Articles Tagged "SMS Texting"

The real estate industry is always innovating, and new technology often alters the way that agents serve clients. Today's real estate clients are typically much better informed than they would have been in years past, but that doesn't change the fact that they still rely heavily on their agent throughout the process. So while your role may have changed due to technology, that same technology also holds the key to putting people first and generating a steady pipeline of referrals from satisfied clients.

Putting people first starts with providing easy access to the information they need to make informed decisions when they're buying or selling a home. This is one of the key ways that the role of an agent has evolved due to technology. In the past, the agent was the primary, direct source of information for clients. Today, you can provide much of that data through your real estate website and other online resources, which frees up more time to put your clients first in other ways.

• Listings Search Integration
  Thankfully, the days of an agent having to dig through paperwork to find listing specs for clients are long gone... as long as you make it easy for them to search for listings through your real estate website. By making this information easily available, life is made easier for both agents and clients.
  
  
• Informative Real Estate Content
  The real estate content on your website is another key ingredient in the recipe for building trust and keeping your clients informed. This is where you go beyond the information contained in listings to dive deep into the cities and neighborhoods where you do business. Your content is also a great place to provide detailed real estate advice that's always available on your website when clients need it.
  
  
• Newsletters and Market Analysis
  Beyond your website, email drip campaigns and AI-driven newsletters are reliable ways to provide the information that clients want at just the right moment in their journey. Auto-generated reports, like My HomeFinder, Market Watch, and Seller Reports, make it easy to keep clients up to date on the markets that matter to them.
  
  
• Virtual Open Houses and Showings
  While they grew in popularity during the peak of the pandemic, it's safe to say that virtual open houses and showings are here to stay. These valuable tools put people first by allowing them to tour homes in detail from the comfort of their favorite device, no matter where they're currently located. Reducing the need for in-person tours and providing a convenient, powerful way to market homes makes this technology just as beneficial from the perspective of the seller.

Leverage Technology to Be Responsive and Share Your Expertise

Providing all of that data, information and market analysis, up front leads to more informed clients, but that doesn't mean that they won't still rely on your expertise. Technology also makes it much easier to communicate with modern real estate clients who expect speed and responsiveness from their agents. Whether you're communicating through SMS text messaging, instant messaging apps, social media, email, or video calls, being available to clients is still a key part of the job description. Clients have questions, you have answers, and technology makes it easier to handle those communications in a quick, convenient manner.

Technology Unlocks Time to Be the Trusted Advisor Your Clients Need

While technology has changed the real estate industry, it doesn't change the fact that buying or selling a home is a monumental, potentially life-changing experience for your clients. They don't just want an agent who will provide them with the facts and then get out of the way. They want someone who understands where they're coming from, values their time, and advocates for them at every step of the process.

By taking advantage of the time-saving benefits of real estate technology, you have more time to be the trusted advisor that clients need in order to buy or sell a home with full confidence that they're making informed choices. They count on you to help them negotiate, navigate the closing process, and handle the key details from the start of the process to the day that they sign the paperwork. Technology makes it easier to focus on providing the best possible experience for your clients, and that's truly what it means to put people first.

Does Your Real Estate Tech Make It Easy to Put People First?

If you're still devoting too much time to tedious tasks that could easily be handled by the latest real estate technology, there's a better way. DeltaNET®6, our all-in-one real estate solution, puts at your fingertips all of the tools you need so you can put people first. Make life easier for everyone by choosing the best real estate tech for the job.

Communication is one of the most important skills for any real estate agent to develop, and there are more ways to communicate digitally today than there have ever been. Effective communication can make all the difference in landing a new client, building trust, and helping your current clients achieve their real estate goals. With young, tech-savvy buyers and sellers making up an ever-growing slice of the real estate market, mastering digital communication is critical. Here's how to communicate with confidence and what tools you'll need for the job.

Before we get into digital communication tactics, it's worth remembering some of the tried and true communication tips that apply to any situation. No matter how you're communicating, it's crucial to put the focus on the person you're communicating with, listen carefully, ask questions, and be responsive to their needs. Always aim to be courteous, punctual, reliable, and considerate of the client's time.

While body language doesn't matter in most forms of digital communication, tone does — especially for text-based conversations. Before you send a message, make sure that you're saying exactly what you're trying to say, and that your tone is appropriate for the situation. By remembering the basics for good communication, you'll be better prepared to master the many channels available for communicating digitally.

Mastering the Many Digital Communication Tools in Your Toolkit

With the basics out of the way, let's dig into some of the key tools that you'll be using to communicate digitally. Remember that it's helpful to make communication as seamless as possible and be available through a variety of digital platforms to suit the varying needs of your clients.

