You help your sellers create a strategy for selling their home. You help buyers plan each step of the buying process. As a real estate agent, you need your own plan when it comes to improving your business — a marketing plan.
Marketing plans can do a few things for your business.
When you create a marketing plan, you can take what worked to a new level, ditch what doesn’t work, and try something new. Here are a few things to consider in your 2017 marketing plan.
If you were haphazardly throwing money at Facebook ads this year, figure out what you spent and then budget an amount and stick to it for each month. If business dictates more spending and the ads are bringing you business, you can always increase your spending, but this way you know what’s earmarked for your marketing in 2017. This will help you track where your money is going and what’s working. You’ll stop throwing money at things that don’t work, and you won’t be surprised at how much you’re spending from month to month.
Your real estate website is your online business front. In many cases, it’s the first thing new leads learn about you. Make sure it’s got fresh blog content – written, audio, or video. Pictures should be updated. If your stock photos look like rejects from the 90s, it’s time to update them. Your website should also be mobile responsive and easy to navigate. Don’t worry, we can help with the look and feel of your website. Google penalizes websites that aren’t mobile, and they’ve always lowered rankings for old and outdated content. This is the year to fix both.
You can have as many personas as you need – for buyers, sellers, investors, and specific niches you work with. This will help you narrow your marketing to reach the people you want to work with and who are likely to want to work with you. These personas will be written narratives of your ideal customer based on their habits, life, and income – who are they, what do they want, what does their life look like. You’ll use the personas to know exactly who your blog posts should speak to, how to target your online ads, and focus your marketing.
If you already send out emails for “just listed” and “coming soon” properties, this will take that up a notch. Instead of promoting properties, now you’ll be sharing valuable information with readers. This will put you in a position of authority and knowledge and help keep you top of mind when someone is ready to buy or sell. Offer a free tool, book, or other piece of information not easily found online in exchange for their email address – or take your existing list and start providing more information. Emails are your direct line of communication with people who aren’t yet your clients.
What terms and phrases do you want to be known for? What geographic location in your area has been underserved online? Knowing this information will help you target your blog content and the ads you purchase. And if no other agent is talking to a certain audience (like the fly-fishing-mountain-loving-camper or the beach-going-young-grandmother-who-is-ready-retire) and it’s a market you serve, you’ll dominate online in your area.
In 2016, you got good at posting Facebook ads for your listings. Maybe you figured out what to post on Instagram or you figured out how Snapchat filters work (finally). This year, it’s time to try something new. Stay where you’re comfortable and use it in a new way like Facebook Live, Facebook Marketplace, or Instagram stories. Or go in another direction and try a new platform. If you haven’t tried Twitter yet or your Pinterest account is dusty and neglected, switch your focus to those. Don’t stop doing what worked on other platforms but now that you know what to do, it should be easier and take less time. Use your extra time to do something new.
Each quarter analyze what’s working and what isn’t in your marketing plan. If something hasn’t shown even the slightest improvement in three months, tweak your approach. If it still doesn’t work, it may be time to try something new. Instead of trying everything all at once, create a marketing plan to help you create structure in your marketing and track what works and what doesn’t.
Former Communications Director for a local Realtor Association and a big cheerleader for all things real estate related, Michaela is now a full-time freelance writer specializing in real estate and other business industries. When she's not writing the serious business-y stuff, she's likely to be found writing about the hilarity of being a Mom to two rowdy boys.