“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”
-Albert Einstein
Having an online presence that generates business is a tough job, even for a large company with hundreds of employees – not to mention a sole realtor like you!
There’s a lot to think about:
- Website content, photos, logo, branding, and design
- Email marketing
- Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages
- Zillow, Trulia, and related real estate portals
- Search engine optimization
- Content marketing
- Oh yeah, and at some point you have to run your business, too!
Companies that offer all-inclusive marketing campaigns for a hefty fee won’t tell you this, but there’s a big secret:
You don’t have to do it all. In fact, it is a terrible idea to try to do everything at once, which is the premise for our first tip:
Tip #1: Solely focus on online marketing efforts that you can sustain and keep fresh.
You’ve probably heard the “statistics” on how many daily marketing and advertising messages a person sees in the US. 3,000 – 5,000 ads per day is a commonly cited range. How is a lone realtor supposed to stand out above the noise?
The truth is, we only “see” several hundred advertisements per day. “The Myth of 5,000 Ads” only refers to the potential number of ads that we could possibly look at. Our brains automatically ignore the majority of what our eyes happen to notice.
Unfortunately, this makes standing out even harder. An ad can only have an impact if it is first seen, then recognized, absorbed, and remembered! The odds are not in our favor, here.
Almost everyone will need a realtor at some point, but not a lot of people need a realtor at any one time. That’s why sustainability is number one in online marketing. In order to already have a long-term relationship in place when it’s time for a prospect to move, you have to continue being on their radar for years!
We’ve all seen the anemic Facebook business pages, websites that have fallen into disrepair, and content that is significantly dated. It goes without saying that you cannot afford to be one of these businesses.
If you build your marketing efforts gradually, you’ll be impressed with what you can accomplish in a year. For realtors, slow and steady wins the race.
Today’s Action: An online presence check-up
- First, make a list of all the online platforms that you have leveraged in the past five years to market your real estate business (your website, Zillow, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
- Of all the platforms you have used, how many have been updated in the past month?
- Which ones have produced solid leads and customers?
- Approximately how many hours per week do you spend marketing yourself online?
- With website costs, membership fees, subscriptions, advertising spend, and all other expenses combined, how much money per month do you invest in online marketing?
Knowing how your online presence is doing now will help you create a sustainable growth strategy in the coming days.
