After being in the marketing industry for a few years and having several family members in the real estate industry I have first hand experienced what are the best marketing tools real estate agents should be using.
Real estate agents should use marketing tools like Google ad words, Facebook ads, Instagram ads, personal website, email capture software, email direct message tool on the website, Bing ads, email drip campaigns, marketing gifts, native ad marketing campaigns.
In this post, you will discover how and why these marketing tools are important and how they will increase your income as a real estate agent.
Further down we will review the following valuable topics:
- Are Google ads effective for real estate agents?
- Can a real estate agent take advantage of YouTube ads?
- Is Bing ads effective for real estate agents?
- How to effectively use Facebook ads as a real estate agent?
- How to effectively use Instagram ads as a real estate agent?
- Should a real estate agent have a personal website?
- Best marketing strategy for real estate agents?
- Does marketing really work?
- Does a real estate agent need a website?
Are Google ads effective for real estate agents?
Google ads for real estate agents is an effective marketing tool to get clients who are actively looking for your services. Having clients looking for you and not the other way around is going to change your business model.
You will never stop looking for clients but having the opportunity for potential clients to find you when they need your services will be a nice change of pace as a real estate agent.
If a person types into their search bar a phrase like “homes for sale in XXXX” there is a big chance that they can convert into a client and then convert into a commission. This person may be looking just to be curious and does not have an intention to move.
They just want to see what home opportunities he or she may have in a particular town. This is when you come in and show them the opportunities and this curiosity that was what got the person to first start their search for a home for sale may convert into a buyer because of what you showed them.
Once they see a house that they feel is a good fit that curiosity is going to convert into a feeling of I need to buy that house before I lose out on this opportunity.
With Google Ads, you will get in front of anyone who is initiating a search for a new home or if they are looking for a real estate agent to list their home for sale.
With the huge amount of traffic that there is on Google you can target any possible keyword you can think of.
There are 3.5 billion searches on Google every day. They have the most searches on the internet today and this amount of traffic should not be ignored by you. Every day that you do not have a presence on this marketing platform is a day that you are potentially missing out on a commission.
As a real estate agent, you have a lot of competition and you will have to take advantage of every opportunity that you can. Google is effective because of the quality of the lead. The person is in need of help and they are looking for your services.
Once they click on your ad the likely hood of them contacting you is high.
You will not want to target a lot of keywords when you first start advertising on Google. I recommend targeting 5 keywords to start. Get a feel for the amount of traffic for those keywords and a feel for the cost per click.
Google has a keyword planner tool but the statistics on the tool are not 100% accurate and you will want to test your keywords.
Try to keep your keywords as specific as possible. If you are a real estate agent in Miami, Florida I would recommend targeting specific towns that are within Miami. You can target “homes for sale in Miami Gardens” and the cost per click for that will be about $0.60 per click. The keyword “homes for sale in Miami” will cost $0.75 per click. Source
Keeping your keywords specific will keep your cost per click lower and it will convert better with the searcher.
If someone sees your ad that has the name of the exact town they will be more likely to click on the ad. This will increase your click-through rate and then your cost per click will lower.
It is a triple win for you because you get more clicks for cheaper that convert into more clients.
Start out with a small list of keywords and increase your keyword list as you test more keywords.
These are some basic keywords that you can eventually add to your Google keyword list.
The downside to Google keywords is the investment on their marketing platform. Because of the quality of the lead, you are going to pay a premium for it. The cost per click is going to be higher than other marketing platforms but this is because it converts at a higher rate.
Another advantage you have if you use Google ads is that your competition is not doing it. Only the top real estate agents are advertising on Google.
I have several real estate agents in my family and they were paying a large portion of their commission checks or they were paying a lot for just leads to these lead companies.
Real estate agent leads companies like Boomtownroi.com are making millions of dollars because they have discovered how to get in front of people right when they want your service. They step in and get the person’s attention and sell real estate agents the lead.
Type into your search bar “real estate agent in XXXX” and you will see that most of the results in any area you chose are going to be lead agency companies disguised as legitimate real estate companies.
