empty nesters

Is TikTok a Good Place for Real Estate Agents to Market for More Listings?

May 16, 2023

In real estate, as in other businesses, it’s important to remember that you need to know who your “audience” consists of if you ever hope to effectively target them with your marketing. Many agents target “anyone who is breathing,” and that’s understandable.

It was how they generated leads as a newbie. They had little other choice. But, think back to those days. That type of marketing is not only expensive but time-consuming as well.

As we grow into our business, we know better than to shoot arrows and hope something sticks. Target marketing is far saner and more efficient.

Who is your audience on social media? It depends a great deal on the platform, first. Some are chock-full of folks you should be reaching out to, while others simply waste time and effort.

It’s time to update our social media recommendations for real estate agents, and we begin with TikTok.

First, let’s nail down your target audience

While it was somewhat lucrative to target first-time buyers in the past, you may want to change your strategy this year. They made up only 26% of last year’s real estate consumers, which is a huge drop from the previous year’s 34%, according to the folks at the NAR.

With the country’s current wonky economy, don’t look for that number to improve this year.

If you plan on sticking with the first-timers, you’ll be targeting folks in their mid-to-late 30s (NAR calls the 36-year-old “The typical first-time buyer.”)

Repeat buyers are always worth an agent’s consideration because of the very real chance that they also have a home to sell. This target’s age is 59 years.

Your largest buyer pool will be the baby boomers, who comprise 39% of all buyers. Millennials have dropped to 28% of the pool.

Finally, if you’re after listings, stick with older Gen X folks and baby boomers. “The typical home seller was 60 years old,” according to the NAR.

When it comes to social media marketing, spend your time on platforms with the robust participation of baby boomers (folks age 59 to 77).

Does that include TikTok?

Not at all. Let’s take a look at who hangs out on TikTok.

According to the platform’s survey of its users:

80 million Americans are “active users” of TikTok.
The largest share of these users (60%) are age 16 to 24. “80% are between the ages 16-34.”
Although Gen X (age 47-58 in 2023) “is highly active on social media … less than 5% of them are on TikTok,” according to digital content provider Gitnux.com.
Baby boomers are almost invisible on the platform. Those who are age 55+ make up 5.1% of users. Throw in the next youngest demographic (age 45-54), and that number nudges up to about 13%, according to Oberlo.com.

Your TikTok takeaway

Unless you love hanging out there, we believe other platforms are far more worth your marketing time and effort (Facebook is one).

Wherever you decide to market on social media, remember that your post needs to be relevant to your target audience.

Check back soon when we look at Instagram and whether it’s worth your marketing time and energy.

PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

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2. The Free 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 and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

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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

Hey Listing Agents: Go after these BUYERS

Oct 25, 2021

Millennials and baby boomers own the real estate market. While the former comprises the largest buyer pool (37%), the latter comes in quite close, at 32%, according to NAR’s 2021 Generational Trend report.

The problem with agents being so hyper-focused on millennials is that few have homes to sell. In fact, only 22% of them are sellers.

Boomers, on the other hand, are large and in charge of the seller’s market, owning 32% of it, right behind them, however, is that forgotten generation, Gen X.

While many veteran listing agents typically don’t actively pursue buyers, it may be time to change your strategy.

Members of Generation X, (age 45 to 56) are among the most likely to consider selling and for several reasons. Chief among them is to find a home that better fits their new normal: no more commute, working from home, homeschooling kids, and finding a large home so Mom and Dad can move in.

Gen X is in the house

While baby boomers hold the most money, Gen Xers earn the most of all living generations. They lost a lot during the recession – more than any other group. But, they’re currently the only generation to reclaim all the money lost.

Here’s what our research has turned up about Gen X’s home shopping wish list:

Most want a single-family home, single-story, 3 or 4 bedrooms, 2,315 square feet of living space or more.
The top 3 features on the wish list include exterior lighting, a laundry room, and Energy Star® rated appliances.
They crave extra storage space and room for a “relaxed” home office.
They care more about the home’s features than the neighborhood.

If you list a home that fits this description, hold it open, at least virtually, and laser-target Gen X buyers because the chances are good that they’ll be visiting or viewing.

How to reach these buyer/sellers

Chances are good this cohort has a house to sell as well, so targeting them is a brilliant strategy.

