Real estate is a form of property that is highly prized for its intrinsic value and the fact it can be used to generate income. The demand for real estate services worldwide was worth US$16.9billion in 2016 and is anticipated to rise to US$25.5billion by next year.
As the popularity of online marketplaces increases, so does the opportunity to advertise and sell a property online. In fact, real estate transactions worth nearly £500,000 ($642,000) were facilitated by online platforms like Zoopla in the past year alone.
But while some individuals may be tempted to jump into the booming real estate market, doing so can be a tricky proposition. Successful online real estate marketing (O.RE.M) requires a clear understanding of digital marketing, SEO, and social media tactics. Fortunately, with the right guidance, tools, and know-how, anyone can have the profitable real estate venture they want.
Create a Winning Online Presence
To ensure they get the best possible exposure and conversion, real estate marketers should optimize their website and social media for search engines like Google and social media platforms like Twitter.
Search engine optimization (SEO) involves using various methods and tactics to increase the ranking of a website or blog in search results for a given search term (keyword). While SEO can be achieved through on-site tactics, such as using H1 tags to emphasize the most important content on a page, content creators and marketers should also focus on off-site SEO to increase the overall exposure of their website or blog.
Off-site SEO incorporates various methods, such as link building, to improve the ranking of a website or blog in search results for a given keyword. For instance, if you are working with a real estate agency, securing high-quality, inbound links to your website from other reputable websites and blogs in the industry is a great way to ensure your agency’s website is listed first when someone searches for “real estate agency” or “real estate agent” in a search engine.
The benefits of off-site SEO are numerous. Not only do you have the opportunity to improve the ranking of your target keywords, you are also driving traffic to a location where they can make a purchase or find more information about the product or service you are promoting.
In addition to securing high-quality, inbound links, content creators and marketers should also focus on ensuring their content is highly relevant to their target audience. To do this, they should use techniques, such as content discovery tools like BuzzSumo, to gain valuable insights into what type of content their target audience is consuming.
Understand The Importance Of Branding
Branding is the process of creating an identity for a business or product that is memorable and distinctive enough to be associated with in the minds of the audience. For instance, if you own a coffee shop and wish to attract and retain customers, one of the simplest and most effective ways to do this is by creating a brand for your coffee shop. This could involve painting your coffee shop roastery in a distinctive color, such as red or blue, as these are the colors used by many coffee shops in their logos.
A coffee brand can help to establish trust and credibility with customers. If your coffee brand is well-known and trusted in the marketplace, people who are planning to buy your product are more likely to do so because they know what to expect. This, in turn, can help to drive sales.
Since a coffee brand can be so effective in attracting customers, building a brand for your real estate business requires a bit more thought. As with any other business, having a memorable, distinctive brand can be a great way to attract potential customers. But in addition to branding your business, you must also consider how to market your brand online. This involves creating online communities of people who share your brand values and creating content to attract, engage, and retain these individuals.
The Five Most Important Social Media Channels for Real Estate
While SEO and off-site SEO can be extremely beneficial to your real estate business, the truth is that not every potential or existing customer will find your website or blog through search engines or off-site links. For those individuals, you must consider other forms of online marketing, such as social media.
In the last few years, the importance of social media in digital marketing has increased exponentially. After all, who doesn’t love a quick and easy way to get information? And what type of information could be more valuable than what our homes are worth?
While SEO and off-site SEO can be extremely beneficial to the growth of your real estate business, the fact remains that not every potential or existing customer will find your website or blog through search engines or off-site links. For those individuals, you must consider other forms of online marketing, such as social media.
Here are the five most important social media channels for real estate:
1. Facebook
With over 2.43billion active monthly users, Facebook is the largest and most popular social media platform globally. What is important to note about this platform is that it is not only about posting content, but about engaging with your audience through interactive elements, such as quizzes and polls. This is why Facebook is such a valuable tool for content creators and marketers. Since your customers are already engaging with you on Facebook, it is an ideal platform for content creators to engage with and retain their audience.
As a real estate marketer, you can easily establish yourself as an expert in your industry by creating and curating content on Facebook.
2. Twitter
With over 300million active monthly users, Twitter is the second-largest social media platform globally. As with Facebook, Twitter is a valuable tool for content creators and marketers as it is a platform where users can post content and engage with other users through retweets, replies, and likes.
One of the major differences between Twitter and Facebook is that on the latter, content is simply posted, whereas on the former, content is often curated and recommended by other users. For this reason, Twitter can be seen as the more traditional Social Media channel, as it is generally used to promote content that has already been published elsewhere online (e.g., blogs, websites, and forums).
Establishing yourself as an expert in your industry is an excellent way to gain credibility with potential customers. To do this, take the time to learn about and engage with your target audience on social media. To create content that will be memorable and distinctive enough to be associated with your brand, consider what your target audience is interested in. This will help you to find the right tone of voice to represent your brand and to develop content that is not only informative, but also interesting and entertaining.
3. YouTube
With over 1.8billion active monthly users, the majority of which are users located in the United States, YouTube is the third largest social media platform globally. If you are a small business owner or brand manager looking to gain credibility with your customers, establishing yourself as an expert in your industry is one of the simplest and most effective ways to do this.
On this platform, you can create videos relating to your industry, explain different topics related to your industry, or answer questions relating to your industry. What is valuable is that you can also use YouTube to engage with your audience during or after the videos’ presentation. For example, you can ask viewers for help or suggest an idea for improving your industry. Since YouTube users can share and comment on videos, it is a great place for content creators to gain exposure and grow their following.
4. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the professional social media network with 450million active monthly users. While LinkedIn is highly useful for businesses, it is also a valuable tool for content creators and marketers. If you are looking to establish yourself as an expert in your industry, LinkedIn is the perfect place to do this. Not only can you create and curate content, but you can establish yourself as an expert by connecting with other industry experts.
What is important about LinkedIn is that it is a place where your target audience, as well as potential customers, can find you. For this reason, it is an ideal place for content creators to establish a following and grow their audience.
5. Instagram
Instagram is the largest photo-sharing platform globally with over 1.7billion active monthly users. Like with TikTok, the audience on Instagram is primarily based in the U.S. with some users located in other parts of the world. Like with most other social media platforms, using the right hashtags is key to having your content appear in the right places on Instagram.