Digital Marketing for the Busy Real Estate Agent

Posted on February 13, 2023February 20, 2023 by vchung

Boost your Digital Marketing with just 5 minutes a day!

I get it. You’re busy. You have a million things to do, and you can’t spend the time to learn digital marketing. It’s not your thing, right?

But what if I told you that you could get started with digital marketing in just 5 minutes a day? And that it would only take an hour each week? Would that sound more appealing?

If so, then this post is for you!

I want to help busy real estate agents like you get started with digital marketing in just 5 minutes a day and an hour each week. This post will walk you through how to create a content calendar or content mapping for your blog posts and social media channels, how to post on social media channels, and how to boost social media posts or build a social media campaign.

With so many social media channels to choose from, how can you make sure your real estate business is reaching the right audience?

In this post, we’ll walk you through the steps of starting a digital marketing campaign for your real estate business.

Creating Goals

The first step in developing an effective digital marketing strategy is to set goals. What do you want to accomplish with your marketing plan? Do you want more traffic on your website? Are you trying to convert more leads? Or do you need to boost the number of calls coming in from potential clients? All of these are valid goals and can be achieved through digital marketing. The key is to set realistic expectations and then track your progress against those goals. The best way to set goals is to look at your current performance and find ways to improve.

If you’re not sure what your goals should be, we recommend reading this article on how to write a smart goal from Hubspot.

Measuring KPIs

Once you have established your goals, it’s time to start measuring how well you’re doing at achieving them. The best way to measure success for most businesses is by using “key performance indicators” (KPIs). These are quantifiable metrics that provide a clear picture of how well your business is performing compared to others in the same industry. KPIs can include things like pageviews, bounce rates, return visits, time spent on site and conversion rates — among many others. In real estate, there are many KPIs that can help you measure the effectiveness of your digital marketing efforts:

Website traffic – While website traffic isn’t always a direct result of your marketing efforts, it can help indicate how well-known your brand is and whether people are searching for your services online. Website traffic can also give insight into which keywords and content resonate most with visitors — valuable information when developing future content strategies!

Conversions – Conversions are leads are who have expressed interest in your services by contacting you by responding to email campaigns or clicking a display campaign on Google.

Develop a Target Audience

You need to create specific target audiences based on their needs, wants and pain points. For example, if they’re looking for an investment property or if they’re moving into town soon, etc. Spend some time creating a customer profile of your ideal customers. You can have several different target audiences such as sellers, buyers, and investors.

Creating Content That Resonates

Once you know who your target audience is, it’s time to create content that resonates with them. Do some research on Google Keyword Planner or Google Trends to see which topics are trending and create content using these high-performing keywords to generate organic traffic to your website.

Create a Content Calendar or Content Mapping

The first step in digital marketing for the busy real estate agent is to map out your content. This will help you develop a strategy for social media posts, blog topics and emails that are sent to your sphere of influence.

Before you start posting on social media, it’s important to know who your audience is and what they want to see from you. A content calendar will help you schedule posts in advance so that you don’t have to think about it while working with clients. It also helps prevent burnout because it’s easy to fill up all your free time with social media posts if they’re not scheduled ahead of time.

Pick the Right Social Media Channels

Pick the right social media channel that works for you. There is no point posting on all channels if your audience isn’t there. Focus your time on the channels that will engage with your content. Which social media channels do you frequent the most? Try posting on several channels and measuring the results from each. The ones that consistently generate 0 results you should consider dropping.

Post on Social Media Channels

The next step is to post on your social media channels every day. You should post at least once per day on each channel but can also post more frequently if you have time.

Social media is one of the most cost-effective ways to build brand awareness and reach potential customers online. When posting on social media channels, you should make sure that your posts are optimized for search engines, so it’s best to use images and videos instead of just text when possible. Make sure that you have at least one post per week per channel (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.). If you don’t have time to write new content every week, then look for other ways to engage with people – share other people’s posts or answer questions from potential customers in order to build trust between you and your audience.

