I think you’ll agree; that sifting through endless real estate agent marketing ideas is challenging. It’s tough to determine which tactics will generate the highest volume of quality leads while keeping your sanity.
When people think of buying or selling a home, you want them to think of your name. You want them to give you a call. And you want them to work with YOU.
Of course, that’s easier said than done.
Many other real estate agents in the area are fighting for the same attention.
Fortunately, you don’t have to win all the attention to dominate your market – just most of it.
And the best part is…
You don’t even have to leave your computer to get started.
30 Real Estate Agent Marketing Ideas and Tips to Generate More Leads Online
In this article, I will show you 30 real estate agent marketing ideas for dominating your market online.
- Market Yourself on Instagram
- Build a Real Real Estate Agent Website
- Shoot Facebook Live Videos
- Consistently Post on Social Media
- Collaborate with Other Real Estate Agents in Your Area
- Message 100 Friends on Facebook and Tell Them What You Do
- Set Your Email Signature to Explain What You Do
- Set Your Social Media Bio to Explain What You Do
- Listen to a Mindset-focused Podcast
- Optimize Keywords on Your Website for Search Engines
- Set a Budget and Invest in Facebook or Google Ads
- Enhance the “About” Page on Your Website
- Write or Record Weekly Blog Posts
- Record a Case Study Video with a Past Customer
- Make Your Phone Number Easy to Find on Your Website
- Use a Low-commitment Opt-in Form on Your Website
- Write Persuasive Sales Copy
- Publish High-quality House Photos
- Add IDX to Your Website
- Encourage Reviews on Your Company Facebook Page
- Create Location-specific Landing Pages
- Run Free Ads on Craigslist
- Create a Sales Script to Increase Close Rate
- Delegate “Busy Work” to an Executive Assistant
- Know Your Market Like the Back of Your Hand
- Use a Drone For Aerial Photography of Your Real Estate Listings to Create Visual Intrigue
- Create a Google My Business Account
- Create and Promote an Infographic
- Run a Webinar
- Create a Zillow Profile
1. Market Yourself on Instagram
Instagram is an incredible place to share your listings and get noticed! For real estate agents, Instagram provides a whole new world of opportunity.
With over one billion monthly active users on the platform, there’s no better time than now for you to join in with all these people who are looking at beautiful pictures every day.
Whether showcasing properties or providing helpful content like tips for staging homes, something here is suited ideally for you!
Learn more:
- Instagram for Real Estate Agents [Step-By-Step Guide]
- How to Convert Your Social Media Followers Into Red Hot Leads with Jason Pantana
Unlock Your Instagram Marketing Knowledge
Learn everything that Real Estate Agents need to know to get started with Instagram marketing
2. Create a Website
Why does a real estate agent need a website?
Most real estate agents become a part of the online “clutter” in their markets when they toss up a website that gets lost in the shuffle. Building a focused and optimized website will help you cut through that clutter with content marketing and adding your industry expertise.
Having a website will attract more of your favorite clients by using it as an Evergreen Marketing tool.
You can reduce or eliminate relying on cold calling, direct mail, Zillow, and the marketing that’s burning you out when done right.
Having a website will also…
- Increase awareness and online presence.
- Generates quality leads.
- Increases your credibility.
- Service as an educational tool. Add community resources, FAQ, and contact information. Educating buyers or sellers and explaining how real estate agents provide their services can build trust, rapport and earn more business.
Learn more:
- What Do the Best Real Estate Agent Websites Have in Common?
- 7 Ways To Design Your Own Real Estate Agent Websites
- How to Build Your Real Estate Company’s Website Authority in 90 Days
3. Use Facebook Live Videos
Facebook’s LIVE video feature is useful for more than recording your kid’s birthday party. You can also use it to do a LIVE walkthrough of house listings that you’re trying to get attention around.
After all, one of the most time-consuming parts of your day is house showings, so why not show a house to your entire Facebook audience with a single LIVE video?
Plus, 70% of homeowners want to list with a real estate agent that does some video marketing as a part of selling their home. This might be your dead-simple, don’t-have-to-hire-a-professional way of integrating video marketing into the service you offer.
Just create a healthy cadence and get in front of your social media audience more regularly.
The more people see your face online and hear you talk about their problems and your solutions, the more familiar your market will be with you.
Video is increasingly important in content marketing for social media. More people are choosing to consume information through video.
