It is crucial for new agents to understand effective marketing techniques to grow and profit.
If you’re a new agent in the fast-paced world of real estate, marketing yourself to grow your brand may feel overwhelming. You likely already possess the characteristics of a successful realtor: motivation, natural charisma, and consistency. But do you have the skills of a superstar marketer? If not – don’t panic! We will detail seven key marketing strategies to help you grow your real estate brand as a new agent.
1. Develop your niche
As you begin this new career in real estate, you’re probably eager to say yes to anything thrown your way. We get it. You need to build your client base, and part of that is by completing transactions. Don’t let this deter you from discovering your niche. The real estate industry is saturated with agents claiming to be a jack of all trades for their clients. Can they be truly great at anything if they’re good at everything?
While you get your feet wet taking on new clients, continue figuring out which areas of real estate you enjoy. Explore the luxury market if that appeals to you. If you prefer helping buyers find their dream mid-mod, go that route. There are many niches, from luxury townhomes to small city condos to large ranches. You will build credibility with your target audience as you develop your expertise on a specific home type or neighborhood.
2. Build your brand
In the real estate industry, your brand is everything. Having a well-rounded brand will help you stand out from your competition. You want to show prospects precisely who you are and what you are capable of through your marketing materials, website, social media pages, and listing images. Spend some time developing a brand identity:
- How do you want your clients to perceive you?
- What is your voice in this industry?
3. Invest in a professional photography partner
As mentioned above, creating a solid brand identity requires a consistent and robust listing portfolio. All of your listing images should be captured expertly by a professional real estate photographer. Listings marketed with professional real estate photography are proven to generate more traffic online, increase showings and sell faster, often over the asking price. You will want to find a professional photographer that you trust. To build a consistent listing portfolio, use the same professional photographer or photography company for every listing. Seriously. Sellers find comfort in knowing that you will put in the same effort to sell their cozy ranch home as you would in selling another client’s luxury high-rise. That’s why it is essential to have consistently professional real estate images in your portfolio. When you begin your search for a professional photography partner, consider the following:
- Image quality
- How they capture a composition
- Their rate and availability
- Ease of scheduling
- Image consistency
- Turnaround time
4. Find a real estate mentor
Finding a successful mentor when starting a career in a new industry is always wise. Mentors will offer you valuable insights and advice on how to grow your company. They can teach you how to pitch your best attributes properly at listing appointments. Your mentor may even pass you some of their clients if their workload demands it. Where can you find a real estate mentor? Start by joining networking and community groups online as well as in person. Research successful realtors in your area and connect with them on LinkedIn. Another way to find a mentor is to ask your colleagues if they know anyone with whom you would have a strong connection. When you find your perfect real estate mentor, be like a sponge and soak up all the information they give you. Learning the ropes from a seasoned agent is an incredible way to grow your career.
5. Spread the word (and often)
A big part of your real estate journey will always include marketing yourself to those around you. As a new agent, you will want to stay top of mind in your community. Eventually, your community will contact you for your services or send referrals your way!
You can promote your real estate services to your community in several ways. You can send postcards, try cold calling, go door-knocking, or place ads on community social platforms. Targeted Facebook and Nextdoor ads are great online strategies for getting the word out.
Do not let your community forget about you.
6. Follow up and stay in touch
A huge no-no in the real estate industry, which sadly happens often, is failing to follow up. Follow up after connecting with valuable leads to ensure you get your chance to offer your services. It can take upwards of 8 touches to secure a client.If personally staying in touch with hundreds of leads sounds overwhelming (because it is), consider automating some of your marketing channels. Email automation can keep you top of mind with your leads while also freeing up your time for personal follow-up. Deciding how to follow up or stay in touch with prospects involves a lot of research and experimentation. See what works for you and remain consistent.
7. Learn how to generate leads
Learning how to capture valuable leads early on in your career is essential. Generating leads that turn into conversions is one of the most vital skills a real estate agent should master. Without any leads, you cannot convert any clients. There are several ways to generate leads successfully. You can create and share “gated content,” essentially a lead capture strategy where viewers fill out an opt-in form to download the content. You can design digital listing templates to draw attention to your listings and brand. Most importantly, if you are trying to generate leads online, ensure your website is optimized and well-maintained. You will only capture leads if your site is easy to navigate. Once you generate leads through your marketing efforts, input those contacts in an automated email “nurture” campaign. Now you can stay top of mind by keeping ‘in contact’ with them. If you have a lead consistently engaging with your content, try tip #6 and personally reach out!
Professional real estate photography with Virtuance
Virtuance knows the gold standards of real estate photography. Our photographers are certified and highly skilled to ensure your listings shine. Choose from our customizable packages featuring HDReal® Enhancements, shown to increase listing clicks 2x more than the average real estate photo. Even better, every order comes with access to our Marketing Suite and a single listing website.
At this stage in your career, your brand is so important. If you do not have hundreds of closed deals like some agents, how can you stand out and have a client take a chance on you? To be successful, you must establish effective marketing strategies and stick to them.
Developing your niche and creating beautiful marketing pieces will help you attract potential clients! Professional real estate photography can help you build your brand as a new real estate agent.
An agent that is eager to experiment with different marketing techniques and learn from them is an agent that will have a career that flourishes.
