5 Real Estate Marketing Strategies That Work In 2024 (And Beyond)
With over 106,000 brokerages in the U.S., the real estate market is highly competitive. This makes it a difficult environment to market and promote your real estate brokerage.
Marketing your real estate services effectively is also time-consuming, and you likely have many other responsibilities to manage.
Additionally, marketing your brokerage can be expensive, especially when starting out. You may not see the effect of your marketing activities on your bottom line initially.
Luckily, there are some practical and cost-effective strategies you can use to elevate your real estate marketing.
In this article, we’ll guide you through five marketing strategies that work in 2024 and how you can use them to promote your business and see excellent results.
1. Create a Real Estate Marketing Plan
The most important thing you can do as a new real estate brokerage is to begin selling right away.
However, well-established brands and innovative real estate services saturate the market.
This means you’ll also need to understand your market if you want to identify, plan, and achieve your goals.
Your marketing plan is the most important part of your real estate business plan. You’ll need to understand:
Market conditions
You can spot emerging opportunities by doing daily research, including looking at property listings and reading real estate articles.
Localizing your real estate marketing efforts will also make you more competitive, so make sure to familiarize yourself with your local market.
Average house prices, property demand, commission rates for real estate agents, and other details will enable you to pinpoint gaps your company could fill.
You should also tap into the firsthand experiences of people who are buying or selling. For example, online discussion forums or social media conversations are a gold mine for discovering unmet needs.
Here are some examples of the best real estate forums to engage with:
Your competitors
By looking at what your competitors are doing, you can pinpoint market saturation or where there might be opportunities to alleviate buyers’ pain points.
Start by considering what the big companies are doing right. Real estate companies like Coldwell Banker and RE/MAX are successful for a reason. Consider what you could do better than them.
Creating your real estate marketing plan
Now that you have a detailed understanding of the market, your competitors, and how your company differs, you can begin crafting your real estate marketing plan. Here’s what it should cover:
➡️ Describe your target audience
List the characteristics of your target customer so that you have a clear grasp of who they are. This includes their age, interests, location, income level, and education level.
➡️ Articulate your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
You should be able to clearly explain what you offer that others don’t. Your USP should be concise and accessible, so your target audience can easily understand it.
➡️ Pinpoint the features that set your company apart
Aside from your USP, your brokerage will have other characteristics that make it unique.
Perhaps it’s the special way your employees interact with customers during the home-buying process or an unusual service.
A unique or specialized service is a great real estate marketing idea to hone in on.
➡️ Be clear on your budget
Your marketing budget will have a massive impact on what kinds of real estate marketing initiatives you can execute, so make sure your real estate agents know these details.
➡️ Select your marketing channels
The message you choose depends on the channel you use. Whether you go with traditional real estate marketing, digital marketing, or both, your team needs to know where you will promote the company. The customers you want to serve will also determine which channels you use.
For example, if you’re targeting a younger market, social media channels are effective as this demographic spends more time online. This requires concise and impactful messaging with compelling visuals that instantly grab the person’s attention.
Email marketing works well if your target market is slightly older, as most people in this age group use this channel. In this case, your messaging should be narrowly focused on their interests, with high-quality images showcasing what you offer.
We’ll discuss social media and email marketing in depth later in this article.
➡️ Create a timeline with milestones
The ultimate goal of increasing sales becomes much more manageable when broken down into smaller steps. This is why giving your team clear deliverables and deadlines is important to keep them focused, on track, and accountable.
➡️ Decide on the metrics you will use
You won’t know if you’re getting closer to your goal if you haven’t chosen metrics that reflect performance. Sales should always be the most important goal, but consider which secondary targets will support sales best.
Examples include qualified leads, website traffic, or followers. Communicate which ones matter the most to your team so they can determine whether their real estate marketing efforts are paying off.
2. Get the Basics of Real Estate Marketing Right
Now that you have your marketing plan in place, it’s time to familiarize yourself with the basics of real estate marketing:
Use your website to sell you and your team
If you don’t have a website, this should be your top priority. Over 43% of U.S.-based home buyers look for properties on the internet. And this number is constantly growing.
Most real estate websites focus on property listings. This is not a good way to run your site.
Buyers looking for properties will visit large sites like Zillow and are unlikely to visit individual real estate websites for this purpose.
Instead, people viewing your site want to know about the realtor they’ll be working with. Your site should showcase your team and why your company is unique.
Use your real estate website to share testimonials and reviews and clearly showcase how your company will meet buyers’ needs.
Prioritise Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
When it comes to SEO strategy, local is the way to go. You can’t compete nationally, so select keywords specific to your area and ensure that local buyers find you online.