Here are some ideas for Facebook live videos to work into your real estate marketing:
- Host virtual open houses.
- Discuss your community market with a local specialist.
- Livestream auctions.
- Interview customers for success stories.
- Interview a partner or someone you work with… such as an interior decorator.
- Host a contest or giveaway
Learn more:
- 3.25 Billion Hours of YouTube Videos are Watched Each Month. Don’t Miss Out. Use These 12 Real Estate Video Marketing Ideas Get in Front of Your Audience
- Time Saving Content Marketing For Real Estate Agents (The Power Of Q&A)
- 3 Steps To Creating Real Estate Content For Marketing (In Less Than An Hour)
4. Post on Social Media
Why do real estate agents need social media?
According to the National Association of Realtors, social media has become a significant way to acquire clients and close deals. Here’s a snapshot of their report:
- 77% of realtors actively use social media for real estate in some capacity.
- 47% of real estate businesses say social media results in the highest quality leads vs. other sources.
- 99% of millennials and 90% of baby boomers begin their home search on the Internet. As opposed to in-person referrals.
It’s powerful. And perhaps there’s no better way to generate consistent word of mouth around your brand name and the service you offer than by staying in front of your audience.
Posting on social media consistently allows you to stay in front of your audience without even leaving the comfort of your desk chair.
Where to post:
- Facebook posts
- Facebook ads
What you should post:
- Property photos
- Success stories
- Milestones
- Market news
- Renovation and home tips
- Events
Learn more…
- Personalizing Real Estate Marketing on Social Media: The Five Personality Types You’ll Meet
- Content Marketing Ideas for Real Estate Agents: Inspiration to Bring Your Strategy to Life
- 4 Real Estate Content Marketing Strategies You Can Actually Use to Grow Your Business
5. Partner with Other Real Estate Agents in Your Area
As the market gets increasingly competitive and the economy takes a slight downturn, collaborating with other professionals in your market might just separate the winners from those who starve.
Don’t be afraid to collaborate with other real estate agents and investors in your area to make the most of the market that you find yourself in.
Sometimes, the best way to dominate your market is to team up with those who’re already dominating it.
Learn more:
- 100+ Deals This Year Turning Other Peoples DEAD Leads Into Deals / Tang Nguyen and the “Odd Brothers”
- 6 Tools We Use To Work Together Better As A Remote Team
6. Message 100 Friends on Facebook and Tell Them What You Do
If you want to generate word of mouth, then spend a bit of time sending messages to your friends on Facebook and telling them about what you do. Maybe you’re offering a new service that you can announce to people or perhaps you want to say to people that you’re currently looking for new clients.
Either way, a Facebook message can go a long way in generating word-of-mouth for your business within your target market – especially if you personalize each message.
Learn more:
- Consistently Generate Real Estate Leads on Facebook with this Proven Strategy
- Facebook Ads for Real Estate: The Why and How of Getting (REAL) Leads
7. Set Your Email Signature to Explain What You Do
If you’re like me, then you send at least 3-5 emails every day. Believe it or not, every one of those emails is an opportunity to advertise what you do and who you are gently.
By automatically setting your email signature to populate with business-card style information, you remind people of your company every time you send an email.
Learn more:
8. Create a Social Media Bio
Similar to your email signature, your social media bios are just waiting to be exploited for your market domination. When someone clicks on your profile to find out more about you (and trust me, they do), you want them to know who you are and what your business does quickly.
A quick bio that describes your real estate expertise ensures you don’t miss lead-gen and word-of-mouth opportunities on your social media profiles.
Learn more:
9. Listen to a Mindset-focused Podcast
You might be thinking… “why would listening to a podcast help your online marketing?”
Often, becoming the most successful real estate agent in your market is simply a matter of believing you can do it and believing that you are the best.
I know it sounds cheesy, but the mindset is crazy powerful for building the business of your dreams and pulling in more leads than you can handle. And a podcast is a great way to test and refine your mindset regularly.
Here are some benefits of listening to podcasts:
- Your imagination kicks in.
- You learn new marketing tactics.
- Your multi-tasking skills will be enhanced.
- Your listening skills grow.
- You can know more about people and gain empathy to use as an agent.
Learn more:
10. Optimize Keywords on Your Website for Search Engines
The most thorough way to dominate your market is to be the first result that prospects see when they type “real estate agent” or “sell my home fast” into Google.
