Marketing – Luxury Presence https://www.luxurypresence.com Award-Winning Real Estate Websites & Marketing Tue, 26 Sep 2023 21:26:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 4 Types of Real Estate Marketing Automation That Will Transform Your Business https://www.luxurypresence.com/blogs/real-estate-marketing-automation/ Tue, 20 Jun 2023 23:06:07 +0000 https://dc1e95fc423ecd4535b18.admin.hardypress.com/?post_type=blog&p=4842 According to a 2021 Zapier poll, automation tools saved marketers an average of 25 hours each week. By incorporating real estate marketing automation, agents can spend more of their time focusing on client interactions, networking, and gaining more business.

However, don’t think of real estate marketing automation as simply software that cuts out time-consuming tasks like manual data entry (though it does help with those too). Instead, imagine it as a tool to reach your larger goals like improving your outreach strategy to prospects, maintaining consistent business, and providing real value to clients and homeowners in your network.

In this ultimate real estate marketing automation guide, we’re going to take a closer look at the tools and methods of automation available for real estate agents and their capacity to completely revolutionize how you do business.

You’ll learn more about:

  • What real estate marketing automation can look like
  • The unique benefits of investing in automation for your business
  • The four most transformative areas of real estate marketing automation:
    • Email marketing automation
    • Social media automation
    • Lead generation automation
    • CRM automation

What is real estate marketing automation?

image of real estate agent holding iphone in hand and using laptop

Consider real estate marketing automation as a whole new way of thinking rather than just a speedy alternative. Begin with how you think about communicating with your clients. With automation, facilitating outreach with new leads can look more like “follow-up sequences” rather than “from scratch” conversations each time.

Your current, manual setup might look like this:

  1. An “8 by 8” framework: You send out helpful communications once a week over an 8-week period, ultimately leading up to a face-to-face meeting or appointment.
  2. Semi-regular communications at fixed touchpoints: You might reach out on important dates and anniversaries, right before property tax season, or other dates that make sense for your business.
  3. Sporadic outreach: You reach out when you have the time or have a good reason to get in touch.

You may already have some semblance of automation existing in your process—your date reminders or alerts are automatic, for example.

However, when the reminders pop up, you ultimately still need to sit down and put together a text, email, hand-written note, or call the contact directly. Technology helps make it easier, but these processes aren’t smooth and it’s easy for leads to fall by the wayside.

Now, let’s look at this process with real estate marketing automation:

  1. New leads and prospects provide information through an open house form or contact form on your website. All of those details automatically transfer to your customer relationship management (CRM) tool.
  2. When a new contact ID is created, it automatically starts the clock. You receive alerts for every new interaction and get reminders for when it’s time for personal outreach (like a phone call or meeting).
  3. Your email automation or SMS messaging tools automatically send out timed messages. You might have a follow-up sequence with welcome emails, information about the local area, and homes that match their preferences (especially if your contact form asked for details or they found you at an open house).
  4. You receive alerts when leads indicate interest: they’ve opened emails, clicked through the links, or even messaged back to say they want to look at a home or learn more about how you can help them.
  5. No matter where prospects are in the follow-up sequence, they receive seasonal notes about local events, market trends, and home maintenance tips.
  6. Your CRM actively manages all of those interactions so you can see who is a hot lead, who is a cool lead, and which tasks actually require your attention.

Automation should power your communication efforts so they stay humming along in the background as you focus on leads who are ready for your complete attention: buyers who know what they want to buy and sellers who are ready to sell.

Benefits of real estate marketing automation

Reframing your understanding of real estate marketing automation in terms of “follow-up sequences” opens the door to a wide array of benefits for every agent—whether you focus on buying, operate primarily as a listing agent, prefer to act as a referral agent, or are the leader of a large real estate team.

Along with the benefits of faster task completion and not having to rely solely on memory to keep your outreach efforts going, you also tap into these transformative benefits of real estate marketing automation for your business:

Increased efficiency in lead generation and nurturing

At your open houses, networking events, and day-to-day life, you’ll generally collect a handful of names and numbers. These opportunities require your manual attention, at least until you enter their details into your database.

Automation at this stage gives you two new avenues for generating leads. We’ll dive deeper into automated lead generation tools later on in the guide, but for now, here is an overview:

Contact forms at your open houses

Instead of having potential leads sign in on a piece of paper, set up a tablet with an easy-to-use form. This way, their contact details go straight to your database or CRM. That means no data entry for you and zero delays for them.

Contact forms on your website

If you’ve invested in digital marketing, you might already have a robust online presence. For example, maybe you have an “active listings” landing page on your website or have a blog with weekly articles, home maintenance tips, and other useful information.

All of this content should eventually route interested readers to an online sign-up form that deposits their contact details and their specific preferences.

New leads in your database need a lot of time and attention. Since they’re brand new contacts, they don’t have a relationship with you yet, and you aren’t likely to be top of mind if they’re considering buying or selling a home.

Remember: there are over 3 million real estate agents with active licenses, so your new lead is probably already in someone else’s database. In fact, out of a hundred prospects, only one or two are likely to make a transaction with you this year.

This means the second someone new is in your system, it’s time to start the outreach and nurturing process. However, when you’re running all your own systems manually, it can be hard to find time for each of them, and leads that initially seem unpromising can simply drop off.

With real estate marketing automation, you don’t have to decide who to prioritize; you can prioritize everyone. Leads automatically get a series of predetermined email and SMS messages based on the communication tracks you create, even if you’re too busy to pay them much attention.

Eventually, these automated outreach efforts will help new contacts settle into a more manageable workload—you’ll know who’s engaging with your outreach messages, who’s actively looking for help, and who isn’t likely to work with you at all.

Personalized communication with leads and clients

A decade or two ago, mass emailing and messaging were the main forms of outreach AKA generic newsletters and messages that many recipients ignored. But today’s real estate marketing automation tools offer personalization, not just scalability.

You can tag (or invest in a CRM that automatically tags) leads based on their interests and what communications you think are most relevant.

Remember: think of real estate marketing automation in terms of those “follow-up sequences.” This means you can create these communication campaigns or your own variations:

  • First-time homebuyers: Contacts in this bucket will receive emails about how the home-buying process works, down payment assistance programs, and how realtors can help them find their first home.
  • Experienced buyers: Provide mortgage rate updates, market insights, and helpful information about real estate laws, property tax rules, and other regulations that might affect their purchasing decisions.
  • Sellers: Give helpful tips about staging, real-time market insights, and property pricing strategies.
  • Open house leads: Depending on the tools you’re using, your database can start categorizing open house leads based on the particulars of the house that they viewed.

For example, let’s say you got two new contacts today: one at an open house listed at $850,000 and another at an open house at $400,000 located half an hour away. These two prospects are in very different markets, so you can use automation to set specific communication guidelines based on these preferences.

Personalization helps you provide real value to all of your leads. With real value added, fewer contacts will unsubscribe from your mailing list, and your communication efforts will create trust between you and your potential clients.

Consistent branding and messaging across all channels

The best way to create a memorable relationship with new leads is to have a very consistent brand voice and message. This means you need to have the same tone, unique selling proposition (USP), and expertise across every marketing channel you use.

This is another area where real estate marketing automation tools can help you. Today’s marketing platforms have integrations and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), so you can link all of your content together.

For example, from a centralized platform, you can publish social media posts about a new blog article, publish that blog article, and send out email newsletters that link back to it.

When you’re planning your content creation strategy, you can take further advantage of the opportunities of marketing automation. You might create a series of blogs and social post content about a specific topic and then schedule them to post or send in an order that makes sense to all of your recipients—for instance, a series of “First Time Home Buyer: What You Need to Know Financially” blog posts.

You can do the same with your home maintenance topics, market analysis topics, and more. This makes the content smoother and more cohesive while still allowing you to space out the delivery over time.

Better tracking and analysis of marketing efforts

Data analysis gives you a much deeper level of understanding of your contacts. Automated data analysis is even more powerful because you don’t have to manually extract the data, compile it, or set up formulas.

Some of the most valuable avenues of automated tracking include:

  • Identifying a critical point when leads are ready for a face-to-face meeting
  • Automatically tracking incoming messages that indicate a hot lead
  • Noting increased activity on certain buying or selling resources
  • Measuring percentages of active leads per new contacts and transactions per leads (conversion rate)
  • Noting which marketing channels produce the most leads
  • Noting which marketing channels produce the most profitable leads and converted clients

When reviewing areas for real estate marketing automation in your existing process, note the data analysis tools that come with the software. Once you get acquainted with the analytics tool, set time aside each month to dig into that information for more insights into your contacts and marketing strategy.

Improved ROI for marketing spend

With marketing automation for your real estate business, you don’t need to guess which channels and campaigns are the most effective. Instead, you can track which campaigns, open houses, and platforms are the most valuable for your business and adjust accordingly.

As you collect more data, note the cost per acquisition of a new lead, A/B test different messages, and forecast your marketing budgets with more detail. The detailed insights you gather can lead to far more precise decision-making, where growth isn’t a gamble and you aren’t operating in the dark.

Must-haves for your real estate marketing automation

decorative image for blog about real estate marketing automation

There are four key avenues of real estate marketing automation that every agent should prioritize:

  • Email marketing
  • Social media
  • Lead generation
  • CRM automation

Focusing on these aspects allows you to personalize messages while ensuring prompt outreach to all of your leads and contacts. Keep reading for tips on how to implement each type of automation.

Email automation

If you’re worried about making too many big changes at once, we recommend starting with email marketing automation. This single aspect will dramatically affect how you communicate with everyone in your network, leading to fast benefits and better relationships.

The beauty of email automation is that it can send out the right message to the right people at precisely the right time. No more lag time between a completed form and the follow-up email, and no more skimming through your “Sent” folder to see who needs a nudge.

Why you should use email automation in your real estate business

While all of your marketing efforts have their place, one of the most lucrative and irreplaceable business assets you own is your email list. Email serves the powerful purpose of connecting you directly to your audience and keeping you top of mind.

The highly customizable nature of email marketing means that by differentiating your messaging for each lead, you can provide high-quality service for leads at any point in their real estate journey.

Additionally, your email list is one of your only audience lists that is truly yours. The changing landscape of social media means that your follower lists on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok could abruptly shift at any time—you don’t have full control over these platforms.

However, your email list is truly in your hands, not dependent on the mercy of any algorithm.

For the vast majority of real estate agents, email marketing takes on a “one size fits all” approach. This strategy keeps you showing up regularly in the inbox of your audience, reminding them of your expertise and your presence in their area. This approach works well for agents who are early on in their careers and still dipping their toes in the water of various marketing strategies.

However, for luxury real estate agents who are ready to take their email marketing to the next level, automation is a powerful tool. Email automation allows you to write a set of emails upfront, then set the system to send the message to certain leads at specific times.

For example, if someone visits your site and signs up for your email newsletter, you can create an automated welcome series to help them get to know you and open the door for them to ask questions or set up a meeting. This way, potential clients have a much lower chance of slipping through the cracks.

Further, email automation as part of your real estate marketing automation strategy can benefit your luxury real estate business by:

Making your leads feel seen and heard

A recent study by Accenture revealed that 91% of consumers are more willing to buy from businesses that give them personalized and specific offers.

When your email marketing is responsive to the needs of your clients and leads, you make them feel seen, heard, and important. You gain the ability to send targeted messages that matter to them instead of clogging their inbox with content that’s only helpful to a different subset of your audience.

Email automation allows you to differentiate and personalize your emails to clients based on previous actions they’ve taken online or based on assigned categories. This helps remove the large-scale feel from email marketing—the feeling that you’re addressing everyone—and instead makes leads feel as if you’re specifically addressing them.

For instance, in the welcome series example above, you might send a series of three emails once someone signs up for your newsletter:

  1. This first email might be rather generic, with a quick introduction to your background and your services.
  2. The second email might provide helpful information about your local market.
  3. Lastly, the third note could dive into your top tips for buyers or sellers, depending on which category they fall into and their preferences.

By asking a few questions upon sign-up or creating various lead funnels with buyer or seller-focused materials, you can set yourself up to deliver relevant and helpful content from the very start.

