Frequently Asked Questions about Real Estate Marketing

Do you feel overwhelmed by marketing? There are so many options and possibilities for marketing your real estate business, from email to SEO, to blogging, to social media and so many more. Understanding which of the many real estate marketing strategies make the most sense for you, determining where to focus your efforts and figuring out how to actually do these things can be overwhelming for agents.

You're not alone. We know this because we speak to thousands of real estate agents every year about how to leverage digital marketing to stand out in a sea of competition and grow their businesses. We've noticed that many real estate agents ask us similar questions so we thought why not answer them? Chances are some or all of these questions have crossed your mind!

What can I do to leverage my network to reach more potential clients?

Marketing is all about building relationships, and through relationships you can build influence. Your real estate sphere of influence (SOI) is simply your network, or the people you know and come into contact with. Identifying your SOI and tapping into those relationships can lead to repeat and referral business.

You want to reach out to the people in your SOI who may not be aware that you're a real estate agent and offer to answer any real estate questions they may have. It's smart to keep track of the contacts in your SOI in a real estate CRM so that you always have their information handy if they reach out to you about prospective business, or send a friend or family member your way.

Once you have your contacts in your CRM, you want to keep in touch. A monthly e-newsletter is good place to start. This will keep you top-of-mind when they (or someone they know) are ready to buy or sell a property.

What should I do to stay top of mind with my past clients so I don't lose touch?

Staying on the minds of your past clients and cultivating loyalty is a great way to grow your business through repeat business and referrals. We suggest finding relevant and meaningful ways to keep in touch and offer your past clients value, even when they're not actively buying or selling a property.

Some ideas include:

• Sharing content and articles about home-related topics like renovations, design and décor
• Hosting client appreciation events or contests
• Sending holiday, birthday or move-in anniversary cards or gifts
• Connecting and engaging with them on social media

As you know, a real estate transaction is very personal and you get to know a lot about your clients throughout the process of helping them buy, sell or rent a home. Use this information to ensure that you're keeping in touch in meaningful and relevant ways at the right times. It's easy when you have a robust real estate CRM that enables you to keep track of client information, set keep in touch reminders and add them to automated email campaigns that align with their needs and interests.

What's the easiest way for me to generate more sales leads?

There's no single "magic bullet" for generating more sales leads. However, given the fact that so many people search for real estate listings and agents online today, having a strong digital presence can significantly help with generating sales leads.

Start with a real estate agent website that makes a strong first impression and shows that you're professional and trustworthy. The most effective agent websites are mobile friendly (meaning they provide a good user experience on smartphones and tablets) and provide high quality information that helps a visitor find what they're looking for.

An effective agent website makes it easy for people to get in touch to book a showing, ask for more details about a property or inquire about how to list one. Using a real estate agent website solution that automatically captures leads and populates leads into a connected real estate CRM is a smart way to not only get leads but to keep track of them and act on them quickly through direct contact or via automated email campaigns.

I'm busy—how can I market myself in a way that doesn't eat up much of my time?

The good news is that you don't need to spend hours on marketing in order to get results. Setting up an agent website that captures leads, establishing connections with potential clients and staying connected with your past clients and SOI are all beneficial real estate marketing activities that can be done with the help of real estate marketing technology.

Embracing technology to help you with marketing is a huge time saver. You could spend hours building and maintaining an agent website, and emailing your leads and clients, or, you could adopt a solution that takes care of it all for you. IXACT Contact is one solution that makes it easy to market yourself and build client relationships that take your business to the next level!

To view the original article, visit the IXACT Contact blog.