If you’re not on the page when people do that, then you have a very small chance of being a significant force in your market.
People go online to find everything, including a real estate agent to work with. You need to show up at the top of Google results. And to do that, you need to optimize your website to rank in search engines via strategic keyword placement.
Carrot members can easily track their rankings using the Carrot SEO Ranking Tracker.
Learn more:
11. Invest in Facebook or Google Ads
If you want to increase the number of leads and deals that you’re getting quickly and you have some money to invest, then PPC might be a great option for you.
Whether you choose Facebook or Google Ads (the two most popular options), PPC can start generating more leads immediately, increasing your business profitability and market authority.
Learn more:
- How to Tell If My Real Estate PPC Campaign Is Working – Setting Up Conversion Tracking
- #1 PPC Metrics: You Need To Build Into Your Real Estate Marketing Strategy w/ Adrian Nez
- How much can you afford to spend per deal?
12. Optimize Your “About” Page on Your Website
Did you know that the “About” page on any given website is the third most-viewed page? People don’t just want to know what you do or how you do it, they want to know who you are, as well.
By spending a little time on your “About” page bio – adding core values, a mission statement, and personal pictures – you’ll stand out from competitors who didn’t spend extra time on their “About” page.
Learn more…
- The Most Overlooked But Important Page On Your Website (Backed By Science)
- Anatomy of a High Converting Real Estate Investor Website Homepage
13. Create a Blog Post
Weekly (or monthly) blog posts on your website give you and your audience something to talk about. They give you something to share on your social media pages and they give your audience something to talk about.
That’s good – the more interactions that you have with people in your target market, the more people will view you as the real estate expert in their area.
Plus, publishing consistent blog posts can also help with your Google rankings and building trust with people who arrive on your website.
Don’t have time? Hate writing? No problem! Create a VideoPost! You could have amazing content to share in 10 minutes.
Simply upload a video and receive a transcription for your content. It’s easy to create content that helps you stand out from the crowd.
See it in action here… How to Create Real Estate Content in Under 10 Minutes with Carrot’s VideoPost
Learn more:
- 20 Inspirational Real Estate Blogging Ideas That Stand Out and Land Leads
- 101 Blog Post Ideas For Real Estate
- This Real Estate Agent Doubled Her Closings + Increased Website Traffic By 227%
14. Record a Case Study Video with a Past Customer
Case studies or we like to call them “customer success stories” are powerful. When a prospect arrives on your website, one of the first things that they’re asking themselves is, “Can I trust this person to solve my problem and have my best interest in mind along the way?”
How they answer that question will play a large role in determining whether they decide to work with you or not.
The good news is that you can help them answer that question by filming and publishing case study videos of people you’ve worked within the past and their good experiences.
Learn more:
15. Make Your Phone Number Easy to Find on Your Website
When someone on your website is ready to take action, the last thing they want to do is send them digging for your phone number. To avoid losing leads who want to call you on the phone, put your phone number somewhere on your website that makes it easy to find.
This alone might not dominate your entire market. But when you’re playing against big competitors, details matter.
Learn more:
- Test Your Real Estate Agent website’s mobile responsiveness
- Anatomy of a High Converting Real Estate Website Homepage
16. Use a Low-commitment Opt-in Form on Your Website
When someone arrives on your website, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to take the first step.
At Carrot, we’ve found that a simple form like the one above with address, phone number, and email is a great starting place. It’s enough to qualify the person (having three different fields) but not so much that it’ll stop someone who’s seriously interested in your service.
By putting a form like this on your own website, you decrease the amount of lost convert-able leads to your website and increase your market domination – even if just slightly.
Learn more:
- How to Attract House Sellers Like a Mind Reader [Original Data]
- The Secrets to Generating Seller Leads Online
17. Write Persuasive Sales Copy
Words matter. And perhaps nowhere do words matter more than when you’re trying to convince someone who doesn’t even know you to work with you.
Often, the real estate professional who writes the best sales copy and speaks directly to their target market will win the day. Consider spending a bit more time on your own website’s sales copy to make sure every word is compelling and persuasive.
Learn more:
- Real Estate Copywriting: Generate More Leads By Starting With Your Audience
- Real Estate Conversion Copywriting: How To Sell The “Click” With Your Meta Description And SEO Title
- Effective Copywriting Tips For Real Estate From World Renowned Copywriter Ben Settle
18. Publish High-quality House Photos
If you’re a real estate agent, then posting high-quality photos on your website, Facebook page, and house listings is critical. Several studies have shown that high-quality photos can increase how quickly a home sells and what price it sells for.
