Technology advances by the minute and with it, the way we market ourselves or our company. A marketing plan that might have worked a couple of years ago might no longer be reliable or as efficient as some of its online counterparts. Nowadays, the internet is the biggest marketing platform out there, and you better be sure that anyone, even real estate agents, will use it to promote their services.
There is a wide range of marketing strategies that you can implement as a real estate agent to get more leads, and there is also a difference in marketing for buyer’s agents vs. listing agents. You will often see that seller agents do not use the same marketing strategies as buyer’s agents. Even if they use the same tool to promote their services, they might not yield the same result or the same amount of leads for both of them.
It is absolutely crucial to understand that there is a difference between prospecting for buyers and sellers. With that in mind, we want to break down some of the common ways real estate agents market today and how they should utilize these strategies depending on whether they are primarily a buyer's agent or a listing agent.
Choosing Your Niche
Picking your niche is essential, but how is it a marketing strategy? Real estate covers plenty of branches, from luxury homes and commercial real estate to retirement communities or working with the disabled. You can either be decent in multiple niches or specialize in a particular niche and become an expert. The latter is your best bet if you want to increase your exposure and get more leads both as a buyer and a seller's agent.
Specializing as a Listing Agent
Picking a niche can include things such as choosing what people to target, demographically speaking. Some are easier to target than others, so you should be aware of it. Listing agents have plenty of options in that regard, and it goes beyond just farming a neighborhood. Think about specializing on farms or ranches, and you could either choose residential areas with mountain or waterfront views.
The luxury real estate market is a very lucrative niche but very rewarding if you can get your foot in the door. On the other hand, you can consider becoming a commercial real estate expert. Regardless of the niche you pick, remember that “buyers buy houses, sellers buy marketing”. Become an expert in your targeted market and make sure that the people within that niche know it and often see your marketing messages.
Specializing as a Buyer’s Agent
Buyer’s agents can camouflage themselves, and no one would notice that it is their hand at work. They can advertise for first-time home buyers in an area with apartment complexes and leave a postcard in their mailbox or at their front door. Buyer agents could easily cater to senior communities by advertising in local magazines or holding grand open houses at some of the high-end properties.
Homebuyers typically have to spend more time with their clients, so ensure that the niche you are targeting holds people you love helping. First-time homebuyers could be a rewarding niche, but they often do not understand the agent’s role in front of them. They might overextend and ask too much of your time or they might appoint multiple showings. Therefore, pick your niche carefully and become an expert, and leads will keep pouring in.
Create a Website or Advertise with Existing Ones
Building your online presence is probably one of the single most important marketing strategies you can approach in 2021, both as a buyer and seller agent. Either you are going the social media path, creating a website or advertising with an already existing one, you should not neglect this strategy. Listing or advertising with some of the biggest platforms can help bring in a lot of clients if you go to that extent.
For Buyer’s Agents
Nowadays, consumers search the internet before making a purchase or buying a service and the same applies to real estate. If you are a buyer's agent that specializes in a specific niche, you would greatly benefit from creating a website to promote your services. That way you can display to your target audience what you have to offer, the quality of your work, and why so many homebuyers walk away happy from your office.
You can implement a review system where satisfied customers can leave a review, and that will build your brand and reputation. Building a website can be a time-consuming process, but if you put in the efforts, it is going to make a massive difference in the end. For those that do not have the time or the resources to build a website or do SEO in order to rank in Google, you have the option to advertise with already well-established websites like RealEstateAgent.com. Promoting your services through this platform will get you the exposure you need and more leads.
For Listing Agents
If you are promoting your services on a website as a listing agent, it is best to offer your visitors guides and reports on the real estate market. If you are an experienced leasing agent in certain areas, you can provide some useful information about the housing market in the area in the form of a blog post. Attract more potential homebuyers to the website through informative content or reports of the real estate market situation.
If you specialize in a specific niche, create content that targets that audience. Write blog posts about key aspects to look for in a luxury home or things first-time home buyers need to be aware of. In doing so, you will attract more potential customers and promote your services.
Open Houses
Too often overlooked in today’s real estate marketing, open homes are far from being pointless or boring. They are one of the most common ways to get in front of people who are thinking about buying or selling a property. That is why both listing and buyer agents can leverage this method to get more leads.
For Listing Agents
You are probably thinking that your area is different and there are very few people attending open houses. However, most listing agents say that more than 40% of listings are from open houses. Invite your neighbors to a neighbor’s only open house, and you will get free marketing right there. It is not only personal but also effective.
When listing agents are sitting in an open house, the conversation is much different than when a buyer’s agent is there. You can inquire about a home that potential visitors might have for sale in the neighborhood before they buy or ask if they know people who plan to move in the area.
For Buyer Agents
Selling the home you are showing is the primary goal, but that is not the only thing you can do during an open house. Meeting neighbors, getting contact information from open house guests, and doing video walkthroughs of the home where you are having an open house is a great way to take your marketing game to the next level.
Open houses offer you an interactive way of being in touch with your buyers and getting new leads. Invite current buyers to come visit you and mail them a letter through which you let them know you will be there and try to maximize every opportunity to get in touch with them.
Conclusion
Even though buyer and seller agents work together to connect a home buyer with a seller, the transactions are not similar, and they have to take a very different approach in terms of marketing. The difference is also reflected in the marketing strategies they use and how they aboard things differently in similar scenarios. By thinking about real estate marketing differently, you can get a fairly clear picture of the difference in buyer agents’ marketing strategies vs. listing agents. Focusing on whether you are targeting buyers or sellers and which you are better suited for will help you get more leads and market yourself better by understanding the differences.
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