From door-knocking to posting on social media, lead generation comprises lots of moving parts, so it’s easy to mess up your real estate marketing strategy. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in the business; agents lose business every day because friends, family members, or past clients forgot they were in the industry. In this week’s post, we’re breaking down the most common real estate marketing mistakes that agents make and what you can do to avoid them.
Not Having a Website
Not having a website is one of the most common real estate marketing mistakes I see agents make. They believe that because they’re part of a team or because their broker provides them with a website, they don’t need their own.
This couldn’t be farther from the truth. As a real estate agent, you are a small business owner, and you need to control your online image. Having your own website allows you to control how you are perceived online.
Another reason you need to have your own real estate website is to ensure you keep all of the leads that come your way. If you don’t have your own website to send leads to, what happens if they request information on a listing without putting you as their preferred agent? Are you able to ensure that lead will come back to you?
Having your own real estate website allows you to generate leads using SEO and content marketing, allowing you to keep track of how well your website strategy is working.
Not Utilizing the Power of Video Marketing
If you’re not using video in your real estate marketing strategy yet, then you’re already behind the curve. This is one of those real estate marketing mistakes you can’t afford to keep making.
Think to yourself for a moment; how often do you find yourself sitting and watching videos on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or even TikTok? It’s probably several times a week, if not daily even.
85% of American’s watch videos from their phone every day, so if you’re not putting out content that puts you where the consumers are, then how can you expect to grow?
Videos allow your followers to feel more connected to you because they’re able to see and hear what you’re saying – this allows you to quickly gain the know, like, and trust factor with them.
If you’re making this real estate marketing mistake, then now is the time to stop.
The good news is because video marketing has changed so much over the years, you don’t have to have a fancy studio or a perfectly written script to stand out.
In fact, short-form videos are dominating social apps right now. Creating short videos that are less than 30 seconds doesn’t take much time, and you can batch create them once a week and then set a reminder to post as needed.
Not Using Social Media the Right Way
Did you know there’s more to social media than just posting online every day? Without a proper social media strategy, your posts aren’t going to get in front of your ideal client.
You already know that you don’t have to be on every social media platform. Most businesses aren’t on every social platform because they know every platform has its own target audience, and it takes a lot of time to format the content to match the platform’s algorithm.
To start seeing results from your social media campaigns, focus on content that brings value to your followers, helps them connect with you as a person, and speaks to your ideal client – not at them. The most common reason real estate agents fail with social media is because they become too sales-y. Remember, the more value you bring to your followers, the more connected they will feel with you.
Not Staying in Contact with Past Clients
The easiest way to grow your real estate business is to get referrals from past clients, as well as your friends and family.
Real estate is not one of those businesses where someone will be purchasing a house every year; typically, you won’t work with the same client again for at least 3-5 years. If you want your clients to remember you, you have to stay in contact with them.
Phone calls and email blasts work, but you don’t want to be the agent that only reaches out when you’re looking for business. If the only time you heard from someone was when they needed something from you, would you continue to answer their phone calls or reply to their emails? Probably not.
That’s why you need to have a content strategy that you can use through email and your website to engage with your email list regularly and provide them with resources even when they’re not in the market to purchase a new house.
As a real estate agent, remember, you’re not just a home buying and selling expert; your job is to be an expert in what’s taking place in the community and homeownership.
Being Afraid to Outsource
Making the decision to outsource parts of your real estate business can be scary. But the truth is, you can’t be good at everything, and just because you know how to do something doesn’t mean you should.
You tell consumers every day not to FSBO because YOU ARE THE REAL ESTATE EXPERT.
Well, it’s time you start taking your own advice and outsource the parts of your business that you’re not an expert in. Out of all the real estate marketing mistakes listed, this is the easiest one to fix.
The more time you spend learning how to use social media, create ads, understand how SEO works, or write emails to send out, the less time you have to spend working with clients or enjoying time off for yourself. When it comes to running a small business, time is money, and you have to spend your time wisely.
Take Action to Stop Making The Real Estate Marketing Mistakes
By avoiding the mistakes listed above, you’ll be able to get more out of your marketing campaigns without wasting time and money.
As technology continues to change and develop quickly, the way you market your real estate business will need to grow and adapt with it. Set time aside every week to look for new marketing trends, tools, and people to invest in to help you stay at the top of your real estate game.
