Articles Tagged "SMS Texting"

Whether you're an individual agent or you manage a whole team, success in real estate often starts with time management. It may feel like there are never enough hours in the day to tackle every important task... but what if you had a helping hand from reliable real estate tech to handle the tedious yet important tasks that can easily clog up your daily schedule? Just as importantly, how would you invest all of the extra time that automation can free up in your workday?

With a little help from technology, agents can spend less time on repetitive, time-consuming tasks, and more time on providing the best possible service to clients. Here's what automation really means, and how your real estate firm can benefit from it.

Here's What Automation Really Means

Nearly every industry has tasks that are better handled by machines than humans, and real estate is no exception. The difference is that instead of robotics and fancy factory equipment, real estate relies primarily on software to automate key tasks without sacrificing on quality. Automation can be an essential element of your lead generation, marketing, and so much more.

Getting Started with Real Estate Automation

When you're ready to start benefiting from automation, the first thing you'll need is a powerful all-in-one solution like the DeltaNET. This is where you'll find many of the dependable tools that help you automate the time-consuming daily tasks that are essential to real estate success in an easy-to-use package that's designed with agents in mind. The right real estate CRM integrates automation with many other handy tools that help you manage relationships, attract new clients, master your marketing, and save tons of time in the process.

How Automation Helps You Generate and Manage Leads

Lead generation and segmentation are two areas where automation really shines. The DeltaNET helps you generate more leads with tools like lead capture forms, tracked email marketing, and AI-driven email & print newsletters. Keep all of your leads in the know with auto-generated My HomeFinder, Market Watch, and Seller Reports. Then use convenient email templates or SMS text messaging to plan the perfect follow-up.

Lead segmentation is an essential task for saving time and increasing productivity, so automated lead segmentation will be a welcome addition to any agent's repertoire. With automated lead segmentation, agents can easily see where each lead stands, where to focus their energy, and what might be necessary to turn each lead into a client. That process is made even easier with interactive lead visibility, as well as robust tracking that makes it simple to anticipate their needs.

Attracting New Clients and Promoting Properties with Automation

Automation can also help you handle many key marketing tasks, both in terms of attracting new clients and marketing properties for existing clients. Email marketing is one of the biggest areas where automation can save you time, with tools like our smart drip email campaigns that make it easy to send the right email marketing to the right people at the right time. When your outreach calls for a more personal touch, customizable eCards and Flyers provide the perfect supplement to automation.

For marketing properties, our Properties in Motion platform automatically pulls information from MLS, and automatically feeds videos to your real estate website and Facebook page. You can also use the integrated texting platform to text new listings, price changes, and open houses to clients.

How Automation Helps You Handle Success

One reality of real estate is that success creates more work. More leads to manage, more clients to serve, more properties to market, and more administrative tasks to keep the whole machine running at peak efficiency. Expecting your existing team to simply handle all of that extra work is sure to lead to burnout, unhappy team members, and likely diminished production. Hiring more people is one way to handle that extra workload, but comes with its own risks, costs, and time commitments.

Automation is one of the tools that can help your team — or you as an individual agent — continue to thrive as your brand grows. It can cut down on the need for extra hires, make life easier for your team, and simplify the process of scaling your business over time.

Are You Ready to Experience the Benefits of Automation First-Hand?

In the fast-paced world of real estate, working smart is just as important as working hard — and automation can help you do both. In the end, the biggest benefit of automation is that it leaves you with more time to focus on the tasks that matter most and that you enjoy most. With software handling tedious, time-consuming tasks in the background, you can invest all of your time on the many parts of real estate that still require the human element.

With so much to manage every day as a real estate agent, juggling everything you need to get done while managing client expectations can feel like a tall task. Time management is a valuable skill for any agent, and it's not something that you have to handle all on your own. There's so much technology available that can make your life easier, add value, allow you to meet client expectations, and save plenty of time in the process.

Educate Clients on the Topics That Matter Most to Them

Savvy, modern real estate clients crave data and strive to make informed decisions. While there aren't enough hours in the day for you to directly inform every client about every detail of every real estate market, technology can help you bridge the gap. Educating clients is easier when you're able to provide them with AI-generated newsletters targeted to their needs, along with key market data from tools like our automated My HomeFinder, Market Watch, and Seller Reports. These types of tools allow you to educate clients with dependable data and minimal effort on your end, which is key to managing time as an agent.

Build a Great Website That Serves Client Needs

Your real estate website is often your first point of contact with clients, but it can be so much more than that. When you integrate the right features, your website can be a resource that clients return to again and again throughout the process. It's a place where you can create content that informs, educates, and builds trust with your audience. It also provides an easy way for clients to browse listings, get to know neighborhoods, and discover all of the services that you offer. The best real estate websites have the dual benefits of educating clients and saving tons of time for agents.

