10 Unique Marketing Ideas For a Realtor To Survive in 2021
Here are some unique marketing ideas for a Realtor to survive next year and beyond no matter what the market is like. With everything going on in this crazy world today, 2020 might not have been your best year as a Realtor. Now is a great time to start working for a banner 2021.
If you haven’t figured out yet that you are a marketer, not a Realtor then I have some shocking news for you. In order to be a successful Realtor, you must learn to be a successful marketer first. You are not just marketing houses you are marketing yourself first and foremost.
You may not realize this but most Realtors fail within the first 2 years. I think one of the main reasons most Realtors fail is the amount of money that is needed to get started as a real estate agent.
It’s funny that when you decide to get your real estate license the school that you choose fails to mention the amount of branding money you will need to get your name out there.
If you are not careful you could spend thousands of dollars advertising to the wrong crowd. Which essentially is wasting money. Here are some unique marketing ideas that will not cost an arm and a leg and should boost your business to the next level.
The last few years have been pretty good for the real estate market. Most areas are enjoying a seller’s market which makes selling houses fairly easy.
But, what happens when the market turns, we all know that it will happen it is just a matter of when. Most analysts predict that the market will turn here in the next year.
However, we have heard that for the last 3 years. So who knows. My market for example has a serious housing shortage which will continue to drive the seller’s market.
The main problem we have is if a seller puts his house on the market where does he go when his house sells in 1-2 days. We are running a 6 -9 month backlog on new houses. It is a difficult situation.
That being said, houses are still selling and buyers are still buying. So. it is important to be the person the seller calls when he is ready to list his property.
Open Houses
Now I know what you are thinking. Open houses don’t sell houses. They are strictly a lead generation tool. Open houses are used to give the seller a warm fuzzy that you are doing your best to sell his home.
But what if you can utilize the open house to drive multiple offers. Statistics will tell you that 99% of houses don’t sell during an open house. And they are correct if you are doing a traditional open house where you sit in the home for 4-5 hours on a Saturday or Sunday praying someone will drop by.
Here is how you can create a unique marketing idea utilizing an old realtor tactic. Open houses work if you create a sense of urgency. Remember buyers will buy on emotion. You want to create a big F.O.M.O. Fear Of Missing Out.
When I list a property I will not allow any agent showings until after the open house. Nor will I accept any offers. This creates curiosity in buyers. On the day I choose to have the open house I widely publicize the event via social media. Show only a few pictures in the MLS until after the open house.
When you start your social media publicity show pictures that are not in MLS. The open house is only for 1 hour 2 hours max. Everyone that attends must sign a registration form prior to entering the home.
It is best to have a greeter perform this. During the open house create a sense of urgency for yourself. Be cordial but also be scurrying around like you have 10 buyers right now. Only accept offers after the open house.
For example, if your open house is at 2 pm on Sunday it ends at 3 pm. You will start accepting offers at 3:30 pm. Let it be known that your seller will not decide on any offer until Monday evening at 5 pm.
If your market is like mine. You will find buyers have lost the opportunity to purchase several homes and are eager to buy now. By creating a sense of urgency and controlling the open house you will not spend all day in an empty house.
Remember you need great signage and a lot of social media coverage. Banner Flags, great direction signs, and close the door at the time you post. do not hang around waiting for stragglers.
I hope you can see the difference in this method. However, it doesn’t work if you don’t have any listings. Keep reading and let’s get you some listings to try this new way of hosting an open house.
Twitter Advanced Search
Twitter can be extremely helpful when searching for buyers and sellers. Even though you are limited to 140 characters and meaningful conversations are challenging at best you can utilize Twitter as a marketing tool by having conversations with an ideal prospect.
Did you know that Twitter is a search engine? By using Twitter advanced search you can put in keywords that are related to a specific topic and a question word that will denote that someone is looking for an answer. For example “what” and “probate”.
Under the places tab, you can indicate a region that you live in. Answer the questions from the results. This will put you as an authoritative figure and by helping someone or simply pointing someone in the right direction you will more than likely be the first person they call.
Brand Yourself With a Website
Branding is important as a Realtor. I am quite sure I didn’t need to tell you that. In most cases depending on who your broker is you may have a website provided to you.
That is all well and fine but, you need your own website with your own name. By having your own website you can drive buyers and sellers directly to you, not your broker.
The best part is hardly anyone does this. You can create a great looking WordPress site fairly quickly these days for around $50 a month. If you set the website up as a blog you can become a local expert in several different areas by writing content about different subjects.
Keep in mind that you need to stay up on a website. It is not a set and forgets kind of marketing. Your prospective clients are always looking for information that helps them with their current situation.
Local SEO Content Marketing
When you are writing your blogs to place on your website you can easily use local words that will help your website rank higher in the search engines.
For example, the keyword “sell my house fast in (your city)” will rank very high in google search engine. I realize that this all may be greek to you, I get it after all you have never probably heard of SEO much less know what it means.
