Join the Industry’s Pivot to Digital Spaces
As the world continues to navigate the uncertainties of a now eighteen-month COVID-19 pandemic, the real estate industry proves it is steadfast and adaptable. Agents pivoted their real estate marketing strategies to highlight listings using virtual tours, live video walkthroughs, and professional photography.
While many states eased restrictions, potential buyers and sellers may avoid meeting in person as the Delta variant becomes more prominent. Additionally, those looking to enter a real estate transaction might have hesitancies due to the shifting landscape of the pandemic.
For these reasons, real estate agents must continue generating and nurturing valuable leads during COVID-19. Lead generation remains an effective real estate marketing technique for agents to grow their real estate businesses. Carrot, an online real estate lead generation platform, saw their members’ lead conversion rates increase 10.92% when comparing April and May to June and July.
There are several effective ways to generate real estate leads during COVID-19. Below are four real estate marketing strategies to help attract and convert prospects into lifelong clients:
1. Keep Your Real Estate Blog Updated
Content creation is a cornerstone for several real estate digital marketing strategies helping to grow a business. When you write value-based content for your real estate blog, you build a resource bank for your social media channels and email marketing campaigns.
While resharing older blog posts to your social platforms and email campaigns can work, an updated blog is crucial for generating fresh real estate leads and attracting potential customers through organic search. An up-to-date real estate blog improves and maintains your local ranking on search engines like Google and Bing. Additionally, with a prominent online presence, you’ll find it much easier (and cost effective) to find potential clients than cold calling or direct mail efforts. The higher you rank on search engines, the more likely users click through to your page, and the more likely you’ll attract potential clients. Organic traffic is a great tool during the coronavirus crisis and you can find a lot of success through content marketing efforts and becoming a real estate resource.
An updated real estate blog helps position you as a thought leader in your industry. Prospective buyers and sellers are more likely to hire real estate professionals they feel are reputable and experienced. Additionally, your new articles help you receive more requests for backlinking opportunities.
Backlinking means other blogs link your posts within their posts. Search engines award pages that have links on other reputable sites. Backlinking is a great way to build authority, which helps you rank higher, receive click-throughs, and generate leads by being an established real estate expert.
2. Use Zillow 3D Home Tours For Your Listing
During the first several months of stay-at-home orders, the need for virtual tours skyrocketed. Due to social distancing, buyers could not tour listings for real estate properties in person, and many people, in general, were more comfortable viewing homes or hosting open houses virtually. This trend continues in today’s real estate market.
Virtual tours, like Zillow 3D Home Tours, allow buyers to walk through a listing without leaving their couch. The convenience of a Zillow 3D Home Tour is attractive to buyers and encourages them to click on the listing when browsing places like Zillow. A listing that includes this type of virtual tour receives priority positioning on Zillow.
When you use a Zillow 3D Home Tour for your listing, expect to get more exposure, receive more clicks, and generate more potential leads than your competitors.
3. Offer a Free Ebook on Selling Real Estate
You can generate qualified leads by offering a real estate marketing resource like a free ebook containing real estate tips. Select a topic that attracts your target audience. For example, if your topic is about buying or selling a house during a pandemic, you’ll likely generate leads already searching to hire a real estate agent.
Your complimentary ebook doesn’t have to be twenty pages. Keep it short and simple while providing helpful insights only an experienced agent could offer. To promote your resource, include a pop-up email form on your website. Once the viewer submits their email, they’ll receive the e-book. Best of all, they are added to your email list for you to nurture.
You can also promote your ebook on Facebook and other social media platforms. Facebook and Instagram allow users to create sponsored posts for lead generation techniques like email capturing.
4. Reviews Are the New Word-of-Mouth
A positive review is a powerful tool for businesses. Consumers now meticulously search for more information online before making a purchase or hiring a service. Instead of selecting a service based on word-of-mouth, most people now read online reviews. Positive reviews are now considered treasured referrals for real estate agents.
After each successful transaction, ask for a Google review and a Facebook review. You can make it easy for your clients by sending them an automated email requesting the reviews.
Think about it. When a prospective client searches for local real estate agents, will they choose the agent with dozens of five-star reviews or the one with zero reviews? Requesting a review is one of the most accessible and successful real estate marketing strategies you can practice today.
While the coronavirus pandemic continues to change the way many industries function on a near-daily basis, the real estate industry is tenacious. Real estate agents can generate leads in a tough time by keeping their blog updated, using Zillow 3D Home Tours, offering a free ebook, and requesting positive reviews.
