14 Best Real Estate Marketing Ideas to Attract Buyers in 2024

Are you on the hunt for new real estate marketing ideas for your business? It makes sense, given that the real estate field is more competitive than ever. All in all, real estate marketing is a tough niche, as so many factors influence the industry.

The trends are rapidly changing, and economic factors aren’t making it any easier for agents to create a thriving real estate business. Essentially, unless you have:

1. A strong position in the market
2. A competitive edge
3. Good online marketing strategies in your stack
4. All of the above

You probably won’t generate leads consistently. But don’t despair. We’ve got these aspects covered.

Once you understand the basic principles, a real estate marketing strategy only means focusing all your marketing efforts on a solid plan.

So, let’s explore 14 of our best real estate marketing ideas to kickstart your master plan. They’ll help you gain exposure, bring in more leads, and ultimately sell more. Let’s dig in!

1. In the Real Estate Business, Content Is King

Content marketing is huge and doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere soon. Here are some ideas of content to add to your real estate marketing plan:

• Blog posts (How To articles, listicles, guides, ebooks, and more)
• Social media static visuals (promotional, educational, funny, or even inspirational posts)
• Video-based content (e.g., podcasts, Youtube videos, Instagram reels, TikToks, UGC, and more)

So far, blogs and static social media visuals ruled the content marketing world. From now on, expect to see a lot more video content, so prepare yourself with marketing strategies to reflect this trend.

Consider virtual tours, “how to sell your property fast” tutorials, and educational content. The key is to bring value to social media platforms.

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2. Maximize Photo Quality

Crisp, clear, and descriptive images are everything in real estate. That’s because you want your prospective clients to understand what you’re presenting to them.

Plus, studies show that 65% of the population learns visually (as compared to only 30% who retain audio information the easiest).

As a real estate agent, you need to invest in dedicated equipment or get a specialist’s help to ensure your real estate listings are getting noticed.

Then, there’s photo editing. The ability to add the proper lighting, crop, resize, and overall edit property photos will make listings more attractive.

If you’re looking for an intuitive and professional tool, try Xara Cloud. It’s got editing features that can turn even the sloppiest image into something special.

3. Try SMS marketing

As old-fashioned as it might sound — SMS marketing has a competitive edge.

That’s because many real estate agents use email marketing campaigns, their social media presence, and their real estate website to generate leads. Though, too few of them think of SMS.

• SMS messages rarely go to spam. They’re also more likely to get noticed. However, just like with any marketing efforts, that doesn’t always mean more conversions.
• SMS has an average open rate of 97%! Not bad, right? Especially when you compare it to the 20% open rate of emails.

Still, marketing ideas are never an absolute science. Plus, there’s no such thing as a perfect formula that you can use throughout time.

When banner ads started in 1994, they had click rates of over 80%. In 2024, we see click rates of less than 1%. It’s the same with Facebook and Instagram posts; getting people to see them without paying for ads is increasingly difficult.

SMS Marketing for Real Estate can become an immediate and close channel to reach your audience. It is more personal, so reserving it for qualified leads is better.

4. Engage on Social Media

You’re posting on social media but getting no engagement. Sounds familiar? We thought so.

Real estate agents: simply posting property listings doesn’t mean your target audience will take their time to look over and interact with you.

Everyone is too busy with their own problems, so that means that it’s your job to engage with prospective buyers and sellers. Make 2024 the year your real estate firm becomes a thought leader on social media.

Respond to questions, offer advice, and publish tutorials. Share thoughts and comments, and ask others to do the same. Post interactive Instagram stories where you create polls, and quizzes, and ask your audience’s opinion. Keep at it!

If you lack inspiration, check out 30 of our best real estate social media post ideas to kickstart your online marketing strategy correctly.

5. Create an Interesting postcard

One real estate marketing idea that not many marketers will tell you about is to use postcards. Postcards are a great form of brand marketing.

Naturally, many people who receive such marketing materials may not be interested in buying or selling at the time, but they could be in a year or two.

To ensure your postcard doesn’t end up in the trash, make sure it is interesting or valuable enough for your audience to keep it “just in case.”

