Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Every professional in real estate is affected by the coronavirus. But the real estate industry is still active. As the pandemic continues, you need to adjust your strategies whether it involves showing homes, interacting with clients, arranging closings, etc.
This is a great time to use your electronic marketing skills or improve them. The coronavirus has created a lot of unknowns but new tools dealing with social distancing and other challenges are emerging quickly. This is your opportunity to use blogs, newsletters, and advertising to get the message out that you are staying ahead of the changes. You want clients and associates to know that you are open for business by offering virtual tours and electronic closing along with other adaptations you’ve made recently.
It doesn't matter if you're a flipper or a landlord, maximizing your exposure, knowledge, and expertise is what your marketing is all about. You can be the best expert at what you do but if the people you want to deal with don't know it, it does you no good.
Think about how marketing works in general. There are those that focus on low-end deals, those that shoot for the middle, and those that go for the high-end. Luxury car dealers don't target the low-end market. They make a case for why their vehicles are worth the extra cost. You need to do the same thing for your business.
First, understand your target audience. If you rehab houses, your target audience is both motivated sellers and end buyers. You need to get your story out about why they should do business with you instead of with your competition. You can write the best "I Buy Houses" advert but your competition will be doing the same thing. You can stand out from the crowd by including a link in your advert to blogs or articles that you write. Right now is the time to let people know what changes you have made to adapt. It’s always effective to share stories about how you helped others get out of a bad spot or helped someone move into their dream house. Having testimonials to go along with the story will take you over the top.
This doesn't need to be some long elaborate production and it doesn't need to be written content. If you are more comfortable making a video, that is a great way to go. Start small by putting up one or two pieces of content. Over time, add to it to show that you create repeat win-win scenarios.
Once you have a few success stories out there, move on to letting people know what you can do for them now. Keep your content current by adding stories about what you are working on today. Focus on the benefits that others will receive. If you're looking for a motivated seller, let them know that you will close quickly. Let them know that you buy damaged houses that most potential buyers walk away from.
If you're selling a home, let them know you offer a virtual tour of the property. Let viewers know the highlights of the neighborhood. Let parents know the benefits of having their kids attend school in the local school district. Let them know about easy access to freeways or public transportation. You can do the same thing for rentals and for rehabs. Going the extra step to offer virtual tours and providing additional information will make you stand out from the crowd.
You are trying to reach two distinctively different audiences. One audience when selling and a different audience when you are buying. You want to separate your buying and selling activities. If you have your own website, transparency is good. You can have both buying and selling content on the same website but separate the content into clear categories. Use clearly labeled buttons or links to materials about buying homes and another link to materials about selling homes.
You don't want to create long technical content. Keep it short and on point. Articles should generally be 750 words or less and videos between three and four minutes. You can also make a PowerPoint presentation of about 6 slides hitting the highlights. This will keep their attention. Whether they do business with you this time or not, they are likely to pass your information on to others. There is nothing better than word of mouth advertising to establish you as an expert in the field.
Your goal here is to let your target audience know why they should do business with you instead of your competitors. However, don't knock your competitors, take the high road and let them stand on their own reputation. The coronavirus has impacted the real estate industry. However, there are still plenty of things you can do to keep your business viable and emerge even stronger when this is all over.
Please comment with your marketing ideas matching these times.
Also, our weekly Ask Brian column welcomes questions from readers of all experience levels with residential real estate. Please email your questions, inquiries, or article ideas to [email protected].
