1. Use Specialized Niche Landing Pages:

Did you know that you can use IDX to create individual niche landing pages on your real estate website? Examples include web pages for mountain view properties, lakefront properties, specific neighborhood properties, or properties in specific school districts, etc. 

These landing pages attract niche leads that bigger websites miss while driving up your SEO at the same time. Try picking out the defining attributes of your listings and highlighting them for niche markets. Show them off on niche landing pages to find the perfect buyer more quickly. 

Bonus tip: Put a lead capture form on these pages to collect your leads’ information.

2. Create Squeeze Pages/Lead Capture Forms:

One of the best ways for real estate agents to market their listings is by using squeeze pages. Squeeze pages contain forms that you can fill out on websites to get something in return. Every person on the internet has filled one out before. You may have signed up for a newsletter, a chance to win a vacation, an ebook, property alerts, or something else using one of these forms. A website will ask for your name and email in exchange for something you want. 

Most real estate agents don’t use squeeze pages and are missing out on collecting leads’ contact information. When you share your listings on your website, be sure to include a lead capture form.

3. Have a Clear Call-to-Action:

Showing off listings online is great, but if there are no calls-to-action or clear next steps for buyers, your marketing efforts will fall flat. Make sure to include information about what steps buyers need to take next. Usually this will be scheduling a showing, so make sure to include buttons and links to schedule a showing.

Bonus Tip: Clearly display your contact information clearly on all of your listing materials.

4. Single Property Websites:

Individual property websites are a great marketing tactic for listing agents. Listing websites impress sellers and can help you win listings. They also help you sell listings faster by making your brand and contact information highly visible, online.

5. Listing Videos:

Videos are the #1 way to attract leads online. Listings with video get over 400% more inquiries and video receives over 400% more engagement than any other medium of real estate marketing. Most agents avoid video because of the cost or their lack of editing skills. The good news is that services like Single Property Sites can automatically create listing videos and syndicates them for you… all for the price of a cup of coffee.

6. Create Buyers Bootcamp Email Drip Campaigns:

Email drip campaigns are a powerful tool. Create an evergreen buyers bootcamp email campaign with steps and advice on buying a home. Be sure to include your featured listings.

Though it may take some initial effort to write 8-10 emails your email campaign, once the templates are written, you can use a service like MailChimp to run them on autopilot for years at a time.   

7. Create Custom Sign Riders: 

Curbside marketing can be incredibly powerful. Custom sign riders can attach to any listing agent’s ‘for sale’ sign. These sign riders have lead capture tools built in via text messaging, QR codes, web addresses, or even 1-800 numbers. It’s an easy way to capture buyer leads.

8. Floor Plans:

Did you know The NAR’s Real Estate in a Digital Age Report found that floor plans are one of the most helpful and important marketing features for buyers? They beat out even pricier listing features like virtual tours. Floor plans are often overlooked, but there are many free tools for creating them.

9. Use SEM Tools to Create Viral Listing Descriptions:

SEM (search engine marketing) tools can help you see what terms and keywords leads in your market are Googling the most. By crafting your marketing messages around the terms your leads search for most, you can make a greater impact, online.

A great example of this would be changing the language of your listing descriptions to match SEM keywords. For instance, in Colorado, “mountain view homes for sale Colorado” is a highly ranked keyword. 

By changing the wording in the listing description from “You can see the gorgeous mountains from the backyard” to “This mountain view home in Colorado features….” you can drive up the amount of people that find my listing online.

Bonus Tip: tools like SEMRush allow you to use their free trial to start learning about what search terms leads in your market use the most.

10. Start a Facebook Group:

Facebook is trying to rebrand itself with groups. Use this to your advantage by starting a group about moving to your area. Groups like “Moving to the Dallas Area” are a great place to connect with leads and share your listings.

11. Drone Photography and Video:

Drone photography and videos are quickly becoming a hot marketing tool for listings. Many real estate agents mistakenly think this trend is just about attracting more buyers.

The truth is, drones are more useful for attracting new seller clients. 83% of sellers prefer to work with real estate agents that use drone photography! It all goes back to sellers’ core desire to work with a Realtor that has a great marketing plan.

12. Curated Featured Listings Pages/Posts: 

Curating your favorite listings on a regular basis is a great way to connect with leads. Share your list on your website and on your social media accounts. 

