Real Estate Agents: Paid Search vs. Direct Mail

Real estate agents need to have strategic marketing ideas and strategies in order to succeed. The challenge, of course, is that real estate agents may be good at buying and selling property on behalf of clients, but not necessarily good at marketing. That’s why hiring a real estate focused marketing agency is important.

What are some of the strategies that real estate marketing experts use?

The digital frontier has opened up a new world of possibilities for marketing your services. Paid search is one of the most affordable methods for earning new real estate leads. However, old school marketing strategies still work to some degree, and we’ll be covering how to optimize those to work better in today’s technology-driven society.

Whichever option you choose to implement, it’s also essential to track results. If you’re like most real estate agents, you have a limited budget for marketing, which means every dollar has to count. So, the first strategy to learn before you even begin is to put a tracking system in place to keep track of what’s working, why it’s working and what isn’t working enough.

Paid Advertising on Google: Get Lower Costs Per Lead

Digital paid advertising on Google is called paid search, also known as “pay per click” or “PPC.” This is because the advertiser – you – pays for each click your ad receives online. The click on the ad brings the visitor to your website. You then have the opportunity to convert that person and gain a new client. The potential value of this kind of advertising is enormous.

Paid advertising is a digital take on an old school method of paid marketing ads for real estate agents. When done correctly, it can drive leads at low costs. You may think advertising on REALTOR, Zillow or even Facebook is more effective for your niche; however, these sites know you think that! They use that knowledge to charge more for lower quality ads and lower quality leads. How do we know?  Our real estate marketing clients have specifically expressed concern with low quality leads and high costs per lead on these platforms.

The reality is that advertising on Google allows you to target just as relevant of an audience with higher quality opportunities and lower costs per lead.

What should you keep in mind about paid search? Everything from the style of the ad, including the font of the words, size of the text and colors used, has to be just right. Even the decision of whether to place an image ad or a text-only ad has to be carefully considered. Then, you must determine keywords, budget and competition levels. That’s why it’s highly recommended to enlist the services of a real estate agent PPC company to create and manage your campaign.

A More Expensive Route with Lower Lead Ratios: Direct Mail

Real estate agents have used direct mail like postcards and newsletters for many years to market their services. This old-fashioned strategy can still work but is more expensive and can garner fewer leads.

If you do choose to try direct mail, simply putting a pretty picture of a recently sold house on a postcard along with your name and phone number isn’t enough anymore. In order for the postcard to have real value—and not get tossed in the junk mail heap—it needs to instantly make an impression on the recipient.

First, the postcard should contain information relevant to the homeowner. It could include recent sales in his or her area, changes to HOA rules, or a simple happy new year message.

What else should your postcard include?

• A professional picture of you, the agent. Faces stand out in any contact, and this is just one more way to make the recipient take notice.
• All the social media contacts for the agency you represent as well as your personal, professional social media pages.
• All the ways the recipient can reach you, not just your phone number. A homeowner may feel awkward telephoning an agent they haven’t yet met for a reason they aren’t even sure of yet. Maybe they just want to hear what you have to say about their home’s value or the state of the neighborhood. If you supply an email address, you increase the odds of contact.

Call Lead Horse Marketing

Finally, the best marketing strategy you can possibly implement for your real estate business is to call is an expert in real estate marketing. Let’s face it. As a real estate professional, you already wear a lot of hats. There’s only so much time in the day. The time you spend on your marketing is time taken away from giving your clients the kind of quality service you like to give.

Contact Lead Horse Marketing today for a free consultation and discovery call. We’ll be able to help ascertain your needs and work with your marketing budget. You have the power to increase your commissions and grow your business, and with Lead Horse in your corner, you also have the resources to take your real estate marketing strategies into the digital age.