Have you been wondering how to get enough leads to be a successful real estate agent? Instead of looking to outside sources for lead generation, you can use digital marketing to generate them on your own. It’s time to put your success into your own hands and stop relying on others to bring the leads in.
Why digital lead generation matters
Real estate lead generation refers to the way you attract potential clients. These leads are contacts who have shown interest in selling or buying real estate and need someone like you to help them. They’re already looking for what you offer, so they’re the perfect lead.
In order to stay in business long term, you need to keep the leads coming in. You might have an abundance of leads now, but what will you do if your current lead sources dry up. That’s where digital real estate marketing ideas come in.
These tips help attract new leads to your real estate website, which is different from buying leads or using a pay-per-click advertisement. Instead, you’re using organic lead generation to get leads naturally. It takes a lot of time and effort, but it doesn’t take a lot of money.
Organic lead generation lasts longer than other methods, and there is no limit to the amount of leads you get as long as people are on the internet.
Now, let’s take a look at the tips that will make your efforts succeed.
1. Use hashtags
Digital marketing involves your website and blog, but in 2018, social media has become almost as important, if not more important. A big part of generating leads is using social media to your advantage.
Many people don’t really understand the purpose of hashtags. It’s often thought that they only exist to help you get more likes on your posts. But in addition to getting more people to engage with your content, they also help people find your content in the first place.
This means hashtags can help bring in leads by making your social media content easier to find. In addition to allowing potential clients to find you, hashtags also allow you to find the potential clients.
It’s a good idea to use a combination of generic hashtags and more custom ones. Some, like #realestate, are so overused that they won’t do you much good. But #househunting, on the other hand, is less oversaturated.
Custom real estate hashtags should include your local area so you’ll find nearby leads. Try to stay away from hashtags with over a million posts so your post will linger longer in the hashtag deck.
Keep in mind that Instagram only allows 30 hashtags per post, and your post can be shadow banned if you get too spammy. Do your research so you can focus on the hashtags that will be most relevant to the leads you want. You can always change your strategy if your current hashtags aren’t getting the results you’re looking for.
2. Use industry quotes
Whether it’s on social media or on your site, people love to see content that feels real, personal and relatable — not generic. Using quotes from other real estate professionals or from other industry leaders is a great way to get this kind of content.
Coming up with high-quality content can be difficult. You want ideas that are simple but engaging enough to attract and hold your audience. Real quotes and testimonials achieve exactly that, and they’re a free resource already available to you. This strategy can also help get your content more social shares.
You can turn quotes into graphics using a free quote generator and post them to your social media. You can also use a quote to springboard ideas for blog posts. Don’t forget to contact previous customers and ask them for testimonials. Even if they’re short, these positive reviews go a long way
3. Come up with great blog ideas
It’s critical that you generate excellent ideas for your blog. A real estate blog is where you’ll use search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to make it easy for new leads to find your site. But without great blog ideas, it won’t work.
You can generate a lot of good content from market statistics and predictions. Remember, readers love useful, enlightening information — try posting tips for homeowners, buyers and sellers, and don’t forget to post about the neighborhoods or communities where you work.
Put yourself in the shoes of the leads you want. What are the things they need or want to know? That’s what your real estate blog content needs to target.
I’ve also found real estate blog round-ups help build relationships with other industry bloggers and earn massive social shares, which helps your SEO.
Now that you have the tips you need, it’s time to put them into practice immediately — if you wait until you’ve hit a slow period, it’ll be too late.
This will take a lot of time, but it’s worth it. And like all things, the more you do it, the easier it gets.
Joy Bender is a certified international property specialist at Compass, based in La Jolla, San Diego. Follow her on Instagram and Pinterest.