• Your Real Estate CRM
  Remember all of that talk about listening, asking questions, and responding to the needs of your clients? Your real estate CRM is where you store all of the information that you learn during those communications so that you always have it available during future conversations. In addition to storing key information, the right CRM will provide an all-in-one suite of tools that make it easier to communicate with clients and prospects.
  
  
• Easy Email Communication
  Email is certainly one of the most popular ways to communicate with clients who are actively buying or selling a home. But it's also a great tool for nurturing leads and attracting new clients. Take advantage of automated smart drip email campaigns and AI-driven newsletters to turn more prospects into clients. Automation makes it easier to lighten your own load while still sending relevant, targeted email marketing to each segment of your audience.
  
  
• SMS Text Messaging
  Not every conversation requires a call. SMS text messaging is a convenient option for both you and your clients. When SMS text messaging is integrated into your real estate CRM, you can send texts from the desktop and mobile versions of your CRM. Just as important, you can keep an archive of all of your SMS text messages with each client so that you can easily keep track of text conversations.
  
  
• Social Media
  In addition to the many benefits offered by social media marketing, social platforms also rank among the most popular digital communication tools. Whether through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or a communication-centric platform like WhatsApp, make sure that you're available to communicate on the platforms preferred by your clients.
  
  
• Remembering Special Days
  Whether you're nurturing a lead or keeping in contact with a past client, remembering their special days is a great way to show them that you care. Take advantage of tools like custom eCards & flyers to reach out on the days that matter most. Start with an easy-to-use template, add branding, and customize it to suit any event that matters to your clients.
  
  
• Keeping Clients Informed
  Not every client will need constant back-and-forth communication about a pending purchase or sale. Some will be in "wait and see" mode while they plan their next move, which means that your primary role will be to keep them informed of the latest developments in their real estate markets. For those clients, auto-generated My HomeFinder, Market Watch, and Seller Reports can keep them up to date on the topics that matter most to achieving their long-term real estate goals while ensuring that lines of communication remain open.

Simplify Communication By Leveraging Real Estate Tech

With so many different ways to communicate digitally, it can be easy to fill a bit overwhelmed with the possibilities. That's why it's so important to have the right real estate tech on your side, to streamline communication and ensure that you have the tools you need to build great relationships with clients. DeltaNET®6 is a real estate all-in-one solution that puts all of the latest tools at your fingertips, making it easier than ever to master digital communication.

Digital marketing might sound complicated, but it doesn't have to be.

Today's digital marketing is inbound, meaning it attracts leads the moment they are most in need of your services. With that in mind, every piece of online marketing you do should help your target buyers or sellers reach their goals. Understand this and you're halfway to success.

What can give digital marketing a feeling of complexity is the wide variety of techniques involved. However, it's not necessary to be everything to everyone. You can focus in on a smaller selection of marketing methods you perform consistently. Plus, real estate marketing automation lets you do more faster. When you dig a little deeper, you discover digital marketing can be easy.

Digital marketing approaches usually fall into one of two categories:

• You can do them in a few minutes to make a little bit of progress every day; OR
• They take a little bit longer, but offer long-term returns through higher visibility

Knowing that, marketing's dual nature becomes obvious: marketing itself is a marathon, but it can be broken down into a series of sprints. Those sprints, in turn, are easier to stick with and produce real results. As you gain more momentum, marketing develops into a series of habits.

Let's cut through the clutter and look at some effective digital marketing methods:

• Accurate, Detailed Customer Profiles
  Every piece of marketing is "for" someone. Before you can even start working on a marketing campaign, you should zoom in on precisely who your ideal customer is. What are their pain points? What level have they reached in their career, education, and family goals? As you meet more clients, add more details to your customer profile. Soon, you will have a character who effectively represents most of your target audience.
  
  
• A Modern Real Estate Website
  A website is imperative in any business these days, but it's especially important in real estate. The majority of your future customers will find you online, and the number of buyers who start their search that way is only growing. A real estate website needs to be visually compelling, simple to use, and designed for smartphone compatibility. From there, the sky's the limit on expressing your brand creatively through the digital medium.
  
  
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  Your website is your foundation. Once you have it, you need to build! The way is Search Engine Optimization. SEO consists of a number of valuable best practices in website design, but the one real estate agents should know best is keyword research. Keywords reflect the actual search queries your future customers use. Knowing and using these phrases throughout your website and content elevates your search engine visibility.
  
  
• Email Marketing Drip Campaigns
  Email marketing has the potential to deliver the highest ROI of any individual marketing tactic. To set up a drip campaign, you first entice visitors to join your email list – by offering them a local market report in exchange for their email, for example – then send helpful, informative email messages every week. This cultivates a long-term relationship and positions you as a trusted adviser. You can set it up in minutes through DeltaNet 6.
  