Bonus Tip: Try running a Facebook/Instagram ad with your featured listings.

13. Offer a Market Report for Your Area with Featured Listings:

One of the biggest questions buyers and sellers have is, “When is the best time to move?” Help them take action by putting out a bi-annual market report. Make sure your featured listings are on full display.

14. Crowdsource Listings:

Why should a real estate agent do all the work of selling a home when social media users want to help? If an agent is already sharing their listing videos and photos on social media, this one is a no-brainer.

Simply tag the homeowners in the listing post on Facebook and Instagram. Their own social networks will help take care of the rest. By seeing a friend trying to sell their home, many users will share the listing on their own profiles to try and help. It’s exposure for both the listing and the agent.

15. Use Remarketing Techniques:

Have you ever visited a company’s website and then, over the next week, their ads popped up in your email, on your social media accounts, and on other websites you visited? That’s called remarketing, or retargeting.

Research shows it is incredibly effective and best of all, it’s incredibly cheap. You can retarget your listings to people who have seen your listing or visited your website using Google Ads. Remarketing is one of the most calculated ways for real estate agents to market listings.

16. Virtual Tours:

Did you know that real estate listings with virtual tours receive 87% more views? Virtual Tours are one best ways for real estate agents to market listings because they help sell listings faster. Homebuyers view virtual tours as their own, personal showings.

Bonus Tip: You can check out our guide for choosing the best virtual tour service, here.

17. Printed Mailers:

High-quality listing mailers are still useful for your farm area and contact lists. Mailers can attract local buyers looking to upgrade, downsize, or help a friend move into their neighborhood. Better still, they also can attract new seller leads who will appreciate your marketing strategies.

18. Leverage Nextdoor

A Nextdoor advertising campaign can connect you directly with leads. Try advertising your listings using an ad campaign.

Bonus Tip: Always be transparent about the fact that you are a Realtor and use Nextdoor’s advertising features and guidelines. If you try to promote yourself outside of these guidelines, you may be banned.

19. Set up a Facebook/Instagram Campaign with a Micro-Experience:

To truly engage buyers online, invite them to participate in an online experience like a virtual tour or neighborhood walkthrough. These types of campaigns receive far higher engagement than those with static images and text.

20. Neighborhood Tours / Real Estate Farming Videos:

Neighborhood tours or real estate farming videos are a great form of marketing to boost your listings. This kind of evergreen content can be used over again.

85% of both buyers and sellers prefer to work with an agent who uses video. Try developing video content that will allow buyers to experience what living in a specific neighborhood will feel like.  

Bonus Tip: Check out this example for inspiration.

21. Claim Your Listings on Portals:

Are you claiming your MLS listings when they are syndicated? One of the easiest opportunities to increase your marketing reach is by laying claim to what’s already yours. Make sure to connect your contact information with your listings on bigger real estate portals. This is one of the quickest ways for real estate agents to market their listings more effectively.

22. Put Everything in One Place:

When your listing information, virtual tours, videos, and floor plans are all scattered on separate websites (YouTube, Matterport, etc.) buyers get overwhelmed. They get tired of clicking around, don’t see your information, and opt out. Make it easy for leads to contact you by putting all your listing marketing materials in one, simple place. 

Tools like Single Property Sites are designed to show your contact information prominently and share information like photo galleries, videos, virtual tours, drone content, floor plans, open house information, walk scores, and neighborhood information in one place.

23. Professional Photographs:

Photography can make or break your real estate marketing efforts. Just take a look at some of the greatest listing photography fails. Taking time to invest in a professional real estate photographer can increase your buyer leads immediately.

Bonus Tip: Want to know how much you should be paying for a photographer? Check out our pricing guide.

24. Featured Listing Ads on Facebook and Instagram:

Connect your listings with leads instantly using Facebook Business Manager. Ads that show off your listings and link back to your business website are a great way to sell faster. Be sure to put a “schedule a showing” button on the listing webpage and display your contact information clearly.

Bonus Tip: When choosing your ad audience, consider using the town your listing is located in as well as 2-3 neighboring townships.

25. Target Older Generations With Print Media:

If your inventory is primarily condos, single story townhomes, or +55 community properties, print media is worth your time. Even though newspaper sales have decreased in the past 15 years, readership of local newspapers and newsletters remains strong with older generations. 

