With mortgage rates on the rise and the market cooling off, these houses aren’t going to sell themselves. That means you’re going to need to sharpen your marketing skills both online and offline if you really want to set yourself apart as a real estate professional. In this blog post, we have covered a list of 10 ways you should be marketing your rentals.
1. Be Strategic With Your Social Media Marketing
Pro tip–When you’re sharing content on social media always try and tag another professional or business that has a large following. For example, if you’re sharing a piece on new businesses opening downtown, tag each individual business in the post.
Facebook will now show the post to the people who follow that business too, doubling your reach. If you are creating valuable content, the business is likely to be flattered and share the post with their friends too. A win-win.
2. Get Creative With Events
It’s a no brainer that open houses attract buyers. But events can attract sellers too! No matter if you’re a newbie or a seasoned pro, hosting a housewarming party is an easy (and fun) way to drum up both seller and buyer business. Every time you get a buyer to the closing table celebrate with a housewarming party, food, and beverage courtesy of everyone’s favorite Realtor.
Ask your clients for a list of friends to invite to the party. Use a free and easy to use a tool like Evite to send out an email invitation. Just like that… You’ve curated a room full of leads that match your target demographic.
After the party, add the email addresses you collected to your newsletter group and continue to position yourself as a resource in the community.
3. Leverage Social Advertising
It can be intimidating but do not be afraid to try paid advertisements on Facebook. Facebook is known for its robust targeting capabilities which help you get in front of clients without breaking the bank.
If you’re new to Facebook advertising retargeting ads are a great place to start. These ads are only shown to people on your email list or people who have previously visited your site. This audience is familiar with you and your services and therefore they are more likely to engage with your ad. This tactic also prevents every agent’s biggest fear of flushing money down the toilet on people who are not qualified to be your customer. Follow this guide for step by step instructions on how to set up a retargeting Facebook campaign.
For agents who prefer a more hands-off approach, try placing a Facebook ad through CaptuRE, PlanOmatic’s advertising product. CaptuRE uses the data and photos from your PlanOmatic photography order to create a targeted advertisement in as few as 3 clicks. It doesn’t get much easier than that.
4. Create Community Focused Content
Speaking of positioning yourself as a resource-producing quick video, infographics, or blog articles about your community can quickly make you the “go-to” person for everything. Common mistake agents make is focusing all their content around real estate. Information on events, restaurants, nightlife, parks, museums, etc. sprinkled with market updates and other real estate topics will leave people wanting more.
So, what if you’re not a graphic designer, journalist, or videographer? No problem. There are so many tools out there to help non-marketers create professional-looking content.
- Canva is great for creating quick social media-friendly graphics.
- Biteable is a super cool tool for the camera-shy that allows you to create animated videos from easy to use templates.
- Contract a pro writer to finesse your ideas into a great blog piece for under 30 bucks with Upwork. The best part? You get all the credit for their hard work.
- MailChimp is a great tool that allows you to stay top-of-mind (and inbox) through email.
Don’t forget to post on social media—these pieces are Facebook fuel. Check out Mor Zucker’s Facebook profile. She’s killing this community-focused marketing strategy.
5. Think about Traditional Marketing (With a Twist)
We often see the neighborhood Realtor on park benches, bus stops, and billboards. While marketing is becoming increasingly digital, these hyperlocal traditional marketing tactics still have their place in real estate marketing. Unfortunately, traditional marketing placements can be pricey. However, by thinking outside the box, you can deliver longer-lasting results with less investment.
PlanOmatic is located in the RiNo neighborhood in Denver, CO, which is famous for its beautiful murals. Businesses in RiNo often commission tasteful murals. This effort supports the arts in your neighborhood and becomes a viral “ad” of sorts. Be sure to add a subtle nod to your business, like a hashtag, to get digital credit for the piece. Locals won’t be able to resist snapping a pic or taking a selfie in front of the art and sharing it with their network online.
Getting creative with your marketing proves you don’t have to break the bank to win big in real estate. Therefore, these ways you should be marketing your rentals should be easy to implement in your marketing strategy over time.