Date Archives: December 2020

In this episode of Tech Tuesday, Harley Wolfarth showcases the DeltaNET 6 group system, and how you can use it to group your customers to maximize your marketing efforts.

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Honesty and integrity — two of the most important elements of any relationship, personal or professional. When it comes to real estate transactions, honesty and integrity are perhaps more important than other aspects of the sale such as price. No buyer or seller wants to feel lied to, cheated, or intentionally misinformed. As a real estate professional, it's important that you cultivate trust with your clients. In fact, research conducted by the National Association of REALTORS says that honesty and integrity are the top traits that clients look for when choose their real estate professional.

There's no denying that one of the best ways to cultivate trust is through the tried-and-true practice of engaging your clients on a personal level. Honest communication, especially in face-to-face meetings, can work wonders for building a strong reputation and loyalty within your community. In the age of social distancing, however, how can real estate agents demonstrate their honesty and integrity when in-person activities are not available?

Building Trust with Clients in the Age of Social Distancing

We believe that there is no substitute for in-person communication, however, we do recognize the immense value in alternative modes of communication through digital resources. We may be in the age of social distancing, but we're also in an age of advanced technology that offers us the next best thing to in-person communication: virtual communication. Here are a few tech tools real estate agents can use to build trust with potential, new, and existing clients:

• Email
  Email is one of the quickest and reliable ways to send information to countless people which is why an e-newsletter is one of the best ways to engage your clients. Send them concise yet vital information each week or month related to real estate topics in your market. From new listings to recently closed sales, this will show that you're keeping up with the latest developments, which will in turn increase client confidence in your abilities.
  
  
• Text/Video Messages
  Though it can be used for mass communication, text/video messages can also be a fluid way to update your clients directly. For example, if you have an appointment to go house hunting scheduled for a Saturday, you can send them listings via text throughout the week. This shows your client that you're actively on the hunt and that you want to maximize their time visiting only the homes they're interested in.
  
  
• Social Media
  Though social media applications will rise and fall in populatrity over time, they will be an intrigal part of the digital social experience. By taking your business onto sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, you develop new ways of engaging with your clients. The photo and video features allow you to produce and share unique content, while the comment section organically generates conversation among your community.
  
  
• Zoom
  Video chatting has become a popular way to conduct business through many industries, including real estate. By hosting virtual open houses or private video tours of homes, you show your clients that you prioritize their safety above all other things.
  
  
• Local Market Reports
  Generating a detailed local market report each month gives your clients the hard facts. Data broken down by number of units sold or available, and their average prices, removes the fluff and leaves your client with only the information that they need to inform their buying or selling decisions.
  
  
• Website Resources
  One passive way to build trust with your clients is to turn your website into a resource that buyers, sellers, and general homeowners can utilize. Posting blogs with accurate information regarding home mortgages, home renovations, tips for sellers, advice for buyers, and other relevant topics will show your clientele that you have their best interest at heart whether or not they enlist your services.
  
  
• Client Feedback
  Who better to give an honest assessment of your services than your former clients? By posting all client feedback (in the form of surveys or comments) you show your potential clients that you're not afraid of honest reviews. Even if some reviews are slightly negative, these will only show your new clients how much you prioritize transparence in your business.

Though we don't know how long social distancing will stay in effect, we do know that the real estate industry is moving forward as safely and securely as possible. With so many women and men buying and selling homes around the country, it's more important than ever that real estate agents build trust with their clientele.

In this episode of Tech Tuesday, Harley Wolfarth demonstrates how to use the Customer Profile in DeltaNET® 6. The Customer Profile page is your one stop shop for all things related to the customer. Market to your clients, run reverse prospecting reports, and automate their property search all from the DeltaNET!

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Referrals are invaluable in the world of real estate. It should come as no surprise to veteran agents that research conducted by the National Association of REALTORS states that the referrals from friends, neighbors, or relatives are the number one way buyers and sellers find their real estate agent. Should you take advantage of referrals? Absolutely. Should they be your only relied-upon source of leads? Absolutely not. Referrals aren't the only way sellers and buyers choose their real estate representation.

