Marketing Strategies for Reaching Your Sphere of Influence Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Who’s in Your Sphere of Influence, and Why Does it Matter? ...........................................................3 Chapter 2: How to Rank People in Your Sphere.......................................................................................................5 Chapter 3: What Makes You Stand Out as an Agent? ......................................................................................7 Chapter 4: Keeping Up with Previous Clients ..................................................................................................11 Chapter 5: Engagement Tips for Social Media .................................................................................................15 Chapter 6: Email Marketing ..................................................................................................................................19 Chapter 7: Here’s How to Use LinkedIn! ...........................................................................................................22 Chapter 8: Tips for Boosting Your SEO .............................................................................................................25 Chapter 9: Your Cheat Sheet for Social Media Marketing ............................................................................28 Chapter 10: Guerrilla Marketing Ideas for Real Estate ..................................................................................31 Chapter 11: Seasonal Marketing — Summer ....................................................................................................38 Chapter 12: Seasonal Marketing — Back to School .........................................................................................41 Chapter 13: Seasonal Marketing — Fall and Halloween .................................................................................45 Chapter 14: Seasonal Marketing — Thanksgiving ...........................................................................................49 Chapter 15: Seasonal Marketing — Christmas .................................................................................................52
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Introduction Hey guys! It’s Joe Nickelson here. I’m curious, how many people do you know? Whether you’re the life of the party or more introverted, I’m betting you know more people than you think — and, of course, those people know even more people. If you’ve been in the real estate business for a number of years, you’ve likely heard the phrase sphere of influence . This refers to all the people you know, both personally and professionally. Your network, or sphere, includes not only personal friends and family members but also people you know through organizations, through your kids or spouse, and just from being “out and about” in the community. I guarantee that once you
start brainstorming, you’ll realize just how many people you do know.
So, what’s the big deal about having a large roster of acquaintances? I’ll tell you — these folks are the key to growing your business. This guide will show you smart ways to promote your real estate brand around the community and online, whether you want to sponsor a local sports team, engage your social media followers, host a gathering for clients, or try some email marketing. You’ll also learn the difference between a cold, warm and hot lead — and how to market to each kind. Keeping in touch with your sphere means you’ll be the real estate agent they think of first when someone in their own sphere is buying or selling — and you’ll grow your business.
Happy networking!
Joe
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Chapter 1: Who’s In Your Sphere of Influence, and Why Does it Matter? We get it — daily adult life can be a bit monotonous, even for a dynamic and smart agent like yourself. Maybe you only see your husband, wife or kids most days of the week, with a neighbor or colleague thrown in here and there. But, think about who you see on not just a daily basis but a seasonal, or even yearly, basis — who you run into at networking functions, holiday parties, soccer games, and football happy hours. The truth is, a lot of people don’t know how large their sphere of influence actually is until they sit down and start thinking about everyone in it. That’s why we’ve put together this handy list to help you brainstorm.
❏ Family members, both immediate and extended ❏ Your spouse’s family members ❏ Personal friends ❏ Your spouse’s personal friends ❏ Your kids’ friends’ parents ❏ Your family’s friends ❏ Past clients ❏ Colleagues you previously worked with ❏ Colleagues you currently work with ❏ Your spouse’s colleagues ❏ People who attend your place of worship ❏ Your neighbors ❏ People who work out at your gym
❏ Members of clubs you belong to, such as PTA, book club, Rotary, volunteer groups, etc ❏ Professional relationships such as your accountant, car mechanic, dry cleaner, landscaper, hairdresser, day care provider, dog groomer, and mail carrier Keep in mind, your sphere is constantly growing. Every time you meet a new seller or buyer, your sphere grows. Every time you approve a spend-the-night party for your child and meet the other child’s parents, it grows. Every time you shake hands with your elderly mother’s caregiver, it grows!
Furthermore, these days, the internet and social media mean your sphere is larger than ever. Not only can you keep in touch with childhood pals that you might have otherwise lost touch with in
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1985, but you can also connect with people you perhaps don’t know in real life or know simply in passing. And, if you can make a great impression marketing yourself online, you’ll earn the respect of your virtual network, as well. Why does knowing who’s in your sphere matter so much?
So why does your growing sphere matter? Essentially, these are the people who are going to grow your business. Real estate is based on relationships, and it takes one relationship to gain others.
Take it from our member Marco Silvestri, who regularly leverages his own sphere:
“...I have a database of about 700 people, and I market to probably about 400 of them, specifically every month, via newsletter, E-newsletter, and I'm trying to touch them probably about 27 times a year. I have a spreadsheet, and I keep track of every deal I do, the commission base, and where I got that deal from. My circle of influence has probably been, I would say, 80 percent of the business …”
That’s the key — Marco, who has only been an agent for a few years at this point, gets most of his business from people he knows in the community.
