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Realtors: Build your Digital Marketing Strategy when Times are Good

Wild and Wacky Real Estate Market

The GTA real estate market is the best it’s ever been. Endless buyers and sellers. And prices have risen 14 to 18% in York, Durham, Toronto, Mississauga.  Home sellers are getting whatever they ask. The  US real estate market is growing well too.

Is all this prosperity going to last?  Realtors need to think long term — for the next 5 to 10 years. One fact is certain — buyers are online. More and better leads will come from Google, Facebook, Linkedin, and direct visits to your website. Digital marketing represents an opportunity to lead your market and keep you in business.

Do you have a cohesive plan and a process to build more high quality leads, boost sales and maintain client  loyalty?  Don’t discount a plan, because it’s vital  in focusing your energies as an agent and creating a sustained effort for success. Plans give you confidence to take calculated risks. Part of that plan will be to enlist the dedicated help of a digital marketing expert.

Barbara Corcoran hardly needs introduction. Read her motto below:

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Do It Yourself

When you hear that a house flipper intends to rehab a house, with all the plumbing, foundation work, floors, carpentry, roofing, landscaping and electrical all by himself, what would you think? So what do you think of real estate agents who go it alone?

If do-it-yourself marketing hasn’t worked, then find an excellent digital marketer who can spend the time on your realty business and help you solve your specific challenges. That person will be a key asset to your business. Don’t hire an agency. They’re geared for a different crowd. You need a specialist.

When times are good — that’s precisely when you need to work on your real estate business so it will sustain any downturn that might happen. You’ve got a window of opportunity, not only to make your business sustainable, but to really grow it.

This infographic reveals how successful agents ramp up their use of digital marketing technology.

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US realtors optimism continues to rise. Graphic courtesy of Emerging Trends in Real Estate® United States and Canada 2015 report.

I talk a lot about fast growing businesses because faster growth generates optimism and takes advantage of profitable conditions that don’t last. And is having too many new clients a big problem for you?

What are Your Real Estate Business Pains?

Most realtors will cite:

  1. lack of reach to prospects
  2. lack of reach in finding qualified buyers
  3. lack of time to process leads
  4. inability to convince sellers to hire you or to negotiate with buyers
  5. inability to engage continuously with former clients and keep your network strong and active
  6. difficulty with efficient showing and selling process
  7. strong competition (1.3 million real estate agents in North America)
  8. no time or skill in creating website content
  9. no ability to create a digital content strategy
  10. no skills with web analytics — don’t know what’s happening

These are real pains.  The key is to get help.  And do this right now while you’ve got the cash flow and the positive energy. Try to do it in a downturn and you’ll be overwhelmed by what’s required.

A Great Real Estate Website is a Huge Asset

A great website and excellent social pages won’t marginalize your interpersonal skills and effectiveness. Your digital assets can be used to showcase and support them and build your personal brand. Video, infographic resumes, and a full time Linkedin/Twitter networking strategy are just a few tactical features you might use to support your sales effort.

As an example of a great real estate website, the Calgary Home Boys site is something to check out. It’s search functionality and backend lead management is impressive.  Digital marketing is much more than web pages however. This blog will remind you of concepts you probably have vague understanding of such as; a significant, personalized, unique value proposition, hypergrowth strategy, funnel conversion optimization, content strategy, persuasive copywriting, and creative SEO.

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Calgary Home Boys website built by Real Estate Webmasters

And their use of video is effective too:

Here’s the top 12 Assets Realtors need in an effective digital marketing strategy:

  1. a website that provides visitors with access to view MLS listings and your broker’s listings
  2. a website that showcases your own listings and impels buyers to make contact
  3. a website that is attractive and promotes your personal brand
  4. a Linkedin page that helps you network with professionals who are great prospects
  5. a Twitter page that keeps prospects well informed, up to the minute
  6. a Facebook page that lets you connect with them on a personal level
  7. consistent high quality social engagement
  8. content that is convincing of your skills and ability to generate results
  9. well conceived content strategy
  10. a blog that showcases valuable insights and perspectives — intensifying the meaning of buying and selling homes and encouraging people to progress with their lives
  11. SEO strategy that maximizes exposure on Google
  12. SEM strategy that includes email, remarketing, and PPC text ads

Overall, your digital marketing strategy is a process of building connections, communicating your significant, unique value proposition.  Start off with a Internet marketing audit to give you a plan of action. Then you can master and execute each aspect and orchestrate them for ongoing brand building and prospecting.

Hire Someone Dedicated and Capable

Can you do this all yourself and will you do it well? If you’re like most realtors, you need all your time for prospecting. People buy and sell homes and condos on emotion.  That means face to face interaction to build that emotion.  Digital marketing needs to support your everyday face to face engagements.

Doing it yourself, or hiring a real estate web design or SEO company is not going to bring the results you need over the next 5 years.  Automated marketing approaches won’t work. You need someone dedicated to your business, to understand and develop new business for you using a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.

It won’t hurt to have me look at your situation and give you ideas on how you can make the most of digital marketing.