With more than 1.3 million real estate agents in the country, the market is getting more competitive than ever. This is especially true in the most sought after areas, where the market is growing every year.
This article will help you to learn the following:
- How to Find Clients as a Real Estate Agent?
- Useful Marketing Websites for Real Estate Agents
- Best Real Estate Agent Ads
- How much do Real Estate Agents spend on Marketing?
In this highly lucrative market, every realtor tries to gain the upper hand and grow their business. Focusing on creative marketing, as the experts like to call it, will make your business stand out in this highly competitive industry. This article will guide you through the basics of creative marketing ideas for real estate agents.
How to Find Clients as a Real Estate Agent?
Getting clients is the lifeblood of every business, and real estate is no exception. Generating enough leads for your business will guarantee success, increase your reputation and help grow your business in the future.
So what do you have to do in order to get more clients? Let’s have a look at some tips:
- Build your online presence – virtually all clients use the internet to hunt for properties, so you have to be present on virtually every platform. Real estate branding is your first focus by establishing your website – make sure it is up to date, has your contact information and looks professional. Next, focus on your social media presence. Are you easy to find on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin? Make sure you update these profiles frequently and interact with your potential clients. If you maintain an active and professional online presence, your customers will find you.
- Use webinars – webinars act like an open house for your business. It’s like having a live appointment with your clients and prospects, where you can answer questions in real time. If you are using a specialized webinar app, you can run multiple webinars at the same time, so your reach will be larger.
- Create attractive photos and videos – this industry is a visual business – your clients want to see what a property looks like before visiting it. Working with a photographer or a videographer is an excellent idea.
- Get involved in the local community – this is a great idea if you work locally. Join community groups, charitable causes, conferences, events, and local meetings. Interact with people, join debates and get yourself known. In time, people will notice you and, hopefully, become your clients.
Useful Marketing Websites for Real Estate Agents
Zillow Premier Agent
https://premieragent.zillow.com/products/advertising/
Zillow Premier Agent is the top lead generator website for agents in the country. With more than 160 million visitors every month, Zillow is the place to be if you are a realtor.
Joining Zillow Premier Agent is simple and will let you submit exclusive listings. This increases the chance of getting the full commission of a sale, regardless of your location or experience.
While Zillow is free for homebuyers, sellers and offers free basic services for realtors, Zillow Premier Agent is priced at $20 to $60 per lead, depending on the average home price in your ZIP code, the competition, and other factors.
Placester
Placester is an IDX website builder and integrator tailored for agents. If you find WordPress to difficult or complex for your needs, Placester is designed to help you create and manage your website.
It provides a sleek website solution, complete with IDX integration, a built-in CRM, drip email functions, advanced property search, excellent customer support and agent management tools. The service is priced at $99 per month.
Freshchat
https://support.freshchat.com/support/home
Freshchat uses modern artificial intelligence to gain leads for your business via live chat. It combines human interaction with AI to collect information from your website’s visitors.
It determines which leads are more likely to buy based on several factors. Freshchat starts at $15 per month.
Best Real Estate Agent Ads
You probably noticed that ads in this industry often sound cheesy or awkward – it’s no wonder they are rarely effective! To stand out, your ads must use a beautiful image, a catchy tagline, a short intro and a brief call to action. As in all marketing, brevity is king.
It shows you are professional and it’s attractive for the viewer. Here are a few real estate agent ads examples:
Coldwell Banker Schmidt
In these examples, the realtor, Coldwell Banker Schmidt, went directly to the core of what people want when they are looking for a new home. They want a place to grow and prosper.
The ads are perfect for the Midwestern market and they are easy for anyone to identify with. They show what real estate agent services should be about.
Compass
Named “Guiding you home”, the ad from Compass acts as a disruptive force in the sea of boring ads. Its sleek design, minimalist details and layout, gorgeous photography and brief copy sets it apart and attracts the viewer.
How much do Real Estate Agents spend on Marketing?
Real estate is more than simply advertising your clients’ properties and hoping to get a call from a prospective client. In order to grow your business and expand your reach, you will have to work out a complete marketing plan.
You should be focusing on building awareness, creating and maintaining an online presence, establishing your reputation and generating leads.
Once you establish your goals, you should look at your marketing budget. Let’s take a look at what you can expect for each type of budget:
- up to $2,000 per year – this won’t get you much, but you’ll at least be able to afford a photographer, a copywriter and a small website
- up to $5,000 per year – this will get you all the above, plus several videos, a few hours of a digital marketer’s time for your strategy and a social media course to get the basics
- up to $10,000 per year – all the above, plus a professionally built website, complete with support, a paid advertising campaign, a real estate agent marketing plan template to work with, social media ads and campaigns
- up to $20,000 per year – all the above, plus a videographer to work with, copywriters, sponsored content on social media, email marketing, and digital marketing consulting
- up to $80,000 per year – with this budget, you can outsource all your marketing to a professional digital marketing agency. Usually, these companies are focused on providing effective marketing strategies for real estate agents and will create a complete bespoke marketing plan. Plus, they will keep you updated according to a specific schedule agreed by both parties.