People contact them and then they quickly sell the lead to a real estate agent.
What if you could do exactly the same thing? Would that change your business? Essentially you would be your own lead agency and you are taking all the leads instead of selling them to other real estate agents.
This is a game-changer and hardly any real estate agents are doing this.
Getting in front of potential clients in the exact moment that they are searching for you will change your career.
Can a real estate agent take advantage of YouTube ads?
Want to do something that will get you better results than Google search marketing? YouTube marketing is your answer. Having your video appear on someone’s screen when they have searched for a real estate agent will increase your conversion rate.
Video marketing converts at a higher rate than text marketing.
When someone sees your video they will feel a connection to you because they now have seen you. It is a lot easier to convert someone when they have seen your video versus them reading text form an ad or you calling them.
The way YouTube ads work is when someone types into YouTubes search bar, a keyword that you are targeting, your ad will bid on the placement. The good thing about this is that the potential client does not have to type this keyword in YouTubes search bar.
Even if they type the keyword in Google’s search bar your ad can come up later on when they are on YouTube searching for something not related to your keyword.
They have to watch your ad for 6 seconds before they can skip your ad. In these 6 seconds, you have to catch their attention. You already know that they recently searched for one of your keywords.
In the first 6 seconds, you have to let them know that you are going to give them something that they want. Tell them that you have a new list of home deals in the area and you want to email it to them.
All they have to do is click on the ad and head over to your website and join the email list. Direct them to your landing page on your website. Make sure that you have your contact information on the landing page. Have an email submit form on the lander so they can join the email list.
Once you have their email send them a list of homes for sale in the area and send them an email asking for more details about what they are looking for. Now you have started a conversation with someone who recently inquired about real estate information.
They can also opt to call you right then and there because you have your contact information on the landing page.
You also should have a video on your landing page. A video of you giving some valuable information to anyone looking to buy or sell a home. Then invite them to call or email you for more information about buying or selling a home.
This way you are not pushy and you are providing information that can benefit them. Doing this will increase conversions.
Even if they do not call and they only enter their email. With this email, you can keep in touch with them.
Another great thing about YouTube ads is that you only have to pay if the person watches 30 seconds of the video.
Keep your YouTube ads short and to the point. Keep the videos at 30-60 seconds in length. Get their attention and entertain the audience and educate them at the same time and your conversion rate will be solid.
I understand that many people may feel uncomfortable in front of a camera but video ads have been proven to convert at a higher rate than any other form of advertising.
The fact that someone can see who you are helps break the ice and if someone feels comfortable with you they will be comfortable calling you for services.
Is Bing ads effective for real estate agents?
Bing ads are great especially if you are on a budget. The cost of keywords is less than Google’s keywords. The traffic is going to be a lot lower but the price per click will be lower.
For example, if you are targeting a keyword on Google and it cost $5 a click you can have a budget of $50 a day on Google and possibly not have enough of a budget to get all the traffic. You may need several hundred dollars a day to get your ad displayed on most of the searches.
With Bing search engine ads that the same keyword will cost you about $1.50 a click and with a budget of $20 a day, you can get your ad displayed on all the traffic.
Bing ads are a great way to start but the traffic is limited and impossible to scale up because of the lack of traffic that they have on their marketing platform.
Advertising on Bing can get you a few clicks here and there but because of the low traffic rate, you will not get as many clicks as you would on Google.
If you reach a pint that you want to increase your marketing budget you probably will have to find another marketing platform to invest your money into because you will get all the traffic pretty fast.
A good strategy is to test keywords performance on Bing before you test the keyword out on Google.
Bing works exactly the same way as Google ads work. Someone types into their search bar a keyword that you are targeting and your ad will appear on the search results.
This platform is mainly text so I recommend learning some basics about ad copy.
A good research tool to use is ubbersuggest.com. This website will give you some information about how often a keyword is searched for and it will give you an estimated cost per click. You can also use the Google keyword planner tool.
