The 3 Most Valuable Ingredients

The NAR’s Real Estate in A Digital Age Report interviewed home buyers to find out which web features are most valuable to buyers. The three top digital features included:

• Photos (87%)
• Detailed Information About Properties (85%)
• Floor Plans (52%)

Photo Secrets

By now, every listing agent knows that having a professional photographer is key. For a good laugh, check out these agents who didn’t and ended up with listing photo fails.

But many agents don’t realize how they can get the most out of their photographer. To get Instagram or frame-worthy photos, agents should be sure to ask for:

• a sunset or sunrise photo session
• post-production filters or presets
• wide-angle lenses

Asking for these small tweaks are the secret sauce for over-the-top listing photos.

Description Secrets

Listing descriptions are the cornerstone of any great listing. It is where prospective buyers turn to learn about their potential, new home. But not all descriptions are created equally. To see the worst of the worst, check out the Broke Agent’s description bombs.

There are some tried and true methods to create strong descriptions, though. These include:

Highlighting neighborhood/community features:

This type of information helps buyers picture what their new life might look like and is often not available anywhere else on the internet.

Knowing which type of words to avoid and which to use:

Zillow gathered the data and put together a list of words sure to help or hurt listings. Top words to avoid include “nice,” “potential”, “investment”, “cosmetic,”and “fixer.” These words scream “crappy house” to potential buyers.

If applicable, words that buyers respond positively to include “captivating,” “impeccable,” “stainless,” “granite,” and, “landscaped.”

Word count:

When it comes to writing listing descriptions, more is more. Home buyers are looking to gather as much information as they can about a home online before they contact an agent to see it. Most listing descriptions average 60 words, which is less than an average paragraph. No one would make a major purchasing decision based on less than a paragraph of information.

Taking the time to describe a listing, its features, and community in detail are key to hooking buyers. To bulk up the word count, agents should focus on creating a picture of what it would be like to live at that home. And, they should maximize the home’s best features.

Floor Plans

Floor plans for older properties can be difficult to come by, but they are vital to home buyers. Agents don’t have time to learn CAD software. But, free lightweight software like Home Sweet 3D is perfect for mocking up floorplans. It is quick and free and allows any agent with room dimensions to instantly mock up a floorplan for any listing.

Because online homebuyers value floor plans so much, it worth utilizing this free software.

Interactive features

After building a strong listing foundation with the 3 most valuable ingredients (photos, detailed descriptions, and floor plans), agents should add a dash of creativity.

Looking back at the NAR’s Real Estate in the Digital Age Report, 76% of all home buyers found the home they ultimately purchased online. Additionally, 73% of all buyers used mobile devices or tablets to search for homes. The internet is the #1 place home buyers are shopping for homes.

While the internet has changed the way people shop for homes, it has also created opportunities for buyers to creatively experience homes before stepping foot inside. Interactive features including video and virtual tours are the best features to invest in.

Video

Inman reported that 85% of home sellers want to work with an agent who uses video. That statistic is staggering. But roughly only 10-15% percent of agents are using video as a marketing strategy! That is insane. Most agents don’t use video for two reasons:

1. They don’t know how to create them
2. They don’t want to pay for them

But it is a huge marketing opportunity to miss out on, especially for listing agents. Videos should be a part of any real estate listing marketing plan.

Video Secret: There are services out there that populate listing automatically. This includes Single Property Sites. SPS automatically builds and populates free listing videos for agents when they create their listing websites. Agents can check out a live example, here.

Virtual Tours

Virtual or video tours are becoming a hot marketing tool, too. Jason Fox reported that listings with virtual tours got 87% more views than those that did not. After a strong foundation of photos, a killer description, and a floor plan have been laid. Virtual tours are a powerful tool for moving inventory more quickly. Realtors can check out a review of the best virtual tour software, here.

Virtual Tour Secret: Most agents avoid virtual tours because of the investment and low amount of views. But virtual tours move inventory faster and attracted serious buyers. Check out Inman’s report on why virtual tours are actually creating a good ROI for agents.

Secret Real Estate Listing Marketing Plan

The secret to a successful real estate listing marketing plan includes the 3 most important ingredients: professional photos, detailed descriptions, and floor plans. Adding more creative elements like video and virtual tours can lead to a greater ROI and are often not as difficult to produce as some agents think.

And, for agents looking to bring all their ingredients into one dish, Single Property Sites are a great way to show off every virtual tour, video, photos, floor plans, and detailed descriptions on one, high-quality real estate website.

The post The Secret Sauce Real Estate Listing Marketing Plan appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

Bigger Pockets Money Podcast

Close to 200,000 listeners tune in to this weekly podcast. Hosted by authors Brandon Turner and Joshua Dorkin (“How to Invest in Real Estate,” “The Bigger Pockets Guide”), this is not for listeners looking for quick riches.

