As technology continues to permeate the real estate industry and change the way we do business, digital marketing is becoming an increasingly important tool for real estate brokers year after year. This trend promises to carry into 2023 as well. If you want to outperform the competition and generate leads faster than ever before, it’s crucial to harness the power of online marketing.
However, with so many options out there, it can be difficult to decide where to focus your limited resources as a brokerage in terms of financial and human capital. That’s why we’ve compiled these digital marketing tips for real estate brokers and agents to ensure that 2023 is your best year yet.
Tip #1: Create a Strong Real Estate Website
In 1996, Bill Gates declared that “content is king.” This statement holds as true as ever in 2023. Content marketing continues to be the most cost-efficient way to promote your real estate business and generate new leads. All you have to do to leverage this digital marketing strategy is start a user-friendly, keyword-optimized website and post high-quality content on a regular basis.
Luckily, creating a website is even easier than it might sound. Purchase one of the thousands of WordPress themes available online for just a few dollars and then work with an SEO-expert developer to complete the technological setup.
Once your real estate website is up and running, all that’s left to do is maintain an updated list of your MLS listings and off-market properties for sale. Moreover, it’s important to publish articles with useful information for your target audience—mostly likely homebuyers and homesellers in the local market. Initially, we recommend posting new content at least once a week to build the authority of your website and begin driving traffic to it. Once you have a few thousand visits per month, you can start adding new blog posts on a monthly basis.
To optimize your results, make sure to provide real value to your target leads and showcase your expertise to the local real estate market. For example, you can write about recent trends in the housing market, the best areas for buyers, prevailing mortgage rates, and where to find affordable properties. Additionally, offer specific advice such as financing tips for first-time homebuyers, what to look for in a home, or how to sell fast.
Another critical tip is to focus on search engine optimization (SEO). In content marketing, this is done by choosing the right keywords to include in your content. Use a free tool like Google Keyword Planner to find keywords that have a high search volume and are relevant to your business and market.
Tip #2: Make Use of Social Media
The second most important component of a successful, comprehensive digital marketing strategy for real estate businesses in 2023 is social media. Did you know that the average American spends more than two hours per day on social media? This means that your future clients allocate about 12% of their time to various social media channels.
Similar to content marketing, one benefit of social media marketing is that it can be done virtually free of cost. To get started, you need to create business profiles on relevant social media websites, fill in the required information, and start sharing visual and written content on a daily basis. Publishing a social media post takes only a couple of minutes, but it has the potential to reach a much larger audience than the content on your website and significantly faster. (You will need a couple of months to start seeing results from the work you do on your website). Moreover, social media is a great way to complement your content strategy by sharing and repurposing content you’ve created for your website, thus giving it additional exposure.
However, just publishing occasional posts on your profiles will not do the trick in 2023 as there is so much content out there. To succeed with this strategy, you have to act strategically. First of all, it’s important to choose a few high-potential social media platforms and focus your efforts there instead of spreading too thin by trying to cover all possible channels. The most relevant social media platforms for real estate brokers are Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. We also recommend giving TikTok a go, as it promises to continue growing exponentially in the coming years. (US users are expected to increase from 94.1 million in 2022 to 97.6 million in 2023 and 100.7 million in 2024.)
With 179 million users in the US (about half of the population), Facebook will remain the most popular social media platform in 2023. This means that Facebook can give your real estate business access to more potential clients than any other channel. The platform is also ideal for posting various types of content including short and long text, photos, and short-form and long-form videos.
In addition to having 127.2 million active users in the US, Instagram is a visual-focused platform and visuals are crucial in real estate marketing. A single photo of an active listing, recently sold home, or happy customers who have just acquired their first home can have a significant impact on your digital marketing strategy.
Meanwhile, the popularity of LinkedIn is also expected to grow in the coming years. Experts predict that the platform will reach 172.08 million US users by 2028. However, the main advantage of LinkedIn is how people use it. As the most professional social media channel, users are on LinkedIn to connect and learn. Therefore, sharing content is a great way to boost credibility and expand your network. Aim to post a mix of active listings, photos with satisfied clients, virtual tours, videos of property walkthroughs, tips for homeowners, and local real estate news.
The second piece of a social media strategy that can further boost results is automation. While sharing on social media seems to take just a few minutes a day, you will need more than that to outperform all other real estate brokerages. As a savvy broker, you should consider setting up tools such as Hootsuite or Buffer that allow you to schedule posts on a few accounts simultaneously and repurpose previous posts. This will help you save a lot of time and effort while ultimately improving your outcomes.