The best strategy when it comes to Bing ads is to research the keyword that you want to target. Make sure that there is some traffic for that keyword then check the price on Google. If it looks like it has some traffic and the cost on Bing seems reasonable add it to your keyword list and launch the campaign.
If it has good results you can scale it on Bing and one you have reached the cap for that keyword on Bing it is time to add it to your Google keyword list.
Do this a few keywords at a time and grow your keyword list on both Bing and Google.
How to effectively use Facebook ads as a real estate agent?
Facebook is great because it is free traffic if you are just posting content on your page. Unfortunately, the free organic reach for social media as a whole has reduced itself to hardly anything. But at least it is something.
Social media platforms have been around for a while now and they now know that they can monetize their platform by charging business owners a fee to reach an audience.
The cost for advertising on social has been increasing year after year but it is still not priced where it should be priced at. Compared to mailers, billboards, magazine posting, etc. social media is still a lot more affordable than those marketing platforms.
This will not be the case for long because eventually they will be priced at where they should be priced at.
The best part about Facebook and Instagram marketing is that you can target specific groups of people.
As a real estate agent, you can target a specific group of people that maybe your best option to target with your ads.
If you are located in Miami Florida your Facebook marketing campaign can be targeted in the following way:
- Women
- Between 30-50
- Speaks English
- Married
- Children
- Renter
- Has an interest in HGTV, Home Improvement, Magnolia Homes, House Flippers, List it or Keep it, interior design.
- Is employed
With a targeted demographic like this on social media, you can create a 30-second video of you saying that you have a few home opportunities for anyone who is ready to stop renting and who is ready to buy a home of their own so they can decorate it and do what they want to the home.
The opportunity that you talk about will instill curiosity in the viewer and you mentioning the fact that they rent and that they can not do whatever they want to the house is a pain point.
Both the pain point and curiosity angle that you are using here will get a nice click-through rate to your landing page.
On your landing page have another video of you talking about a few helpful tips that someone who is looking to buy a home can use and this valuable information will give the viewer the impression that you are a source of knowledge and authority.
Once you teach someone something that they can benefit from they will look at you as trustworthy and you will get more leads this way.
Create several ad campaigns with different targeting and test things out. Every area of the United States will be receptive to different angles and this is why you should test out as many as possible.
How to effectively use Instagram ads as a real estate agent?
As a real estate agent, you will want to use Instagram. Instagram is known to have a younger user compared to Facebook but 35% of the users on Instagram are between the ages of 25-34. This age range is when people are looking to buy their first home.
You can have a targeted campaign to anyone who rents and falls between 25-34. Test out mentioning first time home buyers opportunities in your area. Say the name of the area that you are targeting this will increase click-through rates on your ad.
There are 100,000 active users on Instagram every month. Since there are 35% of the users in the age range that first time home buyers are typically in, you have the potential of getting 350,000 leads a month from Instagram. This is why you can not ignore Instagram anymore, the users are getting older and are reaching a point of their lives that they can benefit from your services. source
Should a real estate agent have a personal website?
With a personal website, a real estate agent will be able to convey a sense of professionalism that another real estate agent can not if they do not have a personal website.
You can direct traffic from the internet over to a platform that you own and control. I have seen social media accounts banned and you will lose everything that you have worked for.
I also have seen social media accounts hacked and deleted. This will be heartbreaking if you have invested all your time and money into growing a following on the platform.
This is why you need to own the platform and the traffic that you are generating. If you have your own website you can collect emails and keep in contact with potential clients and or return clients with a simple email drip campaign
You can also send out emails once a week with the new home listings from the local area and to keep people from unsubscribing you can also send out an email with furniture sales in the area.
Also posting pictures of decoration ideas will keep your audience engaged and they will not opt-out as often because you are providing value to them through the email campaign.
This way when they are ready to buy again or if they were not ready to buy when you first contacted them they will call you before calling someone else.
Doing this enables you to control your traffic and the best part about it is that you own the traffic and not another platform.
If you want to discover what owning a personal website will do for your business contact us today for a free marketing strategy.
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