Developing your digital marketing plan is one of the most important steps to take when strategizing for lead generation. The future success of your personal branding as a real estate agent relies on bringing in potential clients as consistently as possible, while establishing your brand’s community.
As an agent, your digital marketing plan is constructed around three important channels, one of which is unique to our industry. As your plan is implemented over time, it will be easier to determine what areas need to be concentrated on or redeveloped to produce the most desirable results, especially those that speak to your local audience.
Email Marketing With Drip Campaigns
An essential piece of any digital marketing plan is to use email marketing set up with drip campaigns.
A drip campaign is a process of sending emails that are segmented by messaging and delivered to leads at different stages of the sales funnel. Basically, this means that if a lead signed up for your email information about a home for sale, that lead will then be added to an established drip campaign list so that he or she will receive a follow-up email in a specified time frame.
Setting up drip campaigns is easier than it sounds, and most email marketing platforms are integrated to set them up in line with your campaign settings.
Once emails are sent, their reach doesn’t have to stop there. Encourage recipients to forward the emails they receive, or place social media buttons in the email footer so readers can find you on their favorite social platform.
Text Marketing
Your leads are most apt to read and respond to a message from you on their cell phones. Sending a quick text to your prospective buyers and sellers will put you, and your brand, in the forefront of their minds, where they can quickly respond without the chore of scheduling a call or writing an email.
But, text marketing can be shaky ground—you don’t want to over-text or make the message sound like an advertisement. Focus on building relationships with your leads, not giving them reasons to avoid you.
Try creating a script that sounds like a natural and familiar conversation you would have personally with each recipient—for example, “Hi, [lead’s name], I found a home that’s just what you’re looking for. Do you want to set a time to go take a look?” will likely get you a response.
However, a script like “Hi, just wanted to tell you that I sold five homes in your neighborhood last month. Call me to sell yours!” will get you blocked from their contact list—or worse.
Schedule an hour once a week to send a text message to your leads. It’s free, easy to do, and according to Hearsay Systems, a company committed to compliant digital messaging and communications, 90 percent of text messages are read in three minutes.
Digital Presentations
Digital listing presentations have a great, tech-savvy feel to them and position real estate agents as cutting-edge marketers. But…never give a digital presentation without leaving a paper version behind. Our company’s internal study of our top 60 agents shows they always use a paper presentation, even if they give a digital presentation.
A large iPad or tablet is ideal for the digital portion, but many agents also use a laptop. Use your digital device to show your potential clients’ comps, homes they may be interested in or any visual representation of your pitch that makes the experience more engaging. Using a digital display during your conversation shows that you aren’t afraid of technology and have no problem using it to help your clients buy or sell their home.
Your digital presentation isn’t your script, either. Encourage an open dialogue and don’t leave the presentation folder in your office and use the tablet like a portable slide show. Remember, it’s a visual aid.
As you implement your digital marketing plan, keep in mind that there are no hard and fast rules. What works for you may not work for the next agent. The best part about applying these three marketing channels is that with the right amount of attention and very little effort, you can improve your lead generation.
Todd Sumney is the chief marketing officer for HomeSmart International. In his leadership role, Sumney is responsible for spearheading all of the company’s branding and marketing initiatives, including agent marketing and presentations.
For more information about joining HomeSmart as an agent, please visit HomeSmart.com/join, or visit HomeSmart.com/YesYouCan for franchise opportunities.
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