Are you a realtor looking to grow your business virtually? There are lots of ways to accomplish this! Though the task may seem daunting, there are plenty of small ways you can get started.
Before we dive into the 10 different ways to grow your real estate business, here’s one simple tip that applies to everything you do online: Always keep your audience—i.e., your potential clients—in mind. Make it as easy for them to find information about you and the homes you’re selling. Convenience for them will then directly translate to more business for you!
1. Create social media profiles
Real estate is directly hinged on realtor-client relationships. A realtor with a strong social media presence can better interact with customers and do so as much as desired. Social media is also a way for satisfied customers to express their gratification, which can help boost your validity when it comes to acquiring other potential customers.
If you market your business through social media channels, it is easier to show potential customers what you’re all about. Putting your business out on social media will help with self-promotion. It will also make it easier to initiate interaction with potential customers. Through social media, it becomes easier to prove your trustworthiness and show homebuyers your personality, your brand, and your credibility.
Additionally, not only can users share your information through these channels, but it becomes more likely for people to stumble upon your business through Facebook shares, the Instagram discover page, Twitter retweets, etc. These can then direct them to your website to begin their house search.
2. Include share buttons
It’s very important to include “share” buttons on your website to make it convenient for shoppers to post listings to social media sites or share them by email. Be sure to include a share button with every new listing so that shoppers can do some of the marketing for you by showing potential properties to their family and friends. Shoppers also look for share buttons because they like to get the input of family or close friends before they make a decision on a property. Make it as easy as possible for them!
3. Make contact easy
Making contact easy for homebuyers is essential for your real estate business. Putting your contact information on every page of your website and every listing is a good way to make sure buyers can click and contact you at any point in time. Also, be sure to include your contact in other places such as social media bios and email signatures. If your contact is hard to locate, customers are more likely to give up and move on to another website tailored better for their convenience.
4. Incorporate local images
It’s important to remember, when selling a property, that you aren’t just selling the house; you’re also selling the land and the town or city that it’s located in. Your clients want to see the quality of the area they could potentially be living in. Any desirable scenery, shops, or restaurants might all be features that will motivate a homebuyer to make the purchase.
5. Hire a great photographer
Photos are an essential part of selling a property. Most Internet home shoppers won’t even look at a listing that doesn’t include photos. The pictures included with the listing become the buyer’s first impression of the house. If the photographs do not leave a good impression, it is going to be a lot harder to sell the property. When including images on your website or social media profiles, making sure the photographs are high-quality is imperative. Bad photos will automatically diminish the interest of potential buyers. If photography is not one of your major strengths, it might be extra beneficial to hire a professional photographer to make sure that the pictures you are putting on your site are as appealing as possible for prospective clients.
6. Create irresistible online content
Another thing you can do to grow your realty business is create online content that’s unique and desirable. For example, create a blog or an e-book full of helpful information. By providing this kind of helpful information to homebuyers, you will not only be aiding them in their search, but you will be providing yourself with more credibility which will make you stand out from competitors. Additionally, unlike physical books or pamphlets, e-books and blogs are quick to make and easy to distribute. Faster production means quicker customer response.
7. Create virtual tours of properties
A good way to make buyers’ lives more convenient is to create virtual tours of properties. Virtual tours are much more immersive than simple photographs. Customers will definitely appreciate this convenience if they are able to get a good look at a property before visiting in person. This is another thing that will give the buyer a good impression of you.
8. Make your site mobile friendly
Since it is especially common for people to be doing things on their phones now, making your site mobile friendly is a huge help for your customers and, as a result, you. If your site isn’t mobile ready and potential customers are trying to navigate on a mobile device, the site may take a long time to load or may not load at all. According to kissmetrics.com, studies show that mobile website users will abandon a page if they have to wait more than 6-10 seconds for it to load. By making your site easy to navigate on a mobile device, you are more likely to turn website visitors into clients.
9. Create an e-newsletter
A good way to promote your business is to create a weekly or biweekly newsletter. This can be another convenience for buyers. Within these newsletters you can include notifications about new listings, upcoming open houses, etc. to keep your clients in the loop and to maintain a relationship with them. Keeping your newsletter virtual is also incredibly easy and a lot cheaper than sending one through traditional, direct mail.
10. Include locally oriented keywords
When creating a listing, be sure to use locally oriented keywords in headings. Town names, county names, and even the wider region (i.e., our business is located in Northeast Iowa) are all helpful search terms for getting local clients. Local keywords will make it more likely for homebuyers to stumble upon your site when searching for homes in their desired area.