Boost Social Media Posts or Build a Campaign

You can boost your Facebook posts, Instagram photos and Tweets when you have something you want to get in front of more people’s feed. Boosting means paying extra money so your post shows up at the top of someone’s feed rather than getting buried in the hundreds of other posts they see daily. It’s worth doing if it means reaching more people with your message about your services or about an open house for a listing you’re selling! You can also create an ad campaign on Facebook and Instagram that targets specific demographics like young families looking for homes in specific areas or people who’ve recently moved into town from another city etc… The cost depends on how many impressions you want.

There are tools like Sprout Social that allow you to schedule posts ahead of time, but they can also help you boost posts if they don’t get enough engagement after the first couple of hours. This can help increase your reach by driving more people back to your website or blog where they can learn more about your services and contact you with questions.

Create a Dashboard & Send Reports to Your Sellers

The best way to ensure that social media is working for you is by tracking its performance with analytics tools like Google Analytics and HubSpot. These tools provide easy-to-read dashboards so that you can see exactly what works best in terms of posts and hashtags. Dashboards reporting gives you the results of your KPIs. You can export these results to send to your clients and interpret the results for them. This is a clear way to see how your marketing efforts are doing on a weekly or monthly basis and whether you need to make any adjustments to improve results.

References
Alexander, L. (2022, July 21). How to Write a SMART Goal [+ Free SMART Goal Template]. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved February 13, 2023, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-write-a-smart-goal-template

4 Ways CRM Can Improve Your Real Estate Lead Management

Posted on February 5, 2023February 7, 2023 by vchung

See how you can benefit by applying these 4 tactics to your CRM

The most critical aspect of sales is managing your leads effectively! Leads are the lifeblood of any CRM system, and a solid lead management system can help close more sales, faster.

Here are four ways having an efficient CRM system can improve your lead management and help you close more deals!

- Lead Scoring-Evaluate leads by using lead scoring. By assigning a value to each lead you can rate them on the likelihood of becoming a client. This will save you time and energy, and resources to focus on leads that are more likely to convert. This will also give you an idea of which clients need a little more time or need a little push to move down the pipeline.

- Create Drip Campaigns-Drip campaigns are an effective marketing tactic to generate leads and build relationships. These campaigns can be sent to your target audience not just buyers and sellers but to people looking in specific areas or buyers who came to your open house event who are looking to purchase a similar home. You can nurture your leads with a 30 day, 60 day, or 90 day drip campaign so they are updated with valuable real estate information to prepare them for their next step. This will save you time following up with warm leads. Once they are ready they can reach out to you directly by responding to your email campaign.

- Sending Mass Emails-Keep clients engaged with your content! Update them weekly with a market update or send them news of your new listing you just listed or a listing that just sold in record time. Let customers know what you’ve been up to! You can connect your open house registration to your CRM system to make sure they are included in your mass email campaign.

- Follow-up Efficiently-Set up reminders and report your first touch and last touch efforts. Make sure to write down detailed notes (where you met, personal details, purchasing criteria, etc.) that you can refer back to. Communication is key to getting you top-of-mind when they are ready to buy or sell!

References
Hubspot Marketing. (2020, January 13). Lead generation: The importance of lead nurturing [Video]. Hubspot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5e62_x3Qng

5 Ways ClickUp Can Scale Your Real Estate Business!

Posted on January 29, 2023February 13, 2023 by vchung

ClickUp is a powerful cloud-based project management software program with tons of feature richness. Scale your real estate business with this all-inclusive platform. You can plan, track, collaborate, and customize your workflow. Try it now for free!

