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As a Michigan real estate agent, you have to be ready to market yourself as the face of your business. Whether you're just starting out or want to expand your current marketing efforts, you have many options for both grassroots and digital marketing. These options can help you build your brand as a recognized real estate professional and establish a following in your chosen market area. Here are seven ideas for real estate agent marketing that you can use to market yourself.
By definition, a blog is an online publication in which the subject matter is typically limited to a particular subject area. The author, or blogger, creates the content based on the wants and needs of the intended audience. From a real estate agent’s perspective, your blog is incorporated into your agent website. There are plenty of experts around who can help you add a blog to your existing site.
Blogging can be a great way to share your knowledge, establish yourself as an industry expert, build your brand, and expand your network of potential business leads. You can also use blogging to grow your business by attracting new subscribers who may become future clients. As far as content is concerned, think in terms of who your intended audience is, and then design the content around their real estate needs.
Blogs can also help you generate leads. If your blog posts are well-written and include search engine-optimized keywords, they’ll attract readers who find value in what you have to say. This may lead them to subscribe to your email list or visit other pages on your website for more information about you, your services as a real estate professional, and your listings.
A blog can be especially beneficial if you utilize geographic farming for prospecting and lead generation. The goal of geographic farming is to designate a particular neighborhood, perhaps the one within which you presently live, and become well-known by the other homeowners as the area’s neighborhood real estate expert. You can establish a blog that focuses on real estate activities in your market area.
Everyone loves getting something for free, especially while in the midst of searching for a home or planning for a future home purchase. As a real estate agent in Michigan, you can create both tangible and intangible offers that attract people to your business and encourage them to sign up for your email list. Examples could include:
Promote these offers on your social media pages, with clear calls to action like “Get your free guide to Michigan homes,” and be sure to collect email addresses of prospects. By expanding your email list, you also expand your marketing efforts. This allows you to get your name in front of an increasingly wider audience. The goal is to increase the likelihood that when it’s time for them to buy or sell real estate, they will think of you. Or, when one of their family members or friends is going to buy or sell, they will recommend your name to them.
Social media is an important part of real estate agent marketing. Use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn to share links to your listings with photos and walk-through videos, blog content, giveaways, tips, and useful information for your audience.
In addition to posting images, be sure to post video content that shows you as the face behind the brand. With more than half of marketers saying that video marketing is the most valuable method of achieving their social media goals, you won’t want to overlook this medium. From virtual tours of properties to on-site videos where you walk your audience through one of your listings, video marketing is a solid way to increase engagement and build brand recognition.
As a real estate agent, you know that time is money and you can't afford to waste either one on things that don't make an immediate impact on your business. That's why we recommend automating as much of your marketing as possible. It will save you time and help ensure that every dollar spent on advertising brings in a solid return on investment. There are many different software platforms out there that will help automate various elements of your marketing.
If you are interested in finding complementary businesses to collaborate with, the first step is to take a look at your own pain points. What do you wish were available to help people buy or sell homes?
One method is to collaborate with other real estate service businesses to create an engaging content series. For instance, partner with a local designer to create a video series on making over a small space or getting a home ready to sell. You can then share these collaborative videos on social media and increase the engagement rates on your posts as the designer shares content with their own network.
Not everyone is on social media, nor will everyone see your social media content or ads. That's why it's important for you as a Michigan real estate agent to also integrate traditional, grassroots marketing techniques such as direct mail as well. Include a QR code on print media that links directly to your personal website.
The primary advantage of these tactics is that they’re harder to ignore than an email in an inbox. Whereas someone might not open an email or may send it to the virtual trash bin, they might be more likely to read a handwritten postcard from you with information on how you can be of service in buying or selling a home. Especially with geographic farming, grassroots marketing tends to be more effective when coupled with personal contacts such as door-knocking on the weekends.
In addition to becoming a member of your local Association of REALTORS®, joining local business groups and real estate investment groups can be an excellent way to promote your business. These professional organizations are a great way to meet other professionals — including people in your industry such as lenders and mortgage brokers. You may also meet potential clients and people who can refer new business your way.
As great as any of these ideas may be, there are certain caveats that a real estate agent must research before embarking on new marketing efforts. Here are a couple of considerations:
All marketing efforts must be consistent with the requirements and/or limitations of: (1) Michigan real estate license laws and rules; (2) the Code of Ethics of the National Association of REALTORS® if you are a member; and (3) your broker’s/company’s policies and procedures manual.
Never, under any circumstances, incorporate any content created by another company or author into your personal marketing program if the material is subject to copyright protection. Prior, written permission from the author must be obtained before using it. This is the only way to protect yourself from a potentially expensive and time-consuming copyright infringement lawsuit. Branding yourself as a real estate agent is important. You are not just another brick in the wall, so don’t be afraid to show off your personality and all the things that make you unique and memorable. That way, people will remember you when they think about buying or selling homes in Michigan
Every business, and business person for that matter, is different and may find that certain marketing strategies work better than others. Regardless of how you decide to market yourself and your business, know that if you're willing to put in the effort, there's no reason why you can't profit from your efforts.
Remember, too, that when you market yourself as the local real estate expert, you must stay current with the latest changes and interpretations of real estate law and practice. To facilitate that process, we encourage you to explore the real estate agent continuing education opportunities with NCI. NCI continuing education courses are all custom-written to address key legal and practical issues faced by today’s practicing real estate professionals.
Copyright © 2023 by NCI Associates, Ltd. All rights reserved. Any other use of this content is strictly prohibited without permission from NCI.
However, fulfilling the promise of a successful real estate future requires the right choices at the right times. The most important decision to make right now? Where you’ll begin — or continue — your real estate training. NCI Associates, Ltd. remains your intelligent choice for Michigan Real Estate Classes.
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