1 — Tactical Targeting. There’s marketing, and then there’s remarketing. If you keep emails of current and potential clients, why not serve up advertising directly to their Facebook page with new listings? Facebook has functionality already built into their platform that can match, (they call it “hatching”), email addresses to profiles. So, if someone has received emails from you with the same address as used with their profile, you can directly advertise to them on their page. On the flipside, if it’s a potential client, showcase a recent sale like-kind to their property or a company-oriented message.Think retargeting on steroids.
2 — Create a Facebook Lookalike Audience. Another nifty Facebook feature is the ability to advertise to people who might not already be a contact, but who could be. You can reach new people who are likely to be interested in your business because they have similar characteristics to those who already are. Let’s say you have an email marketing list of 3,000 clients. You can upload this into Facebook’s advertising platform and target to individuals with the same demographics of your existing customers. Tip: It’s good to partner with experts for this. I recommend one that only does digital targeting, as they can focus on these daily interactions and engagements; and you, on selling.
3 — AdWords You Might Not Have Ever Thought to Buy. You’re probably already running AdWords campaigns for your company (and your own name), but what about for each of your property listings themselves? Develop a list of phrases for your properties so your listing shows up first in search results. So, whether or not someone knows the address, they can search the area, and your listing still is easily found. Examples would be if you have a listing in Rancho Santa Fe, you have a list that includes “Rancho Santa Fe house for sale” and “Rancho Santa Fe luxury estate”.
4 — Become Friends with Zillow. Consumers spend up to 9 months with the Zillow app before they reach out to an agent. Zillow has over 332,000 followers on Twitter, nearly 1.5 million likes on Facebook, 119,000 followers on Instagram, 47,000 followers on Google Plus, and its websites get 123.7 million unique visitors per month (across all its web platforms). Suffice to say, they have a following. A big one. So, offer potential clients the insider scoop and proactive service.
5 — Become a Tech-Driven Machine. Stay ahead of technology. Attend conferences that feature the latest in technologies — and send your team to them, too. Have them pick which conference is their top choice, and send them on their way. It not only builds team comradery and is a great incentive to boot, but also ensures you’re always ahead of the game on emerging platforms, tools and tricks. Some of our favorites are Hubspot’s Inbound and Salesforce’s Dreamforce — and local chapters with regular events and seminars, like the American Marketing Association (AMA) or American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA).Tip: Seek Select and Group Memberships!
6 — Buy Expired — Even Unlisted — Property URLs. One great hack is buying URLs for listings that have either expired or aren’t even on the market — yet. You’d be amazed at how many are available on active listings. Then, when you’re called in to be interviewed for said listing, you already have your custom URL pointing to the property — on your site.Tip: Give the owners the URLs, whether they hire you or not. They cost about $2.99 on GoDaddy, and the impression it’ll leave is priceless.
7 — Think Like a Chamber of Commerce. If you were asked who at a hotel — any hotel in the world — has had the most interaction with any guest on any given day, who is the first person to pop in your mind? Most likely, the Concierge. A trusted resource, a service-provider who is knowledgeable about all things. When a potential buyer is visiting a resort market, one of the first people they ask about who would be a good real estate expert is the Concierge. Be the first to pop into this person’s mind.
8 — Good Gifting. Social Good Sells. Whether it’s giving a client the gift of giving back with a Loop & Tie certificate (their website not only allows someone to pick their gift of choice, but also have several charity items — from a water donation to natural soy candles with proceeds of every sale to help rescue animals) or, making a brokerage commitment to give back via building trips through Give Back Homes, a trusted network of real estate professionals dedicated to creating social change through buying and selling homes, or Habitat for Humanity, people want to do business with other people who are doing good. Send a personalized “thank you” message to your clients for partnering with you — and the community — in these acts of kindness.
9 — Instagram. Brand partner in style. Boss Homes, and other similar accounts on Instagram, have robust followers and features favorite brands and collections of luxury items, including properties. Boss Homes alone, for example, has over 1.6M followers.
10 — Post-Marketing Prominence. You aggressively market your listings, so why not also market your sales? The pre-sale and closing can be just as important as marketing the listing. Send a series of eblasts to potential clients with like-kind properties, showcasing not only the sale, but also the numbers — how many open house visitors did the marketing generate? How many visitors were driven to the property’s website? What markets across the globe did they come from?