It will take more than pictures to sell a house, but this is one piece of marketing that can’t be overlooked.
Many real estate agents miss the importance of taking quality pictures. This is one simple way you can beat your competition.
Learn more:
- 4 Real Estate Content Marketing Strategies You Can Actually Use to Grow Your Business
- 10 Things The Best Real Estate Websites For Agents Have In Common
- 7 Smart Ways To Design Your Own Real Estate Agent Websites And Beat The Competition
19. Add IDX to Your Website
If you’re a real estate agent, when someone arrives on your website, there’s a good chance that they want to see some house listings.
One, because that means you’re actually a real estate agent and not some kind of a poser.
And two, because everyone loves browsing through house listings (most of all, your target market).
Your high-performing competitors are using IDX, so you probably should be too.
Learn more:
20. Encourage Reviews on Your Company Facebook Page
People trust reviews just as much as they trust recommendations from friends. Think of your own experience: before you buy a movie, eat at a restaurant, stay at a hotel, or buy a book, you read the reviews.
And how much BIGGER of a decision is buying or selling your home? Sure – people won’t decide entirely if they’re going to work with you based on your reviews, but your reviews (or whether you have them at all) will play a big part during the prospect’s early decision-making process.
Facebook is a great place to collect and advertise those reviews.
Learn more:
- The 5 Most Common Facebook Marketing Objections From Real Estate
- Facebook Marketing Tips for Real Estate Investors + Agents w/ Kiley Newbold
21. Create Location-specific Landing Pages
One of the best ways to convince people that you’re the best person to solve their problem amidst a whole sea of competitors is by targeting them specifically. Rather than simply having a website that targets your city create different landing pages that target different parts of that city.
There’s probably an entire pool of prospects who are interested in river-side houses, houses by the golf course, wooded homes, or homes in the mountains.
By niching your market down even further with market-specific landing pages, you can speak directly to those people and increase their chance of working with you.
Learn more:
22. Create Free Ads on Craigslist
Craigslist is a great place to find buyers and sellers. Mainly, because it’s one of the first places that many people go when they start looking for a piece of real estate to buy. Plus, the ads are free to post.
Post consistently with pictures of the homes or property you’re marketing and voila, you’re battling on one more front that your competitors are probably ignoring.
Learn more:
- Real Estate Marketing: 8 Tips to Find Sellers on Craigslist
- 5 Craigslist Marketing Strategies To Generate More Buyer Leads Than You Know What To Do With
23. Create a Sales Script to Increase Close Rate
A sales script for your phone calls and email follow-up doesn’t just increase efficiency, it can also increase sales. By thinking about the pain points your prospects have and what makes them tick before getting on a call with them, you can avoid losing a deal because you forgot to say something important until after the call was over.
Phone calls are still a big part of the real estate marketing strategy, and how you handle yourself on the phone (with efficiency and salesmanship) is critical to your success.
Tom Ferry shares five proven sales scripts to every real estate agent need to gain confidence and win more business
Learn more:
24. Delegate “Busy Work” to an Executive Assistant
If you want to build a company that goes well beyond solopreneurship, then you need to delegate “busy work” to someone else. “Busywork” is the stuff that has to be done, but it doesn’t need to be done by you. Someone else can take it over relatively quickly and have the same impact.
To grow your business and focus on more important things, outsource the “busy work” to a VA or in-person assistant.
Learn more:
- Real Estate Investor Virtual Assistant: 3 Key Mindset Changes You Need to Make Before Hiring
- What Makes An Excellent Executive Assistant? Behind The Scenes At Carrot
25. Know Your Market Like the Back of Your Hand
The one who knows their market best dominates the market.
Truth is, the agents and investors who know their market the best – who they are, what they like, how they think, how they talk, where they hang out – are the ones who will dominate their market.
Why?
Because those are the people that will most easily sell their services to the market. They understand the market’s pain and they position their service strategically to serve that pain.
If you’re at a loss for how to beat your competition, then spend some time studying your market. Visit forums, Facebook groups, and pages, or make some phone calls and ask relevant questions.
Once you know it, establish credibility and connections by posting market snippets on social media or an email newsletter campaign.
Learn more:
26. Use Drone Photography
There’s no better way to inject child-like life into your marketing strategy than purchasing a remote-controlled toy.