Make Staying in Touch Easy and Convenient

Above all, clients want their real estate agent to be available. So much of their time is consumed by the process of buying or selling a home, so they want you to be available when they need you. But not every conversation requires a phone call or in-person meeting. Tools like SMS text messaging, bulk email blasts with templates, and instant messaging apps can help you provide the reliable access that your clients want while minimizing the time required for you to stay in touch.

Automate and Outsource Key Marketing Tasks to Leave More Time for Clients

Do you find yourself investing so much time in attracting new clients that there's not enough left over to serve your existing clients? Marketing is vital, but it can also feel like a chore when you have so much else on your plate. Leave more time for meeting expectations by automating some key marketing tasks and putting others in the capable hands of an experienced marketing team.

• Email Marketing
  Email marketing is one of the best ways to stay in touch, nurture leads, and keep your pipeline stocked well into the future. Of course, that doesn't mean you have to sit down and spend hours sending emails to potential clients. With smart email drip campaigns, you can automate your email marketing while still providing leads with valuable, informative content that speaks directly to their needs.
  
  
• Automated Lead Segmentation
  Automated lead segmentation may seem like a small thing in the grand scheme of meeting client expectations, but it can really save you time while also making your lead generation efforts more successful. Every bit of time saved adds up when it comes to providing the best possible service to your clients.
  
  
• Building Your Social Presence
  Social media is such a powerful tool for communicating with your clients and generating leads. But building a strong social presence requires a real investment of time. That's why social media marketing is a prime option to be handled by a marketing team that you trust. Rather than worrying about blocking out time for social each day, you can devote that time to your clients instead.

Listen, Learn, and Remember

Ultimately, meeting expectations comes down to understanding the needs of each client and helping them achieve their goals. Using an all-in-one real estate solution like DeltaNET®6 makes it easy to keep all of the client information that you need in one place and be ready to serve clients when they need you.

Choose the Right Tech to Make Life Easier for You and Your Clients

In the end, real estate technology is the key that unlocks more opportunities to meet and exceed client expectations. The right tech can make your life much easier, simplify time management, and help you provide the best possible service to clients. Why choose between meeting expectations and saving time, when you can have both?

Do you find yourself spending too much time and effort on lead generation? Do the results of your lead generation justify the investment of time and resources? The biggest secret of lead generation is that it doesn't have to be a challenge, but you need reliable tools for the job, starting with your real estate CRM. Investing in the right real estate tech can both boost the results of your lead generation and unlock more time in your busy day to serve the clients that your enhanced lead generation attracts.

Easily Capture Leads and Store Key Data

The first step to generating and converting leads is simply getting your foot in the door. Your real estate CRM should make it easy to acquire key data on leads through online lead capture forms and other sources, then store that data so that it's always available when you need it. As you learn more about leads over time, you can build a robust profile of what each lead wants, how you can earn their business, and how you can help them accomplish their real estate goals.

Improve Results with Automated Lead Generation and Nurturing Tools

One of the biggest time-saving benefits of your real estate CRM comes in the form of automation, which allows you to nurture leads with content that appeals to their needs and helps turn them into clients. All of the tedious work is handled by dependable technology, leaving you with more time to capitalize on the opportunities that automation creates.

• AI-Driven Email and Print Newsletters
  Your leads all have specific real estate needs that brought them to your door, whether they're buying, selling, or trying to juggle both tasks at the same time. With a little help from AI, you can keep them up to date on the topics that matter most to them through convenient email and print newsletters.

• Auto-Generated Market Reports
  Data isn't just useful for real estate agents. It's also something that your leads are actively seeking, especially regarding the markets where they're buying or selling a home. With auto-generated My HomeFinder, Market Watch, and Seller Reports, you have automated tools for keeping every type of lead informed.

• Smart Drip Email Campaigns
  Not every lead will be ready to convert right away. Some are still feeling out the market, making plans, and preparing for real estate needs in the near future. Smart drip email campaigns make it easy to stay in touch, nurture leads over time, and earn their business when it's time to convert.

Always Be on Time with Automated Lead Segmentation

Knowing what leads want and when to reach out are critical elements to lead generation success. Too early, and they won't be ready. Too late, and they will have already found someone else to help with their real estate needs. Automated lead segmentation makes it easier to focus on the leads that are closer to converting and reach out with the right message at the right time.

Email Templates and SMS Text Messaging

Lead generation is easier when you can communicate in the ways that are most convenient to your target audience. Use email templates to easily customize just the right message or SMS text messaging to reach out with quick, convenient communications.