Start with an SEO audit to determine which of your pages are in desperate need of optimization. If you’re new to SEO, check out this beginner guide from Moz.
The most important areas to focus on for SEO include:
🌐 Real estate marketing content
Ensure your content is easy to read and includes relevant keywords.
Choose keywords your buyers use in searches to help your real estate website rank higher on Google. Those same keywords should feature in your professional website content. These keywords could be:
- Colorado real estate agent.
- Real estate agent for apartments near me.
- Real estate agent for first-time home buyers.
Ahrefs is a great tool for keyword research and monitoring important factors, such as how well your website ranks in search results.
🌐 Page structure
Include titles, meta descriptions, heading tags, and URLs on your website.
Web pages embed tags and meta descriptions within their header using HTML code. This makes it possible for a search engine to know what content that page includes.
Heading tags organize your content so that it’s easy to read, while URLs inform Google about the content of each page and how they relate.
The more information you include about what people can expect to find on each page of your website, the more likely it is that the right people will find it.
🌐 Links
Fix any broken links and include outbound and inbound links that improve the quality of your content.
Inbound links sit anywhere on the web and direct people to your site, while outbound links feature on your site and direct people to further content.
The more inbound links you have from reputable sources, the higher your website will rank because search engines track this. And if you include outbound links that drive people to high-quality content, people will think your website is more credible.
🌐 Usability
About 88.5% of customers will leave a website for slow loading. Improve the overall user experience by speeding up your website’s loading time and page navigation.
Create an accessible interface that clarifies where users need to go to get the information they want.
Finally, make your site compatible with mobile devices so people can easily use it on their smartphones. Over 70% of homebuyers use mobile or tablet devices to search for properties.
You can use tools like Pingdom.com to test your page speed and show where you can make improvements.
Find a skilled photographer
Did you know that high-quality photos make homes sell 32% faster?
Sharp, beautiful photos of each property can hook a buyer immediately. This is why it’s crucial to hire a great photographer. They should use cutting-edge gear, have a creative eye, and properly edit each image.
For example, Scott Basile is a photographer from San Diego, and his area of expertise is interiors and architecture:
Not sure where to find talented photographers? Here’s a list of some of the best photographers in the real estate industry.
Use Zillow
If you work in real estate, you’ll know Zillow well. It’s an online platform that functions as a real estate marketplace. You can do it all on Zillow, whether you want to buy, sell, or rent.
If you haven’t created a profile yet, now is the time. With 217 million monthly viewers, you can’t afford to miss out on this visibility.
Use Google My Business
Having a presence on Google My Business is also important. This is a tool to manage and optimize your business profile on Google.
It appears on Google Maps and the local results of a Google search. Millions of people use these services because they help enhance company visibility. Plus, it’s simple to set up and list your business.
3. Use Different Digital Marketing Tactics
Once you understand the basics, you can up your game with some digital real estate marketing ideas.
Blog for better growth
When you create content, you offer your customers valuable free information, encouraging them to return to your site.
And if the content is SEO optimized, you’ll rank higher on search engines, giving you even more visitors. Studies show blogging results in 55% more visitors and 126% greater lead growth.
Create relevant content
Content will only work for you if it’s relevant to buyers’ interests and hooks them immediately. Hire professional writers if you want to guarantee content that hits the mark every time.
Here is an example from Virginia Capital Realty. Their article explains the different appraisals and inspections that a buyer needs to undertake. It offers useful information on a complex topic and highlights the company’s expertise.
It also helps push readers along the sales pipeline by encouraging them to get in touch or download a lead magnet:
Engage in email marketing
Over 89% of marketers use email marketing as their primary strategy for generating leads, and it’s also rated as the most effective real estate marketing channel.
The average return on investment (ROI) for email marketing is $36 for every $1 you spend.
With email marketing systems like LeadPages and Aweber, you can collect email addresses and create messaging targeting these individuals.
The benefit of email marketing is that it allows you to personalize your messaging by customizing it for different target audiences.
Here’s a quick guide to get your email marketing campaign going:
📧 Build your email list
You need to get the email addresses of your ideal customers. You will need an email marketing platform, a lead magnet, and the relevant permissions to do this.
Good email marketing tools include MailChimp, Flodesk, and ActiveCampaign. A lead magnet is something valuable you offer your audience for free in exchange for their email address. We discuss this in more detail below.
You also need to be transparent about people signing up for a mailing list. Make your call to action clear and explain what they will get in return when they sign up.
Don’t try to trick people into signing up. You should also let them unsubscribe or delete all the personal information you hold on them as soon as they request it. Also, include an “unsubscribe” button that is clearly visible.
