Real estate lead generation is different from finding leads in other industries. In other business to consumer industries, people make quick decisions. Real estate is more like a business to business transaction—each lead needs months to consider before taking action.
Real estate remains, at heart, a local business. Even though it's crucial to be seen as a neighborhood expert, the majority of your customers still find you on the web, not in the town newspaper. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)—is the art of creating a website packed with useful content that shows up high in search results. To lay a strong foundation in SEO, you'll need to choose and learn the right tools.
Even the best website is a work in progress. To be effective in real estate, a website needs to reflect the latest trends. Recent information on the market and how it may affect customers is essential. Leads will trust your expertise only if they see your website is helpful, informative, and up to date. However, even updating your site regularly won't do the job on its own.
At the end of 2018, the National Association of REALTORS® reported over 1.3 million members. That's a heck of a lot of competition jockeying for the attention of home sellers and buyers across America.
As a time-strapped REALTOR® on a tight budget, how do you uncover ways to stand out from the competition in your local area, attract more leads, land more listings, and grow your real estate business?
Consider Facebook Advertising.
Real estate and Facebook are a marriage made in heaven. Real Estate Marketing 101 tells us to go where the people go. With 2.23 billion people logging into Facebook every month, it's safe to say Facebook is THE way to connect with your audience online. However, for REALTORS®, advertising on Facebook is an especially effective way to market to the largest group of first-time homebuyers—Millennials.
These 30-something-and-under buyers dominate today's housing market at a whopping 66 percent. At the same time, there are twice as many Millennials on Facebook as any other generation. Advertising your real estate business on Facebook seems like the ideal place to speak directly to your perfect fit audience.
When a real estate agent is first getting started in the profession, he or she may not have a world class marketing budget. Even so, it's still possible to get your name out there and build a brand. In real estate, 90% of the people you meet in a given day won't be ready to use your services yet. The key is to keep those relationships strong while continuously connecting with new people. For that, you don't need millions of dollars!