As any real estate agent will tell you, referrals from past or existing clients can be a great way to build and expand your business. Once you’ve closed the sale, you have a great opportunity to cultivate an ongoing relationship that can be not only personally rewarding, but professionally rewarding, as well. So how to build your referral network, then?
Positions You as the Local Go-To Expert
You’ll want to stay connected with your clients, positioning yourself as the local go-to real estate expert, prompting your existing and closed clients to eagerly send you referrals and turn to you to represent them in their next sale or purchase.
But how do you best keep in touch with your clients? How do you walk that fine line of being informative and helpful — without being intrusive or bothersome? One of the best ways to maximize your client referrals is to develop a referral program. And one of the best ways to get the word out about this program is through your newsletter or blog. Here’s what you need to know once you begin generating leads through these practices.
Agents who embrace this kind of content marketing can simultaneously grow their businesses and distinguish themselves as a leader and innovator in their local market, and in the industry as a whole.
Stay Top-of-Mind with Effective Promotion
Once you have your newsletter or blog in place, you need to alert your customers. And from there, it’s all about promotion. Smart real estate professionals know to consider multiple avenues of promotion to remind your customers of your newsletter or blog — and add calls to action (CTAs) for clients to sign up to keep in touch at every touchpoint.
Add a CTA to your email signature, directing contacts and clients to sign up for updates to new posts or to be added to your newsletter mailing list.
Why Real Estate Professionals Should Blog
Let’s break down the tactics on how to build your referral network with a blog, and why they work so well at it. Listed below are three practical and specific outcomes. While it’s important to adopt a long-term mindset to really see momentum build, in all likelihood you should start to see positive increases relatively quickly in all of these areas.
#1. To Generate Website Traffic
According to inbound marketing giant, Hubspot, companies and brands that blog receive 55 percent more website visitors than those that do not. Because your blog acts as a vehicle to drive traffic to your website, there is more opportunity to convert visitors into clients.
#2. To Foster Interaction
Blogging allows you to interact with your clients, and also gives them the opportunity to provide you with valuable feedback. Invite and encourage your followers to talk to you by leaving comments or questions — and you can even turn some of the better questions into their own blog posts.
#3. To Build Authority and Trust
Blogging also allows you the opportunity to showcase your knowledge and demonstrate your authority in your field. By utilizing your real estate knowledge to write solid content, you will quickly begin to earn the trust — and the business — of your followers. If you’re looking for ways to further build your reputation online, you’ll want to get your clients to leave you reviews.
Real Estate Blogging Best Practices
- Make sure you’re always linking your blog posts to related and relevant pages on your website, and link your social media posts to your blog posts.
- Update your blog on a regular basis. A good rule of thumb is to start with one blog post a week. Once you’re comfortable, consider bumping up that number. Research has shown that companies that blog receive 434 percent more indexed website pages that those that don’t.
- Optimize your post with keywords, images and, above all else, natural sounding content.
- Always include a call to action, encouraging your readers to convert by filling out a form, signing up to follow you, or contacting you directly.
To learn more about how to build your referral network, including the most effective way to ask for referrals, best practices for staying in contact with past clients, how to use surveys for real growth, and where it is appropriate to make a social connection, sign up for our platform and check out our course Building Your Referral Network today.
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