You've got staging done, your professional photos and video complete, a strong write up about the property, and Willow Bend Title listed as your preferred title company. You just hit publish on your MLS listing and know everything you've compiled is sure to impress buyers. However, the question you must ask yourself now is: "how do I reach the buyers?" We have compiled some easy marketing tips that can help take you from listed to sold!
Signage
The good old fashioned way of marketing your property is utilizing a for sale sign in the front yard and any other road facing locations on the property. Signage is a great way to draw the attention to the people driving by and curious neighbors who may spread the word to family and friends.
If you are hosting an open house be sure to utilize open house signs around town that help direct interested parties to the property. This is another great way to draw attention to the property for those who may not have driven past it and therefore never knew it was for sale. Also another great thing to keep in mind about signage is that not only has it always been the most effective way to advertise a property, it is also a great way for agents to support their local printing company.
Print Advertising
Business cards are a prime example that print advertisement is still a very viable way to stay connected. You can support a freelancer by hiring them to professionally design an ad and flyer that can be used in real estate magazines (ex. Unique Homes) and newspapers both local (ex. Dallas Morning News) and high end (ex.Wall Street Journal). It should include the location, photo and key selling points about the property and your contact information.
Take it a step further by adding a QR code that links back to the property listing for additional information. You can then utilize this flyer to distribute at networking events, post on a bulletin boards at local businesses and hand out to prospective buyers at your open house. If you are currently on budget and can't pay a designer, utilize the free or affordable templates available on a design apps (ex. Canva) to easily create ad and flyers yourself. Just be sure they look professional. You don't get a second chance to make a first impression.
Online
Signage and print advertising is great for reaching perspective buyers locally, however it is not the only outlets you should rely on to spread the word about your listings. In this day and age, online exposure is key to being a successful agent and can help you reach the masses. This includes out of state buyers who are ready to make their next big move.
Website
If you do not already have a website for your real estate business, now is the time. If you are nervous to design the website on your own, this opens up a great opportunity to support and hire another freelancer website designed who can do the work for you. Either way you decide be sure to utilize your own unique branding colors, logos and a bio about yourself to make the website more personable and memorable. This will allow you to show perspective buyers that you are a serious real estate professional and it will allow you to showcase your properties in your own creative way vs being limited to MLS and brokerage sites. For example, you can have a page dedicated to your listings and on the homepage incorporate a slideshow that features them. You can also do a landing page for each individual listing so you can utilize the link to share with others who are just interested in the details of a specific property.
Don't forget to add a blog to your website. You can utilize the blog to keep your website visitors informed and for announcing new listings. The more you utilize and build your website up, the more organic reach you will receive from those searching for homes on Google. Most importantly don't forget to have a Contact and Testimonial page on your website. You want others to read about the great real estate work you are doing and then have a way to contact you so they can be your next success story.
Social Media
If you do not already have 1-2 social media accounts set up for your real estate business, do not hesitate any further. Potential homebuyers are likely scrolling Facebook or Instagram on a daily basis and more often than they are scrolling Zillow. Ask your friends, family, past client and industry partners to follow your pages and start to utilize them to post about your successes, networking events, your industry expertise, valuable information about the real estate market, etc.
Don't forget that social media is all about connecting. So use your account to join groups as well as like, comment, and share other posts from other professionals and partners in the real estate industry, local businesses and even your community. The more you utilize and interact on social media you will start to see your network of followers increase which will give more exposure to new property listing you post about. those followers will see these posts, interact with them and hopefully even share them with others they think may be interested.
Some may think texting and social media DMs are replacing email, but many study results will beg to differ. According to B2B Digital Marketers, 78% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months in 2022. Not only that but 87% reported email is one of their top free organic distribution channels and that 99% of email users check their email every day, some as much as 20 times a day. With email still showing lots of promise it is a great tool for agents to utilize for creating e-newsletters and property listing announcements.
To build up your subscriber list and be sure you reach their inboxes (and not the dreaded SPAM folder), be sure you are following email compliance and ask permission of your past clients, industry partners, and sales leads to add them to your email subscriber list. Don't forget to also add a link on your website that allows visitors to subscribe to your updates easily and on their own. You will see that as your business outreach grows so will your subscribers.
Unique Property Websites
If you have a very unique property to sell and want to reach a specific buyer demographic, you may want to consider a notable real estate website that caters to specific styles of properties. Examples of these are Robb Report for luxury listings, Land.com when you have acreage to sell, CREXI for commercial real estate, and HorseProperties.net for equestrians.
Open House
Although open houses don’t usually sell properties on their own, they are a great way to get buyers in the door and produce a sense of urgency. The signage, print ads, photos, videos and online exposure may draw their interest in, but stepping foot inside the property allows them to actually picture themselves living in or utilizing the space. This can also be achieved when buyers make a personal appointment to see the property, but experiencing multiple potential buyers attending an open house may entice one to make an offer when they know multiple other parties are interested in doing the same.
Open houses can also be more convenient for all parties involved. This is especially true if the seller still occupies the property. Buyers often enjoy taking a day to spend touring properties and if you happen to be hosting an open house in the area on that day, it may entice them to stop by vs scheduling a one-on-one during their busy schedules. They may also not have considered the property had they not seen the open house signage directing them to the property.
To sum things up, it is advised to never rely on just the MLS listing alone to reach prospective buyers. From the traditional ways of signage, open houses, and print ads, to the new age way of websites, social media, and email outreach, you will learn quickly that each effort you make is a significant part of the marketing process for your client's property.
Did you find this blog informative? At Willow Bend Title we love keeping you informed and educated. Be sure to check out our other blog posts and resource guides and let us know what real estate topic you'd love to read about next!