Additionally, older generations continue to shy away from the internet. Lucky for you, the price of advertising in local papers has gone down as a result of the internet. If you are looking to reach older buyers who need to downsize, the newspaper is the the #1 place to advertise.

26. Give Tours of Exclusive Listings on Instagram:

People are curious to see what’s behind closed doors. One of the most successful real estate Instagram tactics is to use your phone to share highlights from exclusive listings.

27. Give Tours of Exclusive Listings on Snapchat:

As mentioned above, this is a proven social media tactic with high engagement.

28. Curbside Flyers: 

Adding a flyer insert to your “for sale” signs can also help you sell faster. These easy, take home flyers should always have a clear call-to-action for scheduling a showing, your contact information, and a web address where they can learn more.

29. Google AdWords

If your inventory has a specific niche, Google AdWords may be able to help you sell listings faster and attract new seller leads, too. Google AdWords allows real estate agents to buy up certain keywords, so that their websites appear first in Google search results. 

For example, If you primarily sell mountain homes near Vail, CO, you could start AdWord campaigns for, “Houses for sale in Vail, CO”, “Colorado mountain homes for sale”, and “Vail, CO real estate.” 

The key is finding the common theme to the properties you sell. If you use keywords that are too generic like “homes for sale in colorado” then the Google AdWords pricing will be far more expensive, the competition will be steeper, and the amount of qualified buyer leads will be smaller. Using a specific city and property type (ranch, condo, etc) is a great way to get started.

30. Don’t Forget to Showcase Your Sold Properties:

Listing agents who want to position themselves as sales experts should create web pages that show off their sold properties. This can easily be done using an IDX plugin.

31. Use Instagram/Facebook Stories:

An easy way to for real estate agents to market listings is by using Instagram and Facebook stories. This is a great place to show off your listing photos and videos. Be sure to include a call-to-action to call/text for a showing.

Bonus Tip: Use the Q & A feature to answer some frequently asked questions about the property.

32. Use Infographics: 

40% of marketers say that infographics drive the most engagement of any form of online content. And, three days after viewing, people remember 65% of what they saw on an infographic versus only 10% of what they read.

Try adding neighborhood infographics for your listing marketing materiels. Include Walk Scores, school district information, population data, etc. The best part is, you can recycle these infographics later. 

Bonus Tip: You can easily make real estate infographics in minutes, using this guide.

33. Use Social Share Buttons: 

Make it easy for people to share your listings by adding social sharing buttons to your business website, blog, email campaigns, and video content. This type of tactic is designed to increase your web traffic and the amount of people that see your personalized branding and contact information.

34. Open Houses:

Even though there has been debate around open houses recently, many markets still swear by them. Most importantly, open houses are one of the best places to find new seller leads in your farm area.

35. Craigslist:

Craigslist is like the wild west of the internet, but there is still plenty of treasure to be found. After years online, Craigslist remains a proven place to generate real estate leads…if you know how. 

Bonus Tip: Avoid getting penalized for over posting. Only post photos of your listings (never of yourself), make your contact information clear, and create compelling descriptions that stand out. 

36. Virtual Staging

Make your listing photos and virtual tours even more powerful by adding virtual staging. If your listing is vacant or needs an instant makeover, virtual staging may be just the trick.

After empty spaces are photographed, virtual staging software allows real estate agents to add professional quality furniture and decor to any space. Virtual Staging software like PadStyler allow real estate agents to transform listings, instantly.

37. Network with Buyer Real Estate Agents

One of the most effective ways for real estate agents to market listings is by networking with other agents. Some listing agents invite buyer agents to private walkthroughs for listings about to hit the market. Others will spread the word to real estate Facebook and LinkedIn groups, while others will email their list of contacts about their newest listings.

No matter how it’s done, letting other agents know about your listings and what sets your listing apart is a great way to sell faster.

38. Use a Social Scheduling Tool :

Use a tool like Buffer to schedule and share all of your listings to social media. These scheduling tools save you hours of time each month.

39. Canvas Local Stores and Coffee Shops:

This is another great way to market your listing without spending any money. Many local grocery stores, coffee shops, and libraries feature bulletin boards that are free to add to your listing information to. Just use one of your curbside listing flyers and be on your way.