Freeing up your time

When you automate an email response for various actions taken on your website, you save yourself the time of manually sifting through your website analytics to pinpoint new leads and follow up with them individually.

The automated nature of this strategy means you can essentially set it and forget it while still nurturing your leads appropriately and building trust and connection along the way.

With a properly-crafted automated email campaign, you can turn a casual browser who happened upon your site into a qualified lead without much added effort or time on your part.

How to use email as part of your real estate marketing automation strategy

Now that you have a better understanding of the benefits and importance of email automation, let’s get more in-depth with how you can actually use it.

As with most real estate marketing automation tools, getting acquainted with a new email platform can feel daunting at first. However, once you get started and stick to a tool that works for you, your automation efforts can come together quickly and begin making a positive impact on your business in no time.

1. Find the right platform for your goals

There are countless email automation options on the market, each with its own set of pros and cons. The right software for you will depend on your budget, how many subscribers you have (or hope to build), and your reporting and data needs.

Some programs are also more user-friendly than others, with features like drag-and-drop email design templates and smooth scheduling tools.

A few popular programs include:

Many platforms provide a free trial, either for a short amount of time or up to a certain number of subscribers. Once you’ve read reviews and general reports on different software options, initiate a free trial before committing to a paid service to see if it’s a good fit for you.

Since the initial process of learning how to use a new platform and transferring all of your email contents into a new system can require some intensive time upfront, aim to choose a platform you can use for your future marketing goals as well as your current needs.

2. Write your emails

Once you’ve settled on a particular software, it’s time to craft your emails. Explore your email automation program to find out exactly how it ties into your website analytics, and leverage automation in every way you can.

A great place to start is with a welcome campaign that can help build initial relationships. You might also craft campaigns around visitors viewing properties on your website, completing an inquiry about their home value, or utilizing a mortgage calculator.

Make the most of the automation by getting specific with addressing the exact pain points that come along with whichever action triggers each email.

Don’t forget to include a clear call to action (CTA) in all your emails. Whether you’re asking users to respond to a question or you’re sending them to a particular property page, provide a helpful next step for them to complete once they’ve read your email. This will open the door for deeper connections and ideally face-to-face meetings and contracts.

3. Create your campaigns

With your email copy ready to go, you can begin to configure your design and set up your campaigns.

Utilize preloaded templates and incorporate your own logo and branding in order to make each email feel uniquely like you. The style, branding, and tone of your emails should match the rest of your marketing materials, but creating each email shouldn’t require intense design chops. Keep the focus on your words.

Then, determine the triggers and timing for each email in every series. For example, if your welcome campaign includes four emails, you might send the first one instantly after signup, then move to every couple of days or even weekly. This way, you’re following up without becoming “clutter” in the receiver’s inbox.

4. Analyze data

As you test out your new campaigns, take time to periodically analyze their performance. Many email automation programs will provide useful information about how many people opened each email, read through it, and clicked on the links within it.

If you notice that some emails don’t result in many clicks, replies, or completed CTAs, it may be helpful to go back to the drawing board and tweak the copy. If any emails have a particularly low open rate, it’s time to change up the subject line. Email automation, like all types of marketing, requires ongoing trial and error and continual learning.

Social media automation

Just like any other online platform, social media marketing works best if you have a consistent posting schedule. With consistency, you can regularly engage with your audiences and build out another lead generation pipeline. Plus, you are building connections every time you post and reply to a direct message or comment. These seemingly small interactions can have a large impact on your business.

In fact, according to a 2020 Harris Poll with Sprout Social, 78% of consumers are willing to buy from a company after having a positive experience with them on social media. This ranges from aspects like timely responsiveness to the relevancy and quality of the content itself.

Why you should use social media automation in your real estate business

That being said, it can be challenging to post to all your socials at all times. Especially when this is only a small part of your actual day-to-day duties. Automation becomes essential with social media since showing up regularly is imperative to finding success within each algorithm.

How to use social media as part of your real estate marketing automation strategy

The first step is deciding what you actually need your automation tool to do and how it needs to perform. Depending on the social media automation tools you add to your tech stack, you can:

  • Automatically resize images and snippets to fit the preferred dimensions and character allowances for multiple different platforms at once.
  • Schedule your posts so they automatically go live, no matter how busy your schedule is that week.
  • Assess the success and reach of different posts to find the right posting schedule and content focus for each channel.

Another way to determine the best social media automation tool(s) for your business is to decide whether you want to adopt a multi-channel or omnichannel approach—meaning you decide to use multiple social media channels.

For example, you might access part of your market on Facebook while connecting with prospective first-time homebuyers on Instagram and professionals for your network on LinkedIn.

The right social media tool can help you schedule, upload, and analyze your posts to all these channels from one main platform, whenever you decide to run your campaign. Automation means you can publish posts consistently, be alerted to messages you should respond to quickly, and capitalize on trends that funnel the highest number of right-fit leads to your online contact forms.

Some popular social media automation platforms include:

Lead generation automation

Throughout this real estate marketing automation guide, we’ve incorporated two methods of lead generation: website form lead generation and open house lead generation.

Let’s take a closer look at both options so you can prioritize the best one for your business or consider other options for automatable lead generation.

Website form lead generation

Prospective buyers and sellers are doing their research online more than ever before. In fact, 41% of homebuyers start their search online—not just through sites like Zillow and Realtor.com, but also through Google searches to find more localized resources.

Your website can capitalize on this traffic with SEO-friendly first-time home buyer guides, frequent reports about the market, and other information targeted to the specific towns and neighborhoods you serve.

But once they’re on your website, what happens next?

This is where a website form (and automation to match) comes in. If you convince your online visitors to submit their details and preferences through a contact form, then providing immediate value is crucial. You can do this by automatically sending a confirmation message and having your CRM add them to a follow-up track that’s the right fit for them.

For example, someone who fills out your form at the bottom of an article about home staging is likely to be a seller, while someone on your down payment assistance article is likely to be a buyer. You can even set up an automatic alert so you can call your new lead as soon as they click that submit button.

Open house lead generation

Open houses are primarily lead generation tools, not selling tools. The majority of the people who come through are prospective buyers and many of them might not have agents yet. So, collecting their contact information can help you secure more leads and, eventually, more business.

Automated forms can optimize this entire process, especially if you put in the work upfront to perfect the process. Consider these strategies:

  • Tie each form to the specific property: Anyone stopping by a specific open house is likely to be interested in the house based on its location, size, price, or features (or a combination). This is the beginning of a personalized report that you can send them every time a comparable house hits the market.
  • Ask specific questions on the form, such as if they already have an agent: If an open house lead doesn’t have an agent, reach out to them the following Monday and set them up on an automated “8 by 8” follow-up track.
  • Assign open house leads to newer agents on your team: If you have a team, your newest agents will need a little help finding leads. Assign out the leads you collect so they can gather more information and start forming relationships. You can even make this standard practice by automatically assigning each new lead to someone on your team through your CRM.

CRM automation

Every agent has a database, whether it’s a Rolodex, a spreadsheet, or a list of Google Contacts. But what every agent really should have is a CRM.

These platforms are more versatile databases that allow you to easily store prospect and client information, track opportunities and outreach efforts, and generate reports based on any of the fields in the account details, from “actively searching” to “interested in duplexes.”

Your CRM should be at the center of all your platforms, software, and real estate marketing automation tools; everything should tie back to this essential resource.

By investing in a CRM that offers automation functionalities, you can perform the following:

  • Automatically personalize communications with each lead’s name.
  • Sort different contacts for different follow-up tracks or outreach efforts.
  • Assess the value of your active pipeline and forecast transactions for the year or quarter.
  • Assign (and reassign) prospects to people on your team based on your preferred variables.
  • Streamline your data entry processes so accounts are automatically generated for new leads, updated as prospects interact with you, and shifted to the next stage of the process.
  • Automatically set up tasks tied to each stage of a lead’s journey so you receive reminders, have appointments scheduled in your calendar, and never leave leads in a gap between stages.

CRM automation is like having a virtual assistant who manages administrative tasks on your behalf so you can focus on client meetings, networking, and building your business strategy.

Some popular CRM software includes:

Transform your business with real estate marketing automation and Luxury Presence

digital marketing professional on phone sitting in backseat of vehicle discussing real estate marketing automation strategies with a client

Real estate marketing automation is more than just automating manual tasks. It’s about transforming your business and communicating with your clients in a more strategic way.

Ready to power up your real estate business by working smarter, not harder with Luxury Presence? Reach out to our team for more information on how you can grow with our modern marketing platform and trained experts.

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7 Steps to Real Estate Content Marketing Success https://www.luxurypresence.com/blogs/real-estate-content-marketing/ Mon, 12 Jun 2023 11:45:21 +0000 https://dc1e95fc423ecd4535b18.admin.hardypress.com/?post_type=blog&p=559 Selecting a real estate agent is a high-stakes choice, as buying and selling a home is often one of the biggest decisions a person can make. So, how does a potential client not only find you, but also know that you’re the right fit for this important process? One smart way to get discovered, set yourself apart from the competition and establish yourself as a trusted, go-to expert is through real estate content marketing.

What is real estate content marketing?

Content marketing is the process of creating engaging content that is relevant to your ideal client. This may include blog posts, neighborhood guides, videos, infographics, white papers, case studies, and more. The content you create should provide potential clients with information that adds value for them while demonstrating your experience, establishing you as an expert, and building brand awareness for your real estate business.

The value of real estate content marketing

With the real estate market getting more competitive with every passing day, a solid content marketing strategy can make a big difference in helping your business stand out and grow.

Content marketing demonstrates your expertise

When potential clients are looking for a real estate agent—whether they’re getting ready to list a property or looking for the home of their dreams—they want to know they’ve found someone they can trust.

Content marketing gives you the opportunity to demonstrate that you’re in the know about real estate and your local area, that you’ve handled situations like theirs before, and that other clients have had terrific experiences with you.

Content marketing helps you connect with potential clients

Developing engaging content that speaks to what potential clients are looking for is a great way to connect and build relationships with them. And when you SEO optimize your content with relevant keywords (more on that below), you can get discovered by and connect with even more potential clients.

Content marketing helps you build brand awareness

The more quality content you build out, the more chances potential clients have to see and learn about your brand. This increases the odds that when they’re ready to hire a real estate professional, they’ll think of you.

How to build your real estate content marketing strategy

image of real estate agent holding tablet reviewing his real estate content marketing strategy

1. Understand the needs of your ideal client

The first step in developing a great real estate content marketing strategy is to think about what information and resources would be most valuable to the people you are trying to reach and work with. To ensure your content is timely, relevant, local, and personalized for your target audience, you want to make sure you understand their pains, fears, dreams, and desires (PFDDs).

Start by thinking about the interactions you have with locals, neighbors, and potential clients in your everyday life and work. Consider the following:

  • What questions are your ideal clients asking as they consider moving to a new property or putting their property on the market?
  • What do your ideal clients struggle with? For example, what are the hardest parts of preparing to move? What are they worried about when they think of starting over in a new city?
  • What are your ideal clients dreaming about for their life and home?
  • What are locals talking about? Here, you can also think beyond real estate and consider the news items, neighborhood updates, and other local topics people are buzzing about.

As a real estate agent and member of your local community, you may already have a good sense of the answers to these questions. But it’s important to always keep your finger on the pulse, so you can ensure you continue to develop content that is relevant and timely.

A few ways to make sure you’re staying in the know include joining planning committees, attending community meetings, town halls, and real estate seminars, sending emails to your mailing list that both share information and ask for it, and seeking out local groups and communities on social media to see what people are talking about.

2. Do your research

To take it one step further and become a true expert in what matters to local buyers and sellers, and specifically to your target audience, you’ve gotta do your research.

Tap into local data

Using local data can help you take your content to the next level with information about exactly what your customers want to know. Some great sources for this include Inman, The National Association of REALTORS, The National Association of Homebuilders, Data.gov, City-Data.com, and The National Multi Housing Council.

Use smart keyword tools

To rank higher in the search results and get in front of your target audience, you should be incorporating the keywords they’re looking up. Tools like the Topic Research Tool and Keyword Magic Tool from SemRush and the Keywords Explorer and Content Explorer from Ahrefs can help you learn more about what people are actually searching for, so you can produce that key content and make sure it gets discovered.

