What does it take to soar to the top of the search engines or the newsfeed on Facebook?
The speakers at Agent Reboot recommend that you avoid “vanilla marketing,” identify “trending personas,” incorporate niched-based tagging and employ targeted boosting.
Would you like to improve your online and social media presence? If so, here’s more information about the four proven strategies from Agent Reboot that can help you do exactly that.
1. Avoid vanilla marketing.
Vanilla marketing is simply marketing that’s designed to appeal to everybody. According to Inman’s social media director, Laura Monroe, vanilla marketing hurts your business in multiple ways. A classic example of vanilla marketing is sending out postcards or other marketing material that says, “It’s a great time to buy or sell real estate.”
Vanilla marketing can happen on Facebook, too, and it harms your overall marketing strategy because Facebook pushes these posts down in the news feed. According to Monroe, to have your posts place higher on Facebook, focus on connecting with your followers emotionally. Be a solution to their problems. When they post on Facebook, do more than just “like” what they said. Instead, make specific comments about what they’ve posted. This approach builds connection; vanilla marketing does not.
2. Identify trending personas.
Monroe cited two different approaches to what she calls “trending personas.” Currently, there are three driving forces: millennials, renters and empty nesters. Your advertising, social media posts and other marketing communications must be tailored to how the group you are targeting thinks and feels.
To illustrate this point, Monroe suggested that you market to millennials by describing homeownership as an investment in their future. Owning a home is also an excellent way to avoid having to move back in with mom and dad!
If you are a baby boomer, remember what mattered to you when you were their age. What is it that you would want to know now if you were in your 20s and thinking about buying a home? What pain points can your services solve? What solutions can you provide to the challenges they face, such as obtaining down payment assistance?
A second way to employ trending personas is to study the agents in your market who have high percentages of five-star ratings and reviews. Carefully evaluate the testimonials that their clients post, and analyze what those agents did to earn their five-star reviews.
Next, use your analysis to construct a persona that fits this client type. For example, what does this type of client want? What causes them to become raving fans of your competitor? What services did those agents provide that you are not currently providing?
Once you construct this “five-star” agent persona, identify where your share similarities, as well as where you differ. Where differences exist, work on incorporating these additional skills or services into your unique selling proposition.
3. Tag — you’re “it”!
Tagging is an easy way to extend your reach on social media. Jeff Lobb, founder and CEO of SparkTank Media, recommends that you comment on the top posts in your news feed. This is an easy way for that person’s followers to see what you write. Make sure that what you write provides value to the person posting, as well as to the people who may read your comment.
Lobb also recommends doing more than just status updates. Instead, specially customize what you post to fit your clients. For example, rather than posting a congratulatory message on Facebook when your buyers close on their new home, take a picture of them standing in front of their new home. Next, overlay your congratulatory message on that photo. When you post this photo on Facebook and tag your buyers, chances are they will share it with everyone in their news feed.
Other strategies include using a client quote on your website or a client testimonial that sums up their experience with you. It’s also important to use infographics wherever possible. Remember, today’s younger clients prefer pictures over words. According to Lobb, “Infographics present data in a warm and friendly way that allows you to target someone specific.”
4. Employ targeted boosting.
The old style of marketing is to conduct transaction-based campaigns. For example, data about prices, the best time to sell and how to obtain down payment assistance for first-time buyers are all examples of transaction-based marketing.
Targeted boosting is a hot new alternative to this approach. It is also much less expensive than using SEO (search engine optimization) to obtain first-page ranking on the search engines.
Rather than paying for expensive SEO, use Facebook ads to identify a specific profile of the user you want to reach. For example, if you love music, you may want to target music lovers who also love real estate and live in a particular subdivision or ZIP code.
Lobb also recommends having what he calls a “touchy need.” Since many millennials are into health and are highly collaborative, you might target those who have Fitbits with a campaign such as “Fresh Start — Get Fit, Get Smart — We Can Do This Together!” Make sure that any images that you use in campaigns fit the group that you are targeting.
Moreover, notice that this approach is about an ongoing interest outside of real estate rather than being transaction-based.
You will also need a call to action. Do you want them to visit your website? Does the language fulfill a pain point, point them toward resources or outline the steps to take to eliminate that pain point?
According to Lobb, investing in amplification and targeted boosting is an easy way to find new audiences and new leads.
Finally, remember to post across platforms — Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn — and leave the breadcrumbs to help potential clients where they are.
Bernice Ross, CEO of RealEstateCoach.com, is a national speaker, author and trainer with over 1,000 published articles and two best-selling real estate books. Discover why leading Realtor associations and companies have chosen Bernice’s new and experienced real estate sales training for their agents at www.RealEstateCoach.com/AgentTraining and www.RealEstateCoach.com/newagent.