  
• Blogging and Content Marketing
  Blogging every week may be the most powerful way to raise your online visibility and get noticed when people search for topics related to your expertise. Yes, every blog you write should be imbued with the right keywords, reflecting relevant, high-traffic search topics. Just as crucial is your ability to communicate actionable advice about navigating the real estate market tailor-made for the concerns in your customer profile.
• Text Message Marketing
  Text message marketing for real estate has signs of being the next big thing. The average person reads more than 90% of all texts directed to them and is much more likely to respond to a text than an email. Since texting is a more personal form of communication, it lets you get into a real conversation with your leads. It's especially notable for its ability to warm up cold and lapsed leads, motivating them to move forward sooner.
  
  
• Consistent, Relevant Social Media
  Social media stands apart from the rest. Many people imagine that to master it, they need to be everywhere at once. Not so with the right digital marketing automation tools. Facebook Connector and LinkedIn Connector allow you to update your social media instantly when newsworthy events happen: new listings, updates, open houses, and much more. You can get all the benefits of social media without scrolling your feed all day long!

Marketing has many moving parts — but with the right technology, most of them can "move" themselves.

Delta Media Group makes the best in marketing automation accessible to everyone, from solo entrepreneurs to nationwide brokerages. To learn more, contact us.

It wasn't that long ago when most phone service providers enforced strict limits on text messages. Most users could send 500 or even just 100 a month. Now, such rules are unthinkable — the average American sends and receives around 85 texts a day. With 96% of all U.S. adults owning a cell phone, virtually everyone sends and receives texts. What's more, the average text message is read within three minutes.

Those facts are of great interest to relationship-driven industries like real estate. 75% of consumers surveyed say they are okay with receiving texts from brands. With its astonishing 90% open rate, texting shows signs of giving email a run for its money as the marketing technique with the lowest costs and highest campaign ROI.

If you're not using text marketing yet, it's not too late — but now's definitely the time to start!

The Benefits of Texting for Real Estate Professionals

Real estate is all about relationships. Once you incorporate it into your workflow, text marketing is a natural extension of that mindset. From leads to clients to former customers, all can benefit from and respond to texting.

Let's consider some of the top advantages:

1. Texting is Personal
   The great majority of texts are legitimate, one-to-one communications from the people your leads genuinely want to hear from. When contacts opt in, they invite you into a much more casual and personal space than their email box. You, in turn, can speak to them with clarity and authenticity, making a real connection.

2. Texting is Responsive
   Real estate pros have long understood the faster you can respond to a lead's first attempt to reach out, the more likely you are to get an appointment scheduled. Texting allows you to answer others even faster than a phone call. Plus, you can do it without completely interrupting the flow of your busy workday.

3. Texting is Universal
   Consider the stats above — 96% of American adults have a cell phone. They don't need the latest fancy Apple smartphone to send and receive texts. Even the simplest phones with the most budget-friendly plans can generally receive unlimited texts. You never have to make any assumptions about your contact's technology.

4. Texting Uses Automation Effectively
   Some marketing techniques, like email, are a natural fit for automation. Others, like a phone call, had better be done manually. Text messaging falls somewhere between the extremes. While a personal text is often the best bet, you can automate certain "event-based" texts, and they will still feel perfectly natural.

Text Message Marketing: From Beginner to Advanced

If you use texts in your day-to-day life, you have skills that will serve you well in text marketing.

For example:

• It is okay to use contractions, emojis, and even let a typo slip through if it fits your personal style
• Don't bombard your contacts with a lot of text messages without letting them get in a response
• Avoid texts late at night or before morning coffee unless it's an emergency for a current client
• Don't forget to check your own texts a few times a day — they are now part of your work life

The key to text messaging is context. If you send messages only when it makes sense, you'll avoid having contacts opt out. Texting is a two-way street: your goal is to combine great timing with interesting content that will get recipients to respond more often. To do that, you need to know your clients well.

Let's look at ideas for taking texting to the next level:

• Automate Your Initial Opt-In Texts
  To stay on the right side of the law, it's crucial to ensure contacts affirmatively opt in for ongoing texts. You can automate this process using CRM data, ensuring that open house attendees and those who register for updates on your local listings receive an opt-in invitation right away — when they're most likely to consent.

• Make it Easy to Set Appointments by Text
  Many people prefer the convenience of text to the rigmarole of a phone call. Some people dodge phone calls to avoid high-pressure sales situations. By texting leads a link to a scheduling app, they can put themselves on your calendar in a low-friction environment.

• Ask Questions in Your Texts
  Every time you get a response to a text, you open the door to extending that relationship. The best way to incorporate questions is to make them meaningful, like "What do you like most about the house you just toured?" Most recipients prefer to dash off an answer rather than risk seeming rude.

DeltaNET customers have the opportunity to deploy text messaging campaigns with confidence from right within our high-performance, AI-driven real estate CRM. To find out more or get started, contact us today.

SMS Text Marketing & Millennial Buyers