Tip #3: Run Targeted Ad Campaigns
To achieve even faster results than what organic content and social media can accomplish, try pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. While this digital marketing strategy can get costly, it works immediately to bring as many eyeballs to your brokerage as possible.
If you don’t have much experience with digital advertising, we recommend hiring a real estate digital marketing expert to help you choose the right platforms and set up the initial campaigns. With this strategy, you get what you pay for, and it doesn’t make sense to put money behind ads that might not convert.
Tip #4: Use High-Resolution Local Photos and Videos
Regardless of the digital marketing channel or strategy, uploading high-quality photos and videos is a must. Your target leads see hundreds of articles, social media posts, and ads per day, and visual materials are your best bet to catch their attention and motivate them to click on your content.
It’s worth partnering up with a local professional photographer who specializes in real estate photography to create photos and videos that make you stand out from other brokers and agents. However, don’t hesitate to use your smartphone to shoot a quick video of a property or snap a photo of buyers who just received the keys to their first home. Try different angles and use drones to make your videos attention grabbing.
There is a common saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and a video can be even more valuable. Keep videos short, aiming for up to a minute. This way, you can use them across different channels and demonstrate your main point without losing the focus of your target audience.
Tip #5: Take Advantage of Virtual Reality
Virtual reality (VR) is also playing a major role in the real estate industry, and this is expected to accelerate in 2023 and beyond. Did you know that homebuyers are 95% more likely to contact a real estate agent after seeing a listing with a 3D tour and that these listings spend less time on the market and sell for 9% higher?
This means that you are leaving a lot of money on the table if you don’t include VR in your digital marketing strategy in 2023. First of all, virtual reality will help you generate more interest and qualified leads. Second, you can create multiple 3D tours of the same property by using different finishings and furniture and targeting varying types of potential homeowners. Your listings will click better with more clients, as it’s easier to picture yourself in a home that’s furnished in your preferred style. Third, this will save you time and effort by eliminating the need for preliminary showings. Instead, you can focus on walkthroughs with homebuyers who are truly interested in this specific property.
Tip #6: Build a Positive Online Reputation
Another strategy that real estate brokerages should apply across multiple digital marketing platforms is establishing a solid online presence. When choosing which broker or agent to work with, homebuyers and sellers typically check out online reviews and testimonials by past clients.
There are specialized real estate websites like Zillow, Realtor.com, and Homes.com with profiles of agents, so make sure to create your profiles, fill in information, and upload listings. Most importantly, invite happy clients to write reviews.
Similarly, you can add a testimonial page to your own website with reviews of homeowners that you have helped. Also, share positive feedback on your social media channels. Leads will be sure to browse these places before making the decision to work with you.
Tip #7: Try a Digital Real Estate Assistant
Last but not least, you can use an AI digital assistant to boost your digital marketing efforts. For example, Landslo’s digital assistant helps brokerages:
Stay in touch with old contacts: Maintaining good relationships with clients you have already worked with is an easy, cheap, and effective way to generate new business. They are more likely to contact you the next time they want to buy or sell if you have already helped them out once. Moreover, they might recommend you to friends and family who are buying or selling a real estate property.
Engage hot leads: Attracting potential leads is the first step, but you then need to maintain their attention and engagement. Landslo helps you cultivate this relationship through the use of the most recent real estate technology. In specific, Landslo provides homebuyers and homesellers with guidance on buying and selling a home, local market insights, and tailored listings in addition to immediately responding to their questions and concerns.
Send customized listings to leads: One of the most successful ways to keep the attention of qualified leads is to continue sending them listings that match their exact expectations. The Landslo digital real estate assistant allows you to optimize this process.
Set appointments: The whole purpose of your digital marketing strategy is to meet new potential clients, and Landslo will schedule meetings in a quick and efficient manner when leads reach out.
To learn more about how Landslo can help you boost your digital marketing efforts in 2023, schedule a free demo.
Digital Marketing for Real Estate Brokers: How to Make 2023 Your Most Successful Year Yet
Generating enough qualified leads is the first crucial piece of running a successful real estate brokerage, and digital marketing is one of the most affordable and efficient ways to do that. Coupled with strong professional and personal skills, following these simple steps will help generate a myriad of prospects to nurture and turn into clients.