There are many ways that a real estate agent can succeed. And what worked last month might not work this month. With drastic improvements in technology, new things to try, and to invest in, are appearing all the time. Take a look at 2 real estate marketing strategies you should never invest in and 1 thing you should.
Leave These Real Estate Marketing Strategies Behind
- Do Not Invest in Business Cards
It is a rite of passage – a beautifully designed business card. While it may seem like a good foot in the door, business cards should be left in the past:
- COVID-19 has changed everything. With the current health crisis, people are looking for more ways to go contactless.
- Most people don’t even carry wallets anymore – their smartphone has taken over the role of a wallet, address book, computer. Where would potential clients keep all those cards?
- Most people have an online presence. Through Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, we are able to find pretty much anyone.
- Business cards suggest an old way of doing business. You want people to know that you embrace new, fresh ideas. For example, you can connect on LinkedIn when you are face-to-face with someone instead of exchanging business cards.
- The environment deserves a break, and printing cards doesn’t help. Let’s face it – the few traceable leads you get won’t be worth harming the environment over. Pivot toward a digital footprint by using a site like LinkedIn.
- Do Not Invest in Buying Online Real Estate Leads
Buying online leads is a costly way of business that is difficult to keep up with. While it may seem like a good way to find potential clients, buying leads should be left alone. Here’s why:
- Leads that are bought and paid for have the lowest conversion rates. Leads who come in this way do not have any connection or loyalty to you, so they are not necessarily a real lead; they are contacting everyone they can find just to get what they need in the moment.
- Low quality leads eat up a lot of time. In order to weed out leads you can work with, you will need to go through all of the leads you get.
- Paid lead generation removes your control in reliably generating your own leads. If something happens and the lead generation company runs into trouble or goes out of business, your leads will dry up.
If you aren’t making at least 2 times your ROI, lead gen should be cut…and ideally you want to invest in something that gives you 5 times your ROI.
One Real Estate Marketing Strategy You Should Invest In
We all want to know what the big secret is. It is really quite easy – start reaching out to the business owners and local leaders in your community. And while you are bringing value and visitors to their businesses, they will send referrals and potential clients to you. It just works; but if you’re not sure where to start, read on.
Reach out to a referral-based platform to see how you can transform your real estate business.
Do Invest in Your Community
Using a referral/relationship-based platform will bring you so much more than leads (although that is a wicked perk). Here is what investing in your community looks like:
- Build meaningful relationships with local business owners and influencers by helping them first instead of coming across as self-serving.
- Support local businesses by promoting their services instead of your own. You’ll show buyers and sellers how much you know your neighborhood.
- Sponsor local events and teams, not just with money but by showing up to their events. So often kids on sports teams are disconnected from the sponsors of their shirts. Make sure parents know the name and face of the teams you support.
- Spend money and time on people in your community. During COVID-19 few communities had a space to come together and talk about what was happening locally. Imagine having a website that does that for your neighborhood. Both your residents and future buyers would love a space to come together to support each other.
Why Should You Invest in Your Community?
It may seem like this just adds to your daily to-do list. But when you get in the habit of centering all you do around your community, you will see the following amazing benefits:
- It shows that you are a good person who truly cares – karma points!
- You will create a built-in referral system that will never dry up as long as you nurture it.
- A healthy, thriving community makes a place where people want to live creating additional home value, and neighborhood demand.
Are you wondering if there are any other real estate marketing strategies or investments that you can stop making? Check out the Crack the Code system to learn more.