40. Write Strong Listing Descriptions:

Tightening up your MLS descriptions can help you sell faster. The NAR revealed that 85% of homebuyers found property descriptions to be one of the most important factors when searching online.

A few tips for creating fantastic descriptions include:

Using well-scored adjectives like “luxurious,” “captivating,” “updated,” “upgraded,” and “beautiful”

Using search terms buyers are likely to use to find listings. Homebuyers don’t care how websites sort their data, they are more likely to put precisely what they want into search engines. Words like “Cul-de-Sac,” “Lakefront,” “Ranch,” “Basketball,” “Inground Pool,” “Finished Basement,” “Bar,” and “Landscaping,” should be featured for appropriate listings.

Avoid negative descriptions. While honesty is important, avoid words like “fixer-upper,” “outdated,” “TLC,” and “handy-man special.” Instead, use softer descriptions like, “Ready for a new owner to leave their mark.”

Ideas for Real Estate Agents to Market Listings

These 40 tips and tricks for marketing your real estate listings are designed to help agents impress their sellers, sell their listings faster, and attract future sellers, too. When choosing the best marketing tactics for your real estate business it is wise to consider your local market, seller expectations, and the target demographic of your ideal buyer.

The post 40 Ways for Real Estate Agents to Market Listings appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

2. Crowdsource Listings

Crowdsourcing is on the rise and many agents are jumping in the game. Why should a real estate agent do all the work of selling a home when social media users want to help? If an agent is already sharing their listing videos and photos on social media, this one is a no-brainer.

Simply tag the homeowners in the listing post on Facebook and Instagram. Their own social networks will help take care of the rest. By seeing a friend trying to sell their home, many users will share the listing on their own profiles. Its exposure for both the listing and the agent.

 3. Strong Descriptions

4. Professional Photography

5. Interactive Experiences

It’s no secret that virtual tours and drone videography have taken off over the past few years. I know *insert eye roll*, more money, but hear me out. Virtual tours aren’t just changing the way we look at listings, they are also a great tool for the ever-increasing number homebuyers moving to new states as well as millennial buyers. Realtor.com reported that listings with virtual tours got 87% more views.

But above all else, virtual tours and drone photography/videography are not for homebuyers, they are for home sellers. Using these forms of marketing not only motivate sellers to choose an agent, but they are also a great tool to attract other clients, too.

For more info on interactive media, check out how much agents should be paying for drone photography/videography and our virtual tour brand guide.

6. Single Property Websites

Closing

The post How to Market a Real Estate Listing 2019 appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

Drones are helping real estate agents create unforgettable marketing content. But more importantly, drones are helping real estate agents increase their sales. A recent study showed that 83% of homeowners preferred to work with an agent that used drones. The NAR also reported that 73% of homeowners are more likely to list their home with a real estate agent who provides video of their home. But, only 10% of listing agents are offering these types of drone services.

The good news is drone photography is not outrageously priced and using drones can actually increase an agent’s revenue by attracting more sellers.

Agents interested in flying their own drones can check out our Real Estate Drone Guide and our article on what it takes to fly a real estate drone. Those looking to outsource and hire a professional drone pilot can read on to find out about the cost of hiring someone for drone photography and videography in 2019.

Real Estate Drone Photography Costs

To be transparent, the price will vary depending on factors such as the duration of the shoot, the photographer’s experience, equipment, and the competition in the local market. The type of shoot will also affect the price. However, a basic real estate shoot is usually priced from $100 to $250/hr, with most drone photo and video shoots lasting 1-2 hrs.

The location of the listing will also affect the price. More metropolitan areas and cities tend to have slightly higher costs. No matter where you live, the price should never, exceed $350/hr. per listing. If it does, keep shopping.

How to Shop

When shopping for a real estate a drone photography and videography service there are few quick ways to narrow down your candidates.

