The Benefits of Doing Real Estate Marketing Online
In the world where the power of technology and internet is utilized by every single business in operation aiming for global reach and success, there is no reason why real estate business cannot join the bandwagon. As more and more people are capitalizing on the usefulness of internet and the advancing technology, any business that won’t see the need to keep an active online existence are doomed to lose to the other forward-thinking companies.
In real estate, for example, the traditional transaction is done through a buyer’s agent or a seller’s agent. Those who are interested to purchase or sell a property must get in touch with a real estate agent or a real estate firm or broker. The buying or selling process will then require the potential buyer to meet as many real estate agents as possible in order to find the best deal or offer. In the past, this would entail personal meet-ups with real estate agents from different real estate brokers or firms.
The real estate agents will then arrange for the interested party to schedule visits to listed homes for sale. The process can be taxing, costly and inconvenient.
Alternatively, in today’s real estate market, most real estate brokers or firms have shifted their marketing efforts to web-based real estate marketing. As a cost-effective way to capture the online market, real estate firms or brokers need to have:
- Uniquely-branded, user-friendly website that is easy to navigate
- Marketing techniques with strong calls to action
- An endless flow of relevant and original content that will help establish authority in the industry
- Strong link profile to build credibility with search engines
Armed with these elements, real estate marketing becomes easier and is able to reach a wider base. With an information-rich website that is user-friendly, or by helping customers navigate easily through the showcased properties and products, or by offering incentives that may encourage the customers to make sales decisions, the real estate broker’s marketing efforts are simplified and market-targeted.
Online Marketing Strategies that will Benefit Real Estate Agents
There are numerous customer-targeted marketing strategies which the real estate agents can use in order to create new prospects. Instead of the traditional marketing technique of non-targeted adverts, real estate online marketing is able to reach potential customers faster. Some of the time-tested and proven online marketing techniques include:
- Virtual Tour. This is a convenient alternative to bringing buyers to the property site. With a video tour, the prospective customer is able to view the entire house or property on the list from the comfort of the buyer’s home. Making a video footage complete with graphics, appropriate text content can make a good impression to the client.
- Affiliate Marketing. This strategy is a useful technique for promotion. Real estate agents can turn to paid advertising or PPC (Pay Per Click) as an effective marketing technique for targeted prospects. Ads are paid only when the advertisements are viewed by the user. As prospects are targeted and identified, there’s a higher chance of sales conversion.
- Email Marketing. Sending email with detailed information, description of the property, high-resolution pictures of the property and surroundings, and links to relevant websites, to new prospects will prove to be an effective and quick way to inform them about the properties on the list, its advantages and unique features. Once the email recipients respond, it becomes the cheapest form of advertisement. It also generates the maximum ROI or return on investment as opposed to other offline and traditional marketing strategies.
There are other online marketing strategies for the real estate business or industry aside from the aforementioned techniques which can help the business reach out to its existing and prospective new customers. Combine these techniques with the agent’s skill and expertise in negotiations, the likelihood of successful conversion is almost guaranteed.
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