Experts in "how-to" marketing real estate predict that the American housing market will finally emerge from its slump in 2012. However, if you're using an outdated marketing approach, the real estate revival could leave you in the dust. Read on to discover our list of the most effective property marketing techniques for 2012. To take full advantage of the approaching housing upswing, make sure you have these methods in place.
How To: Marketing Real Estate in 2012
1. Provide quality property content. Content-based property marketing assumes that consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that they already know and respect. By writing useful blogs and articles, you can win new customers. The key is to produce helpful (not salesy) work. As an example, a certain property site might provide a basic description of each neighborhood in a town. According to Harris Interactive, 80 percent of home sales begin with online searches. If your online fount of real estate knowledge turns up on a web search, and a potential buyer visits your site for research purposes, that buyer will have a favorable opinion of you going forward. He or she might even return to browse other articles as well as your list of available properties.
2. Real estate marketing via social media. Social media is here to stay. Indeed, half of all Americans now have a Facebook account. Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites are now the starting point for many modern consumer transactions. Shoppers research their purchases at social media sites because they are more likely to trust their friends over advertisements.
Property marketing firms can take advantage of the social media revolution by using Facebook, Twitter, and other sites to distribute their content. Social media is also a key tool for making new customer connections that can bloom into future business. As an example, if you become Facebook friends with someone who bought one of your properties, he or she might forward your profile when a friend asks for a real estate recommendation.
3. Go local. Location is the magic word in realtor circles, yet some agents are unaware of the property trends in their local area. Although the overall realty picture is rosy in 2012, each local market will respond to its own unique circumstances. As an example, markets with job growth often enjoy improved home sales as well. Demographics are also important; "youthful" locales like Salt Lake City have a bigger group of young people shopping for their first homes, for instance.
4. Video real estate marketing. Whether you highlight sale properties, offer jewels of real estate wisdom, or discuss how your services are different than those of the competition, just be sure you do some form of video marketing. Cisco recently reported that by 2015, 80 percent of all Internet traffic will be video views. Keep up with this trend by creating videos for your own site and for distribution. (Remember, the wider your distribution, the more potential buyers you will reach.)
Are you a complete layman when it comes to vlogging (video blogging)? No problem - several online services allow you to build engaging video content without even turning on a camera! For example, you could create a home profile video complete with a slideshow of photos, charming music, and eye-catching animation.