Suggest that the homeowners create some obvious storage solutions in the garage and stage them just enough to show that they truly are storage solutions. In other words, don’t pack them full of stuff.

If clients are replacing any appliances, convince them to go with Energy Star® certified appliances.

When staging the home, ensure that your clients’ laundry room looks amazing. You’ll find brilliant tips at:

If the home would work as a multi-generational home, let buyers know that up front, in your listing description and other marketing materials. Gen X is the largest cohort seeking these homes and their numbers grow every year.

As the generation most likely to have children younger than 18 living in the home, Gen X also craves space for the youngins.

This is why they’re the generation purchasing the largest and second most expensive homes.

Finally, if you sell real estate in the following cities (listed in order of popularity, most popular first), you’d be crazy not to target Gen X. These cities are getting the most searches from this generation, according to Lending Tree research:

Memphis, Tennessee
Jacksonville, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia
Washington, D.C
Orlando Florida

Are you ready to go after a specific generational niche? If so, create your targeted list HERE, then launch a scheduled Campaign in just minutes.

The Call to Action postcard campaign is the perfect direct mail marketing tool to get prospects reaching out to you. And, right now, get 10% off Call To Action Campaigns.

Shown above: Call to Action postcard campaign, available in the FARM campaign section. Learn More, **HERE**.

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Schedule a Call to Action postcard campaign, now, CLICK HERE!

This sale expires on 10/30/21. Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you with your success.

PLUS: When you have time…below are some helpful tools to support your success.

1. The Free 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, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here

2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

3. The Automated Way to Become a Neighborhood Brand

Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

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The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

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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

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

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The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here

Multiply Your Sales by Going After Empty Nesters

Mar 11, 2021

Is there a better bang for your buck than using your marketing dollars to go after empty nesters? You get to sell their home, then help them find the ideal new downsized home.

It’s the perfect two-for-one deal.

The highest ROI empty nesters

The most prosperous empty nesters to go after are age 55 years and older, according to Esri, a leading mapping and location analytics platform.

This places them among the eldest of Gen Xers (age 44 to 55 this year).

This age group and younger baby boomers combine to create the primary target in this niche. This group, by the way, is responsible for nearly half of all listings, according to NAR’s 2020 Generational Trends report.

The Gen Xers among the group earn, on average, about $101,000 per year. They make up 23% of the seller’s pool and for 83%, this isn’t their first time selling a home.

The average net worth of baby boomer households is $1.2 million, according to Hillary Hoffower of BusinessInsider.com. Nearly 40% of them say that they’ll sell when the last child leaves the home, while 55% plan on waiting until they retire, according to EscapeHomes.com.

How and where to reach them

In the current real estate market, the best plan of attack is a targeted prospect list and an Empty Nest scheduled campaign. The average American’s attention span is a lot longer right now and the mail is something they’re actually paying attention to.

To support your campaign, ensure that your real estate website is up to snuff. Gen Xers, especially, seek social proof before they’ll work with someone.

Aside from a dedicated testimonials page, sprinkle testimonials throughout the site.

*Empty Nest Downsizing*, Direct Response Report

This generation also values authenticity so avoid a heavy sales spiel.

“Generation X has a keen eye for BS and can spot a sham or dishonesty a mile away most of the time,” Nate Masterson, marketing manager for Maple Holistics in New Jersey tells the NFIB’s, Karen Sams.

Younger boomers crave useful information, so ensure your website has lots of it.

Online, you’ll find your target audience primarily on Facebook. Eighty-eight percent of Gen Xers check their Facebook feed at least once a day and boomers rarely visit any other social media platform.

In fact, according to Pew Research, “Facebook is by far the most popular social media site for this age group.”

Write compelling blog posts of interest to both groups and then repost them on Facebook. Consider running contests to gain more organic results. You can find contest ideas at EasyPromosApp.com.

Niching your business is always a sure path to success. Choose a niche and work it consistently. This is the ideal time of year to consider the empty nesters.

Hurry! FARM Empty Nest Scheduled Campaigns are on sale 10% OFF the first month for ONLY 3 MORE DAYS! (sale ends 3/13/21).

