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Right now, the real estate market feels like a high-speed rollercoaster full of twists, turns, and upside-down loops. Although the wild ride of the pandemic might be behind us, the economic downturn means the ride isn’t over yet.
Real estate professionals have had to deal with one hurdle after another in the real estate space in the last few months. We’ve seen the acute housing crisis, the relocation from big cities to the suburbs, digital house hunting, and the rise in popularity of the “Sun Belt.” Plus, there has been a surge in demand for single-family homes, an increase in housing prices, and a decline in the popularity of rental properties
It’s 2024, and Real Estate Investors Can No Longer Afford to Ignore Digital Marketing
Like every other industry, the real estate industry has gone digital, with the pandemic accelerating the transformation. While it’s a fact that most buyers or sellers do not make a final decision online, most of the initial research happens digitally.
With buyers and sellers going online, your online presence as a real estate investor is more important than ever. The NAR (National Association of Realtors) reveals that 51% of home buyers looked for properties online. In comparison, only 28% of prospective buyers and sellers contacted real estate agents during the first step of the home buying process.
If you do not invest time and resources in digital marketing strategies for real estate investors, you’re leaving money on the table. Leads will likely bypass your company and end up with your competitors. Start taking real estate digital marketing strategies seriously to stay ahead of your competition. They can:
- Build brand awareness
- Increase online exposure
- Generate more leads for your real estate business
To be successful, you need to leverage the latest digital marketing trends in real estate. There’s no doubt that developing a robust long-term digital marketing plan for real estate is challenging and time-consuming. But we’ve put together this detailed guide to help you maximize your lead generation strategies.
10 Proven Digital Marketing Strategies for Real Estate Investors to Generate Qualified Leads
Focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Real Estate Investors
Often when homeowners look for real estate investors to sell their property to, they begin their search by using online search engines like Google. If you want to connect with these clients, you need to ensure that your business ranks high on the search results for “real estate investors near me” or “real estate investors in [your city.].”
The only way to make this happen is by including SEO in your real estate digital marketing strategy. An optimized SEO campaign ensures that your business ranks high for the relevant phrases and search keywords your potential clients will likely use. When you have a well-optimized SEO strategy, you can direct potential home sellers to your site or get them to call you.
SEO involves on-page and off-page optimization. On-page strategies include keyword research and building links to your website from other reputable sites. The more authority your site gains, the higher visibility on Google’s search results, and the more traffic and leads to your website.
Include Content Marketing in Your Real Estate Digital Marketing Strategies
Besides optimizing the existing pages on your site for SEO, you also need to focus on adding new pages with valuable and informative content. This popular real estate lead generation strategy, known as content marketing, helps to drive qualified traffic to your site.
As a real estate professional, you’re likely to hear many of the same questions from your potential clients:
- How long does it take to sell my house?
- What is the best way to sell my house fast?
- What can I do to increase my profits?
- What is the cost of buying or selling a home?
While the answers might seem simple, providing detailed explanations on your site is helpful for interested home buyers and sellers. You can provide this information through weekly blog posts, infographics, or videos. Publish periodic content about property tips, real estate trends, and agency information to add value to site visitors. When potential clients come across this valuable content, it helps improve your brand image and makes them trust you.
Content marketing is an excellent real estate digital marketing strategy to build your authority as a trusted and reliable real estate investor. Content marketing is not just about creating content you think your audience will like. It’s about creating content that appeals to search engines as well. So, while creating new content, you can follow SEO best practices by including specific keywords and other strategies to rank your content better on search engines.
Google focuses on providing users with the most relevant information. Regarding real estate, the search engine tries to match users with local information. Creating high-converting landing pages for each city can attract individuals looking for specific information like “how to sell a house in Texas.”
By producing highly localized content, you increase the chances of ranking for less competitive keywords, increasing your online visibility and exposure.
Focus on Conversion Rate Optimization to Generate Qualified Leads
Once you drive traffic to your website, you must focus on converting them to leads. One of the best ways to increase leads as part of your digital marketing strategies for real estate investors is to ask site visitors to share their email addresses through contact forms or newsletter signups. You can then use conversion rate optimization (CRO) techniques to get the maximum possible conversions. Some popular CRO strategies include:
- Add powerful Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons and text on blog posts.
- Influence and persuade site visitors to act by using social proof and fear of missing out (FOMO).
- Use lead capture forms.
- Capture user attention by using powerful videos on your site.
- Reduce bounce and exit rates.
- Test multiple versions of different elements on your site to find the most effective way to convert visitors.
Leverage Social Media Digital Marketing Strategies for Real Estate Leads
Popular social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok can help attract leads. These platforms are great tools to advertise your brand and increase online exposure for your real estate business.