Here are some postcard ideas you can use to stand out in real estate marketing:

• Top 10 beautiful places in town
• Top restaurants in the town
• Must-see attractions in the surrounding area
• Cheapest and most convenient routes and connections to reach top spots in the city
• Upcoming local events in the city
• Most affordable home furnishing providers for new homebuyers
• Local businesses with relevant discounts for potential clients

To create an eye-catching postcard, check out these customizable templates. Edit your favorite real estate template with our intuitive drag-and-drop features, and export it in your desired format.

6. Real Estate Agents: Referral Requests Are the New Norm

Some real estate agents are still reticent about asking for referrals from current and past clients. But if you don’t do it, your competitors will.

There’s no place for reticence in this business. If you do an excellent job for your clients, they’ll likely be thrilled to share your real estate business card with friends and family.

If you have done so in the past, contact former clients and ask them to publicly rate your real estate services on your website or GMB.

7. Live Chat with Website Visitors Using Bots

Every real estate agent, brokerage firm, or real estate agency has a website now.

There’s nothing new or exciting about having a real estate website, but live chat–that’s a separate feature. It gives potential clients 24/7 access to your services and basic customer support.

• A chatbot allows visitors to ask questions via a live chat service. Thus, if you cannot respond immediately, or the inquiry is generic and easily manageable, the visitor will get a message from a human-like chatbot.
• Another clever way to use a chatbot is to collect lead information interactively. Instead of boring your prospects with a form, you can create a chatbot that will ask them questions like what area they are interested in, the type of house, how many rooms they need, etc.

Many chat platforms will collect this data for you and send it to your CRM so you can connect with them with personalized messages by email or SMS.

8. Invest in Newsletters

Before you think about improving or implementing a newsletter program, you should have a contacts database.

Start with previous clients, and build on the list with leads harvested from your website and social media channels. Make sure you comply with the jurisdiction’s privacy laws.

A good newsletter doesn’t try to sell products or services — or at least not directly (think of those “in your face” discounts and promotions). Instead, it delivers real value to the reader.

This value is usually delivered through advice, tips, and insider knowledge. Recipients learn something but are also reminded that you’re still around. This is also a great way of building trust.

9. Introduce Paid Ad Campaigns in Your Real Estate Marketing Strategy

PPC marketing is still big business in 2024. In fact, 65% of people click on PPC ads.

Advertising has been around since…forever. Humans may not have known about ads in the past, but promoting sales was always around, one way or another.

Today, simply posting on a social media platform may not be enough, given the power and reach of ads.

• You can use Google Adwords to create a paid real estate marketing strategy to reach your target audience. Set parameters like location, keywords, gender, and other variables to reach qualified real estate leads for your business.
• You could try to target people in your local area who are searching for things like “real estate + city,” “buy house + area,” or “properties for sale.” Instead of wasting money on unqualified leads, these ads allow you to be specific in your real estate marketing plan.

Real estate Facebook ads are also worth considering, as you can target specific areas, demographics, and interests. Research the topic on how to use Facebook Ads and reach your local market to make the most out of your strategy.

10. Become a Real Estate Thought Leader

Valuable content will never fall out of style. Offering advice, creating informative social media posts, and educating your prospective clients and local community is good business.

It builds authority in your real estate market and creates recurring revenue long after you planted the initial seeds of this real estate marketing strategy.

Moreover, it creates new streams of estate marketing ideas.

• For example, once you’re a thought leader, you can persuade local news outlets to feature you in their stories.
• You can participate in events or even hold seminars to teach others about the real estate business.
• Your name, or that of your company, gets some free publicity — and you can do a little self-promotion when the time is right.

With the right mix of expertise, promotion, and social media presence, you can’t go wrong.

Check out our guide on how to become a thought leader in your real estate market to build a solid strategy.

11. Reciprocal Marketing

You probably have plenty of local businesses in your area. From coffee shops to furniture retailers and other local businesses, there are many potential collaborators that you can reach out to.

Think of reputable firms that may be able to throw some business your way. In return, you could do the same. Look to establish a lucrative, win-win partnership.

For example, local furniture stores might be willing to collaborate — as they deal with people who are constantly moving. They can recommend you as a real estate agent, while you do the same when selling a house.

12. Create Premium Printed Products

Have you considered printing real estate door hangers or flyers to share around your real estate farming area? Print media is among the least competitive of all real estate marketing ideas.