How Do Buyers & Sellers Choose Their Agent?

Though they are one of the most successful ways to generate new clients, referrals are far from the only ways buyers and sellers choose their real estate agents. Research has shown that the decision-making process for some clients isn't as complicated as it may seem. Though this transaction is significant, some veterans may be surprised to discover that the final decision on which agent to choose boils down to simply which agent happens to be on the mind of the client at that moment in time. Here are five reasons why it's important to stay top-of-mind with your potential and previous clients:

1. Some research has found that individuals often know between three and four different real estate agents.
   
   It's one thing to get a referral from an immediate family member or next-door neighbor; these individuals may have you at the forefront of their minds anytime a real estate topic is breached. More casual acquaintances, however, may think of other real estate professionals in their network before your name comes to mind. Since some individuals know multiple agents, you need to make sure that you stand out in a positive way and always come to mind first.
   
   
2. The same research suggests that these individuals will contact the agent that has either contacted them or the one they have most recently saw online or in person.
   
   Perhaps you are very outgoing with your marketing and networking, buzzing around town as often as possible. Are you meeting new faces or seeing the same people? Though one may think that spreading the word as far as possible increases the potential client pool, this research suggests that it's best to interact with the same potential clients as frequently as possible. Whether that means attending a weekly community event or reaching out to potential leads once a month, it's vital to stay at top-of-mind by actively engaging potential clients on a consistent basis.
   
   
3. The National Association of REALTORS has found that 75 percent of sellers choose to sell their home with the first agent that they interview.
   
   Every seller wants to get top dollar for their home which is why they are sure to vet multiple agents. However, three out of four will likely choose the first agent that they interview. Staying at top-of-mind means that it's likely you who they'll contact first, and potentially, hire despite interviewing subsequent agents.
   
   
4. The NAR has also found that 73 percent of home buyers will only interview one real estate agent during their home search.
   
   Debatably, buying a home is a much more "serious" endeavor than selling a home, which is why it's surprising that research states that nearly three out of four buyers will only interview a single agent before enlisting their help. No matter if it's seller or buyer, staying at top-of-mind to be the first agent that they call is absolutely essential.
   
   
5. Other real estate agents are fighting for top-of-mind space, too. Your agency or brokerage isn't the only one in the market.
   
   Other agents are vying for the same clients you are which means there's always active and passive competition to keep on your radar. Should one agency or brokerage find a way to steal the spotlight, the search above shows that being on the right mind at the right time makes all the difference.

Referrals are vital to your success, but you can't neglect the other ways buyers and sellers find their agents. In many ways, staying at top-of-mind essentially involves you creating your own referral. Staying at top-of-mind in your community requires consistency and creative ways of maintaining engagement with those who may need real estate representation. By exploring these new ways of engagement, you can increase your clients, which could then have the ripple effect of creating future referrals.

In this episode of Tech Tuesday, Harley Wolfarth goes over bulk actions including using the customer list in DeltaNET® 6.

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You should never underestimate the marketing power of your website. A well-developed website acts as a virtual listing board, resource center for potential clients, point of contact for your brokerage, and a 24/7 automated help desk if you integrate AI (artificial intelligence) assistants. However, some agencies will overlook a vital element of their website: a real estate blog. Far more than a collection of articles, a real estate blog can dynamically impact your business by helping you generate-leads, enhance your brand, and become a resource for potential sellers and buyers both in and away from your market area.

Why Create a Real Estate Blog

Blogging on a consistent basis can be a chore; after all, it can be full-time job in itself. However, there are dozens of benefits that a real estate blog can provide depending on how consistently and properly it's managed. Some of the most notable impacts that a real estate blog provides include:

• Connecting with your community: Your real estate blog lets you connect with your community in non-real estate matters. Posts about local events, businesses, and news act as a resource for your audience, residents and visitors included.
  
  
• Building trust with your audience: A real estate blog allows you to demonstrate your expertise and knowledge in a passive way. The blog becomes a free resource for buyer, sellers, and others in your community to access on their own terms without feeling pressure to "talk business" with your agency. When the time comes for them to buy or sell, you'll have already gained their trust and opened an organic line of communication with them.
  