For more ideas, here are 141 of the best real estate keywords to boost your website ranking.

Understand top-performing topics

These are the top-performing and most popular organic topics for real estate. They’re a great starting place when you’re thinking about what consumers want to learn about and what type of content to develop. It’s a good idea to take the time to see what’s already out there, what you can learn from it, and where you can add even more value.

  • Selling property
  • Area and neighborhood descriptions
  • Renting and leasing
  • Repair and maintenance
  • Mortgage and loans
  • Planning and rooms
  • Prices and the local market
  • Community and activities

3. Establish your brand voice

Before you start developing content, it’s important to know your brand voice and tone. This is a key factor that can set you apart from the competition and establish trust. Your brand voice should reflect your personality, represent your brand, and build connections with your audience.

To develop your brand voice, start by thinking about who you are, what you stand for, and who you’re speaking to. For example, if your personal voice and brand identity center around being humorous, you might find ways to inject this personality into your content, in a professional way.

If you’re working with luxury sellers who highly value their privacy, you may use a voice that emphasizes your experience and discretion with clients like them.

Once you’ve landed on the voice that feels right for you, consider building some guidelines to ensure that the content you produce is always on-brand. Here are a few great resources designed to help you with that process:

4. Showcase your expertise

Once you’ve done your research, established your voice, and have an idea of the type of content that will best speak to your ideal client, it’s time to start building it out and highlighting your local expertise.

Establish yourself as a subject matter expert

Customers come to you for your expertise in real estate, with the understanding that you deeply know your local market and the ins and outs of the real estate process. Your content is a great way to build this trust.

Consider making a short list of the topics that you think will best resonate with your target audience, and start building out content that speaks to it. Write blog posts, share content on social media, create videos, and show customers that you genuinely know and understand those key details.

Here are some examples of the types of content you might develop, depending on your local market and audience:

  • Your local area. You can create neighborhood guides, lists of the best attractions in your local area, or calendars with current lists of upcoming local events.
  • Preparing to sell. How can interested sellers get their homes ready for the market? What tools do they need? How can you support them in achieving those goals?
  • Packing and moving. Build content that shares insider tips, tricks, and hacks for moving, plus local resources potential clients might find helpful.

Tailor your content for your audience

Clients want to feel like their questions are being answered and their needs are being met. Personalized content helps you do just that. When you know your ideal clients’ pains, fears, dreams, and desires, and what’s on their minds, you can develop content that feels tailor-made for them.

A great example of this is the content produced by Luxury Presence client Jade Mills. As a top-producing Beverly Hills real estate agent, Jade understands how changes in the market have the potential to impact her clients. Her 30 Seconds with Jade series speaks directly to her very specific, highly localized market, offering intel and advice that showcase her expertise and build trust.

In Jade’s own words: “During the pandemic, I started an Instagram series called ‘30 Seconds With Jade.’ In it, I answer pressing questions, explain real estate trends, and showcase luxury listings. Even in an unprecedented and unsure time, it helped me keep in touch with clients and colleagues and bring in new business.”

Talk about what they care about

It’s important to create content that touches on the issues that people truly care about. Honesty builds trust, so don’t be afraid to share both the highs and lows about your market and community. As a local, you probably have your own opinions, which you can thoughtfully transform into brand content that your audience will find helpful.

This might include the status of affordable housing, challenges with the local infrastructure or transportation options, details about community programs, and the pros and cons of certain local amenities.

5. Feature partnerships that grow your network

As a local real estate agent, you probably know a ton of great businesses of all kinds, from landscapers to moving companies to interior designers to caterers. And that’s a great starting point for creating engaging content!

Think about the interests of your target audience, including the types of businesses you’re most often asked to recommend and connect with the ones in your local community that represent the same interests and values you do. Then build content that includes them, including local neighborhood guides, resource lists, and more.

Not only will sharing this information be relevant and useful to your target audience, but your content will also benefit the businesses you mention. This builds connections in your community and can have a reciprocal effect, where they will be more invested in your success and more likely to recommend your business, too.

6. Try out different formats

Different types of content tend to perform better on certain platforms. For example, social media is a great place to share listings or short snippets, while your blog is ideal for longer-form content. And video content is a popular content form on many platforms.

So, don’t be afraid to experiment! To start, think about the ways you like to discover and consume content and how you think your audience might, too. Then, try out different blog formats, social media channels, and lengths and styles of content. This is the only way to find out what performs best for your brand and what resonates with your target audience.

Whatever you do, keep in mind that real estate is obviously a highly-visual industry. So make sure that with any content marketing you develop, you’re prioritizing high-quality imagery and videos.

7. Get your content out there

Once you’ve begun creating content, it’s time to push it out there and make sure it gets discovered. Choosing the right channels to market your real estate business can make a huge difference in your ability to reach your target market.

The best approach is typically an omnichannel one. Here’s an example: Let’s say a potential client is searching for content about moving to your city. You’ve just published a blog post on this very topic and they discover it. But they get distracted by dinnertime and click away. With paid ads, you’re able to retarget them and drive them to a landing page that’s optimized for lead capture.

With the contact information they provided now in your database, you add them to your mailing list and send them relevant, topical content that reinforces your expertise and brand. One of those emails mentions an event you’re hosting—and they come, you connect, and they end up as your client.

Paid media

As it sounds, paid media is content that you pay for, such as digital ads. With paid traffic, you’ll often see results immediately and get the exact type of traffic you want, thanks to highly-specific targeting abilities. Paid traffic is also easier to scale, as you can easily adjust your budget to spend more on the ad network to get more results if it’s working.

Owned media

Your website, blog, and social media accounts are examples of owned channels: the ones you control and can use to help you reach your target market.

Earned channels

Earned channels include those that you have worked for and earned over time, including social media shares, press, reviews, and other word-of-mouth marketing.

Real estate content marketing ideas

Ready to start creating great content marketing? There are tons of opportunities, including the following:

Uplevel your real estate content marketing with Luxury Presence

Engaging content marketing can be a game-changer for your real estate business—but it can take time to develop on your own. Our team of content writers, real estate experts, and SEO specialists has the experience to write high-quality content that will help you stand out and attract more business. To learn more and get started, schedule a free demo with our team.

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6 Proven Real Estate Social Media Posts to Level Up Your Social Media Strategy https://www.luxurypresence.com/blogs/6-types-of-posts-to-use-in-your-social-media-strategy/ Wed, 26 Apr 2023 11:58:11 +0000 https://dc1e95fc423ecd4535b18.admin.hardypress.com/?post_type=blog&p=4133 With the abundance of new content constantly appearing on social media, it can be easy to be overshadowed when posting about your real estate business. However, the frequency, timing, and style of your posts can work together to help keep your brand top of mind for potential customers and clients.

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Research Group found that the top three technology platforms providing the highest quality leads were led by social media at 52%, followed distantly by CRM and MLS at 31% and 28%, respectively. You wouldn’t consider posting properties haphazardly or intermittently on the MLS, yet that was only the third most important lead generator.

It’s time to take that same conscientious approach to your real estate social media posts. When your prospective clients are ready to buy or sell, they want to move fast, and you want to ensure they turn to you for guidance. The following are the six best types of social media content to help your brand be the one clients think of first.

1. Infographics

laptop

While they often require more up-front creation time than other content types, infographics pack a heavy punch in establishing authority and expertise for your audience. This type of post presents relevant real estate data in a clear and visual way. Data-heavy content like monthly market updates performs especially well as infographics since you can incorporate graphs and charts that make numbers easier (and faster) for your followers to understand.

Quick lists of tips or terms are prime content for infographics because they catch the eye in a way plain text doesn’t, and the visuals offer the perfect opportunity to let your brand shine through. The style, tone, fonts, and colors you display on your infographics should flow seamlessly with your luxury real estate web design and newsletters.

Making infographics doesn’t have to be complicated. Using a platform with templates like Canva streamlines the process so that all you have to do is plug in your text and graphs, then tweak your design. Need some inspiration for attention-grabbing infographic posts? Try some of the following ideas for your real estate social media posts.

Market updates

Your potential clients are watching the prices for home sales in their current and prospective areas. However, the numbers are only the start. They need a friendly face and a ready ear for their questions. Real estate infographics based on national and local real estate board quarterly reports are visually appealing, and the format provides an easy reference for critical statistics with room for a personal message to offer help and advice.

Tips for buyers and sellers

Providing quick tips for both luxury buyers and sellers is a way to provide impactful, general guidance for the current market while highlighting your expertise as an agent. Homebuyers may not fully realize the role a professional real estate agent plays in the process and how your tools and experience can guide them through choosing the right property and negotiating prices. Social media infographics that include tips for buying and selling will portray your personal authority, authenticity, and trustworthiness.

Common pitfalls to avoid

No one knows better than a professional real estate agent what can go wrong in the real estate investing, home buying, or home selling process. Use your vast knowledge and experience to share some common avoidable mistakes in your real estate social media posts. Revealing some of the missteps you made before you began or even early in your career makes you relatable to your audience.

Neighborhood facts

Want to make a luxury home in an established or developing neighborhood stand out? Make sure your real estate social media posts include key facts about the neighborhood. Why is it the new up-and-coming neighborhood, a hidden gem, or a great investment? When you highlight an overlooked neighborhood, it can create a sense of intrigue and urgency in prospective buyers hoping to find that unique property. It also positions you as the expert who can find those opportunities for them.

Other real estate tips and tricks

Including high-quality content is a proven way to present yourself and your brand as a subject-matter expert. The options for relevant real estate social media posts are virtually endless, but some specific topics include:

  • How to add curb appeal that enhances your home’s style
  • Renovations that generate the best ROI
  • A home stager’s advice for sellers
  • Interior decor trends
  • Exterior home color trends
  • What color to paint your front door according to home sale statistics
  • Best plants for water-restricted areas
  • The top three things to do if you have a last-minute showing

2. Local updates

laptop open to social media platform showing real estate social media posts

As a luxury real estate agent, your brand success relies partially on your positioning as a local expert who’s truly “in the know.” When big events pop up in your area, make your followers the first to know and make sure they hear it from you.

Local updates can range from town festivals and parades to spotlights on small businesses or new openings. Consider what you might’ve liked someone to highlight for you if you were new in town: what restaurants should people try, and what should they order? What local retailers have the best selection of gifts?

This type of post adds value to your feed and provides important information to your followers, while also boosting your name as a go-to professional who really knows the area.

3. Photos

Your brand is entirely intertwined with your personality when you work as a real estate agent.

If your social media feed doesn’t include your face or your personality, it will be difficult for potential clients to trust you. Take photos throughout your day to highlight the beauty of the area and what stands out to you. Highlight aspects of your lifestyle that align with your brand.

Bring your current transactions into it (with the approval of your happy clients) and you can post success stories or exciting pictures on closing day.

Another excellent use of photo posts is to highlight your active listings. A single listing can become fodder for plenty of posts since you can call attention to each standout feature of the home to generate interest.

This not only positions you as an exceptional seller’s agent, but also serves the obvious purpose of helping you and your clients earn top dollar on the sale.

On many social media platforms, posting text with no photo won’t perform well. People simply don’t stop scrolling for a chunk of plain text.

When you set out to share your ideas on social media, include a quick photo to go along with your text so that people are more likely to stop and read. The following are some high-performing ideas for photo posts that generate leads.

New listings

How many times have you had clients tell you they weren’t even looking to relocate until they saw a picture of a house they fell in love with? Include beautiful photos in your real estate social media posts to show them the life they could have if they work with you.

Home remodels, renovations, and makeovers

Take full advantage of the popularity of home renovation shows by posting some before and after shots of remarkable home transformations. The average buyer can find it hard to look past specific or dated features without a visual cue for the possibilities that a renovation could bring.

These types of real estate social media posts are a great way to get buyers to consider those properties that could be spectacular with a little love.

Interior inspirations

Unless your audience is composed entirely of interior decorators and designers, they want and need ideas to show them how to personalize their space. Inspire them with photos that show how to add warmth to a large open-concept room or create an illusion of light and space in a cozier property.

