become a top listing agent, according to Phoenix mega-agent Russell Shaw.
“A complete willingness to do whatever is necessary and to have the viewpoint that you are going to persist until you have arrived.”
Get started now, send out at least 100 Free Home Market Analysis postcards from the Free Offer Series to an area where you want more listings.
Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list toolto create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
PLUS: When you have time…here are 4 free ways we can help you STILL CRUSH IT in 2018!
1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook.
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
2. The Free 2019 Real Estate Business Plan.
Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan – Click Here
3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan.
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence –Click Here
4. The Free Online ROI Calculator.
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero. BTW, you also get a $25 Gift Card too (now that’s what I’m talking about)!
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