1. Make sure the drone pilot has insurance. This is usually displayed on the pilot’s website. If they aren’t insured, keep searching.
2. Make sure the drone pilot has their commercial drone 107 license. This is a seven-digit id for the pilot’s FAA training.
3. Make sure their pricing is displayed on their website. If there is a “contact us” form instead of transparent pricing, the company wants to funnel you into their marketing system. Keep searching.
4. Make sure the pilot specializes in residential real estate. Because drone photography is still so new, most drone pilots will grab up any work they can get. Photographing a serene, forest pond is a lot different than photographing a home so that it sells. Be sure to pick someone with real estate experience, that has a portfolio on display.
5. Ask if the pilot charges extra for travel time and if post-production editing and file sharing is included in the price. These extras can rack up costly, hidden fees.
6. Make sure that the photographer signs usage rights over to you since the photos and video will be used commercially.
7. Check the pilot’s privacy policy. Many drone pilots retain rights to share the content they create, either online or over social media. This might be a red flag for some homeowners, who do not want their home used to promote a drone business.
8. Find out if the pilot has a process for alerting neighboring homeowners when they are using drones. This can avoid privacy complaints.

Shopping Tip: Droners is a website committed to connecting drone pilots with the people who need them. Real estate agents can browse drone pilots in their area by price, insurance, equipment, etc.

Closing

Real estate drone photography and videography is in demand. Home sellers prefer listing agents that will market their homes with video and drones. While some real estate agents are considering investing in their own drones, real estate drone photography costs when hiring a professional are typically $100-$250/hr.

And, to show off every drone video, photo, virtual tour, and any other listings media, check out Single Property Sites.

The post Real Estate Drone Photography Costs in 2019 appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

In order to provide our customers with a one-of-a-kind experience, we are constantly striving to update and upgrade our products and services. We have received a lot of feedback regarding the recently released new theme for your single property sites, and have completed a series of updates and bug fixes to the new theme.

Here is a complete list of all updates:

• Agent’s full address now shows up without error
• Description under property details showing
• The white label solution now shows correct credits at bottom of Agent profile page. If there is no agent tagline then this will not appear.
• Agent’s social media icons and links all work correctly
• “Assumptions and Disclosures” under financing options are now appearing
•  The Facebook share link has been improved, making it easier than ever to quickly share property sites to Facebook
• Image slideshows now included in menu under “Property Information”
• Video and Virtual Tours were experiencing problems when opened in Internet Explorer. This has been fixed, but you need to make sure that videos and virtual tours are not set to “auto-play” as the video will load straight away.

To see example sites for the new theme, click the links below:

• http://www.1122mainstreet.com
• http://5429flatford.2seeit.com/

There are still a few big upgrades we have coming down the pipeline, so please let us know how we can help make your experience the best possible.

The post MAJOR single property site theme updates and bug fixes appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

Whatever the reasons for lacking a blog, “content marketing” is essential to add to your site to set you apart from your competitors.

The following are 4 reasons you need to incorporate content marketing in your real estate marketing strategy:

1) It builds TRUST
It’s hard for potential home buyers to go an entire day without being bombarded with some type of advertisement to buy a new home. This has caused potential buyers to always have their guard up, wondering, “What’s the catch?” Providing consumers with helpful content shows that you are genuinely interested in helping them, and also allows them to find your content when THEY want it. If you write content based on what you know and what you are good at, the consumers will be able to see that you are a trusted resource instead of some greasy salesperson with malicious intentions.

2) Content Marketing is FREE
Not only is blogging a great real estate marketing technique, it also requires no monetary investment on your part. The only thing it will cost you is the time it takes you to research your desired topic and type it out. What’s better than effective marketing? FREE effective marketing.

3) Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Blogging isn’t just a platform for you to get your opinions in front of potnetial buyers, it’s a way to boost your website’s search ranking as well. If you have already begun a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) program, incorporate your target keywords into your blog posts at least a few times. Not only does this show the search engines what your article is about, it also helps you keep your content on-topic and relevant for your target market.

4) People like to share good content
By adding social media buttons to your blog posts, you allow people to share your content with their social networks as well. WordPress and many other blogging platforms automatically include these buttons in your blog posts in order to make it as easy as possible for others to share your quality content. A well written blog piece can take on a life of its own after people begin to share it!

When it all comes down to it, the best rule of thumb to remember in your new content marketing is to write about things that people want to hear, and stay focused on your target market. If you are a Real Estate Agent, writing articles on video games will likely fall on deaf ears. Keep the content interesting, unique, and beneficial, and you will see great results for your real estate marketing!

The post 4 Reasons you Need a Content Marketing Strategy in your Real Estate Marketing appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

Full column via Inman.

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