“Just sold” properties

Create urgency by showing your potential clients what they are missing. Pictures of your latest closings also remind them of how quickly you can get their properties sold or help them buy a new one.

Community events, including client appreciation events and team events

While you want your existing and prospective clients to view you as an in-demand, successful real estate professional, it is also important to remind them that you are also a real person who appreciates those around you.

Show that you celebrate your successes with your team and your clients by posting photos of your events. And if it creates a little FOMO (“fear of missing out”), is that so wrong?

Team member feature

Having more clients than you can personally represent is a good problem to have. While you are the one they will reach out to, they need to know that you are backed by a team that you know and trust to help them. S

et the stage by highlighting your team members as dependable, respected, and accomplished professionals that work closely with you.

4. Videos

Just as sharing photos you take can help your audience get to know your personality, video can serve the same purpose—plus offering something more. Videos are a huge draw on social media and a vital criterion for the ever-changing platform algorithms.

Video is also one of the top ways to attract new clients. 73% of prospective clients are more likely to choose an agent that posts videos in their feeds.

If you find yourself trying to capture a concept as an infographic and getting stuck, that’s a sign that the concept may be better explained as a video.

Creating pre-recorded videos of yourself explaining real estate terms, tips, or processes is a simple way to distribute knowledge, gain followers, and build up traction in the social media space.

Not only does personality shine through on video a way no other medium can match, but video formats are exploding in popularity across social channels

Instagram Reels, for example, make your profile and content more accessible to anyone scrolling the social platform, and should be part of your strategy for growing your network by providing something of value to followers.

Use pre-recorded video for posts explaining strategies or concepts in-depth. Many realtors set up recurring series, like a monthly video explaining the state of the market or a longer series walking the audience through parts of a buyer’s contract or similarly dense document.

For less formal and less planned content, opt for live video. Facebook and Instagram both include options to “Go Live” and doing so will often trigger the platform to alert your followers and encourage them to tune in.

This format is perfect for sharing quick insights or tips, hosting Q&As with your community, helping people tune into a local event, or giving short updates on new construction or similar processes.

These shouldn’t be completely scripted, which is why they’re such a great way to help followers get to know and trust the authentic you.

It’s common to feel nervous or intimidated at the thought of creating and sharing videos of yourself online, but the benefits are truly worth it. Higher engagement, more trust from your community, and increased name and brand recognition can all result from video posts.

Consider some of the following types of real estate social media posts that are ideal with videos.

Property video walkthroughs

Everyone loves the ability to sit in their home or office and take their time viewing homes virtually. Virtual walkthroughs are one of the most effective types of real estate social media posts for turning a casual observer into a potential homebuyer.

Real estate education

You have potential clients that don’t know a luxury home is within their reach. There are also those that don’t know their aging property is a potential goldmine. Open up their horizons, present yourself as a real, approachable person, and show them how you can help them realize their dreams with a quick video or vlog.

Local business spotlight

Spread the love (and social media visibility) by featuring local businesses in the neighborhoods you represent and tagging them in your posts.

Show your audience how they could be enjoying Michelin-starred dining at a local restaurant, sampling locally-produced wine at a vineyard, sipping cocktails in their neighborhood bar, or seeing the best cultural exhibits at nearby museums and theaters.

Behind the scenes

The average client has no idea what it takes to successfully complete a real estate transaction. An eye-opening video might contrast “what you see” with “what you don’t” during the home buying or selling process. You could open by showing a home buyer touring a property and then closing on their new house.

Then, transition to the behind-the-scenes view in a fast montage of all the listing preparation, photography, marketing, showings, negotiating, and contract preparation.

5. Announcements

image of phone and keyboard

From upcoming events like open houses to online happenings (like a new blog post on your website), announcements involving your business make timely and interesting social media posts.

It’s always best practice to cross-promote your content across your web and social media accounts. If you write a new blog post, it makes sense to share the link to it on your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts.

By doing so, you’ll drive more traffic to your website and to the landing pages that will ultimately collect email addresses and follow-up information to solidify your leads.

Any networking events you plan to host, open houses you run, or big shifts in your business also deserve quick announcement posts across your social channels. No need for anything fancy: just attach a photo, and type up the update.

6. Testimonials

image of the different platforms one can use for real estate social media posts

Just like many agents are nervous about going on video, some also shy away from the idea of sharing testimonials and reviews on social media.

A natural thought is that it feels too much like bragging or feels inauthentic. However, the very best way to show followers the quality of work you do is to share past clients’ words about you.

As much as it might make you blush, it’s critical for your business that you build an online presence centered on trust. Buying or selling luxury real estate is a huge decision and financial undertaking—why would someone work with someone they have no reason to trust?

Sharing the words of happy clients goes hand in hand with sharing educational, personal, and valuable information with your followers. It helps your audience build a full, honest view of you based on your online presence.

Before you publish your real estate social media posts…

Build a bank of posts that includes all six of these types of content, so you’re ready to impress your potential clients with your social media presence. But before you hit “post,” consider a few more key elements:

Choosing platforms

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by how many social media platforms and options there are in today’s market. In general, business or education-related information (announcements, infographics, and some photos and videos) belong on LinkedIn.

Post every type of content on Facebook, and most of it on Instagram (leave it off of Instagram if it relies on a link, since Instagram doesn’t support those in captions).

For example, if you’re resharing a local news story, no need to post it on Instagram. Twitter loves quirky one-liners and quick tips, and is a forum to let your personality shine.

Posting times

Research the latest findings on the best times to post on each social media platform, as they change constantly. Putting in these few minutes before scheduling your posts can get you the most engagement for your content creation efforts.

Frequency

Set reasonable goals for yourself and your business—as consistency is key. Each social platform comes with its own recommendations for how often to post, and sometimes the expected frequency can feel unsustainable, especially if you’re doing all your marketing alone.

Get realistic about how often you can post, and consider bringing in help so that you can best leverage social media to attract clients.

Focus on real estate social media posts that boost growth, engagement, and credibility

Developing a content strategy requires more than coming up with creative real estate social media posts. However, it’s a vital component of the overall marketing strategy for growing your brand, increasing engagement, and establishing credibility.

When you employ the right posts at the right times, your social media content will work to enhance your other marketing efforts by making you appear approachable, knowledgeable, and trustworthy.

When you’re ready to attract more business and build your brand, let Luxury Presence show you how easy it can be with the right tools, expertise, and data. Browse our case studies to learn how we’ve helped luxury real estate agents around the U.S. attract more business online!

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The 17 Best Real Estate Instagram Accounts (and What You Can Learn from Them) https://www.luxurypresence.com/blogs/best-real-estate-instagram-accounts/ Mon, 10 Apr 2023 16:43:15 +0000 https://dc1e95fc423ecd4535b18.admin.hardypress.com/?post_type=blog&p=3331 Discover the best real estate Instagram accounts

At Luxury Presence, we know social media can be an effective tool for building your real estate brand and positioning yourself as a market leader.

With our social media expertise, we’ve seen time and time again how crafting a strong Instagram presence can help real estate agents and teams stand out and get results.

Think jaw-dropping, magazine-worthy visuals, snappy, polished content, relevant hashtags, professional headshots, and punchy bios.

You’ll find each of these elements in today’s best real estate Instagram accounts. If your Instagram profile could use an upgrade, the following accounts are a great source of inspiration.

From strictly professional accounts to those that blend business and personal life, this is a list of the best real estate accounts on Instagram.

Luis Iglesias Real Estate

 

Luis is doing a lot right with his Instagram, but one thing is for sure: he can post a good picture. His IG account is full of crystal-clear luxury real estate images, with each post detailing property information and how best to get in touch.

He mixes up his content by focusing on property details, like a brand new, top-of-the-line cooktop and custom cabinets, with exterior shots of a property showing architectural lines and impressive landscapes.

Takeaways:

  • Create an informational bio that also highlights your accomplishments
  • Include contact information with each listing

Chad Carroll

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chad Carroll (@chadcarroll)

With almost half a million followers, Chad Carroll’s Instagram features a healthy mix of professional, listing-related, and playful content to show off his personality.

On the personal side, he is not afraid to post photos of his family—and professionally, he gives frequent shoutouts to the people on his team and the success of his agency.

When he posts a property photo, he will clarify at the beginning of each post (from just-listed to sold).

Takeaways:

  • Mix in some of your personality into captions and updates to be more relatable
  • Include the status of each listing in a clear and informative way

Ginger Martin Luxury Real Estate

 

While many real estate accounts feature exclusively outdoor photography, Ginger Martin also posts interior images. She’ll zoom in on a doorway with a view of an impressive backyard or post a drone shot showing off a property’s private vineyard.

You never know what might excite a potential buyer, so you should put your creativity to work getting a few non-traditional angles of each listing you post.

Takeaways:

  • Use a mix of video, static image, and slideshow posts
  • Capture the attention of buyers with “Coming Soon” posts or exclusive walkthroughs through IGTV videos

WSJ Real Estate

 

 

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A post shared by WSJ Real Estate (@wsjrealestate)

The Wall Street Journal’s real estate Instagram account doesn’t shy away from the fact that they are a corporate account. They have a large audience that expects a specific presentation style, and the WSJ caters to this. Posts feature stunning photography with a “headline” overlaid on the photo itself.

Captions are reserved for more detailed writing and reporting. They feature real estate news stories that tug at emotions, as well as celebrity properties and unique luxury listings.

Takeaway:

  • Sprinkle in local news content about homes that have recently sold or are on the market
  • Analysis can both inform and entertain readers while emphasizing your expertise

Alicia Drake Real Estate

 

Alicia Drake’s account touches everything she’s currently working on. This includes her properties for sale, her “Coffee & Conversations“ Youtube channel (where she interviews real estate experts), and her seminars, where she offers real estate industry advice.

Naturally, she isn’t shy about posting selfies and discussing what keeps her motivated.

Takeaway:

  • Be confident when showcasing your personal knowledge of the real estate industry, from interior design to financing and education
  • Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn

Barry Cohen Homes

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Barry Cohen Homes (@barrycohenhomes)

Professional images and a modern, consistent typeface make Barry Cohen’s Instagram account worth following.

Each post includes important listing information and descriptive content (but not excessive). Instagram only features the first three to four lines of text in a user’s feed, so it’s important to nail the first two lines of each post.

Barry also takes time to feature testimonials from happy clients.

Takeaways:

  • Add text over thumbnail images to highlight important features or topics
  • Include success stories and other testimonials from happy clients

The Dawn McKenna Group

images from Dawn McKenna's instagram feed

Dawn McKenna uses her Instagram page to highlight her team and sprinkles in just enough about her personal life to keep things interesting.

She features ‘for sale’ and ‘coming soon’ properties with all the information buyers need in her captions.

She also goes a step further and gives video tours for some of her more lavish properties.

Takeaways:

  • Show you take pride in your team by highlighting their accomplishments, unique stories, and your office culture
  • Post content that sparks a conversation with your followers (and then engage with them)

Breitenbach Advisory

 

Breitenbach Advisory prides itself on its ability to “disrupt the status quo.” The team says this outright in their bio, setting the tone for the rest of their page.

They feature a cohesive brand by ensuring all their highlight reels and posts have the same colors and logos. They’ve put work into their highlight reels (which stay permanently on the profile, as opposed to stories, which disappear).

Viewers can deep dive into their portfolio, press materials, record-breaking sales, and new developments.

Takeaways:

  • Build consistency for your brand by using the same color palette throughout your page
  • Clearly and concisely highlight your unique value proposition, area of expertise, and achievements in your Instagram bio to attract your target audience

Tomer Fridman

 


Tomer Fridman does not skimp on his photos. Visitors to his page can tell that the properties he lists are given the attention to detail they deserve.

Each property post features a slideshow of images showcasing the most notable and luxury features. Tomer builds trust by posting about his in-person events and personal awards.

Takeaways:

  • Let your professional photographer be creative when it comes to capturing your listings
  • Consider aerial views or images from uncommon perspectives

The Elmes Group

 

The Elmes Group specializes in waterfront luxury properties, and their Instagram page does a great job reminding viewers of their particular niche.

The page mixes waterfront drone footage with property closeups to create dynamic content that appeals to their high-net-worth clients.

