Tag: real estate agent

4 Ways to Attract Luxury Open House Attendees

Anne Hartnett Leave a comment

Selling a truly unique luxury property is different from your typical sale. It requires a more focused approach and a more sophisticated touch. Clients whose homes are worth many millions expect that special measures will be taken to market their property.

Sometimes agents will need to take extraordinary measures. When there is competition in the luxury market, there is an increase in high-end open houses — elegant and expensive events that spare no expense in showing a listing’s best qualities. This is not a typical open house.In this blog you’ll learn some of the ways that you can host a unique event to showcase a special property.

Traditional Advertising

In many cases, traditional media is still very effective for the real estate business.  Agents may be getting great results from direct mail postcards and advertising in print and online. Using postcards to let neighbors know what you have just listed or just sold works because it offers market information, plus exposure for listings and for yourself. Make sure the photos look great, the message and the call to action is clear and that the brand is properly reflected.

Online Advertising

Advertising in print is effective in certain markets, though not in others. Online advertising allows potential clients to click through the ad to your website or email. And don’t forget to look into marketing opportunities on syndication sites like Zillow. These can help with lead generation as well. Ultimately, advertising works best when you know who your target market is and how to best reach them.

Social Media

With social media’s important role in marketing, most real estate agents maintain at least one social media account for their business. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Snapchat are among the most popular, but additional networks may emerge, and you’ll need to be ready. The idea is to keep your company relevant and useful. If you can find a specific angle that can bolster your brand, all the better.

Editorial Calendar

Create an editorial calendar that runs at least three months out so that you can map out a strategy and use any analytics that are available to optimize and refine your message. Social media holds a varying level of importance, depending on your target market, but no agent can afford to neglect it entirely.

Surveys, Testimonials and Reviews

A completed transaction is not the end of the relationship. There is still marketing work to do! Start with surveys, testimonials and reviews. It’s a good idea to send a survey to clients after a transaction is finished to let them share the pros and cons of their experience with you. This information can help you make improvements to systems and services.

Third-Party Services

It’s also a low-pressure tactic to ask for a testimonial and an online review. There are third-party survey services that are simple and inexpensive to put into practice. This should be part of your operating procedure at the close of every sale. And getting testimonials and reviews on sites like Yelp can really help you expose your brand to new clients and stand out from the competition.

Participate in the Neighborhood

Lastly, one of the best ways to market your business is by simply being top-of-mind when it comes to real estate in your neighborhood. The simplest and most effective way to do this is by actually spending time participating in local events. Have a presence at festivals and town meetings. Consider volunteering at the local school.

#1. Show Up at Neighborhood Events

Suggest that your brokerage sponsor neighborhood events, or simply make sure to get a table at them. You may want to keep track of event opportunities and attend yourself. Seek out opportunities to put yourself in front of the right target market.

#2. Offer Advice or Expertise

No one likes someone who only talks business, but there’s nothing wrong with being helpful and relevant. If you keep your ears open and participate with people, you will find organic ways to help market a company that truly is a part of the neighborhood.

#3. Manage Your Local Brand and Reputation

All in all, it’s important to remember that selling homes is just one part of your business. It’s just as imperative to ensure that your business has a future flow of potential customers and that your brand and reputation is being managed in the best way for you and your business.

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AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth. For a 7-day free trial sign up here.

AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.

How to Determine Your Advertising Needs

Marci Sepulveda Leave a comment

Many successful agents reach a point in their careers where they need more sophisticated marketing and advertising strategies. Though many brokerages offer this kind of support, top agents often outgrow typical offerings and want to take brand marketing into their own hands.

If this is where you find yourself, or you just want to stand out from your competition, you may want to consider tailoring your relationship with your in-house department or using an outside marketing firm that can offer you something different.

In this blog you’ll learn the pros and cons of working with in-house personnel vs. outside firms and how to determine what you really need from your marketing campaigns.

Cost

For many agents, the cost of working with a professional agency is the most important consideration in deciding who will handle marketing and advertising efforts. While you investigate whether or not your brokerage can do the job for you, consider these questions.

Can you get discounts for media placement? If your brokerage already has an advertising contract with a particular media outlet, you may be able to benefit from their frequency discount. Many media outlets offer lower rates on advertising space based on the number of placements purchased.

If your brokerage secures a substantial media buy, and in return offers you discounted pricing for the space, you may see a significant savings when compared to buying media placement on your own or through an outside agency.

Brokerage Support

Does your brokerage offer opportunities to include your listing in ads that advertise multiple listings? What does it cost to be included? This opportunity may give you access to media space you couldn’t afford to purchase on your own.

Do the research, because there may be considerable cost advantages to using brokerage resources. When you work with your in-house marketing department, you may be offered different payment options. You may pay for time, per project or creative services may be a free perk for top producers. It’s up to you to negotiate your own marketing package.

You can compare the services offered in-house to those of an outside agency. However, keep in mind that most brokerages are less inclined to help you build a significant brand outside of the brokerage. You’ll need an outside agent if you want to secure a higher level of attention to your own brand.

Available Resources

Let’s talk about the resources available to you. You’ll have to know what your options are before you can plan. Is there a skilled in-house marketing department that can provide the creative services you need? Is there a strategist on the team? Is there a graphic designer who will execute your direction? Are there professional copywriters?

Building effective ad campaigns and branded marketing is a highly creative pursuit, and quality may be subjective. As most agents have real estate expertise but are not trained creative artists, there may be a tendency to underestimate the value of quality design and to misunderstand how messaging can help or hurt marketing efforts.

While agents may not recognize low-quality design or copy, many consumers do see the difference. Once you get a feel for it, you will see why some brands outperform other brands even when the actual products are very similar. It may seem too costly to hire professionals, but it will cost you even more to spend your ad budgets on ineffective designs and messaging.

Qualities to Look For

The qualifications of the people you hire to execute this creative work can vary greatly. When reviewing candidates, look for artful attention to detail and an understanding of how to connect with audiences. Seek out creative people who know the principles of design, messaging, effective calls to action and brand standards. Ask for portfolios and past work and have them explain their process to you to see if you’ll work well together.

As in the real estate business, you may find your best candidates through referrals. Ask your colleagues if they have recommendations for marketing professionals or teams. Interview several candidates and get a feel for who would be a good fit. These people will be a part of your extended team, helping you identify your vision and meet your goals.

Don’t be intimidated. Some very good ad agencies are small shops while others are huge companies. If you are unsure if a particular agency is appropriate for the budget you have in mind, just ask.

To learn more about how to determine the marketing needs of your real estate business, as well as how to develop an advertising campaign that works, begin your seven-day free trial of AgentEDU today and start with the advertising track.

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AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth. For a 7-day free trial sign up here.

AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.