In fact, according to the 2018 NAR® Quick Real Estate Statistics, 74 percent of buyers would use their agent again or recommend their agent to others, and 69 percent of sellers would definitely use their agent again! That means your business has an excellent chance of garnering repeat business, and repeat business from one family gives you the possibility to connect with everyone in their network.
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Chapter 2: How to Rank People in Your Sphere Here at Authorify, our mantra is working smarter, not harder, and the same idea applies to reaching out to your sphere of influence. You certainly don’t want to invest a lot of time and money into cold leads or even past clients who aren’t open to engaging with you and your real estate business. That’s why it’s imperative to keep evaluating individuals, whether they’re acquaintances or former clients. How can you do this? The first thing to do is take your list of contacts that you started thinking about in the first chapter.
Once you have your list of contacts, start dividing the list up into the following three categories: hot leads, warm leads and cold leads.
If you’ve been in the business a while, you know the difference between a hot, warm and cold lead — but you might not regularly take the time to consider who in your sphere falls in each category.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself about each person, so you can better determine whether they are hot, warm or cold:
❏ How did you meet the person? ❏ Does the person live in your community? ❏ Has the person bought or sold real estate recently? ❏ Has the person worked with you previously? ❏ In the case of previous clients, did they enjoy working with you? ❏ When did you last engage with the person?
Once you figure out who counts as a hot contact, you will want to move them to the forefront of any marketing campaigns.
Let me explain further.
If a lead is cold, that means they don’t know much about you and your business or perhaps do not need to buy or sell real estate at the moment. Your goal with a cold lead is to stay in front of them, so that when the time comes and they need an agent, they will think of you. Interacting in the community, sending occasional content emails and staying connected on social media are great ways to stay in front of cold leads.
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If a lead is warm, the person might be thinking about buying or selling. They might be newly engaged, looking to relocate to a larger home or downsize to a smaller one — but they aren’t quite there yet; they’re just thinking about it. Many previous clients also count as warm leads — perhaps you just worked with them and they are settled for the time being, but you anticipate working together again in the near future or have a lot of friends who might be looking to buy or sell. These leads need to hear from you more often than cold leads, and in more “real estate-related” ways, such as helpful market tips and neighborhood information. You might also send warm leads greeting cards and gifts, when appropriate. Everyone’s favorite category, hot leads, are where you need to concentrate your marketing efforts. These leads are looking to buy or sell soon, and may actively be either looking for an agent, trying to sell by themselves as FSBOs or asking others for agent recommendations. Mailers, drop-bys, and other more vigorous marketing campaigns are welcome and necessary with these leads. Note that your hottest leads might be people you don’t actually know, but know of. For example, say you heard a woman at a PTA meeting at your child’s school talk about her neighbor getting ready to move. You know the woman at PTA, but you do not know her neighbor. The woman is in your sphere of influence, yet her neighbor is not. How do you get the contact information of the woman’s neighbor so you can market yourself? Try something like:
Hey Amy, I didn’t know if you knew this, but I’m a real estate agent. I would love to reach out to your neighbor Kim about selling her house! Do you have a contact for her? Or can you give her my card?
When ranking Amy, whose neighbor is moving, you can temporarily move her into the hot lead category and remind yourself to get her neighbor’s information. Once you are acquainted with Kim the neighbor, you can categorize Kim as the hot lead and, if necessary, recategorize Amy. Once you have everyone categorized as a hot, warm or cold lead, you can decide what types of marketing will suit the contact. A large portion of this guide pertains to the “warming” process — trying to transform cold leads into warm leads and warm leads into hot leads.
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Chapter 3: What Makes You Stand Out as an Agent?
You may already have a huge sphere of influence, but that doesn’t mean there’s not room for growth. Your marketing efforts should aim to not only reach the people already in your sphere but to expand it, as well. Building your sphere of influence is all about knowing your strengths and using them to your advantage. Why have people hired you in the past? Why did you become an agent in the first place? What do you think separates you from other agents? We’ve identified a few common strengths and how you can use them to build your sphere of influence. Communication/Social Skills
Good communication skills are crucial in real estate, but that doesn’t mean every agent possesses the ability to communicate or socialize effectively. If you’re a great communicator:
● Make a point to stay in touch with people in your sphere of influence. Send texts or make calls to let people know you’re thinking about them, especially when big life events happen. ● Attend lots of community events to keep yourself in front of people in your sphere and help it grow. ● Volunteer in or join local groups and organizations to grow your sphere. Technology Skills
If you know your way around every social media networking site and have digital marketing down pat, use your tech skills to your advantage!
