Top 6 Reasons Real Estate Brokers Need Digital Marketing

The real estate market is booming and whenever that happens, people jump into the business to make a quick buck. For established real estate agents and brokers, that means increased competition. How will you make yourself stand out from your competitors? You need a digital presence for brokers.

Why is digital marketing important for real estate brokers?

Traditionally, real estate agents and brokers did not use or need a digital presence to succeed and to this day, many in the industry undervalue digital marketing. But it’s 2021 and real estate brokers need digital marketing to promote brand awareness, sell properties, and stand out from their competitors. Here are the top 6 reasons real estate brokers need digital marketing:

1. Search engines are a thing

Most people do a Google search first when they start the buying process for anything these days. If you don’t have a great website that’s optimized for search engines with searchable property listings, you are missing out on business.

2. Potential clients want to read reviews

Reviews build trust in a cynical world. Having at least several great online reviews is extremely important. When looking for a real estate broker, you can bet that other than personal referral, your online reviews will make or break a person’s decision to work with you. Don’t forget to respond to each and every review you receive!

3. Pictures are worth a thousand words

High quality pictures and videos sell property. Mobile friendly property videos, video tours, and picture galleries are a necessity when it comes to selling properties because clients want them but also because search engines rank video content. Google values content that engages their audience so it makes sense that videos would be ranked.

4. Easier to track ROI

It’s fairly easy to track the Return on Investment (ROI) for your online efforts compared to print ads and paper directories. Google analytics tells you how much traffic your site is receiving, the number of new users, and how many conversions you had (people who made it to your contact page and contacted you). Any online advertising that you invest in will provide metrics on reach and engagement. You can make changes, as needed, until you find just the right strategy.

5. Google My Business

All businesses should make use of Google My Business to build their online presence. This is especially true if you are a geographically based business. Companies who are selling properties in a certain city or region greatly benefit from an accurate and robust Google My Business profile. The great news is that it’s free; all it takes is some effort to set up and monitor.

6. Build rapport with your clients

Digital marketing provides options to keep your clients engaged and to build their trust over the long term. Ultimately, building a lifetime relationship with our clients is more profitable than a one and done transaction.

Digital marketing strategies that every real estate broker should be using

If you have read this far, we hope we have convinced you about the need to invest in digital marketing. Here are several digital marketing strategies that you can use to grow your real estate business by standing out from your competitors:

1. Build a mobile friendly website. Statistics show that over 40% of real estate website visitors come from a mobile search. Invest in a website that is easy to navigate on both mobile devices and PCs. Pictures and videos must be optimized for all screen sizes!
   
   
2. Pay for SEO. Unless you are an SEO expert and have the time to do the work, you need to hire an SEO specialist to properly optimize your website. In many cases, a digital marketing agency can both build and optimize your website. It’s important to hire a team that is on top of the current trends and who you can work with on an ongoing basis to continue the work as the rules of the game change. If you want to maintain your place at the top of the search results, SEO is an ongoing investment.
   
   
3. Create email campaigns. Segment your clients and potential clients into lists such as: actively searching, recently purchased, looking to purchase in the next 12 months, etc. Create relevant, engaging emails for each segment and send them out every month or two.
   
   
4. Invest in digital advertising. With set-your-own budget and targeting options, social media ads are an affordable and practical way to reach your target audience. Pay-per-click or pay-per-call advertising may also be a good investment, depending on how competitive your market is. Google Service ads are a newer option that could also help you stand out from the crowd.
   
   
5. Use content marketing to your advantage. Google ranks websites based on their content. There are two things to think about when it comes to digital content: your web pages and blog. Every page of your website should be properly optimized for search engines. You should also be creating articles (blog posts) with engaging content that answers your clients’ questions and solves their problems; this is a major way that you will draw traffic to your site.

Digital Marketing Services for Real Estate Brokers

Since 2012, Softwired has been helping clients navigate the ever-changing online landscape with modern web design, SEO, and other digital marketing services. Over the last few years, we have developed a niche for commercial real estate brokers after creating a proprietary system that allows us to integrate real estate search engines right into our clients’ websites. We are here to support our real estate broker clients’ digital marketing needs from branding exercise through web design, digital sales, and SEO. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.