Are you frustrated with the bounce rate of your website? Do you have potential leads visiting, only to never return?
You’re not alone. On average, more than half of website visitors will leave a website almost instantly after landing on it. This is like a person walking into a clothing store and not being satisfied with the merchandise that is being displayed. Convinced that they won’t find what they are looking for, they turn around and head to another store, or in your case, another agent.
The solution? You need retargeting
Retargeting is actually a very common marketing tactic that is being used on you as you read this article. You may not recognize every retargeted ad that is sent your way but your subconscious is paying attention.
Have you ever been shopping for something online, then suddenly notice advertisements popping up for it everywhere? How did an advertisement for the exact MacBook you were considering pop up on the tech blog you were reading the next day?
How does this work? When you visit a website, the owner of the website can use a specialized code to track your online movements after leaving. Once the automated technology understands where you are browsing, it can then push targeted ads to you when appropriate.
Why does retargeting work?
As a real estate agent, you are likely familiar with cold calls and emails. A prospect that has crossed paths with one of your billboards or signs is much more likely to work with you than an individual who has never heard of you before.
When a potential client visits your website and leaves, they have become less of a “cold lead”. Even though they were not interested at the time, they have become much more likely to click on one of your advertisements in the future. Most marketing experts agree that you have about two weeks after someone has visited your site to capitalize on the touchpoint.
Retargeting enhances your image as a local leader
One of the qualities of a local leader is a large sphere of influence in their city or town. Local leaders seem to pop up everywhere; volunteering at events and interviewing business owners, their lawn signs proudly displayed on every corner.
Retargeting drastically increases the odds that a prospect will consider you as THE local leader in your respective geographic area. Why? In most cases, a person is visiting your site because they require real estate services. If they have left your site without contacting you, they will continue their search in the weeks to come.
As they continue to look for options on Facebook, Google, and other real estate related sites, your ads will be showing up everywhere. Even if there are one or two agents with a larger local presence, it will appear that your brand is the dominant force in the region. The more times someone interacts with your advertisements, the more likely they are to reach out to you.
Sounds like a great strategy right? It can be extremely rewarding if implemented properly. To help you get started, here are our top 5 retargeting tips for localized marketing in real estate.
#1) Spend time on branding and advertising details
If you are going to invest your time and money into retargeting campaigns, it would be a good idea to make sure your branding is strong first.
Ensure your messaging, imagery and color-use is consistent across all digital mediums. Consistency is key with it comes to retargeting. You want your prospects to be able to easily identify your brand when an advertisement appears on a website.
Many times, a potential client won’t notice the first couple of ads that they come across at a conscious level. After two or three touch points, the might start to recognize a pattern and then decide to click on your ad.
#2) Transform your landing pages into compelling offers
You want your advertisements to have a specific message or compelling offer. As an example, some agents promise to sell a home in a certain number of days. This message would be very clear in their advertisements and valuable to a person who is interested in selling quickly.
When they click on the ad, it should take them to a landing page that you have created specifically for individuals in your area who are looking to sell.
On your landing page, the benefits and the process should be very clear. Writing landing page copy is a bit of an art but if you make it concise, time-sensitive and use a conversational tone, you should be able to interest a large percentage of the visitors.
Remember, urgency and trust are the keys to success when it comes to getting prospects to reach out to you.
#3) Don’t retarget everyone
Retargeting visitors from your website can be a very effective strategy but it can also quickly become costly. Every agent should have a defined target market. Some agents focus on first-time homebuyers while others help middle-aged individuals buy the luxury homes of their dreams.
Your services and offers are not right for everyone, so why would you pay to market to everyone? To avoid burning through your online advertising budget, selectively retarget the visitors to your site.
If you have a large number of visitors to choose from, select those who viewed more than one page on your website. If someone clicked from the homepage to the services page, they are much more likely to be receptive to your ads.
Many visitors who bounce off of a homepage after a few seconds were looking for something completely different, which would be a waste of your ad dollars.
You want to also exclude users that have signed up for your newsletter or actually contacted you. These leads are already in your pipeline, no need to retarget them at this time.
#4) Measure, analyze and adjust
Most real estate agents that set up retargeting software adjust the settings and let it do its work. Similar to any other type of marketing, your first thoughts and actions might not be the most effective.
If you have not hired someone to conduct your retargeting efforts, you should be keeping a close eye on your metrics. If you have multiple ads, which ones are performing better?
Do visitors that clicked on your blog instead of your services convert at a higher rate? Online advertising is an ever-evolving effort. You need to always be adjusting your approach to maximize your marketing budget.
#5) Make hyper-local references
Retargeting is powerful because users build up higher levels of trust after multiple touchpoints with your brand. If you are able to incorporate hyper-localized referencing into your ad copy and landing pages, you may be able to increase your conversions.
When you mention people, places, events or items that prospects are familiar with, they become more open to your offerings. Even if they don’t realize it, this happens at a subconscious level. A local leader finds ways to leverage the local resources available to them.
Perhaps your landing page has a testimonial from a prominent business owner or the main local landmark is visible in your pictures. These subtle local ques can be the difference between a closed ad and a client commitment.
#6) It’s time to retarget
Implement these 5 retargeting tips during your next online advertising campaign to drastically increase your odds of conversions. If you are still a little unsure of the retargeting specifics, give our previous article a read.
Retargeting is just one of the tools a local leader can utilize to become THE desired source of real estate services and advice. Are you looking for a way to rise in the ranks and develop meaningful relationships with those in your city or town?