They highlight each team member’s successes and include personal touches like #throwbackthursday posts in honor of their “fearless leader” and CEO Tim Elmes.

Takeaways:

  • Your market niche should be obvious when followers review your content
  • Go beyond the surface by diving into related topics—from how-tos to best-ofs

Madison Malibu

Madison Hildebrand Instagram

Madison Hildebrand’s Instagram account is all about personal branding. He is unafraid to show his personality and lifestyle, including his 6-pack abs and his “rescue pets”, Pablo and Luna.

Madison connects with his followers by asking questions to start conversations, posting inspirational content, professional-looking selfies, and writing his captions in a conversational tone.

Takeaways:

  • Switch the focus from listings to yourself for a more personal and relatable feel
  • Try personalizing the way you write about showings, using words and phrases that define your brand

Ryan Serhant

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ryan Serhant (@ryanserhant)

Ryan Serhant does a fabulous job expressing himself through Instagram. He engages his audience with quick videos where he speaks directly into the camera.

He shows his devotion to his community by talking about topics relevant to them, all while sharing listings as a professional real estate agent.

His posted content invites followers to stay tuned, especially when he says, “I can’t wait to tell you.” Ryan takes advantage of his famous public image and participates in paid advertising.

Takeaways:

  • If you want to portray yourself as a public figure, try drafting content in a way that makes your followers feel included in your life
  • Take advantage of paid advertising opportunities, but only if they are relevant to your brand

Jade Mills Estates

Images from Jade Mills instagram feed

Jade Mills uses quick videos posted to her Instagram page to highlight her expertise. She covers topics like the importance of inspections, how a seller carry works, and strategies for connecting with clients.

Among her videos and photo posts are also house tours, giveaways, and tips for “looking the part” as a luxury real estate agent. She really does it all.

Takeaways:

  • Viewers have a short attention span. Make sure your posts are quick and to the point
  • Create videos that engage your audience by giving them helpful tips and tricks

Carrie Wells Aspen

 

 

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A post shared by Carrie Wells (@carriewellsaspen)

Carrie Wells shows her love for the outdoors and her community by posting seasonally-enticing pictures of all her homes for sale in Aspen, Colorado.

She mixes detailed shots with drone photography to give viewers a full spectrum look at each property. She makes sure to highlight her team and their hard work, while also highlighting her outdoor adventures.

She lives in Aspen, so sharing the community and attractions nearby does double duty as promotion for her market and her lifestyle. Her top two “pinned posts” are listings that just sold, where she includes details about the property and price.

Takeaways:

  • If you live and work in the same community, create content that gives an insider’s perspective on the local lifestyle
  • The correct use of hashtags makes your Instagram page easier for followers and potential customers to find

Phillip Owen Salem

 

Phillip Owen’s personality shines through from the moment you land on his account. You understand he loves fashion, he loves real estate, and he loves animals.

Coming at real estate from a fun and personal angle, Phillip mixes professional luxury with his personal life—and isn’t timid about posting photos of himself next to the pool in his bathing suit.

His photographs feature a blend of magazine-worthy self-portraits and real estate listings.

Takeaway:

  • Let your warmth, creativity, and personality shine (without sacrificing professionalism)
  • Blend causes you care about with real estate to bring your community together

Cindy Raney

 

 

Cindy uses videos to create segments like: “60 Seconds with Cindy” and “Suburban Chic with Zac and Cindy.” This helps her create consistency within her content and gives her viewers something to look forward to.

She highlights “happy clients” with posts dedicated to their experience working with her. Cindy does a great job representing her market and providing up-to-date information on all the homes listed by her team.

Takeaways:

  • Showcase your team and the hard work they bring to the table
  • Create segments, either weekly or monthly, which can make content planning easier

Carrie Nicholson

 

Dedicated to a consistent, bright feed, Carrie Nicholson makes buying a piece of the Hawaiian lifestyle look beautiful and carefree. Her page showcases who she is but also provides helpful details for learning about Hawaiian luxury real estate.

For example, when she is selling a beach property, instead of just posting a photo of the ocean, she posts dolphins and gives facts about how potential buyers can see dolphins but not invade their habitat.

Takeaways:

  • Create the kind of profile that anyone would enjoy following, even if they weren’t in the market to buy or sell
  • Build credibility by sharing your accolades—while also keeping your page fun and personal

Take your Instagram to the next level with Luxury Presence

social media marketing expert working on a strategy to help their client become one of the best real estate instagram acconts

We hope you’ve been inspired by our picks of the best real estate Instagram accounts. If you want to take your Instagram account to the next level without taking valuable time away from your business, our expert team is here to make it happen.

From developing a strategy to creating content to posting content, our team does the work to scale your following, increase engagement, and establish you as a market and lifestyle expert. Reach out and let’s chat about how we can build your brand and grow your business.

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How To Use Targeted SMS Real Estate Marketing To Get More Clients in 2023 https://www.luxurypresence.com/blogs/sms-real-estate-marketing/ Thu, 30 Mar 2023 15:59:18 +0000 https://www.luxurypresence.com/?p=9192 From SEO to social media to paid ads to email marketing, there are a ton of great opportunities to market your real estate brand and win new business. So, how do you make smart, informed decisions about which marketing channels will be the most effective and get you the results you want?

It all comes down to the numbers. And for SMS marketing, those numbers are staggering. Nearly 98% of text messages are opened, making SMS real estate marketing an excellent tool for creating awareness. And 64% of consumers think businesses should contact them via SMS more often—yet 61% of marketers still don’t use SMS messaging to their advantage.

SMS real estate marketing is proven to be an incredibly effective way to drive more leads, build brand awareness, and win more business.

Whether you’re looking to start an SMS real estate marketing program from scratch or refine your existing strategy, we’ll detail exactly how and why you should be incorporating this powerful marketing channel and give you the scoop on some of the best SMS providers for building a successful SMS real estate marketing strategy.

Benefits of SMS real estate marketing

SMS marketing has a ton of benefits and can be a really smart part of your marketing plan. These are some of the top reasons real estate companies should consider sending real estate SMS messages.

SMS real estate marketing is highly affordable

Compared with other marketing channels, SMS marketing is incredibly inexpensive, often costing just cents per message or a low flat fee. It’s low-risk, low-investment, and can dramatically bring down your cost of acquisition and boost your ROI.

SMS real estate marketing is personal

Receiving an SMS naturally feels more personal, as the majority of texts people receive are from people they know in real life. This is particularly true if you craft your real estate text messages in a thoughtful, customized way (more on that later).

SMS real estate marketing has fewer roadblocks

According to DataProt, nearly 85% of emails are spam. Your emails, even if they’re legit, may end up in a potential buyer’s Junk folder, or simply go unread. In contrast, an SMS program doesn’t have to battle Spam filters and is a much more reliable way to get through to clients and prospects.

SMS marketing gets faster responses

Quick responses can make or break a real estate deal. And SMS is an ideal marketing channel when speed is of the essence: 90% of text messages are read within three minutes of receipt and SMS messages have a response rate of 45%, compared to email marketing at just 10%.

Getting started with SMS real estate marketing

Ok, so you’ve decided that sending SMS real estate messages is a smart marketing channel for your business. Here are some tips to help you get started with your SMS marketing campaign.

Research and identify your target audience

Like with any marketing channel, you’ve gotta know who you are trying to reach.

Start by zeroing in on your target market’s pains, fears, dreams, and desires (we call this the PFDD framework). It’s important to be specific about exactly who you’re talking to, so you can create the right real estate SMS messages to connect with them. Think about details like their location, age, profession, income, gender, and other important demographic information.

Create a database with phone numbers

In real estate, your database is one of your most important assets. And you should be using it to develop marketing campaigns, including SMS real estate messaging. Whenever you run paid media campaigns to attract new leads or do any kind of networking, make sure you’re collecting the phone numbers of prospects and potential buyers so you can later use them in your SMS marketing campaigns.

Get permission to send SMS real estate text messages

First and foremost, you should only be sending real estate SMS messages to people who have consented to receiving them, for both legal compliance and strategic reasons. When gathering phone numbers, make sure to include a place for potential buyers and sellers to opt-in to receive these messages. This can be gathered by simply having them check a box on a piece of paper or digitally.

You must also comply with opt-out requests and remove someone from the list if they have asked you not to text them.

Choose the right SMS provider

There are a ton of different SMS platforms on the market. Choosing which to use is a personal decision that can depend on your budget, the features you’re looking for, and how tech-savvy you are. These are some of the most popular and best-reviewed options. For more, check out this article on the 7 best SMS apps for small businesses.

EZ Texting

EZ Texting has helped thousands of customer-centric small businesses engage their target audiences via SMS. It’s highly rated for its ease of use, customer support, and reliability. While less feature-rich than some other platforms, reviewers say it’s efficient and easy to use for sending bulk real estate texts.

Text Magic

Text Magic is an easy-to-use, reliable solution with a 99.95% uptime guarantee. It integrates with popular CRM and marketing tools and includes features such as two-way messaging, autoresponders, scheduled real estate texts, personalized messages, and more.

Podium

Podium is known for being user-friendly and intuitive, making it a great option for both newbies and tech-savvy agents. Features include two-way messaging, autoresponders, scheduled messages, personalized real estate SMS messages, and more. The service also integrates with popular CRM and marketing tools.

Salesmsg

Salesmsg is highly rated for its user-friendly platform, automation, and personalization. Automation tools include drip campaigns, autoresponders, and keyword triggers, and personalization tools include custom fields, dynamic fields, and merge tags, which can boost engagement and conversion.

Simple Texting

SimpleTexting gets raves for its affordable pricing models, user-friendly design, and extensive features. Tools include two-way messaging, autoresponders, scheduled messages, personalized messages, and SMS surveys and polls, and the service also has integrations with popular CRM and marketing tools.

Creating effective SMS messages

Once you’ve gotten your list of opted-in clients and prospects together and have chosen an SMS provider, it’s time to start crafting your messages. Here are some tips for how to write SMS messages that resonate and drive results.

Keep them concise

If you’ve ever gotten a political text, you know how people can react to long SMS messages. For real estate texts, it’s best to be concise, clear, and to the point. That’s not to say your messages shouldn’t have some personality. In fact, every message you send should reflect your brand voice and appeal to your ideal client.

Share compelling information

Put yourself in the shoes of the people receiving your messages. Don’t just send messages that you want to send—send messages they want to receive. Here are some examples of the types of real estate SMS templates you might create:

  • Details about upcoming open houses
  • Celebratory messages for the anniversary of a home closing
  • A poll that encourages them to share opinions about local matters
  • Appointment confirmations and reminders, with all the details they need to know
  • Property info about a listing that’s about to go on the market
  • Property info about a listing that has lowered the asking price
  • Follow-up texts answering questions a potential buyer asked

Create a sense of urgency

A sense of urgency can boost responses and drive results—but it’s important that this urgency is based on something real, so it doesn’t come off as salesy or untruthful.

This approach is especially great when messaging about open houses and listings. For example, you might send an SMS about an open house that only allows a limited number of visitors, or share that a listing’s deadline for offers is approaching.

Don’t overdo it

No one likes to be bombarded by text messages and information. Sending real estate SMS messages way too frequently can backfire, and might cause prospective clients and potential buyers to get annoyed, opt-out, or even move their business elsewhere. It’s important to figure out when your ideal clients best engage with your SMS messages and tailor your strategy accordingly.

Measure success

Pay attention to the details about how your SMS real estate campaigns are performing, so you can do more of what works and change what doesn’t. You might find that a specific time performs best for you, or that dynamically inserting a potential buyer’s name increases your response rate.

Your SMS provider should make it easy to see these insights—and once you’ve figured out what works best for your business and clients, you can set up real estate SMS templates and follow-up texts to make it even easier to send out effective messages moving forward.

Build your brand and uplevel your real estate marketing with Luxury Presence

SMS real estate text messages are an extremely effective marketing channel to add to your overall marketing plan, which should also include strategies for building your brand and online presence and attracting new business.

At Luxury Presence, we offer a full platform of products, services, and solutions that help you do just that. Schedule a call now to learn more about our award-winning real estate website designs and expert marketing solutions.

