The average U.S. adult spends 11 hours each day in front of a screen. This number is increasing year-over-year, and with every rising generation.
Why does this staggering statistic matter for real estate agents? Reaching out to clients where they are is essential for success. With soon-to-be home sellers living on the web, bolstering your brand digitally is key. Here are some ways you can make your online presence powerful and build business in the digital age.
Optimize Your Website
At this point, you’d be hard-pressed to find a real estate professional without a website. Once your page is visually appealing and easy to navigate, consider these two factors that impact online traffic: search engine optimization (SEO) and mobile responsiveness.
SEO involves adjusting a webpage’s construction or content to increase search results. This can be tricky and time-consuming, but tools like Google PageSpeed Insights investigate the speed and searchability of your site, and provide suggestions for improvement. It’s necessary to note that optimization applies differently for computers than phones or tablets. Ensuring that your webpage is effective and efficient on mobile devices is important, too.
Concentrate on Social Content
In 2017, 95 percent of buyers looked online for homes, with 72 percent using mobile sites or apps. Social media experts agree that visual material (pictures and videos) is the first thing that will entice searchers to stop and engage.
However, posting unfocused photos or noisy clips isn’t the solution. Making the most of social media requires investing time in quality content. Only one in seven real estate agents currently uses Instagram for professional purposes, so opportunity awaits for properties to be shared on this platform, joining REALTORS® like this one that know the value of photography in selling homes.
Sell With Social Proof
With 84 percent of people trusting online reviews as much as they trust their friends’ opinions, every positive anecdote is a chance to attract new clients. Calling on social proof—the idea that people like to do what other people are doing—allows agents to persuade with praise.
A simple system for gathering social proof is asking sellers and buyers to review you on Zillow, Facebook and Google. Each piece of five-star feedback you receive increases the likelihood that you will stand out to individuals in search of a real estate pro. Testimonials can also be shown off in marketing materials; setting up a webpage for your best reviews, like this agent did, can really convince prospective clients.
Target Your Ads
Realty has relied on advertising since its inception—but, with the aid of technology, digital ads now offer an alternative to expensive billboards and ineffective postcards.
The beauty of online advertising is in the ability to choose and communicate with a much more selective segment of the market. Companies like Adwerx exist for real estate agents to market themselves, targeting a specific zip code or even a select list of email contacts. This ensures that your ad dollars are well spent on interested audiences.
Whichever of these techniques you choose to tackle next, taking ownership of your online presence will help you stay top-of-mind in the market.
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