5 Marketing Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make

At the beginning of each year, thousands of real estate professionals decide that this is the year they're going to supercharge their marketing. They think committing more time and resources to their marketing effort will see better results. But this is not always the case. You should first start by reviewing areas that you can improve on.

To help you take your marketing to the next level, we've put together a list of the top five marketing mistakes that, if corrected, can immediately improve your marketing efforts.

1) Omitting Mobile Devices: More and more, the world seems to be going mobile. 2.3 billion people are currently active on social media, and almost 2 billion of them have social media on their phone, iPad or tablet. Any good marketer knows that you can't try to bring the people to where you want, instead you need to go where they're already looking. With that in mind, remember that most of your clients will be looking at your website, blogs and articles you share on their mobile device, so make sure your content is compatible.

2) Forgetting To Optimize Your SEO Content: SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and it's definitely something you should be paying attention to. It basically determines how high on the list you show up when people search for you online. And studies show that 93 percent of people begin their internet session with search engines (68 percent using Google). On top of that, the first five results in Google generate 67 percent of all clicks. So do whatever you can to crack that top five.

"SEO remains – and will remain – one of the building blocks of a technology sound and competitive web presence," says Neil Patel, cofounder of Crazy Egg, Hello Bar, and KISSmetrics and a contributor for Forbes.com. "Without an understanding of SEO, your marketing presence will falter and fail."

3) Not Being On Social Media: In 2017, being on social media is no longer an option. As stated above, over 2 billion people are already on social media. Statistics show that a an incredible 87 percent of millennials are on Facebook. So why would you effectively ignore that demographic by buying billboards instead of putting yourself where the market is?

4) Forgetting Your Audience: This is where a lot of agents go wrong. It's critical to remember that online marketing, and social media in particular, is not about you. Real estate is among the industries with the least social media engagement. The reason? Everyone is always trying to sell something.

Instead, try having a conversation with your network. Post content that they would find valuable to engage with them. They might not buy a home with you this week, but when they are ready, they'll already know who to call.

5) Having Unrealistic Expectations: Impatience is a flaw that too many people have. With online marketing, you really can't expect to become an overnight success. Marketing simply doesn't work that way. The best plan is to research your market and audience, develop a plan and then stick to it. Good marketing takes more than 1 or 2 weeks to really pay off.

"'Build it and they will come' only works in the movies," says Seth Godin, author of Permission Marketing. "Social media is a 'build it, nurture it, engage them, and they may stay.'"

Time to Build Your Online Brand

Online marketing provides you with an opportunity to brand yourself in a way traditional marketing doesn't. Instead of trying to sell at every opportunity, which turns most people off, online marketing allows you to start building relationships with your audience. But if you continue to make these common mistakes, you're holding yourself back. Take full advantage of what online marketing can do for your business and you'll never look back.

To view the original article, visit the CityBlast blog.