Where Do Real Estate Agents Get Their Leads?
For real estate agents, finding new clients is the name of the game. Most people will only go through a few real estate transactions in their lifetime, so itโs important for real estate teams and agents to generate new business. Thirty years ago, that probably meant making a lot of cold calls, knocking on doors, and resorting to other time-consuming tactics. But with advancements in technology, agents are able to drive traffic to their business in more efficient and effective ways. This is essentially what the real estate business is all about.
If you understand how clients find real estate agents, you can cater your marketing strategy to maximize the benefits, drive more traffic, and get the best ROI on your marketing efforts.
Referrals
The number one way most agents generate business is through referrals. Think about it; no one wants to work with a stranger; they want to work with someone they can trust. And in most cases, this comes in the form of someone who a friend or family member can recommend. Today, referrals also come from social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google all act as a kind of 21st-century word-of-mouth referral.
Itโs important to ask for Facebook, and Google reviews, not just for the fact that these interactions look good when people are searching for your company, but also positive referrals and reviews help improve your search engine rankings, making it easier for people to find you online.
A Functional and Beautiful Website
Think about the last time you had an open house. What did you do to make the house more appealing before visitors arrived? Your open house checklist should be similar to your website checklist. Except, instead of having a clean, nicely staged, warm, and welcoming home, you need a website that visitors can easily navigate, with graphics and unique touches that make it stand out.
In addition to having a nice website, you also need to work to improve it and test it for its effectiveness. This means performing SEO work on it, writing high-quality content, and making sure that visitors are moving through the website the way you intend. Check your website metrics often and find out how its performing to see what changes you can make to improve the effectiveness in the long run. Not sure what to look for? Check out our recent blog about website metrics to measure.
Eye-Catching Branding
Bus signs, van wraps, and billboards are all still effective ways to get your name out there, but today, real estate agents need to elevate their branding and imagery to capture the attention of their target market. This means thinking outside the box and using graphics that stand out from the crowd. Wondering if your branding needs to be refreshed? Take a look at our blog on rebranding your real estate business.
By Becoming an Authoritative Voice in the Community
Brand awareness is another important factor that many clients use when trying to find a real estate agent they can trust. If you are well-known in the community as an expert and a public figure with considerable good favor, you will have more sway when it comes to contacting new prospects or getting more inbound traffic to your site.
Ways you can position yourself as a community expert include having an active and exciting real estate blog, posting often on social media and interacting with your followers. Host creative Instagram contests, post entertaining content that will get people excited and invest in experiential marketing to encourage face-to-face contact between you and your potential clients.
Want to drive traffic, build your brand, and engage your target audience? Download our eBook: โThe Ultimate Guide to Real Estate Marketingโ. Itโs a collection of some of our best marketing articles, tips, and tricks that weโve collected over the years.
