Marketing is an incredibly important aspect of a real estate professional’s career. Marketing in the real estate world can be tricky, but a good rule of thumb is to keep your techniques subtle. You want to stay top of mind with potential clients by providing useful information so that they will eventually want to do business with you. Focus on reminding your sphere of influence (SOI) that you are a human, relatable, and here to help them when they are ready. While there are many ways to achieve this, there are several marketing tips every real estate agent should know.

1. Use good social media etiquette. Social media is an incredibly valuable resource for real estate professionals, and if used correctly it can be one of the most powerful tools in one's marketing arsenal. Remember to follow the 3:1 rule when it comes to posting. The science behind the 3:1 rule is that you are building a relationship with people. You want to develop trust by providing value and giving them something that they can use. You want people to begin trusting you as a resource so that they will come to you when they have questions (or want to buy!) organically. So the ratio of your social media content should be as follows:

- Three helpful pieces of content written by someone else

- 1 written by, curated by, or about you

This way you are providing helpful content to your clients, but they don’t get the feeling that you are only sharing to promote yourself. Be sure to engage, listen to questions, and try to provide useful answers and thoughts for your sphere.

2. Work your sphere. Every real estate professional should be constantly building and adding to their SOI. It helps to have a running spreadsheet that you can casually add to as you meet contacts. These contacts can be anyone from friends and neighbors, to past clients, to parents on your kid’s baseball team. When you regularly speak with them, just ask if they wouldn’t mind being added to your contacts, and begin marketing to them. Top agents at our company have spheres of hundreds of potential clients that they market to monthly (some more than once a month). This doesn’t have to be anything invasive, and shouldn’t be! Popular ways to market to your sphere include postcard marketing, monthly newsletters, and housing market updates. Be sure, again, you are providing something of value and are not being blatantly spammy. This will keep you top of mind, and when someone is looking to buy or sell, they will likely think of you!

3. Promote your area, not just your property. Realtors often place a lot of emphasis on marketing a single property at a time. While this is fine, you should also focus on promoting your area of specialization. This is another way to become known as an expert in your field. What’s happening in your neighborhood of specialization in the near future? Make guides or find information and share it with your potential clients. Promoting interest in a particular area will not only help you build your existing client base, but will also inform those who are unacquainted with the neighborhood about the advantages of looking for homes in that particular location.

4. Use conventional marketing. In all the hustle and bustle that is digital marketing, it can be easy to forget about conventional marketing, and that is a mistake. Offer to throw house-warming parties for your clients and organize mixers. There you can have someone in a related field offer some sort of perk to your clients (you doing the same for them). This kind of cross-pollination expands your sphere by promoting to your clients and your chosen partner. Also, don’t forget about Pop By’s! These are small gifts that you can give to people in your sphere so that you stay fresh in their mind. Pinterest has tons of cute, inexpensive ideas for pop by’s HERE.

5. Utilize testimonials. Customers have used the opinions of others to help make their purchasing decisions for decades, these days this happens to be online in the form of testimonials. Testimonials and reviews are a powerful resource for agents, especially if your clients love you! Always ask your clients to review you on any real estate websites (like Zillow and Trulia), as well as on Google Plus. So many people rely on testimonials and reviews before purchasing a product, that it shouldn’t be too difficult for a happy client to leave a glowing review. A good way to coax them into doing this is to leave a reminder with your closing gift, or send a follow-up email after closing asking them to review you. Make it even easier by leaving them a link in your email or a URL in your card. If they don’t leave a review within a week or so, don’t be afraid to follow up.

If you are utilizing these tips on a regular basis, you should see growth in your business over time. Remember, don’t give up. Marketing takes time, and consistent marketing is the key to its effectiveness!

Agents at HomeCity have access to an in-house team of marketing experts ready to help them customize their branding and digital media strategy. Want more info? Feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected].