Top 10 Guaranteed Real Estate Marketing Ideas from Top Agents

As a real estate professional, you want to grow your business, and marketing plays a large role in capturing the attention of potential clients. A 2018 study by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) found 87% of home buyers purchase their home through a real estate agent. It’s evident there’s a market for real estate agents. But how can you reach prospects?

Below, I’ve compiled some real estate marketing ideas top agents use to promote their businesses. Whether you’re just getting started or are an experienced realtor looking to attract new clients, these marketing tips will help you create a successful marketing plan.

1. Create a website

Many consumers search the internet to investigate products and services before they buy. Creating a website for your real estate business will show prospective clients what you have to offer. Include listings on your site and update them regularly -- this will keep prospects coming to your site as they search for properties.

And add something a little unexpected to set your website apart. Take this mortgage calculator, and easy value add for visitors.

Image source: NoBedrooms

2. Build a blog

You can also start a blog and create content optimized for SEO. This ensures your posts show up in prospect search results every time. Tools like Google Analytics and Ahrefs can help you find the search terms and keywords your target clients are looking for and will inspire you with fresh topic ideas.

Make it easy for them to navigate to your main website and link to your profile pages on other real estate sites so they can learn more about you and your business.

And don't forget to create interesting images for your posts. This infographic would make a great addition to any blog post or email marketing campaign.

Image source: Space Simply

3. Develop email marketing campaigns

Send a monthly newsletter roundup of your blog content, and reach out to contacts when new property listings are available. Include images of the properties that link to the full listing, a video walkthrough of the property, or a virtual staging of the home.

4. Employ virtual staging

How can you pique buyer interest? Give them a sneak preview of what the home looks like by using a virtual staging website. Online staging saves you the time and money of physically staging the property. And a 2018 study of 4,200+ homes found 85% of staged homes sold for 6-25% more than unstaged homes.

5. Try experiential marketing

Experiential marketing engages your prospects and "invites an audience to interact with a business in a real-world situation." Host a tour of the area you’re selling in, hold an event to teach area homebuyers about the process of buying a home, or arrange an open house and invite buyers to view the home.

6. Partner with local businesses

Use your local connections and partner with clothing boutiques, home decor showrooms, and coffee shops to promote listings, and invite them to participate in an open house event. For a unique way to encourage prospects to visit your open house, set up pop-up shops in different rooms of the house.

This encourages potential buyers to explore each room, and you can work with the local businesses to determine discounts on goods that can be offered to the home buyers.

7. Run paid Instagram promotion

Instagram is another tool to get in touch with home buyers, promote your listings, and grow your brand. And your most beautiful images can reach even more people with a paid promotion.

Instagram ads allow you to pick a target audience, budget, post type (e.g. image, video, carousel), and length of your promotion. And you can use targeted hashtags to ensure posts are presented to the people you’d like to reach.

8. Use drone photography

Take sweeping shots of the home’s exterior and surrounding landscape using drone photography. Purchase a drone or use a drone service, like HouseLens or Sold by Air, to capture the perfect shot.

Use the photos to add an excitement factor to your listings. Video can be used to supplement your virtual tours or walkthroughs and show exterior features like patios and pools.

Don't have the drone photography chops you need to show your clients' homes in their best light? Services like Drone Base have thousands of experienced photographers around the globe and specialize in both residential and commercial real estate.

Image source: Drone Base

With over 188 million monthly viewers, Zillow provides the opportunity to get your business in front of thousands of new prospects. This resource from Zillow lists the steps to set up your own profile. Your profile allows you to share your listings with a large audience and connect with potential clients, increasing the likelihood of gaining a new buyer.

10. Ask for Referrals

Did you know 39% of sellers using a real estate agent found that agent through a referral from friends or family? If you're not asking for referrals, you should be. 

Follow up with buyers a few months after they've settled into their new home to ask how they're doing, and include a referral request in your email.

Hello [Buyer's name],

I hope you're settling into your beautiful home! You picked a great neighborhood to buy it, and I'm so happy to have been able to help you through the process.

I so enjoyed with working with you. If you have any friends or family looking to buy or sell in the area, I'd love the opportunity to work with them. I'm hosting a happy hour next week to talk with people about the current market.

Feel free to share this event link with anyone you think might be interested: [Insert link to event page]

Regards,
[Your name]

---

Some realtors will offer to plan a housewarming party for their new homeowners and use the party/guest list to meet with potential buyers. 

11. Make Your Own Videos

It's no secret that video can be a powerful tool for realtors. And it doesn't have to cost thousands. Whether you go for a highly produced video like the one below featuring client testimonials, or use video software to record a message from your laptop pitching your services to a potential client, video can be a way to set yourself apart from the crowd. 

12. Co-Host a Webinar

Want to make it easy for potential buyers or sellers in your area to understand the current market? Partner with a local lender, title company, or even your favorite staging service and host a webinar on a topic that will interest those thinking of making a real estate move.

For example, you might team up with a local home improvement service to conduct a webinar on the top five most valuable improvements sellers can make to their home to boost sales price. These changes and tastes can differ per state, so this can be valuable information sellers can't find online.

Real Estate Marketing Plan

Now that you have some marketing ideas, the next question is, "What’s the plan?" Without clear goals for your real estate business and marketing strategy, it’s difficult to measure success. Consider the following points when developing your marketing plan.

1. Create a vision statement

What do you want to accomplish in the short- and long-term? Develop a vision statement to identify the goals you’d like to reach. This makes it easier to lay out steps for reaching your business’ vision.

2. Identify your target customer

Who are you marketing to? Will you be marketing to sellers, renters, first-time home buyers, etc.? Identifying the personas you’re selling to paints a clearer picture of who to target with your marketing efforts.

3. Develop goals

Set goals for your overall marketing initiatives, and summarize which strategies you’ll use to accomplish these goals. What are the business goals you’d like to reach? And what criteria will you use to decide if these goals have been met?

4. Determine your unique selling proposition

Think about what differentiates you from your competition. Here are some questions you can ask yourself when developing your proposition:

• What can you offer that others can’t?
• How does your unique approach or personality create value for prospects?
• What are the latest pricing, selling, and buying trends in your market?
• How can you discuss these trends (including the numbers) with prospects?

5. Determine tools and budget for each strategy

Pick the top marketing ideas that will work for your business, selling proposition, and ideal target market. From there, calculate how much of your budget to allocate to each strategy.

6. Measure performance

Once you’ve identified the tools you’ll be using to market your business, write down key metrics to measure their success. Determine the timeframe for the strategy or campaign and set a goal. Let’s use a paid Instagram ad as an example:

Campaign: Instagram post promotion

Length of promotion: 3 weeks

Goal: The post should gain 1,000 impressions and have a click-through rate of 1%

With these marketing ideas, you’re sure to wow your potential customers and attract them to your services. Creating a marketing plan will help you set goals for your marketing campaigns and develop the steps to reach these goals. If you’re looking for more ways to promote your real estate business, check out the best real estate websites for selling a home next.