  
• Allowing your content be easily shared and consumed: Although anything you post on your website can be readily shared across the internet, blog posts are more readily consumable by a broader audience. This not only informs your audience, but also gives them an opportunity to engage with your content via comments and likes.
  
  
• Enhancing your website's SEO: Your real estate blog is a natural way to increase the SEO on your website and increase its chances of landing on the first page. Google even encourages website owners to continue adding unique content to their websites to maximize their ranking opportunities; consistent blogging is one way to accomplish this.
  
  
• Keep your website traffic, and potential leads, steady: As your content diversifies and is shared across multiple platforms like social media sites, more users will be directed back to your website. Actively maintaining your blog will keep this traffic steady because you're continually giving your audience relevant reasons to stay engaged with your website.

How to Determine Which Type of Content to Use on a Real Estate Blog

Before you begin creating a real estate blog, you need to have an idea of the types of topics that you should focus on. Reading other real estate brokerage blogs and signing up for industry publications will show examples of how other companies are managing their content. What should you write on your real estate blog? That depends on your market and audience. Along with highlighting local events, businesses, and news, you can also write about real estate trends, advice for buyers and sellers, and remodeling tips.

Tips for a Running a Successful Real Estate Blog

There are plenty of pieces of advice to keep in mind when running a real estate blog, but we believe that these are three of the most important:

1. Stay Consistent: The biggest mistake you can make with a blog is to post infrequently. Though you may want to post every day, this may prove to be too difficult overtime. If you abandon your consistency, you chance losing your audience.
   
   
2. Stay Relevant: No matter how frequently you post, you need to ensure that your content remains relevant to your audience. This means understanding which topics your audience wants more information about and catering your blog posts to these themes. Just as you're consistently posting, your post's content should remain consistently on-topic and aligned with what your audience desires.
   
   
3. Stay Informed: As you keep your blogging consistent, you must also stay up-to-date on the latest blogging trends in the industry as they pertain to search engine algorithms. For example, search engines like Google change their page-ranking algorithms according to factors like in-bound and out-bound links, word-count, and SEO. Knowing how to construct a blog post that most closely matches these evolving algorithms is a necessity.  

Committing to a real estate blog should be a top priority for your brokerage in 2021. Is your team too busy to stay dedicated to consistently producing blog content? Let Delta Media Group help. Our marketing team will develop your blog and consistently create market-relevant content so you won't have to worry about a word. Contact Delta Media Group to learn more about our real estate blog development along with our other real estate marketing services.

As 2020 comes to a close, few would have guessed that the pandemic would trigger a substantial increase in the demand for housing. Despite negative impacts in almost every industry, real estate markets in many regions of the country are seeing increased average listing prices, increased average sale prices, and lower days on market at rates even above the previous year. 

Unfortunately, this boom in buying has also created a tighter inventory in most markets. While this boom won't last forever, experts and analysts alike are projecting that 2021 will see a continuation of this buying demand for at least the first few months. With a tight inventory, it's up to real estate agents to find creative yet effective ways of capturing more listings.

For years, the diverse team at Delta Media Group has worked diligently to provide agents with the best advice, tools, and resources available. Most of our clients have used our AVM Platform on their websites as a supplementary resource for securing listings. However, the challenges presented by 2020 have made this AVM platform a vital tool. We've listened to your evolving needs and are pleased to release major updates to the AVM platform that will directly impact your success.

Major Updates to Delta Media Group AVM Platform

• A complete redesign of the AVM report. Clean, clear, and curated to your needs, our redesigned AVM report makes it effortless to quickly scan and secure the data you need including average property asking price, registered buyers by zip code, and residential market trends.
  
  
• An addition of the Market Conditions section. Looking for hyper-specific data on a particular market? The Market Conditions section covers all current activity in the market, including active listings, average days on market, number of closed sales, and months of supply. 
  
  
• A new AVM valuation. Applying AI (Artificial Intelligence) to our AVM valuation will enable it to become "self-learning" as it receives data and automatically improve over time.
  
