The real estate market is set to grow by 2.3% in 2021. This means that competition is only going to get fiercer, and digital marketing for real estate will be more important than ever. Even though most (if not all) people will only confirm their decision after seeing the property in person, having a strong online presence can make all the difference for a realtor.
Let’s talk about why digital marketing for real estate is important, and our tips and tricks on how you can use it to boost leads.
Why is digital marketing important for real estate?
For decades, the real estate industry has relied on more traditional forms of marketing. However, as the world continues to grow more digital, marketing strategies for real estates are also slowly shifting. Here are some reasons why digital marketing for real estate is becoming more important than ever.
1. Increase in search engine traffic
How often do you flip through newspapers or go to your neighbourhood library when you need information? Probably never. Today, we’re increasingly reliant on search engines to provide us with the information that we need. This is no exception for real estate, whether people are looking to buy, rent or sell. This reason alone is enough for many realtors out there to work on their digital marketing strategies!
2. Easier to reach your target audience
In the past, traditional marketing methods would see realtors casting a wide by advertising on newspapers or handing out fliers. Gone are the days of reaching out to the general market. Targeted ads allow you to reach out to your customer base directly!
3. Online reviews make a huge difference
Word of mouth used to be the way to know if someone is reliable. In the digital age, this has taken on a slightly different form – online reviews! Just a couple of glowing reviews can help build trust and boost your credibility. It can be the difference in whether a prospective customer turns to you or your competitor!
4. Performance tracking
Print advertising is popular in the real estate industry, but the real question is, how effective is it really? One of the biggest limitations with traditional forms of marketing is the difficulty in tracking performances. But with digital marketing, this becomes much easier. You can tell how many people have seen your ads, where your traffic comes from, and how you can tweak your strategy.
5. Freedom of creativity
Digital marketing allows you to do A/B testing and utilize technology to engage your target audience, something traditional marketing was not able to achieve. You have the freedom to be creative and design your ads however you like, as well as reach out to your audience via different channels.
Digital marketing strategies you can start using today
Now that we’ve touched on why digital marketing is important for realtors, you may be wondering, how can I leverage it and set myself apart from my competitors? Here are some ways to get started.
1. Build a user-friendly website
Having a user-friendly and mobile-optimized site is important for every business, in every industry. Including real estate of course! Your web design should be appealing, with high quality photographs to best showcase your different listings. But keep in mind that the hi-res images you are hosting don’t decrease your site loading speed and negatively impact user experience!
47% of users expect a page to load in 2 seconds, and 40% of them will leave a page if it takes longer than that to load. So make sure your image sizes are large enough for a good display, but not so much that it affects loading speeds!
2. Have a content marketing strategy
Having a user-friendly, optimized site without any valuable content is a waste. Content can help build credibility and establish yourself as an industry leader. A very simple way to build content on your site is by writing blog articles.
Your articles should provide value to your site visitors. For example, guides on how to make an informed decision when it comes to buying, selling or renting. In short, your articles should provide answers to real estate questions, or solve problems that people would usually face.
3. Develop email campaigns
Email marketing is one of the most effective forms of digital marketing for the real estate industry. They allow you to connect and engage newer leads, while staying relevant with past clients.
For real estate businesses, the average email open rate is around 27% with a click-through rate of 3%. That should provide a benchmark for your performance tracking. The more relevant your content, the more inclined your audience will be in opening up your email to see what you have to say.
4. Create video content
Many realtors out there are still relying on images to promote their property listings. Videos are a much more attractive way to do it! Not to mention, it generates revenue 49% faster as compared to non-video marketers.
Videos are invaluable to potential buyers or renters. It shows your property’s layout in much more detail than photos ever could! To go the extra mile, 360º videos are even more immersive and are sure to capture people’s attention. You’ll need to invest in these video gear, but they will really help you stand out from the crowd.
5. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
PPC advertising is a popular way for realtors and real estate businesses to directly target potential leads. Through PPC advertising, you can increase traffic to your site from users that are genuinely looking to rent, buy or sell, as these are targeted to users that search for specific keywords.
Another benefit of PPC advertising is that you are only charged when somebody clicks on your ads. According to this study, the average cost-per-click (CPC) is $2.37 in the real estate industry, and the average conversion rate is 2.47%.