Your CRM Can Help with Traditional Marketing Materials, Too

Some leads are more comfortable with technology than others, so it's still important to have traditional marketing materials available when you need them. In addition to the AI-driven print newsletters we mentioned above, your CRM can help you create customizable flyers while taking advantage of lead segmentation to create digital and print materials targeted to specific groups.

Integrated Training to Make the Most of Your CRM

The features that we've touched on are just the tip of the iceberg of how your CRM can help with lead generation, marketing, and so much more. Learning how to use all of those tools may feel like an intimidating task, but it's much easier with access to features like DeltaNET Academy. Easily tailor training courses for associates, and learn everything you need to know about how to unlock the full potential of your CRM.

Let Us Help You Simplify Lead Generation

More leads, less work — who could say no to that? All of the tools and tactics we mentioned above can be found within DeltaNET®6, our all-in-one real estate solution which makes it easier than ever to grow your business with the latest in real estate tech. Automate important processes including lead nurturing, generate more leads with proven, easy-to-use tools, keep all of the key lead data you need in one secure place, and free more time to focus on closing deals for your clients.

SMS texting has skyrocketed to become one of the most important tools for real estate agents. It can be used to stay in touch with clients at any stage of a transaction, including building a relationship with all-important leads before they commit to making their move.

Since 2017, NAR research has shown that about 90% of realtors prefer to use text messaging — that's just behind emails and phone calls. While all of these options have enormous potential, texting now stands out as a modern and convenient approach that respects everyone's time.

Why SMS Text Can Be Even More Powerful than Email and Phone Calls for Staying in Touch

Emails tend to be on the longer side. They take time to read and digest. If you don't have a strong relationship with the recipient, your emails could be overlooked. On the other hand, texts usually consist of just one sentence and take only seconds to absorb.

The average American checks the phone approximately 96 times a day, or every ten minutes. Texts are integrated directly into most phone systems, requiring just one click to check and showing up right on a lock screen's notifications. By contrast, checking email often takes several taps and swipes.

And in many situations, texting also beats phone calls hands down.

The Millennial generation is now the biggest in the housing market, and Generation Z is surprisingly close behind them. If there's one marketing fact that real estate agents and brokers need to know about them, it's this: They hate voice calls. About 75% of Millennials say they're too time-consuming.

If you are trying to get hold of a Millennial or Generation Z client on the phone, then your interaction has already started with a groan, even if you succeed. On the other hand, you can be certain that your new text messages will be reviewed during the day — sometimes within just a few minutes.

How to Make SMS Text Messaging Part of Your Real Estate Marketing Strategy

As a core part of the smartphone experience, text messaging is here to stay. The majority of smartphone users can send thousands of texts a month, or have fully unlimited texting. Texting isn't just convenient for them; it can also be a huge time-saver for you.

Here's how to make the most of it:

• Keep the Conversation Going with Direct Texts
  Prospective buyers might need to scan through dozens or even hundreds of listings before they find a property that speaks to them. Once you know their priorities well, you can follow up your listings with a text. Unlike email, text solicits a response right away and enables feedback. Asking a question is a great way to energize your texts, as many recipients will not want to rudely ignore it.
  
  
• Send Mass SMS Texts to Interest Groups
  Done right, mass texts can help you cultivate interest and ensure leads and customers take action. For example, you might send a "text blast" to all the registered participants for an open house. This helps them remember what they already planned to do, which can only be helpful. Likewise, a quick text is valuable when opening up a conversation with a "no-show" attendee.
  
  
• Awaken Your Cold Leads in a Warm Way
  Leads can go cold for any number of reasons. After all, they have plenty of other priorities in mind. If a lead seems to vanish, it rarely means they've given up on their aspirations. Nor should you assume they have chosen another real estate agent. Instead, following up after a week of no contact with "Hi [name], are you still interested in a home in [area]?" can give you all the information you need to proceed.
  
  
• Use Real Estate Text Message Automation
  Just like email marketing, text messaging empowers you by giving you the ability to set up your whole campaign well in advance. Carefully crafted SMS texts equip you to talk to dozens or even hundreds of people as if you were having a one-on-one conversation with each. Real estate text messaging from the experts at Delta Media Group makes it easy, even if you've never texted before.
  
  
• Integrate Texting and Email Marketing
  Email and text share many of the same strengths, and they can go together like peanut butter and jelly. Using the same systems you access through your DeltaNET®6 all-in-one real estate solution, you can link them together so you'll always be in touch. For example, you can automatically send an email about a particular listing followed by a text to get your lead's opinion on what they saw.

The Future Is Now with Text Message Marketing

Text messaging is a powerful, efficient, cost-effective tool for real estate marketing. Contact us to find out more or get started with text message marketing in your practice.

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