Launch a FARM, Empty Nest Scheduled Campaign, **HERE**

TO LAUNCH A FARM CAMPAIGN:

STEP ONE: Create your prospect list using the MapMyMail tool or Demographic Search tool, click HERE.

STEP TWO: Then, click on “FARM” on the Campaign page and follow the prompts, HERE.

And, remember, with Scheduled Campaigns, YOU DON’T PAY until the mailing goes out (cancel or change up until the night before mailing).

Hit “CLICK HERE”, below, to get started on your FARM Scheduled Campaign (from a desktop or laptop computer).

Launch a FARM Scheduled Campaign now, CLICK HERE!

Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you with your success.

PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

3. Become a Neighborhood Brand

Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

Struggling in real estate? Try breaking away from the herd

Sep 28, 2020

Never will you find a cardiac surgeon dispensing advice about gynecological problems. Nor will you likely find blog posts on pet websites counseling readers about DIY home projects.

Yet, many real estate agents have the notion that they can be everything to everyone. Those that typically sell single-family homes think nothing of listing a condo. Those that list mobile homes don’t hesitate to take on a luxury home listing.

While this may be ok for your bottom line, it does a real disservice to real estate consumers. In all other professions they have a choice of specialists.

They can consult a divorce attorney instead of a bankruptcy lawyer. When they need a root canal, they see an endodontist not an orthodontist and they can take their Porsche to a mechanic who specializes in them.

Remaining a real estate generalist is easier. It’s safer. After all, you don’t want to miss out on even one deal by narrowing your business focus, right?

What’s unique about that?

It’s unfortunate so many real estate agents harbor a reluctance to break away from the herd. The truth is, however, if you always follow the leader you will always be behind.

Then, there’s that lump in the gut when you think of closing off your business to some parts of the real estate industry and narrowing your focus to only one or two specialties.

This move away from being “a jack-of-all-trades but the master of none” is necessary if you’re to become the best in the market in your niche.

Seth Godin, blogging master and best-selling author, suggests that real estate agents should consider “micro-specialization.”

Choose a niche and work to dominate it.

Step away from the Herd

“… you’re either the best in the world (where ‘world’ can be a tiny slice of the environment) or you’re invisible,” Godin continues.

He says that to become “visible,” requires “… being Draconian in your choices. No, you can’t also do a little of this or a little of that. Best in your world means burning your other bridges and obsessing,” Godin says.

Scary thought, right?

Let’s look at a scenario:

You’re an agent in Las Vegas, chasing after every lead that comes your way – single family homes, duplexes, condos, whatever, you’ll take it. Your website even proclaims as much – “I can help you will all your real estate needs!”

If you consider yourself the average agent, you make about $45,610 a year, give or take a few dollars, according to Daniel Bortz at Realtor.com.

Suppose you decide to step away from being “average” and that you will specialize in listing and selling high-rise condos. Last year, 607 Las Vegas high rise condo units sold, with an average sales price of $598,728. This represents a commission of about $17,962 per side (based on 6 percent total commission).

As a generalist, how many of these condos would you have listed or sold? Be honest. The average Las Vegas agent was lucky to have listed one or two in an entire year.

The specialist that targets the high-rise condo market with a laser-like focus and dominates the brand as the niche expert in the area increases his or her chances of taking more than a handful of those sides from other agents.

Let’s be conservative and say that you only close one of these condo-deals a month. Even on a 50/50 broker split, you’d be making nearly $9,000 a month in GCI, give or take a few dollars and nearly $108,000 a year – almost three times what the average agent in the Las Vegas Valley brings home.

Remember, our scenario is based on conservative estimates. Your mileage may be a lot better.

The bonus is that the more you enforce your condo-specialist brand, the more condo leads you’ll get and folks that want to buy or sell high-rise condos will seek you out.

Imagine selling 5 of these condos a month.

If you’ve been casting as wide a net as possible in the hope of reeling in the maximum number of leads, consider setting yourself apart from other agents by claiming a niche and dominating it.

Send the Tired of Being a Landlord postcard from the Absentee Owner Series to a targeted list of Absentee Owners in your area.

Need help targeting a specific niche of buyers or sellers? Use our Demographic Search Tool to 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 some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. Become a Neighborhood Brand

Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

2. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

3. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

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4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

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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. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

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