See how real estate teams are utilizing ClickUp to boost efficiency

- Customize your dashboard
  ClickUp makes it easy to view and pull reports. Gain insight into your teams performance; view what your team is currently working on. ClickUp offers 50+ widgets to build your custom dashboard that reflects your company’s needs. You’ll get a high-level overview of your work and have the proper reporting tools you need to track the progress of specific projects (Cruz, 2022). Easily track KPI’s and see if your company is achieving their quarterly goals.
  https://clickup.com/blog/12-benefits-that-make-clickup-unique/

- Manage projects
  Break down projects into manageable actionable items. ClickUp uses a hierarchy with different tears that consist of workspaces, spaces, lists, and tasks. You can utilize ClickUp’s templates to apply to your workspaces or customize it according to your organizations needs. ClickUp also offers multiple views when tracking projects, timelines, and people such as board view, list view, Gantt view, Calendar view, and so many more!

- Build processes
  Build checklists and templates and never miss a task! This works well with task that include multiple steps. You can build checklists for listings i.e. pre-market checklist, property management checklist, transaction coordination checklist. Checklist templates allow you to quickly set up consistent processes. You can use them to replicate your most-used checklists and knock out tasks more efficiently (Create Checklist Templates – ClickUp Help – Tasks, 2023). You can also share checklists with your team and provide clear and consistent processes across the board.

- Utilize Automation
  ClickUp makes it easy to automate your daily tasks. Utilize their pre-built automation or customize your on based on your company’s needs. You can automatically assign tasks, post comments, change statuses, and more by triggering an event. ClickUp’s automation also works with external apps to streamline workflows. Save time and boost efficiency!

- Team collaboration
  ClickUp’s advanced features are great for teams! Teams are able to collaborate and communicate in real-time by updating statuses, assign comments, edit documents, chat internally, and so much more! Stay up-to-date on projects on the go, solve problems efficiently, increase productivity, improve decision making, and achieve your goals!

There are tons of benefits with using ClickUp to fulfill your project management needs. Leila Cruz mentions in her blog 12 Benefits that make ClickUp Unique these are additional added value for you to check out! She provides great examples that can be applied to your ClickUp journey.

References

Create checklist templates – ClickUp Help – Tasks. (2023, January 18). ClickUp Help. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://help.clickup.com/hc/en-us/articles/6309624189719-Create-checklist-templates

Cruz, L. (2022, February 8). 12 Benefits That Make ClickUp Unique. ClickUp. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://clickup.com/blog/12-benefits-that-make-clickup-unique/

5 Tips to help your listing stand out!

Posted on January 22, 2023January 26, 2023 by vchung

Follow these tips to add value to your marketing

Nowadays customers turn to the internet to gather information before taking the next step to contact a an agent for more information. How the property is represented does take some skills. You can’t just take photos on your phone and upload them and expect a sale. It takes more effort than that! Follow these 5 tips to get the most out of your listing and make your clients happy!

3D Matterport & 2D Floorplan

3D Matterport allows you to create 3D models of your property, capturing high-quality images from every angle. This lets buyers take a tour of the property without having to actually step foot there. You can then upload the models to Zillow, real estate sites, and email campaigns, allowing potential buyers to view your property in a unique way. Opt-in for the 2D Floorplan, this will give the buyer a chance to preview the floorplan to see if they like the flow of the layout.

Drones

A drone can be a great way to capture 360-degree views of your home or property. It also gives you an opportunity to see the property from an aerial shot, they may cost a bit more, but they offer a view of the neighborhood and scenery. This can be extremely powerful if the property is situated in a desirable area i.e., next to a golf course, close to the beach.

HDR Photos

High Dynamic Range (HDR) photos capture more detail than standard photos and can accentuate the properties features. A good photographer will know how to give photos the “Wow” effect. Twilight shots are an added value to showcase a beautiful sunset in the background. This could make a huge difference and give the home a different feel.

4K Video

4K is the highest resolution video format available—and it’s becoming more popular with buyers, as well! 4K videos have twice as many pixels as full HD. The quality difference between these two types of videos is striking—a 4K video will look sharper than even the best 1080p. Offer a dynamic property walkthrough and showcase the home’s best features i.e. Top-of-the-line appliances, Porcelanosa tile, high vaulted ceiling, etc. You can then post the video on YouTube and your social media sites to generate leads.