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How to Build High-Converting Real Estate Landing Pages (+ 7 Perfect Examples) https://www.luxurypresence.com/blogs/real-estate-landing-pages/ Thu, 30 Mar 2023 15:44:12 +0000 https://dc1e95fc423ecd4535b18.admin.hardypress.com/?post_type=blog&p=4650 Landing pages are a huge key to the success of many marketing campaigns, particularly those involving paid ads or automated emails. Even if people click through, if your landing page isn’t clear, engaging, and designed to convert, you can lose them right there. To capture the leads you want, you need a high-converting landing page.

What are real estate landing pages?

Landing pages are often confused with home pages. While your homepage is where someone might “land” if they find your site through search or another channel, a landing page is generally much more specific. A homepage should help new web visitors find other pages on your site, but a landing page should have a single goal and operate in a highly targeted manner. A high-converting landing page will drive clicks to your call to action (CTA), resulting in leads.

Anytime you run an ad or an email campaign, the link you include should drive to a clear, concise landing page that makes that intended action extremely easy to complete. And the more landing pages you have, the more opportunities you have to generate leads. According to HubSpot, companies see a 55% increase in leads by simply increasing their total landing pages from 10 to 15.

Why you need real estate landing pages

There are tons of benefits to building real estate landing pages, including:

  • Maximizing your impact on targeted traffic: If you’re spending money to reach your target audience through ads or emails, you want to see results. Landing pages help the audience you’re targeting see the value in what you offer and increase the odds that they’ll convert.
  • Building and growing your email list: By adding lead capture forms to your real estate landing pages, you can collect the email addresses of potential clients so you can contact them in the future.
  • Showcasing properties in depth: Creating dedicated single-property websites allows you to show off your listings and provide potential clients with valuable information they’re looking for.
  • Creating a sense of urgency: Landing pages are a great way to create a sense of urgency about listings, deals, and more. For example, you can urge someone to sign up for your mailing list to get immediate access to exclusive listings.
  • Accurately measuring campaign results: When you drive potential clients to a landing page, you can better track the success of your campaigns, including page views, bounce rate, conversion rate, and more.

7 effective real estate landing page examples

Before getting started, it can be helpful to see landing page examples from other real estate businesses. These Luxury Presence-built landing pages are beautiful—and highly effective at capturing buyer and seller leads.

Buyer Leads

Vanessa Frank

Screengrab from Vanessa Frank's landing page

Why it works: This custom landing page was built as a place to drive paid ad traffic and generate buyer leads. It features a lead capture form with a sense of urgency that prompts visitors to immediately enter their information in order to continue.

Gianni Sammarco

Screengrab from Gianni Sammarco's landing page

Why it works: High-impact visuals, transparent language, and clear benefits are tailored to the audience of modern luxury buyers in Las Vegas—and a single call to action effectively captures leads.

Wow Real Estate

Screengrab from WOW Real Estate's landing page

Why it works: The landing page features high-impact visuals of featured listings and is consistent with Wow Real Estate’s branding. It also shares information about Puerto Rico that reinforces the team’s area expertise, as well as a compelling message crafted for a very specific audience (note the blurb on the tax incentives in Puerto Rico that are ideal for “online entrepreneurs and service providers who have U.S. businesses, employees, and clients”). Finally, it’s got a single, clear CTA to drive results.

Seller Leads

Clearview Realty

Screengrab from Clearview Realty's landing page

Why it works: Offering a free home valuation brings in seller leads, who are immediately prompted to enter their address and contact info in order to receive that information. The page is simple, clear, and straight to the point.

Kendrick Guehr

screen recording example of a high converting real estate landing page from a Luxury Presence client

Why it works: Transparent language and benefits speak to the concerns of the target audience, including why this valuation is more trustworthy than a Zestimate. The landing page also displays social proof in the form of testimonials, highlights recent transactions to reinforce Kendrick’s success and expertise, and features a single call to action.

Jesse Dougherty

Screengrab from Jesse Dougherty's landing page

Why it works: Similarly, this landing page speaks to a specific audience, clearly addresses home seller concerns, displays testimonials and recently-sold homes to reinforce Jesse’s expertise, highlights listing services, and includes a clear CTA.

Mayer Realty Group

Screengrab from Mayer Realty Group's landing page

Why it works: Compelling “what to expect” messaging puts discretion-seeking homeowners at ease. Meanwhile, high-impact imagery highlights the upscale listings the team has experience working with and a single CTA drives action from leads.

How to create high-converting real estate landing pages

Ok, so you’re convinced: you want to start building real estate landing pages. These nine tips will help you develop ones that work.

Determine your target audience

To determine the content, visuals, and CTAs that belong on your real estate landing pages, first consider your target audience (here’s how to determine your ideal client). If someone clicks on your ad and lands on this page, what are they looking for? What questions do they have? Thinking this through will help you create a landing page that caters to their needs and questions—making them much more likely to enter their contact information or schedule a meeting with you.

For example, let’s say you send out an email campaign to spread awareness about a new listing. Your landing page should contain more information about that specific listing, not an offer for a free buyer consultation. Likewise, the call to action should be to schedule a showing for that listing, rather than to book an introductory call with you. A one-size-fits-all approach to landing pages is very unlikely to drive the landing page conversions your business needs, so think about your target audience and speak to them.

Write a strong headline

The first thing a visitor should see on your landing page is a clear, concise headline that sums up what you’re offering or what question you’re going to help answer.

For example, if you’re looking to beef up your email list with more potential clients, you might run a social media ad campaign promoting a free property value estimate. In this case, your headline might read, “What is your home really worth?”

Keep your landing page headlines short and easy to digest. Aim for around ten words or two lines of large text maximum, and keep in mind that this might be the only copy visitors take the time to read completely. Make it count!

Make a compelling offer

Ideally, this step will flow quite easily from the planning you’ve already done for your ad or email campaign. The two main questions to consider:

What are you trying to get? This may be email addresses, introductory phone calls, appointments for buyer consultations, or showings.

What are you offering in return? This may be neighborhood guides, homebuyer tips, or market updates.

What you’re offering must be useful to your specific target audience. If your ad is about earning money on a real estate sale, don’t waste time offering resources on making a strong offer on a home. Think about the questions your audience will be wondering about, and then create an offer that answers them.

Your landing page is about convincing people that what you’re offering is worth giving you what you’re asking for. But it doesn’t need to be extravagant. A free neighborhood guide in exchange for an email address can be simply a few pages with professional photos and a quick blurb about each area.

Get to the point

Don’t bury the main point of your landing page in endless paragraphs of copy. Keep the content short and meaningful, while still providing enough information about the value of your offer. The examples above as well as some landing page templates you can find online are helpful in showing you how much copy to include.

Keep things simple

All landing pages should include a clear call to action and an accompanying form. This is where visitors will input their address and email for a property value estimate, fill out a Calendly form for a buyer consultation, or enter their email address in exchange for a helpful PDF.

The fields in these forms should be as few and as simple as possible (most of the time, first name and email address will suffice). This can be the difference between a high-performing landing page and a page that visitors abandon after deciding it requires too much time or effort.

Lean on social proof

People are understandably protective of their email and home addresses. Providing client testimonials and social proof near your call to action and lead capture forms helps establish trust. (Just remember to keep them concise so people actually read them!) Your landing page is also a good place to include any certifications, awards, or badges you’ve earned.

Be consistent with your branding

Consistency helps build trust and brand awareness, so make sure your landing page design and colors match the branding on the rest of your site and social media platforms.

Use images and video

Concise, clear headlines are powerful, but a compelling image or video can be even more effective. Use professional photos and graphics to demonstrate your value and establish trust. Stay away from images that are distracting, low-quality, or inconsistent with your branding.

Optimize for mobile users

In Q4 2022, mobile devices generated more than 59% percent of global website traffic. Your real estate landing page (as well as your website) must be optimized for mobile users, or you risk losing potential clients as soon as they land.

Build beautiful real estate landing pages that convert

Landing pages are powerful, but they don’t need to be complicated—especially if you team up with experts to help you develop yours. Our team has deep experience building beautiful, high-converting landing pages that help you build your brand and capture leads. If you’re interested in learning more, reach out to start the conversation now.

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Win More Customers With This Proven Real Estate Marketing Strategy https://www.luxurypresence.com/blogs/proven-real-estate-marketing-strategy/ Tue, 15 Nov 2022 21:01:54 +0000 https://www.luxurypresence.com/?p=9588 Real estate can be a fickle industry. At any moment, the market can take a dramatic turn and have lasting impacts on your business. However, understanding how to capture attention from the right market at the right time can help you win more customers, no matter the market conditions.

With our proven real estate marketing strategy, you’ll learn how to position yourself to generate attention from buyers and sellers in your target market. This system is how top producers “win” consistently. They’re constantly creating attention, then converting that attention into deals.

To be clear, this is not a lesson on how to get “everyone” to know you. This is a laser-focused strategy to drive eyeballs on your brand from the group that matters most: your ideal clients.

Our team at Luxury Presence has been perfecting this real estate marketing system for six years and, as a result, has generated over 45,000 real estate leads for our clients. This system is how we achieved a 1450% increase in Instagram followers in 12 months for one of our clients in Nashville and generated 140 buyer leads at $2.50 cost per lead (CPL) for another client in Miami.

This proven real estate marketing system has worked time and time again for our 7,000 clients. Read on if you want to learn how to make it work for you too.

Why agents must prepare a real estate marketing strategy now

Now more than ever, with demand starting to slow in most markets, agents need to capture attention with their real estate marketing to keep the lights on. Attention is the currency of the modern era. Everyone’s fighting for mind share. Beyond this, setting yourself up for success now will continue to produce results for years to come. It will also prepare your business for any shifts the market makes.

Why being able to capture attention is so important 

Being able to capture attention is the first step in building a real estate marketing system that grows your business. It fits into the bigger picture, which we call the “agent growth flywheel.”

Marketing flywheel demostrating the cycle for business growth, starting with capturing attention.

The rest of the flywheel doesn’t matter if you’re not getting attention because you won’t have a business in the first place.

Take a moment to think about your business. Do you actively track how much traffic your website and social media profiles generate monthly?

If you’re not tracking, start.

If you are tracking, look at your numbers – are you growing over time? If the answer is no, or your numbers are volatile and inconsistent, you have an attention problem.

How to capture attention that grows your business 

Now that you understand the importance of capturing attention in your market with your real estate marketing strategy, let’s dive deeper into how to capture that attention. Follow the below step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Identify your ideal client profile (ICP) using the PFDD framework

First, you will need to zero in on your target market’s pains, fears, dreams, and desires (PFDD framework). It’s important to remember that you need to be specific here. Talking to everyone means you’re talking to no one.

To identify this, consider your unique strengths as an agent and who those strengths could best serve. Think about the types of clients you have enjoyed working with. Most importantly, think about a market segment that is growing in size and buying power.

PFDD framework examples for real estate marketing 

Let’s use the PFDD framework to identify some ideal client profiles using the below examples.

Example 1: Professional athlete based in Los Angeles 

  • Pains and fears:
    • Should I buy a home in the city I’m playing for?
    • Will I be home enough to enjoy this investment?
    • Does buying a home make sense based on the current stage of my athletic career?
  • Dreams and desires:
    • Privacy
    • Security
    • Prestige
    • Customization

Example 2: Divorced sellers in the Atlanta area 

  • Pains and fears:
    • How is the money divided?
    • Are there any special laws in my area that I should know about?
    • Financial pressures
    • Legal pressures
  • Dream and desires:
    • Equitable distribution
    • A quick and seamless selling process

The most important thing to do here is document this information, reference it, and update it as you go along.

Interview your past clients who fit your “ICP” if you’re unsure of this.

Step 2: Create your offer

After creating your ICP, it’s time to create your “offer”. To put it simply, this is the value you’re exchanging to get the contact information from your target market. Your offer is used in your marketing campaigns to drive leads for your business and is often an overlooked part of an agent’s real estate marketing strategy.

An offer is not “I can help you buy or sell – call me!” This is what every agent says and traps you into being a commodity.

Similarly, “get your home valuation” is another popular offer many agents use to get seller leads. While you may see some results from this approach, it doesn’t help you stand out and get prospects excited to work with you.

