Ask other solo real estate agents who they use for marketing, and they’ll likely say themselves. If you don’t work with a team or brokerage, you have a lot on your plate. It takes extra work to market your real estate business to your farm.
Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to create stellar marketing materials without overextending yourself. As you likely already have real estate photos for your listings, why not repurpose them? Both digital and print marketing materials stand out when enhanced with professional real estate photos.
Digital marketing materials
Your business presence online is more important than ever. For one, most potential buyers begin their listing search online. According to NAR’s Home Buyer and Sellers Report, 47% of all recent buyers looked online as their first step in finding a new home. Only 18% contacted a real estate first!
Buyers frequently browse their local MLS and third-party listing websites like Zillow before touring a home in person, so having a solid listing and online marketing materials to match in key in selling your listing faster.
As a listing agent, it’s crucial for you to target and engage with home sellers online. Your real estate images are your biggest asset when it comes to any digital marketing strategies. You can create social media posts, Instagram cover photos, eye-catching lead gen forms, highlight videos, and more with your listing images.
Facebook posts
Your real estate business page on Facebook is an excellent place to engage with potential clients. You can create informative Facebook posts paired with striking real estate photos to market your business. Some post ideas include:
- Listing of the week
- Open house
- New listing
- Living room styles
- Kitchen trends
- Outdoor spaces
- Curb appeal tips
Instagram Reel cover photos
Instagram comes out with a new social sharing feature several times a year. Its most popular feature is Instagram Reels, which debuted in August 2020. Reels receive significantly more engagement than any other post type on the platform. Additionally, Instagram algorithms reward users who post reels over those who post still images.
When you create and publish a reel, you can select a frame within the video for the post image or upload a photo of your choice. Help your IG page pop by using a real estate image from your listing archive as the cover photo.
Instagram “This or That” stories
Instagram Stories is another compelling platform feature. The social media channel released the stories feature in 2016, which allows users to post “real-time” snippets of their lives for others to view, share, and like. Now, businesses and influencers use Instagram Stories to promote their products, brand, and upcoming events.
Stories offer a wide range of uses for real estate agents. For one, it’s an excellent mechanism for sharing new listings and open house information.
If you want to boost engagement, use your real estate images to create a “this or that” poll on your Instagram Stories.
To do this:
- Select a layout within the stories interface
- Add your comparison images to each square
- Click the sticker icon in the top right corner
- Select the poll sticker and place it where preferred
- Add your own text (or emoji) to the poll sticker
Here are some “this or that” ideas to get you started:
- Room styles: living rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms
- Exterior images
- Overall interior design styles
- Views and outdoor spaces
- Locations: mountains, city, lake, suburbs
Lead gen forms
Lead gen forms on your real estate business website help attract the right prospective clients. You can embed a lead gen form onto high-traffic pages or create a lead gen pop-up with a call-to-action.
Real estate images help your lead gen forms stand out on your website. You can create graphics for your lead capture tools on web-based design platforms, like Canva.
Listing highlight videos
Turn your archived listing images into a monthly or yearly highlight video! A listing highlight video is an easy and cost-effective marketing material you can share with your referral network and email list.
Animoto is a free video creation website where you can create stunning video slideshows. Animoto also has an extensive music library and impressive transitions to make your video POP.
Single-listing websites
Instead of competing with thousands of other listings on the MLS and Zillow, promote your property on a single-listing website. On a single-listing website, you can add your real estate images, a 3D virtual tour, property information, and a lead capture form.
Home sellers appreciate real estate agents who go the extra mile when marketing a property. While some single-listing websites cost agents money to activate, Virtuance provides a website page and access to our Marketing Suite with every scheduled photoshoot.
Print marketing materials
Print marketing materials remain an essential business strategy for real estate professionals. Many potential clients enjoy real estate marketing materials they can keep, share, and review several times before making a decision.
While print materials can come at a higher cost than digital materials, they are an impactful way to grow your business.
Open house flyers
When you host an open house, it’s a good idea to place some flyers on the counter with details about the property. Potential buyers can take home an open house flyer, which helps your listing stay top of mind.
Additionally, potential sellers who pop by to see the home will notice your marketing efforts and consider hiring you to sell their house as well.
Door hangers
Door hangers help locals in your farm area learn about your real estate business. You can create stunning door hangers with your archived real estate images. Several online printing stores make it easy to add your graphic to a door hanger template.
Here are some door hanger themes to get you started:
- Just sold!
- Welcome to the neighborhood
- New listing alert
- Open house event
- Ready to sell?
- Looking to buy?
- Real estate market forecast
- Home values in the area
Listing appointment packets
Never show up to a listing appointment empty-handed. You should bring several items to a listing appointment, including a leave behind packet.
Consider including the following materials in your listing packet:
- Brokerage information
- Your real estate metrics
- Your marketing strategies
- A listing brochure with real estate images
- A home selling process guide
- A business card
- A list of comps in the area
Mailers and postcards
Direct mail is still an important marketing strategy for real estate agents.
Quick stats about direct mail:
- 41% of Americans look forward to checking their mail daily
- 65% of millennials pay attention to direct mail advertising
- Millennials (1/3 of home buyers) are the most likely group to purchase after receiving direct mail
When you use real estate images on mailers and real estate postcards, you promote your listings and show potential clients your professional marketing capabilities. Direct mail ideas can include mailers and postcards with housing market updates, cooking recipes, spring cleaning tips, and more.
Get great real estate photos with Virtuance
Whether you launch a digital marketing campaign or need new print pieces, real estate photos will enhance your materials and result in valuable leads and new business opportunities. To have high-quality real estate photos you can continue to use for the rest of your career, work with Virtuance.
Our images are proven to attract 2x more attention to sell your listings faster and for more money.
Whether you have seven listings or two, our real estate photography is consistent. You’ll never have to worry about quality when repurposing our photos. Apart from HDReal® image packages, we also offer aerial photography, 3D tours, and virtual staging. Our marketing enhancements ensure your images WOW potential leads.