These are legal requirements for managing an email list. For more information, read this guide to U.S. privacy laws.
📧 Create your email content
Your content is how you build a relationship with prospective buyers, so you shouldn’t rush the process.
It should be as specific to their needs and interests as possible. Here are three content-based real estate marketing ideas that have proved effective:
- A welcome email
This is how you make your first impression. Ensure that the email is warm, inviting, and immediately offers value specific to your audience, such as a guide to choosing investment properties. Welcome emails have an impressive 91.43% open rate.
- A newsletter
This is an effective way of staying in regular contact with your audience so that you remain top of mind for them. Engagement rates for emails that contain news are 38%.
Don’t send one too regularly, as this can quickly become a nuisance. Plus, ensure that each edition offers valuable information, tips, testimonials, or real estate listings that appeal to readers.
Don’t just tell them that the market is ‘hot.’ For example, you could send readers the latest property listings that have come on the market that day—this way, buyers will look out for your email.
- A market update
Showcase your expertise and knowledge with a regular market update. This could include an analysis of what has been sold and its location and price.
You could then provide advice for buyers and sellers. This is a good way of showing potential clients the value of your expertise.
📧 Be responsive
Whenever someone replies to your communication, you need to answer. Real estate is a fast-moving industry, so you’ll lose business if you don’t respond promptly.
But the bigger your real estate business gets, the less likely you’ll be able to address every email.
This is where autoresponders come in. They answer emails for you while you’re busy with other tasks. The autoresponders built into email platforms are usually basic.
On the other hand, your email marketing software should offer several features that allow you to create autoresponder sequences.
📧 Measure your success
Email marketing campaigns are easy to analyze. Your email marketing software will feature dashboards that show you the most important metrics from each email you send.
You should monitor your click-through rate, the number of people who viewed your emails, the number of people who have unsubscribed, and other metrics like these to determine whether you need to change your approach.
Use a lead magnet
A lead magnet is something valuable that you offer in exchange for someone’s information— usually an email address. This often takes the form of a free guide, and its purpose is to generate leads you can target with further online marketing.
Hubspot found that 63% of marketers reported finding new leads as their biggest problem.
The challenge is that people are reluctant to share their personal information. Your freebie must be valuable enough to convince them to submit their details.
To achieve this, you need to create a customized lead magnet for your target audience. Make sure it attracts a specific person—your ideal buyer. Examples include a cheat sheet, free trial, quiz, or an assessment.
You can also use tools that generate quality lead magnets, such as Wistia, Canva, OptinMonster, and Hubspot Blog Ideas Generator.
Here are some examples of great real estate lead magnets:
🧲️ Market reports
As mentioned before, this could include an analysis of what has been selling, its location, and its price, as well as advice for buyers and sellers.
This will be useful for both parties because it comes from trusted real estate professionals with their finger on the pulse of the market (that’s you). It also saves them time if you do the research for them.
🧲️ Buyer’s or seller’s guides
Understanding the buying or selling process is complex, and people know they can make mistakes or be taken advantage of.
Providing concise and easy-to-understand buyer and seller guides will make prospective clients more informed, empowered, and confident.
This benefits you, too. When clients decide to do business with you, they’ll know what they need to have in place and will have realistic expectations. This will make working with them much easier.
🧲️ Free home evaluations
Sellers will always want to know what their home is worth before entering the market. You can submit the report with an in-house automated valuation or a comparative market analysis tool when they fill in their email address.
Social media campaigns
Social media platforms are powerful tools because most people are on at least one platform. Here are the best platforms for real estate marketing:
This popular platform allows you to showcase beautiful photographs or videos of the properties you’re selling. Look at this example, where the realtor focused on the interior space to make an impact:
There’s a reason why 89% of agents use Facebook for their real estate business. The platform has excellent targeting functions, which makes it useful for real estate marketing to your ideal customer. You can even use Facebook Live to create a visual tour of the property.
📱 X (formerly Twitter)
This is an effective conversation starter for important real estate topics. Use trending hashtags and quality visuals to draw attention to your company. Answer questions, share your opinion to show your expertise, and be at the forefront of important conversations.
Not many potential buyers or sellers will search on LinkedIn, so it’s not worth listing properties here. Instead, you should use it to connect with other professionals in the property sector.
This is great for building your team, finding good suppliers, and sharing knowledge and best practices.
Below is a good example from Gary Molner of Lang Realty. Notice that the article targets investors and not buyers or sellers:
PPC advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is when you pay to have your website appear in the sponsored links section of search engines. It is an effective way of increasing the number of website visitors you get, as 90% of adverts displayed via PPC reach internet users.