You can post pictures or links to relevant real estate content that interests your audience. You can try paid advertising on Instagram or Facebook to reach your target audience. You can also share photos of recently renovated homes that you have sold, testimonials from happy clients, home renovation ideas, and highlight other major milestones to build your social media follower count and increase audience engagement.
Remember, when it comes to social media, you must be regularly active to increase audience engagement. So, develop a content calendar and frequently post to improve your online reach. Also, keep your content fresh and updated with changing audience preferences. For example, a few years back, aesthetical photos were the biggest trend on Instagram. However, recently the platform has focused more on short videos known as reels. You can maximize exposure and increase leads by keeping your social media strategy updated.
Develop a Powerful Email Marketing Strategy for Real Estate Investors
Once you have gathered the email addresses of site visitors by using web forms, you can use the right email marketing strategies to nurture and develop your leads. If you don’t already send your target audience a weekly or fortnightly email newsletter, this is a great time to get started.
In your weekly email, you can include recent information about homes you have sold. Share positive customer feedback and specify any other services you offer your potential clients. You can also include real estate tips that your clients might find helpful.
You can have multiple email lists. For example, one list can go out to interested homebuyers looking for properties in a specific neighborhood. Another list might be exclusively for motivated sellers looking for easy ways to sell their homes.
Email marketing makes it easy to reach your leads directly in their inboxes with interesting and helpful information. They’ll know whom to call when it’s time to sell or buy a home.
Build a User-Friendly Website
A user-friendly website is non-negotiable. A website is your online presence and makes it easy for potential clients to connect with you. It doesn’t matter whether you implement any other digital marketing for real estate strategies on this list, but you need to build a website ASAP.
However, keep in mind that it’s not enough that you have a website. Ensure it is functional and SEO-friendly to pull in the leads. Here are a few points to help you optimize your real estate website:
- Ensure your website is user-friendly and easy to navigate so potential clients can learn more about your realtor services. They’ll also understand why they should work with you over other real estate investors.
- A mobile-friendly and responsive website provides users the best experience, irrespective of their device.
- A complete list of listings and properties that you have sold recently will give site visitors a clear picture of your services and portfolio.
- Add helpful content that guides visitors through the entire spectrum of home selling or buying. Include helpful blog posts on moving, listing homes, staging the properties, and more.
- You can add helpful real estate tools to your site, like a mortgage calculator, to increase the value-addition to potential site visitors.
- Consider adding AI-powered live chat features to your site. With this chat option, site visitors can quickly connect with your team any time of the day and get answers to questions within a few seconds.
Target the Right Audience with Pay-Per-Click Real Estate Ads
Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are an excellent online marketing tool for real estate investors. It helps you generate qualified leads since people who click on your ads are more likely to be interested in your services. When it comes to PPC ads, you pay the costs of advertising only when someone clicks on your ad.
PPC ad campaigns are tailored toward an audience who has searched for related keywords to your services. It helps spread the word about your services. It also increases your online exposure while generating highly qualified leads who are more likely to become your clients.
Build and Implement a Local SEO Digital Marketing Plan for Real Estate Professionals
Local SEO is an excellent digital marketing strategy for real estate professionals looking to grow and develop their businesses. The easiest way to get started with local SEO is by uploading your business information, including your name, location, and contact number, on Google Maps. Ensure that the name, address, and location are consistent so that search engines match your information across channels. Consistency makes it easy for potential clients to check your information and connect with you.
Listing your business on local online directories can also help in increasing traffic and visibility. Try to get your business listed on popular online real estate directories like Trulia or Zillow. These sites can increase online visibility and help your local real estate rankings.
Develop Video Digital Marketing Strategies for Real Estate
Quality pictures are essential for your website, but photos do not capture the complete essence and vibe of the company. Video marketing can be a tool that puts you ahead of your competition. It can make you stand out, show professionalism, and build trust. If you’re trying to generate more leads, video production and optimization is a must-have tool in your digital marketing arsenal.
Here are some popular video types to include in your online marketing strategies:
- Listing videos
- Home seller or home buyer interview videos
- Customer testimonials
- Live stream Q&A videos
- Real estate advice for home sellers or buyers
- Special offer videos
- About me and explainer videos about your services
- Local neighborhood and community videos
- Case study or review videos
Manage Online Reputation via Reviews
Any review or feedback you receive through an online platform like Facebook, Google, Instagram, or Zillow is crucial for the development and growth of your business. Today’s customers are highly tech-savvy and investigate companies before connecting with an agent. By managing your online reputation, you increase your trust and credibility, which boosts lead generation.
Step Up Your Lead Generation Game Today
Motivated Leads is a trusted and experienced digital marketing agency dedicated to real estate professionals. We provide customized real estate digital marketing strategies for investors to streamline their marketing efforts and reach out to qualified sellers.
Learn more about how we help real estate investors accelerate their business growth and check a few of our successful deals for our clients. Schedule a free consultation with our team today to develop a tailored digital marketing plan for your real estate business.