Staging/Virtual Staging

Staging can also be used to help sell your home more quickly. This can help the buyer imagine themselves living there or offer a living style possibility. Using the best and trending furniture and accessories the stager can boost the properties appeal. If the seller is still living in the home and the staging estimate is steep, try partial staging and work something out with the stager. See if they can work with the seller’s current furniture. This can lower the price considerably. Another affordable alternative is sending your HDR photos to a virtual staging company.

John Muir from Articles Blog mentions in his blog about 11 Tricks to make your real estate listing stand out and get noticed other insightful ways for your listing to get traffic. One is to “hire a professional writer”, a skilled agent will be able to present the potential of a property in its description. Not all agents can write and will often have their assistant or marketing manager to write it. This may be a good idea if the assistant or marketing manager has a real estate background. Another tip Muir mentions is to “prefer relevant keywords”, he suggests “capturing the audience’s attention and divert more traffic towards your business platform by using relevant keywords in your listing”(Muir, 2021). This can help with search engine optimization and can help you receive a top ranking on google search engine results. I think this is a great technique just make sure you don’t keyword stuff your content.

There are so many other ways you can improve your marketing continue reading each week for more tips!

References
Muir, J. (2021, April 18). 11 Tricks to Make Your Real Estate Listing Stand Out and Get Noticed – Articles Blog. Retrieved January 21, 2023, from https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/articles/11-tricks-to-make-your-real-estate-listing-stand-out-and-get-noticed/

Market Better with Help From a Real Estate Marketer!

Posted on January 13, 2023January 17, 2023 by vchung

Follow these 4 tips to help you standout!

Hi! This is Victoria and welcome to my blog! I have 10+ years of experience working in Real Estate as an Residential Agent, Property Manager, Executive Assistant, Marketing Manager, and Project Manager. I’m excited to provide some helpful information that I have picked up along my real estate journey to help you grow or improve your marketing.

Real estate agents are always looking for ways to market their business and make more sales. With so much competition out there, it can be tough to stand out from the crowd.

But what if you could use a little help?

You could increase your knowledge in real estate marketing to help you get more exposure for your property listings, gain new leads and increase your profits.

Real estate agents aren’t just people who sell houses. They’re business professionals who work with buyers and sellers, creating a positive experience for both sides. They’re also the first point of contact for a homebuyer, so your agent can help make the sale. If you want to improve your marketing and grow your business, you have to know how to market yourself effectively.

Your real estate marketing plan is what will get you the leads and sales you need in order to close more deals and grow your business. You need a plan that works for you and your market, so I’ve put together this entry on how to create an effective real estate marketing strategy for both local and national markets.

The first step in marketing any business is to establish your brand. With that in mind, let’s look at how you can develop and grow your real estate brand.

First off, you need to think about who you want to be when it comes to marketing your business. What do they want? What do they need? How much money do they have? Once you’ve figured out those answers, you can begin to create a strategy for getting them what they want.

Second, focus on where your customers are coming from and how they’ve been looking for homes before you even got involved with this industry. Do some research online and find out what people are saying about their experiences with other agents in the area and other real estate professionals in general.

Third, take stock of what kind of marketing experience you have so far and then consider where else you can train yourself in order to improve upon that knowledge base. There are many different ways to learn about this industry so don’t feel limited by your own personal experiences or lack thereof!

Lastly, Hellotars outlines 10 Real Estate marketing mistakes that you need to avoid. One of the mistakes being “Not using Social Media right/being too invasive”. Don’t spam feeds with your personal information. Not everyone wants to know what you ate this morning or how many burpees you did during your workout session. Instead, think about your brand. You’re going to want to post content that showcase your expertise and resonates with people. You want to communicate your value and help people with solutions so that you become their top-of-mind agent in the future.

I know real estate marketing can be frustrating because I’ve experienced it myself! My life was consumed by gaining knowledge and figuring out how to market effectively, which made it difficult for me to find time to focus on my own business. But now I am able to get things on track while helping others increase their marketing efforts.