  
• A deeply-integrated AVM process. We understand how vital AVM processes are with record low inventories in markets. We've addressed these industry needs by creating a more deeply integrated AVM. 
  
  
• Full integration of AVM with CMA. Our new DeltaNET6 CMA will be fully integrated into our new AVM. Launching this month, the AVM will drive CMA automations. (Coming in early 2021)
  
  
• Acute AVM solutions that save you money. We've listened to our enterprise clients and understand that relying on third-party providers is not fiscally possible anymore. Our AVM is fully integrated to address your business requirements and streamline expenses, ultimately saving you money. 

Though inventory is tighter, the team at Delta Media Group is determined to help you increase your listings in this buying boom. Our newest updates to the AVM platform, including the upcoming full integration into our DeltaNET 6 CMA, will help you overcome these hurdles and achieve your goals now and long into the future.

See what the new report looks like on both desktop and mobile views.

As a brokerage, you want to recruit and retain dynamic agents who will improve your presence in the market. However, many of these agents take exceptional care when choosing which brokerage to join. Who can blame them? Like you, they too want to grow to new levels of success with the support of a winning team. If you're seeking the answer for how to attract and keep a strong team of agents, SEO for real estate will optimize your search.

The team at Delta Media Group is well-versed in creating, implementing, and evolving SEO for real estate strategies. Although search engine optimization is a vital tool in the identification of qualified seller and buyer leads, it's also a priceless resource that brokerages can use to successfully recruit and retain agents.

SEO for Real Estate Buyers, Sellers, and Agents

When it comes to SEO for real estate, so many brokerages want to execute their strategy flawlessly so that they'll attract their ideal buyer or seller. While it's easy to focus only on generating new client leads, it's important to understand that any content you publish online can attract — or deter — agents searching for a brokerage to join. When you boil it down, agents want qualified leads and better visibility for their sellers' listings. If your brokerage is not using SEO to its fullest potential, these agents will seek out a brokerage that is.

Thankfully, Delta Media Group understands the needs of both brokerages and agents. For years, we've provided brokerages with expert digital marketing solutions including high quality SEO for real estate. Our SEO program is the industry-leading solution that provides brokerages of all sizes with a leg up on their local competitors by providing more qualified leads.

Why should you invest in Delta Media Group's SEO for real estate marketing with a focus on attracting agents?

1. We deliver high-level performance for SEO content, including phrases associated with neighborhoods, subdivisions, and school districts. These phrases are far less competitive than others, enabling brokerages to beat out local competitors and land on the first search engine results page. Subsequent pages receive fewer visits from qualified leads which means even ranking on the second search results page can substantially limit your reach.  
   
   
2. Leads that are generated from the search types above also generate more qualified leads. Those who search these keywords have narrowed their search to the specific area and are more serious about entering into a real estate transaction. Many of our clients' listing land on the coveted first search results page of Google, especially those which are "address" searches. Such a high ranking is a game changer for any agent who dreaming of telling their clients, "If you list with me, your listing will be on the first page of Google".
   
   
3. By now, your brokerage should already know that SEO is only one piece of the puzzle. Successful brokerages will have a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that uses a number of techniques both independently and cohesively. For instance, brokerages who integrate a content strategy (such as a blog) which utilizes SEO will elevate their brand as a go-to resource for the most current and localized content in that market area.

The bottom line: if your brokerage is demonstrating successful search engine marketing using successful SEO strategies, agents will immediately take notice. The more that they see your brokerage's brand appearing on the top search results for your area, the more confidence they'll have in your company's abilities. Agents want to play for a winning team, plain and simple. Show them that your finger is always on the pulse of the latest SEO practices and they'll waste no time in getting in on the action.

Get the most out of your digital marketing campaigns and discover how SEO can give you the most diverse results for your budget. Contact Delta Media Group to learn more about SEO for real estate strategies and how they can help you recruit and retain dynamic agents. We'll help you develop an online marketing strategy that will enhance your brokerage, your team of agents, and your presence in the local market.