How to create your offer

First, you should reference the ICP document you created and look at your ideal client’s pains and fears. We’re starting with that because there’s an important psychological rule to remember: the fear of loss is greater than the desire for gain.

Then, ask yourself, what resource or content can I create that helps them solve their pain or allay their fears?

For example, if you’re target market is divorcing sellers in the Atlanta area (from the PFDD exercise we completed above), then we know that their pains and fears are the following:

  • Pains and fears:
    • How is the money divided?
    • Are there any special laws in my area that I should know about?
    • Financial pressures
    • Legal pressures

After you’ve nailed this down, creating your “offer” is simple. You simply invert their pains and fears into content that answers their question.

Knowing the above, you might create a guide that walks through the top 10 common mistakes divorced sellers make or promote a 1:1 free consultation where they can ask all their questions about selling their home when going through a divorce.

To recap, you should tailor your offer to the pains and fears of your target market. This will help you get your foot in the door and appear as a trusted advisor, placing you in a league of your own and escaping the “commodity agent” rat race.

Step 3: Align your messaging on your digital “real estate” to speak to ICP

Now that you’ve gotten clarity on your ideal client profile and created an offer that speaks to their pains and fears, the final step is to craft a compelling message that drives your ICP to take action.

Your website copy, ads, blogs, social media posts, and emails should all speak to and resonate with your ICP.

To do this, talk about their problems. They won’t care until they understand that you understand them. Then, speak about how you can help them solve those specific problems. “I can help you buy or sell” isn’t enough anymore – you need to be specific to stand out.

A stronger message would be, “I help sellers in the Atlanta area who are going through a divorce. I have a process that helps keep everyone moving forward and avoids conflict.”

Next, we’ll dive into tactics you can implement immediately to do this.

Tactics for capturing attention 

There are two ways you can generate more visibility (traffic): organic (pay with your time and energy) or paid (pay with your money). Pick one to start with, but you need both to run a sustainable business. Let’s dive into the pros and cons:

The advantages of paid traffic for real estate marketing

With paid traffic, you will see results immediately and get the exact type of traffic you want – down to targeting if they recently started looking for homes or are considering selling.

Ad networks like Facebook and Google are extremely smart. They have hundreds of thousands of data points on their users and give advertisers, like real estate agents, access to this data to target the right audience with the right message at the right time. This is not really possible with organic, except by focusing on long-tail keywords that show intent, like a Google search for “sell my home in boston ma.”

Paid traffic is also easier to scale. You can easily adjust your budget to spend more on the ad network to get more results if it’s working.

At Luxury Presence, we operate very goal-oriented with paid traffic, using certain metrics and cost-per-lead, conversion rates, and overall engagement to judge whether or not a campaign is successful. All of these metrics are determined at the beginning of the process. We only add more budget to the campaign if the numbers hit the success metrics we determined with the agent initially.

The disadvantages of paid traffic for real estate marketing

When you stop paying, you stop generating traffic. It can be tricky to get right. Several variables go into a well-performing real estate marketing campaign. But there are critical elements of getting your paid traffic to be profitable for your business that has to do with messaging, campaign structure, and more. An article we wrote on the best real estate Facebook ads breaks down some top-performing ad campaigns we’ve run for our clients if you want to learn more about this.

Our favorite paid media tactics for real estate marketing

Graphic showing examples of real estate paid media tactics such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads

Below are some of our favorite tried and true paid media tactics for real estate marketing:

  • Google Ads
    • Great for low volume, high quality leads. Google Ads are more expensive than other platforms but result in higher intent leads.
  • Facebook & Instagram Ads
    • Great for high volume, low-intent leads. These leads are less expensive but need extensive nurturing and follow-up to convert.
  • YouTube Ads
    • A great way to build your brand and visibility in your local area. You only pay for the clicks and can get massive visibility in your market at a low cost.

The advantages of organic traffic for real estate marketing

Organic traffic is evergreen, meaning you don’t need to keep putting dollars behind your content to get eyeballs on it.

It’s also generally sustainable, so despite algorithm changes or trends, your site will still generate traffic, provided that your content is high quality, which is what Google uses as the leading indicator for SEO. It’s no longer enough just to do simple on-page optimization and get some backlinks. Your content needs to be high quality and original to compete.

The disadvantages of organic traffic for real estate marketing

You’re not able to accelerate results in a short time frame. Organic traffic is very much a slow and steady process. You also don’t have the targeting options that paid traffic offers. Additionally, it can take a long time to start seeing success and is usually a pretty significant investment of your real estate marketing budget.

At Luxury Presence, we’re working on building new technology that lowers the barrier to entry to capitalize on organic traffic for agents, both from an investment and learning perspective. However, it’s still very much a long-term real estate marketing strategy.

Our favorite organic traffic tactics for real estate marketing

Real estate agent holding tablet displaying blog content

Below are some of our favorite tried and true organic traffic tactics for real estate marketing:

  • Organic search content
    • Writing blog content regularly can help position you as an expert and help you rank higher in search engines.
  • Referral backlinks from your local network
    • Have your local restaurants, cleaners, home inspectors, and other local businesses link back to your website (and return the favor). This will help you increase your referral traffic and improve your domain authority over time, giving you a better chance at ranking for terms like “real estate agent near me”.

The bottom line is you’re going to either invest your time or your money to capture attention in today’s market.

Concluding Thoughts

You’re now equipped with the knowledge you need to position yourself to generate attention from buyers and sellers in your target market. These are the exact real estate marketing strategies we’ve helped top-producing agents implement to grow their business, and now you can use them too.

If you’d like help with how to implement these real estate marketing strategies in your own business, book a free strategy call with our team.

 

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Win More Business With These Tweaks to Your Agent Bio https://www.luxurypresence.com/blogs/win-more-business-with-these-tweaks-to-your-agent-bio/ Tue, 01 Nov 2022 16:12:37 +0000 https://www.luxurypresence.com/?p=9178 While it’s no secret that a solid agent bio is critical to helping potential clients understand what you represent and what sets you apart, it doesn’t make it any less difficult or daunting to write. We identified key strategies for building an eye-catching agent bio in a previous article. However, if you’d like extra guidance on crafting a bio to help you win more business, this comprehensive guide is for you. Read on for a step-by-step guide and best-in-class real estate bio examples from other agents.  

Answer these questions before drafting your real estate agent bio

Before you begin writing your agent bio, spend some time reflecting on your background and experiences. Below are important questions to consider. We recommend you take 15-20 mins to complete the following questionnaire. Later, you will use those responses to write your bio. 

Personal information for your agent bio

  1. Where are you from? 
  2. What communities are you currently serving? How long have you been there?
  3. What’s your favorite aspect of life there? 
  4. What are your hobbies? Are there causes outside of real estate that you’re interested in? (e.g. philanthropic, volunteer, arts & culture, sports & activities)
  5. What personal details would you like to share? (e.g. description of your family)
  6. What three adjectives would you use to describe yourself?

Real estate background information for your agent bio

  1. How and when did you start in real estate?
  2. Do you have any previous agent experience? Is it for the same community or for a different audience?
  3. What is your favorite part of the real estate business? 
  4. How would your clients describe you?
  5. What do you do better than your competition? Or, what can you offer that nobody else can?
  6. Do you have any degrees, awards, and notable accomplishments? 
  7. What is your target audience or niche? Do you have any previous experience with this demographic?
  8. What are you proudest of? 

How to structure your real estate agent bio (including a template)

Once you have completed the above questionnaire, you can begin working on your bio. The following sections will provide formatting and structural guidelines as well as a template to help you craft the perfect real estate agent bio. 

How long should a real estate agent bio be? 

There is no official rule on how long or short your agent bio should be, however, a well-written agent bio is typically between 400-500 words. While it can be difficult to boil down your life experiences, skills, and personality into a few short paragraphs, thinking about your agent bio as your highlight reel or your “greatest hits” can be helpful. Your bio should be succinct and give your potential clients a clear snapshot of who you are and what you represent.

What to include in a real estate agent bio

Key elements to include in your real estate bio

Generally, a solid real estate agent bio will include the following elements:

  • How you got started in real estate
  • The geographic area you serve
  • Any accolades, awards, or accomplishments you have achieved/won
  • Flattering qualities you possess
  • Any information you wish to include regarding your interests and hobbies

Write your bio chronologically

When writing your bio, you’ll also want to ensure you are following a logical timeline. Whenever possible, detail your life starting from your college experience, to entry-level jobs, to present-day accomplishments. This provides a logical flow to the bio that paints a full picture of you.

Write your real estate bio in the third person

When writing a formal real estate agent bio, it is best practice to write your bio in the third person versus the first person. You should use your full name upon the first mention, then use your last name for subsequent mentions. There are some situations where using the first person is acceptable, like writing a short bio for Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Because social media networks are informal gathering places, a less formal bio would be appropriate there. You can check out this article for tips on how to write the perfect bio for social media.  

Real estate agent bio template

Below is a template you can use to create your real estate agent bio.

SECTION 1: 

Section one of your real estate agent bio should have an engaging opening with a flattering introduction. Here are some examples of the style you should aim for in your opening paragraph:

  • A luxury home search requires more than just a realtor. It calls for a discerning eye, a polished style, and a level of sophistication beyond the average agent – it calls for someone like [your name].
  • Purchasing or selling a home can be an arduous process, but with [your name] on your side, it doesn’t have to be.

SECTION 2:

The second paragraph is the meat of your real estate agent bio. You can use the responses from the questionnaire you completed above as a guide to writing this section. The second paragraph should answer the following questions:

  • How did you get your start in real estate? Did you attend college? Have an internship? Did another real estate agent mentor you? Are you from a family of realtors?
  • What is your career like today? Do you work with a team or run your business solo? 
  • Have you won any awards or received any specific accolades?

SECTION 3:

The third paragraph of your real estate agent bio should answer the following questions:

  • What geographic area do they work in? Why do they love living and working there?
  • How would their clients describe them?

SECTION 4:

Finally, you can wrap up your real agent bio with some fun personal information to help your potential clients connect with you better. Consider the following question when writing this section: 

  • When they’re not at the office, what do they enjoy doing?

Examples of strong real estate agent bios

Hitting a wall trying to write or re-write your real estate agent bio? Perhaps you need a little inspiration. Take a look at these solid bios from some of our real estate clients across the country. Notice how they all follow a similar format to the above template. You can find ways to incorporate their clever strategies into your new real estate bio. 

Tim DeBellis, Realtor, Santa Rosa

Section 1

Tim DeBellis is a longtime California resident living and working in Sonoma County. He specializes in serving luxury buyers and sellers in Santa Rosa, Windsor, Healdsburg, and the surrounding communities. 

 There is so much to love about the Sonoma County lifestyle, from the strong sense of community to the incredible amenities, including a robust culinary scene, lush redwood forests, scenic rugged coastlines, and of course the world-renowned wineries. Tim cherishes the opportunity to share what he loves most about the area with his clients and help them acclimate to this vibrant and diverse region. 

Section 2

Real estate is a lifelong passion for Tim, sparked by a persistent, creative spirit he’s nurtured from a young age. After sampling a few different careers, including working in the healthcare management consulting field and as a flight controls test engineer in the aerospace field, he finally became a licensed realtor in 2016 and hasn’t looked back since. 

 Navigating the local real estate market is complex for buyers and sellers unfamiliar with best practices. Tim emphasizes a low-stress, educational approach because he wants his clients to feel secure and empowered in their decisions. He draws on over 35 years of experience across various industries to provide the most accurate and timely advice to each client based on their specific needs and objectives.

Section 3

Whether you are a first-time buyer or a veteran, buying and/or selling can be tricky, and sometimes challenges arise. Tim ensures his clients always know what’s going on by communicating frequently. Patient and thorough, Tim will walk you through every step of the process from A to Z, so you feel confident and informed. Along with offering an exemplary degree of quality customer service, Tim also brings a team of experts to assist with advising and helping his clients. 

Section 4

When he isn’t working, you’re likely to find Tim flexing his green thumb in his backyard garden, hiking, cooking, or experimenting with creative home design ideas. He is happily married to his husband of 16 years.