That’s ok you are not alone. The good news is other Realtors are in the same boat. So, it is easy to get ahead with ranking your website if you take a few minutes to learn what SEO is truly about.
That is to say, Local SEO is a wide-open book for marketing yourself.
Don’t Forget Search Engines
One thing to keep in mind is that Google is not the only search engine out there. Although Google is the number one search engine it doesn’t hold 100% of the market.
The others make up about 10%. This may not sound like a lot of people but what if out of all your unique marketing ideas you get 3 extra clients from the other search engines.
I have websites that rank number 20 on google however they rank number one on Bing and Yahoo. So, don’t limit yourself to one basket so to speak.
Video Tells the Story
With all the technology today, most people will not take the time to read your social media post. Think about how you scan thru your social media. If you are like me, pictures, colors, and moving objects make me pause to read.
So therefore video is very important in marketing today. You have about 3 seconds to get someone’s attention online. So, by utilizing video you have a better chance of capturing your audience.
Instead of showing pictures of your new listing on social media try showing a quick video with a link to see the entire virtual walk-thru of a home.
The best thing about the video is you can place one video in many locations such as your website, youtube, and all of the social media.
That being said, you don’t need a professional video, most cell phones will record great video and the video can be edited with free apps on your computer.
Reality Series
By creating a series of videos related to a topic( such as home buying 101, How to stage your home, prepare for the sale of your home, and many others) you can brand yourself as an expert by teaching specific topics to future buyers and sellers.
This will add value to your brand. Video series is an inexpensive way to promote yourself. By utilizing free platforms such as Youtube and IGTV series you can easily create 5 – 10 minute videos on practically every subject related to the buy and sell of a home.
Create a Seminar
With today’s pandemic, it is difficult to gather in a public place to host a free seminar. However, by utilizing online technology you can host a live webinar to get your message across.
The best thing about webinars is they can be recorded and replayed over and over. I recommend contacting your preferred lender for help.
Your lender has information on the types of loans available that can be very helpful to potential clients. Most local lenders will be happy to help you create this webinar for free. Remember they have something to gain as well.
Utilizing free programs such as Loom and Zoom you have everything you need to host a successful seminar. Both of these platforms allow screen sharing so that your PowerPoint presentation can be shared with your audience simultaneously.
Send a Card
Sending a handwritten note in a world that revolves around technology is a great way to stay in front of your prospective clients. Let me put it this way.
You just left a prospective client’s house that is looking for a listing agent. They are smart and have decided to interview several agents. As soon as you get back in your car write a handwritten card thanking them for allowing you to interview and that you look forward to working for them in the near future.
Address that envelope, place a stamp on it and drop it in the nearest mailbox. They will more than likely get the card the next day, depending on the time you place it in the mailbox. Now you are at the front of the list.
I have used this method for buyers as well. If you just had an open house you hopefully got a few names and addresses for prospective buyers, even if they are working with an agent already send them a handwritten thank you card for attending your open house.
Always keep one thing in mind you work for a buyer and or a seller, Agents can be fired at any time. So therefore by staying in front of your prospects you have a better chance of picking up an unhappy client.
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Client Care Packages
Once you sell a client’s home or have a buyer that purchases a home, they are still your client until they choose otherwise. It is important to know that the National Association of Realtors states that 74% of buyers and sellers will not use the same agent again.
There are many reasons for this. However, to me, that is a lot of potential clients that are getting away so to speak. Letting your client know that you are always thinking of them will help with your retention rate of clients.
You don’t have to send expensive gifts but a simple I was thinking of you gift shows that you care. You can get many items customized with your name and logo for relatively cheap.
So, let’s say it is the fourth of July. I will send or drop by a gift of an ice cream scoop and a recipe attached. Of course, the scoop and the recipe will have my contact information.
Keep in mind if you are hand-delivering this gift (which is the most effective way)it is not a social Hour. you will have several to deliver so limit your time with each client.
You should be able to come up with one gift every month for your past clients or maybe just 4 gifts a year. This will remind clients of who you are and possibly get some referral work from them.
Final Thoughts
As you can see there are quite a few unique marketing ideas for realtors that can be accomplished with a little effort and very little expense.
It just takes a little time. Now I also know that you are probably already working about 10 hours a day. So now you are asking yourself how can I do any more than what I am doing?
First off if you are truly working ten hours a day you need to take a good long hard look at your business. I have learned that you do not need to be at your client’s every beck and call.
There are very few emergencies that come that can not be handled during normal business hours. In my humble opinion, there are ways to serve my clients without having to answer the phone at 10 pm just to answer questions.
Furthermore, by implementing a few of these ideas you will have a library of information that your clients can use without having to talk with you on the phone or in person.
Thank you for reading and I hope I was able to leave something for you. If you have any experience that you would like to share or want to leave a comment or a question. Leave them below and I will certainly get back in a timely manner.
Check out my other blogs: Integrity Property Acquisitions, Grills and Accessories, and Help Baby Your Baby Fall Asleep
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