5 Trusted Marketing Ideas for Real Estate Agencies in 2018

Managing a real estate agency is an exciting career path, and no two days are the same. Leaders in real estate wear many hats, and you will have to work hard if you want to succeed. Your agency's marketing efforts are no exception—but if you're hoping to make a big splash in 2018, where do you begin? Related: How to build a social media campaign for real estate In this article, we review 5 trusted marketing strategies for real estate that your agency can put in place this year. They're divided into two sections: online marketing ideas and offline marketing ideas. Let's get started! Online marketing ideas 1. Create & grow your email marketing list There's no getting away from the fact that you're going to need a large, local email marketing list if you want to promote your real estate agency. It's much cheaper than direct mail and often provides far better returns. You can buy a list of email addresses online, but there's no guarantee that any of the people on that list will want to hear from you. Instead, it's better to build your list from scratch. Add a form to your website so visitors can join your email list and stay updated with the latest properties in their local area. Promote your email list everywhere, on all your social media channels, to get as many newsletter signups as you can. (Facebook in particular is a great place to grow your email marketing list, as explained in our previous blog post on the subject.) You can also add anyone who shows an interest in your agency, like customers and prospects. For instance, when someone walks in and asks to see available properties in a specific area, you can ask for a few details about them (including their email address) first. Once you've built a sizable email list, you can send out newsletters once a week promoting your agency. Worried about designing your emails? Don't be. It's easy to build professionally branded newsletters if you use these newsletter templates. 2. Build your presence on social media Almost everyone uses Facebook or Twitter these days, so if you want to reach a broad audience, you should cultivate a consistent brand presence on these platforms. Based on your target audience's usage, you might want to expand to other platforms, too. Opening a page takes just a few minutes, and you can start posting properties and updates immediately. For maximum visibility, use eye-catching graphics and the same color scheme you use for all your other branded materials. (Here are some real estate social media templates to help you get started.) Once you've figured out the platform, the next step is experimenting with some paid advertising. If you know the demographic details of your target market, reaching them can be pretty straightforward. If you don't have enough time to deal with the process in-house, you can source a freelance social media manager or agency to help you out. 3. Learn how to use Google AdWords Google AdWords is an incredibly powerful tool for online brand promotion. Statistics show that 86% of consumers use the internet to find local businesses—and real estate agencies are no exception. Since you already have a professionally designed website, it's time to start driving some heavy traffic to it. One of the best things about AdWords is that there's no minimum investment. That means you can add a few dollars and experiment with different targeting options until you find something that works. Then you can increase your spend and scale your campaign upwards. Offline marketing ideas 4. Advertising in newspapers Most towns and cities have local newspapers where real estate agents can advertise their properties. If you plan to advertise on a regular basis, such as weekly or monthly, you can usually negotiate with the publisher for reduced prices. Print is still a highly trusted medium, which gives publishers the right to charge a hefty price for their advertising space. Luckily for us, prices are coming down slowly to stay competitive with all the new marketing options available online. As you set your budget, consider this: Advertising in newspapers can triple your ad campaign results. For that reason, it might be worth the extra spend. 5. Sponsoring charity events Sponsoring charity events is a fantastic way to support the causes that you care about—and to get your brand's name and logo in front of a community. One way to get started is to search online for suitable opportunities in your area. But if you'd rather make it personal, take some time to think about the causes and charities that are most important to you and your team. In your agency, there are likely some incredibly inspiring stories that could lead to meaningful sponsorship opportunities. If you find yourself stuck, the right opportunity might bring itself to you. It's not unusual for charities to approach local businesses and ask for help, so keep your eyes and ears open. 2018 is in full swing, but it's certainly not too late to add these strategies to your real estate marketing mix. Set your team up for success with a healthy balance of online and offline campaigns, and you'll reap the rewards all year long. Wish you had more time to dedicate to your agency's marketing? Learn how our real estate marketing software can streamline the creative process. Bonus: Real estate marketing infographic We've combined the 5 marketing ideas from this post with 5 more marketing ideas in this post to create one big real estate marketing infographic. Print it out for a handy checklist to reference as you build your marketing campaigns.