Laura Parker, Realtor, Menlo Park

Section 1

​​Laura Parker believes life is an adventure, especially when it comes to real estate. She loves to help her clients find their dream home or sell their current home when it’s time to find the next chapter. Serving Menlo Park and other Peninsula cities, Laura is passionate and tireless as she helps her clients get everything they desire.

Section 2

After a twenty-year career as a professional photographer, during which she traveled extensively, shot celebrities and NFL players, and secured a spot as one of the top 40 wedding photographers in the world, she knew it was time for something closer to home. In 2007, she began her work in real estate as the owner of a property management company, where she managed rentals and helped people choose investment properties. Now, as a full-time agent, she utilizes her varied skill set to help her clients make informed decisions about what’s right for them.

Section 3

She was born in San Francisco and grew up in the Bay Area, so she has extensive personal knowledge of what each neighborhood offers as well as a long list of recommendations for restaurants, shopping, and all the fun things to do. With five children ranging from elementary school to college, Laura knows the world-class education available here and is an expert on schools and districts for students of all ages.

Section 4

She is passionate and often works around the clock to the point that it has been questioned if she actually sleeps. Though she prides herself on being readily available for her clients, she stays busy in her personal life as well. Her children are having an adventure-filled childhood, and her family can often be found exploring the outdoors, making meals together, and enjoying the many active and beautiful things the Bay Area has to offer. In her free time, Laura loves to invest herself in creative endeavors such as cooking, glass blowing, and photography.

Stephanie Chandler, Realtor, Edina

Section 1

Stephanie has always been a hard worker and overachiever! After attending the University of Minnesota at just 16 years old, she quickly became one of the top agents in the Twin Cities area. Within the last decade, she became one of Edina’s top 5 agents and Minneapolis/St. Paul’s top 20 agents!

Section 2

Since she was little, Stephanie remembers tagging along with her mom and grandma as they worked as agents across the Twin Cities. Eager to follow in their footsteps, she became her mom’s assistant where she became one of the youngest loan officers with Edina Realty. From there she became a licensed real estate agent and became a third-generation Realtor® following her mom and grandma!

Stephanie has worked in almost every area of real estate! She transitioned her business to focus more on rentals after one of her clients inquired about a local rental property. Stephanie then became one of Edina’s first agents to sell rentals allowing her to make over $100,000 within six months! She then started sharing her success by training other agents about the rental process.

As renters started buying again, her business shifted back to residential sales; however, with her rental experience, she began working with rental investors. At this time, Stephanie was also working with first-time buyers and sellers, representing luxury home builders, and renovating homes around the St. Paul area.

Section 3

Stephanie loves working in real estate because “I love helping people and working within the many different areas of real estate! It continues to provide me with amazing opportunities and challenges that allow me to grow both professionally, and personally!”

Stephanie currently lives in St. Paul with her husband of twenty years and her two terrific girls, ages 20 and 14. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and loved ones. She also enjoys traveling the world, cooking for her family, and practicing yoga.

Section 4

“I love to see people’s dreams come to reality. My biggest reward within this job is guiding my clients through the emotional journey of buying or selling a home; it is such a great privilege to have!”

Spencer Hsu, Realtor, Palo Alto

Section 1

When searching for a Silicon Valley Realtor®, you can choose an agent who takes chances and hopes for the best. Or you can choose an agent who can accurately predict market conditions and get you the real, tangible results. If you’d rather not leave things to chance, then you should work with Spencer Hsu. As one of Silicon Valley’s premier agents, Spencer’s mission is to help navigate his clients through the ever-changing market and produce the best possible outcomes.

Section 2

Born and raised in San Jose, Spencer has lived in the Bay Area for over 36 years and is highly familiar with the area’s vibrant, dynamic market. Prior to his real estate career, Spencer earned his MBA at Santa Clara University and was a Software Sales Manager in the tech industry. With his varied background and unique skill set, he turned his analytic systems into a thriving real estate career. Using a calculated approach to real estate, Spencer and his team can analyze market predictions, helping clients make informed decisions on when it’s time to buy and sell real estate. This, in turn, helps sellers get the best price for their homes and buyers beat out the competition for the dream homes. With this system, Spencer’s clients will receive the best possible outcomes in their real estate transactions.

Section 3

As a longtime resident of the Bay Area and Silicon Valley, one of Spencer’s favorite aspects of living and working in the area is its dynamic energy. As the epicenter of innovation and technology, Silicon Valley and the Bay Area are two of the most competitive real estate markets in the country. By taking calculated risks, Spencer gives his clients an edge over the competition in this fast-paced market. And with such a vibrant atmosphere, he has a front-row seat to some of the area’s most cutting-edge technologies and market evolutions. He primarily focuses on real estate in the Bay Area, Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, and Alameda County.

Section 4

When he isn’t facilitating buyer and seller transactions, you can find Spencer following this classic mantra: work hard, play hard. Whether he is traversing the world with his amazing wife or checking out some of the Bay Area’s newest restaurants, Spencer is living life to the fullest. In a nod to his tech roots, he loves learning about new technology and tries to incorporate it into his business and personal life. He is also an avid tennis player and is rated a 4.75. He is always available to play matches!

Outsourcing your real estate bio writing

Outsourcing may be a great option if you can’t find the time to write your real estate bio. For a reasonable price, you can hire professional help from popular freelancing websites like Upwork or Fiverr. We at Luxury Presence also offer agent bio-writing services, which are included in our website plans. As part of our website design packages, our in-house content specialists will create a unique agent bio that will help you close more business.    

Work with us

Luxury Presence is one of the fastest-growing digital platforms for real estate professionals. To learn more about how to build your brand, close more deals, and expand your network, get in touch with us today!

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How to Take Your Real Estate Instagram Strategy to the Next Level https://www.luxurypresence.com/blogs/how-to-take-your-real-estate-instagram-to-the-next-level/ Fri, 28 Oct 2022 23:08:08 +0000 https://www.luxurypresence.com/?p=9167 At Luxury Presence we know how powerful Instagram can be for real estate agents and professionals. But simply having an account isn’t enough – you need to have a solid strategy in place to make sure you’re getting the most out of the platform. In this blog post, we’ll go over some key tips that will take your real estate Instagram strategy to the next level and help you get results.

Best practices for Instagram content and scheduling

Have a clear purpose for posting on your real estate Instagram

All of the content you post should ladder up to an overarching purpose. Think about the goals you are trying to achieve by posting. For example, are you hoping to convert customers? Or, maybe your goal is to keep a lively, engaged community. You’ll also want to decide how you plan to show up on the platform. Consider your tone of voice, the brand assets you will incorporate, and the value you want to bring to your audience (e.g. entertainment, tools, resources, or education). However you decide to show up, make sure it aligns with your purpose. 

Optimize your real estate Instagram bio

Before you get to posting, let’s make you are putting your best foot forward with you a strong Instagram bio. A succinct bio will help attract your intended audience. Here’s what to include:

What you sell.

Clearly state that you are a real estate agent. Even if your feed consists solely of photos of houses, reiterate that you are a real estate agent, not a leasing company or interior designer.

What makes you different.

Identify your niche and include that in your bio. Are you certified in Feng-Shui? Do you specialize in ultra-luxury real estate? Are you engaging with your clients differently because you have a specific background? Add one or two adjectives that summarize your brand’s niche or specialty like “fixer uppers” or “luxury housing”.  

Who and where you serve.

There are over 25 million business accounts on Instagram. Make it easy for customers to find you by clarifying who you serve and where. For example, you could pride yourself on delivering “stress-free first-time home buying experiences in Minneapolis,” or maybe you’re “San Diego’s top producing real estate agent for military veterans”.  

Your call to action.

Ultimately, your presence on Instagram should be driving new customers to support your business. Direct them to view your properties, read your testimonials, sign up for a free consultation, and more. Make sure the link in your bio matches your call-to-action, so customers know what to expect when they land on your website. You can use tools like Linktree, Tap Bio, or Linkin.bio if you want to add multiple links to your Instagram bio.  

Who you are.

Getting personal with your bio can help customers identify with your brand on a deeper level. For example, you could share that you’re a “small women-run business based in Santa Monica, CA” or a “Father-son duo based in Austin, Texas”. 

Make a plan and stick to it

The key to growth on social media is consistency. Be realistic with your bandwidth. If you can only dedicate time to posting 2x per week, stick to that and scale up as your bandwidth allows. An inconsistent posting schedule will not only inundate your followers but will make it significantly harder to track any data or engagement for your posts. 

You can leverage tools like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule your posts in advance, making it easy to remain consistent. These tools also highlight time blocks when your audience is most engaged, signaling the best time for you to post throughout the week.

If you’re wondering how often you should post, we recommend following the 80/20 rule. 80 percent of your content should be authentic, unbranded editorial content, and 20 percent of your posts can be dedicated to selling a product or service.  

How to create and share authentic content on your real estate Instagram

Establish yourself as a thought leader

Social media has opened up an incredible opportunity to establish yourself as a thought leader to grow your business. Many of the real estate industry’s best Instagram accounts have been able to master the art of thought leadership to gain followers, customers, and credibility. Here’s how you can do it too: 

  • The Law of Reciprocation. Think about what you can give your audience before asking to get something from them. Your aim should be to continuously add value to your customers before you make an offer or ask for something. 
  • Give value-based content for free. Some examples of this include “how-to” information, free guides, tips, eBooks, webinars, white papers, or videos with helpful tidbits. You could also share curated content like infographics, blog posts, and inspirational quotes. 
  • Spotlight your fans and supporters. Increase follower loyalty by featuring past clients or re-sharing their content if they tag you. 

Decide what type of content you should post

From listing videos to staging tips to motivational quotes, the list of the type of content you can post on your social media is endless. If you need some inspiration for your social media content, here are 50 Real Estate Instagram Post Ideas

How to understand your engagement on Instagram

Use the Instagram insights page to track performance 

The Insights page on Instagram is a great starting point for understanding your engagement. It is broken down into three tabs:

  1. Activity. Here you can view account discovery and interactions. Account discovery includes the total accounts your profile reached as well as total impressions. Interactions are all actions taken on your account including profile visits and website clicks. 
  2. Audience. When it comes to reaching your target demographic, the Audience tab should be your first step. This is where you can monitor your follower growth week over week, including gains and losses, as well as get a high-level view of who makes up those followers.  
  3. Content. On the Content tab, you’ll see a full overview of your posts for the week, including the number of posts and views for your recent posts, stories, and promotions. Tap the “see all” button on any category to get a closer look at individual posts. 

Diving into the numbers

You can use the above data to monitor and improve your performance on Instagram. Most scheduling tools can pull your historical data and calculate the below key performance indicators. You can also calculate these manually using the following formulas:

  • Engagement rate: likes + comments / followers
  • Effectiveness rate: like + comments + saves + video views / reach
  • Growth rate: the rate at which your audience is growing
  • Weekly earned reach: the number of impressions you receive through user-generated content 

Strategies for growing your real estate Instagram

Key strategies for Instagram growth

Consistency coupled with these two proven strategies will help you achieve optimal growth for your real estate Instagram: 

  1. Community management. Regular conversations with your followers, brands who service your ideal client, and prospective customers are really important to growing correctly. We recommend setting some time aside each day to go through at least 10 profiles and engage with their posts and story content.  
  2. Collaboration. There is immense strength in collaborating with other professionals who have a similar mission or can bring value to your customers and vice versa. For example, you could partner with another real estate agent on a referral-based program and promote each other on your Instagram profiles. If you want to grow your presence as a thought leader, you could make a guest appearance on another thought leader’s Instagram reel, or start an IG Live conversation and encourage your followers to tune in.  Collaborating with other business owners can lead to mutually beneficial partnerships that expose huge audiences to what both of you have to offer. 

Need help with your real estate Instagram strategy?

If you would like help executing these tips in your business or more guidance around your specific business strategy, check out our social media management solutions and book a 1:1 strategy call with our team.  

For more helpful pointers to grow your real estate business, tune into our free bi-monthly educational series titled Building Your Presence. Follow our Instagram for updates on the next webinar!

Work with us

Luxury Presence is one of the fastest-growing digital platforms for real estate professionals. To learn more about how to build your brand, close more deals, and expand your network, get in touch with us today!

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