Tips to Get Ahead: Focus on Content, Great Images, and Print Advertising

Yeah, real estate is hot right now, and Zillow predicts that for most segments of the housing market, 2018 will be even better than 2017; last year, the typical home was on the market for just 30 days before going under contract, and in places like the San Francisco Bay area, the average on-the-market time was around a week.

While all this adds up to a lot of good news, the market is presenting plenty of challenges for real estate agents, too—like competition from other agents. The number of active real estate agents in the field right now is the highest it’s been since the housing boom of 2008, first tuesday Journal reports, and 90 percent of currently-licensed agents in California say they plan to renew. With potential agents thinking the market is brimming with easy money, expect to see even more applicants this year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects this trend to continue, with growth forecast to average 6 percent for the foreseeable future.

So here’s your problem: you need to stand out from the pack. Your real estate marketing campaign needs to be dialed in a serious way.

Generate Leads: Focus on Quality, Content, and Coupons

Luckily, there are plenty of cost-effective and relatively simple real estate marketing tips for those looking to get ahead. Here are seven great ideas:

1 . Upgrade your photo quality

Real estate photography matters. Sure, your iPhone does pretty well, but hiring a photographer makes more sense. Homes with listing photos taken professionally can fetch thousands more than what you’d pay for the photography, stated Redfin.

2 . Create and share valuable content

Don’t just use your website for photos and phone numbers—posting usable intel targeted to your audience and optimized for one or two keyword search phrases will make your site a destination and help it rise in search rankings, said the Content Marketing Institute.

3 .  Be active on the socials

Make sharing easy, add reviews, participate in local groups and, naturally, post great photos of sellable homes. Post on Instagram to generate leads, promote listings with tweets, burnish your pro image on LinkedIn, and tie it all together and add your own personal touch on Facebook, suggests Forbes.

4 . Ask for referrals, and don’t be afraid to spend money doing so

FitsSmallBusinss.com suggests standardizing a referral contract, getting client approval, and making the referral. As far as fees go, the standard is around 25 percent, though this can be negotiated upward if your broker allows it.

5 . Go direct to customers with print coupons and advertisements

Stand out with personalized, customized-printed material that goes directly to your customers. Consultants like RTN can create vibrant real estate advertising that reaches customers at costs of less than a penny per unit. Use print for home listings, sales stats, office information, special events, and more. Think of it as a super-effective way to pass out thousands of business cards to local clients, week in and week out.

6 . Clean up your database

Having bad data wastes your time and can kill your inbox if it leads to too many bounces, unsubscribes, or spam reports. Suites like the Apple-focused FullContact can pull from social media, email, and more to build a large address book, sync accounts, and automatically update to remove duplicates.

 7 . Add live chat to your website with a service like ReadyChat

Most website hosting platforms have a live chat plug in. Live chat benefits, said Comm100, include reduced expenses, increased sales, faster problem resolution, and proactive outreach. ReadyChat offers live chat on two websites, 24/7 coverage, and up to 10 leads for $199 a month with no contracts or commitments.

Ready to Begin Register Tape Advertising?

Register Tape Network offers a unique form of advertising that is a cost-effective way for small businesses to reach a massive audience. RTN offers geographic targeting as well as demographic targeting. Whether it’s age group, income level, families with children or a certain home value, RTN allows you to reach the right people, multiple times a month by placing your full color message directly in their hands.

If you are interested in beginning cost-effective, high-return advertising, learn more about Register Tape Network’s proven solution. Contact us here for a free consultation and to build a custom marketing plan that works for your business