Instead, Turner and Dorkin delve deep into many topics that they and their guests deal with all the time. For example, one episode shares stories about selling to flippers. In another episode, listeners hear tales of how investors came back from bankruptcy. Each episode also comes with a wealth of show notes for agents looking to download some of the show’s best advice.

The Brian Buffini Show

Everyone loves a true, American story. And that may be the reason Brian’s podcast is ranked #2 in the iTunes business category, is heard in over 160 countries, and features over four million weekly downloads. With those numbers, it may be the top best real estate podcast in the world.

After coming to the U.S. in 1986, Brian worked hard to become one of the country’s top Realtors and start his own company. Brian helps listeners understand the current market and what they can do to make their own dreams into realities. The show also features a ton of great guests, including interviews with real estate agents, motivational speakers, Hollywood, and music personalities.

YES Talk for Real Estate Agents

Agent-coach Kevin Ward took his successful book “The Book of YES: The Ultimate Real Estate Agent Conversation Guide” and converted it into a podcast. Each episode is dedicated to a part of the industry that people continually want information on.

One show may detail how to handle objections. Another will work listeners through the fear of asking for business. It’s a note-taking podcast where episodes can be revisited time and time again. It’s timelessness is what makes it one of the best podcasts for real estate agents.

Harvard Business Review Ideacast

Well, it’s Harvard. You can’t get more legit than that. This weekly podcast focuses on interviews with the top entrepreneurs and managers across the globe.

And while not a true real estate podcast, the program is directed to those who work hard to accomplish their own business dreams. Their goal is to share current information on management, economics, and marketing without selling coaching services or products. In addition to being educational, the podcast is one of the oldest online broadcasts.

The Tom Ferry Podcast Experience

While this podcast has been around for about two years, Tom has been reaching sales heights and coaching other real estate agents for nearly two decades.

In this podcast, he discusses everything related to real estate. One episode might be about making that first million-dollar sale. One week later, he might speak to people considering becoming agents. Ferry offers a well-rounded, topical show that agents can jump in on at any time.

Agent Caffeine

Kelly Mitchell is an agent filled with limitless energy. Her show is just as caffeinated as she is. It has been one of the top real estate podcasts since 2011.

Where other shows focus on the material portion of the market, “Agent Caffeine” examines how real estate and technology intersect. For instance, listeners can peruse episodes on content targeting and SEO marketing. For agents interested in how tech can help them get ahead, this is a great option.

Super Agents Live

This is a podcast for those who don’t have time to listen to others by Brian Buffini and Kevin Ward. That’s because they appear on this ongoing podcast hosted by Toby Salgado — a multi-millionaire entrepreneur himself.

Like “Agent Caffeine,” Toby’s podcast also crosses the line between the physical and virtual real estate worlds. Recent episodes have focused on the iBuyer craze, building online leads, and social media marketing.

Real Estate Coaching Radio

Tim and Julie Harris, coaches and the authors of the upcoming book “Harris Rules: A Real Estate Agent’s Practical, No-BS, Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming Rich and Free,” want to get agents selling.

This podcast is a mix of everything. There’s industry news, important advice for Realtors, and interviews with top sellers across the country. No matter if the listener is just starting out or a seasoned pro, Tim and Julie want their audience to learn something.

GSD Mode

GSD is short for “get sh!t done.” What Realtor and coach Joshua Smith wants listeners to gain from the podcast is the motivation to get up and make things happen. Not wait around for the market or circumstances to change.

In each episode, Joshua interviews superstars of the real estate world. He peels away their successes to find out how they got to where they are and what keeps them going. He even veers away from standard real estate topics. Episodes have featured conversations with real estate software developers and experts in cryptocurrency.

Agent Rise/Onion Juice Podcast

Both Onion Juice and Agent Rise are hosted by Neil Mathweg. Onion Juice recently ended it’s run with over 170 episodes and it is still worth a listen. Mathweg mixes humor, with real estate advice and great interviews. His new real estate podcast, Agent Rise with Neil Mathweg is just as good if not better. His conversations often focus on evergreen topics like lead generation, talking to buyers and sellers, and other actionable advice.

The Best Podcasts for Real Estate Agents

The best podcasts for real estate agents are entertaining, inspiring, and educational. They can motivate agents to sell more, close more quickly, and get more leads. The best part is they can be listened to in the car, in the office, or while working out. Though each show offers a slightly different style and topics covered, they are worth a listen to help transform any real estate business.

The post Best Podcasts for Real Estate Agents of 2019 appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.