In this episode of Tech Tuesday, Harley Wolfarth shows DeltaNET's Google support. DeltaNET offers sales associates the ability to synchronize their contacts, calendar, tasks/events, and more!

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Real estate agent marketing is more vital now than ever. No one could have predicted that 2020 would bring us such challenges, and yet, even fewer could have guessed that real estate markets around the country would see substantial increases in home sales. With remote working, virtual learning, and the desire to leave heavily congested areas, many professionals, families, and aging adults are making the decision to purchase a new home for the long-haul. Take note: 2020 may have been an outlier of a year, but the demand for housing will likely not decrease as we enter into 2021.

Research, reports, and expert opinion claim that the housing market will continue to see a strong buyer presence, thus creating a tighter market. To leverage this increased demand in a tight market, real estate agent marketing can work wonders. How can real estate agent marketing work for you? Here are seven ways to get more seller leads in a tight market.

7 Ways to Get More Seller Leads in a Tight Market With Real Estate Agent Marketing

1. Leverage Technology
   Selling a home today means using the technology of tomorrow. While there are tried and true ways of selling a home, successful real estate agent marketing involves leveraging the latest technologies. SEO tactics should be integrated into all web pages, including individual listings, to open conversations with potential sellers who may be keeping an eye on their local market.
   
   
2. Cold Calling Non-Traditional Sellers
   No matter how rare a For Sale By Owner listing may be, they may present a golden opportunity to convert a new client. FSBO sellers often value transparency and honesty, two traits that some believe that won't retain in an agent out to serve themselves. Approaching these sellers in person for a casual chat about their real estate goals can be an old-school yet effective real estate agent marketing strategy.
   
   
3. Identify Dependable Lead Generation Tactics
   No real estate agent marketing strategy is successful overnight; how ever your agency has secured leads in the past is likely a dependable way to generate more in the present. Hone in on the top three tactics used and consider updating them for modern times. For instance, if physical open houses cannot be held, consider hosting virtual gatherings.
   
   
4. Host Unique Virtual Gatherings
   Using your network of professionals such as contractors and mortgage lenders, host a virtual meetup for buyers and sellers to attend. By bringing remodeling agencies, cleaning services, loan officers, and other professionals under one digital roof, you can create an all-in-one event that attracts potential sellers who may be currently searching for these services.
   
   
5. Educate Tomorrow's Sellers
   A solid real estate agency marketing strategy plays the short game and the long game. Use your website and social media channels as an educational resource for prospective sellers. Those who are on the fence about selling their home can find answers to all of their home selling questions without the need to directly contact an agent if they're not yet ready. This build their confidence in their decision to sell the home, indirectly builds trust with your agency, and helps them make the seamless transition to enlisting your services.
   
   
6. Team Up With Other Agents
   Regardless if you're new in your market or a seasoned pro, you can never have enough help in selling houses. Teaming up with other real estate agents creates a wider net to catch leads in. Combining your resources, along with your own knowledge of what works and what doesn't, will instantly enhance your real estate agent marketing plans. If nothing else, good networking and the affirmation that one strategy works or doesn't work are valuable for the future of your business.
   
   
7. Use Your Personal Network
   It's exceptionally easy, and tempting, to immediately look for the next big thing when it comes to real estate agent marketing tactics. AI-driven apps and software are fantastic resources that take a lot off of your plate, but there's still something to be said about a good, old fashioned chat with a friend. Your neighbor may know that the family-owned business across town is closing up shop so that the owners can retire to Florida. Your old college friend may know of a client or business partner looking to sell their home to meet their growing needs. Tap into your personal network to discover potential leads, then approach these potential sellers via your real estate agent marketing strategy.

Searching for new ways to enhance your real estate agent marketing platform? Let Delta Media Group help. Leverage the power of social media with our Ad Wizard targeted paid advertising. Stay better connected to your sphere with the automated tools found within DeltaNET 6 CRM. The market may be tight, but securing leads is not impossible with the right real estate agent marketing strategies.

In this episode of Tech Tuesday, Harley Wolfarth demonstrates how to customize your website using the DeltaNET's modular themes and theme editor.

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