Here’s a quick guide to get started:
🖱 Get to know the market
You need to have a detailed understanding of the types of properties you want to sell, the areas you’ll be focusing on, and the buyers or sellers you want to reach.
Based on this information, you need to do keyword research to find out which words your ideal customers use when they search online.
🖱 Get leads
Now that you know the relevant keywords, you need to capture conversions once people have clicked the ad. Several platforms can help you do this, such as Kunversion.
Mobile optimization
Even if your website works well, this won’t mean much if it can’t be viewed on mobile devices.
Most people have smartphones, and they use them as their primary way to find businesses, services, and products.
59% of online consumers in the U.S. search for local businesses using a mobile device. And 51% of smartphone users have found a new company or product by searching on their phones.
This means that your website needs to load quickly and function well on both Android and Apple smartphones.
Discover the power of drones
You can elevate your photography by using drones. This technology has existed for some time, but real estate agents are still not capitalizing on its possibilities as much as they should.
Capture unique footage that showcases the size and features of each property. You can even showcase the immediate environment so buyers know exactly what the neighborhood looks like.
Drones specifically recommended for real estate photography include the DJI Mini 2 Drone, the EXO Blackhawk, and the DJI Phantom.
Craft creative videos
Video walkthroughs give buyers a convenient way of viewing the property, giving you the power to showcase the property from a specific perspective.
With editing tools, you can create a video highlighting the best aspects of every property. And you don’t need to spend a fortune either—a high-quality smartphone will do the trick.
Here’s an example from Dokismon of a quality cinematic experience where the real estate agent talks to the audience and takes them through the property:
Go 3D with a Matterport
If you want to take videos to the next level, you’ll need to invest in a Matterport 3D camera to piece together a 3D dollhouse of the entire property.
This allows buyers to explore it through virtual reality. Now, they can experience what the space will look and feel like wherever they are.
This innovation is one of many 3D and virtual reality (VR) experiences that will become more common in the future. That’s why using this tool while the approach is still novel is important.
4. Try Public Relations Activities
Public relations (PR) activities can be a helpful way to market your real estate business. Here are some strategies to try:
Organize engaging events
Better known as experiential marketing, interactive events can really move the needle toward attracting new prospects.
Give buyers a tour of the neighborhood they are interested in, or host a webinar that teaches people about the buying and selling process.
The goal here is to develop relationships with your customers, so create experiences that will be valuable for them and encourage engagement to build rapport.
For example, a growing trend is hosting client appreciation parties for past and future clients.
Some real estate marketing ideas include renting out a nightclub or bar, creating a holiday event like a Christmas party, or hosting a house party.
Host home viewings
An effective way of attracting more prospects is to invite local businesses to home viewings so that you can engage with them face-to-face.
These interactions allow you to identify pain points and learn more about what buyers are looking for. Think of these events as a feedback loop that can help you hone your real estate marketing strategy.
5. Try Traditional Real Estate Marketing
There are some traditional real estate marketing strategies that still work.
Create a memorable real estate business card
While business cards may seem old-fashioned, they still perform an important function—especially if you get creative.
This is a quick and impactful way of showcasing your brand, so make sure your card’s design and content are attractive and attention-grabbing.
Some effective techniques include adding a QR code to create a gateway to your site, integrating a photo of yourself so people can connect a name with a face, or including iconic imagery from the area you’re selling in.
Tap into referrals
Referrals are still a core real estate marketing strategy because they work. In fact, 41% of sellers found their realtor based on referrals from family and friends.
The best way to request this from buyers is to give them time to settle into their new home before reaching out with an email. After asking how they are, you can subtly request a referral if someone they know ever needs a realtor.
Ask for testimonials
Testimonials are powerful because they offer feedback from existing customers, so prospective buyers are more likely to believe them.
Ask clients to share their feedback in writing so that you can use it on your website and other marketing collateral.
Buy quality branded gifts
You need to go the extra mile in a competitive environment like real estate. And that means surprising your clients with corporate gifts that make your brand stand out.
Gifts are effective because this is another way you cultivate a relationship that ultimately determines whether you close the deal or not.
Put effort into creating useful and unique gifts such as a luxury gift basket, an interior design consultation gift card, smart technology, or a gift card to a local restaurant.
Keep track of performance
As with digital marketing, you need to find ways of measuring your performance in traditional marketing.
Without this, you won’t know whether these techniques are working, which means you could be wasting time and money on activities that don’t make a difference.
Tried-and-true methods include:
- Customer surveys.
- Unique numbers on flyers to count how many people contact you.
- QR codes to track the performance of each campaign.
- Using your traditional marketing material to drive people to digital platforms.
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