And drones aren’t just great for having a bit of well-deserved fun, they’re great for business. 83% of people selling their homes prefer to work with an agent that uses drones. High-volume realtors use drones 3.5 times more than their low-volume counterparts. And, last but not least, homes with aerial images sell 68% faster than homes with basic images.
Really, that’s no surprise when you take a glance at the beautiful photos these flying playthings can capture.
But, which drone should you buy? There’s a lot of options and you want to get the best bang for your buck.
Truthfully, I don’t know. I’ve never bought a drone and I hesitate to tell you which one to buy before I’ve actually tried it out for myself.
But, what type of drone should you use? Here is a list to get you started. Keep in mind, though, that that article probably has affiliate links littered throughout the list, so take those recommendations with a grain of salt.
In the end, I’d trust Amazon reviews above all else (they’re harder for people to tamper with).
27. Create a Google My Business Account
Most of you have probably already created a Google My Business account.
But if you haven’t, then you might be missing out on easy-to-capture SEO traffic. For example, these are the kind of results that Google My Business can generate for your website.
Perhaps the best part about these types of results is that they draw the eye even more than normal top-of-page Google results. It’s a great way for your business to cut to the front of the SEO competition, especially if you have more five-star reviews than anyone else.
BONUS TIP: Generating reviews for your Google My Business account is another marketing strategy you might consider implementing. Reach out to your past customers and ask them to review you on your Google My Business page.
If you don’t already have a Google My Business account, then simply go to the landing page and click “Manage Now” to get started.
28. Create an Infographic
More than likely, you’re not a designer.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t dip your toes in design. In fact, it can be fun to try something you’ve never done — especially when that something has as much lead-generation potential as an infographic.
In fact, here’s an infographic describing why visual content is so powerful.
Said more simply, people love visual content. And an infographic is basically a more visual and easy-to-digest blog post. Here, for instance, is an infographic that some real estate agents created.
But how the heck do you come up with an idea for your own infographic? And how do you actually design it?
Well, it’s all easier than you think.
Once you’re done creating it, promote it on your social media channels, email list, and blog.
Learn more:
- Check out our real estate infographic guide to learn how to do it.
29. Host a Webinar
You might think that running a webinar is just for the self-proclaimed B2B coaches and gurus of the world, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, running a webinar on a topic that appeals to your audience is a great way to build digital relationships and start relevant discussions about how you can help people buy or sell a home.
Accordingly, here’s a far-from-exhaustive list to get you started hosting your very first webinar.
- What not to do when buying your first home
- X tricks to sell your house for its highest possible value
- Should you list your house with a real estate agent?
- How to stage your house to sell crazy fast
Keep in mind, though, most people prefer to only watch a webinar for somewhere between 30 minutes and 45 minutes. So try to keep yourself to that time limit and advertise it as being that long in the first place.
In terms of technical webinar setup, this guide by SmartBlogger will show you how to do it for free (just skip to the “How to Run Webinars Like a Pro (Without Spending a Dime)” part).
And before you actually do your webinar, test everything and make sure it’s all working how you want it to. There’s nothing quite as embarrassing or frustrating as technical difficulties during a webinar presentation.
Once you’ve put your webinar together, start collecting sign-ups via Facebook ads, emails, and maybe even guest posts on other blogs.
30. Create a Zillow Profile
You can’t afford to miss out on the opportunity of Zillow. With over 245 million unique monthly users, it gives you an audience for your business that is much larger than any other solution in this space!
You need a profile because when potential clients find listings they are interested in, and see that there’s no one who has listed them yet at their contact information; chances are high they’ll want to reach out with questions – which means if you’re not sharing those listings through profiles on sites like Zillow then someone else will be getting all these new leads instead.
Learn more:
Conclusion
The truth is, to dominate your market, you have to change what you’re currently doing – what you’re doing to generate leads and revenue is great for where you’re at, but it’ll never take you where you want to go.
That’s the truth about everything in life. If you want to go somewhere new, then you have to make some changes.
And these 30 real estate agent marketing ideas will get you on the right track to dominating your market.
What do you think? What has been key for your real estate agent marketing? Which tools and strategies do you use? Share your thoughts, knowledge, and questions with us in the comments below!
Thank you for all the insights. I found it really useful for my first campaign.
Thank you for all the insights. I found it really useful for my first campaign.