Many real estate professionals think that print is dead, so they don’t use physical materials to get the attention of their leads. However, experts suggest that people trust print media more and remember the information better than on social media.

Here are some ideas for premium printed products that you can use in real estate marketing:

• Brochures
• Flyers
• Door Hangers
• Window Display Posters

The key is to automate your real estate marketing strategy. Start from ready-to-go templates, then customize them with your brand colors, logo, and fonts–and you’re good to go!

Xara’s brand management feature imports your company assets, and the tool magically applies all brand features to your template.

13. Build Social Proof Through Testimonials

Expert studies suggest that 98% of consumers read and write local business reviews. This staggering value shows how far positive reviews can take your real estate business.

If you’re searching for prospective buyers, you must make your testimonials as publicly available as possible.

Although this real estate marketing tactic is a proven way to attract clients, getting people to write you a recommendation is challenging, to say the least.

To streamline the process, assist clients in writing you a review with a simple questionnaire. Ask them to fill it out at the end of your collaboration, and encourage them to be fully objective.

Ask them what they like best about working with you and why they chose you in particular. Feature honest evaluations on your website, and even repurpose them into social media posts.

The real estate industry is competitive, so use any platform available to showcase your expertise and testimonials.

14. Optimize Your Website

It’s no secret that a good website brings in traffic and converts. Every respectable real estate agent has a website or is at least featured on a brokerage firm’s web page.

You’ll need to conduct local search engine optimization research and optimize your website for search queries to reach your target audience.

Here is your real estate SEO checklist to help you optimize your website with easy, practical steps:

• A. Conduct Keyword Research
• B. Create Valuable Blog Posts
• C. Remove Irrelevant or Old Content from Your Real Estate Page
• D. Make Your Web Pages Mobile Friendly
• E. Optimize Your Local Presence with Google My Business (GMB)

A. Conduct Keyword Research

Begin a simple, free keyword research using Google’s Keyword Planner. Aim for the ones with relevant volume but aren’t too challenging to rank for. These will help you rank better in local search queries.

B. Create Valuable Blog Posts

A blog post is an excellent way of delivering added value to your audience while also incorporating the list keywords you found relevant in your research.

Try to create real estate blogs that deliver exceptional value to your readers without constantly trying to promote your services. Trust us; this strategy pays off.

C. Remove Irrelevant or Old Content from Your Real Estate Page

If you have no longer available listings, old phone numbers, expired addresses, or anything that may load your website without bringing any value, delete it.

Declutter your web page by conducting a manual analysis and seeing what looks off.

D. Make Your Web Pages Mobile Friendly

According to a recent study by Hitwise, mobile searches make up 48% of the total user search in the real estate industry. In other words, almost half of your potential buyers are looking up your services using their smartphones.

If you want to streamline their journey through your sales funnel, you need a mobile-optimized website that can get you noticed as a real estate agent online.

So, if your website is not yet optimized for mobile devices, this is one of the real estate marketing ideas that should be at the top of your list.

E. Optimize Your Local Presence with Google My Business (GMB)

Using GMB to get your business on Google Maps has plenty of benefits. For a real estate brand, this means getting more exposure in your local area and attracting new clients to your local listings.

That’s because many users search for a product or service and then add a location.

• In the case of Tampa real estate agents, a local search query could look like “best real estate agent in the Tampa area”.
• Naturally, if you’re from Tampa, you’ll want your real estate business name to pop up to potential clients.

Another thing to look out for is any social media platform that needs rework. Optimizing social media accounts can also help boost your GMB listing.

Conclusion

Real estate marketing is becoming increasingly competitive, so agents like yourself must produce more content than ever, stay updated, and use the best practices in their real estate marketing plan.

But don’t worry! With so many available resources, intuitive tools, and social media hacks out there–it’s actually easier than ever to get noticed (if you use the right tactics).

The key is to post relevant content, genuinely care about your audience, and offer them the information you’d like to find yourself.

Use social media platforms, offline real estate marketing ideas, and lucrative collaborations to do it.

Just because creating high-quality materials is a must, it doesn’t mean it has to be complicated or tedious. Check out Xara Cloud to create, customize, and share branded materials. Win over clients and get more listings today!

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