If you’ve been a realtor since the turn of the millennium, then you know that the rules of business have changed in the last decade. With the explosion of mobile marketing in the past five years, you have to make sure your business is keeping up with the latest real estate marketing technology. Most prospects have a smartphone and a tablet these days, so you’ve got to get up to speed with the newest tools of the trade – or risk falling behind.
Mobile marketing for your realty business is by far the greatest tool available for gaining a larger pool of prospects in 2015 and beyond. There are several key marketing areas that you must “soup up” in order to stay ahead of the curve: social networking, integration of traditional and new media advertising, as well as pitches and presentations. Here are some terrific ideas that will help you avoid the tech blind-spot that other realtors might suffer from.
SOCIAL NETWORKING
As always, successful realtors have to have a healthy set of leads and a constantly growing network. In days of old, the way to build your network was through referrals and print advertising. Nowadays, you have to develop your online presence to keep up with the Joneses.
Start by making sure that you have a terrific website that is easily accessed from a mobile device. Then, establish profiles on several social networking sites: Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter are necessary, but perhaps the most important site is Pinterest. Pinterest has grown into a trusted site for information and advice (surpassing Twitter and Facebook). In addition, all of these sites have terrific capabilities for uploading photographs of the homes in your portfolio. In essence, social media marketing allows you to build your online network for much less capital than a print marketing campaign.
INTEGRATED ADVERTISING
Remember, print advertising will always be a part of your overall marketing campaign, but you want to make sure that all of your advertising efforts work in tandem. An effective way to incorporate your digital marketing efforts with your traditional ones is through the use of QR codes. A QR code allows a mobile user to scan a code and learn more information about your business, the homes you have available, and your reputation. When the code is scanned, you can link prospects to your webpage, offer coupons, and even share photographs of the latest and greatest properties in your portfolio.
Also, you should consider creating a text messaging campaign, an email newsletter and a blog to get more information out to your prospects on a regular basis. Make certain these emails are adapted for mobile, and develop a blog that shows the mission of your company and the ways that you give back. Most of all, allow your blog to highlight your knowledge and successes as a realtor.
PITCHES AND PRESENTATIONS
The portion of your realty business that focuses on pitches and presentations should begin online. Work with a web developer to create virtual walkthroughs of your existing properties (tailoring these 3D experiences to mobile users, of course). Create amazing photo journals of homes that you have in your network, always drawing attention to the most important rooms in the house: kitchen, living room, master bed and bath, landscaping, and home theatres. Don’t be afraid to use a little Photoshop magic to make the photos pop, provided you are still giving an accurate representation of the property.
With presentations, do all that you can to woo your prospects. If they have an HDTV in their home, create a virtual walkthrough that you can show them on their own TV (developed on your own tablet or laptop). They will appreciate your efforts, and the high-definition photos of the home-for-sale will definitely take your presentation beyond expectations.
All in all, you don’t have to abandon the old practices to stay competitive with tech-savvy realtors. All of the new tech is here to help you find new prospects and future happy clients. Most of all, the presence of a tech blind-spot means that other realtors have some catching up to do, and therefore you have some time to act. Don’t wait: begin developing your realty business with some online and mobile marketing tech today.