● Share a wide range of helpful content on your social media pages — videos, blog posts, listings and more. ● Utilize content management systems to schedule regular virtual content with your sphere of influence. Send out emails at strategic and appropriate times, schedule regular posts, and create a high-end website to direct people to on a regular basis.
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Honesty/Integrity
If people in your sphere of influence trust you as a person, they’re more likely to recommend you to friends and family members who are looking to buy or sell their homes.
● Offer people in your sphere of influence helpful advice about their homes (when they ask), and refer them to reputable contractors. If you establish yourself as a helpful professional with no strings attached, people will remember and send business your way. ● Patronize businesses owned by people in your sphere of influence. When it comes time to give someone a real estate referral, they’ll return the favor. How to Build Your Unique Selling Point and Stand Out Now, let’s talk about how to build your unique selling point as an agent and how that one unique selling point can make a huge difference in growing your sphere and your business. Many times, we hear someone talk about our “selling point,” and we think to ourselves, “What accolades do I have? What accomplishments do I have? Why would people look up to me?” But thinking this way is an error. If we do, we discredit our human side, our personal story and struggles, and what our passions and professional experience outside of real estate can do for our prospects. I want to share with you part of a conversation I had with a real estate agent in Winnipeg, Canada, named Marco, and how he found his niche and is building his unique selling proposition with his story. “I'm a plumber, a gasfitter by trade. I was in plumbing and heating for over 22 years, and probably the last 12 or 13 years … I was the owner of the company. In 2003, I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad and started buying real estate — started buying real estate, started rehabbing, and before you know it, I'm doing, you know, 60- or 70-lot subdivisions, and my name's out there as, you know, once a plumber, tradesman, now a real estate investor and developer. Now, I'm a Realtor.” “I did a little bit of radio ads, which was kind of neat. I sat down with their creative team and kind of told [them] what I just told you; this is who I am, this is what I bring to the table. And they did a really neat 30-second ad. ‘Here's Marco, the right Realtor, the Realtor who looks behind the staging.’ Just a cute little 30-second thing. I ran it for about six months, but man, that's expensive. Basically it's like, Marco will look behind the staging. He looks in the walls at your foundation. He knows. And if it needs work, he knows the people because he's from the trade. Call Marco; he's the right Realtor right now. So it was neat, and that's kind of what my unique selling point would be, I guess. Because, initially, when I started as a Realtor, I was trying to think, ‘What's my unique selling proposition? Why would people use me?’
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“...There's a national magazine; it's called Canadian Real Estate Wealth . [In 2012], I wasn't a real estate agent. I was an investor; I was doing some developments. Somehow, in Toronto, the editor heard about some of the deals I was doing. I had no idea. Started calling me and saying, ‘What's your market like? What are you doing? I hear you're doing a condo conversion. Isn't a condo conversion hard? Is it kind of mainstream, or is it something that you're doing outside of what everyone else is doing?’ And they … started using me a couple of times for little segments here and there. Next thing you know, they nominated me for West Coast Top Investor of the Year, and in 2012, from Toronto to Vancouver, I won West Coast Top Investor of the Year for my developments and my community involvement. There was a whole bunch of criteria. I filled it out, left my name as a nominee and I won 2012 Investor of the Year. They did a big article on me, and that really boosted What do you think about that? A plumber, and now a real estate agent? You might be thinking, “How in the world would talking about whatever job I did for the last however many years help me be a better agent?” But it does. It connects your human side and your story to what you’re doing, and it helps people relate to you. Nobody wants a perfect, shiny story from an agent about how they're the best and the most awesome so you’d better hire them. When we share a true struggle, it speaks to people. Why is that a benefit? It builds trust and rapport. And, as you and I know, trust and rapport is at an all-time low in the real estate industry because there's so many shortcuts and hacks to try to get listings. I would encourage you, as you're building your profile online and publishing your professional bio wherever you happen to use it, tell the true story of how you got into real estate. Ask yourself these questions: ● Why did you choose real estate? ● What did you do before real estate? ● What were some of the struggles you initially faced as an agent? ● How were the struggles you faced as an agent different or similar to previous professional struggles? ● What did your previous profession or previous goal teach you about real estate? ● What are your desires and goals in the real estate business? Avoid empty phrases in your story Many agents will use empty phrases such as, “I make dreams come true.” But how does that really tell people you're going to be a good real estate agent? What dreams? Why? It’s simply too general. This is also the case when you hear something like, “I make buying a house a reality!” Honestly, nobody wants a genie who claims to have magic dust and the ability to make stuff happen out of nowhere because then there's no trust and rapport. my, let's call it, sphere of influence, or my credibility.” Tell your truth and connect with people
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When the time comes to build your story, I would encourage you to include your personal struggle. As a bonus, this likely will help your rankings online. People will read it. If you can get someone to read your story, and, at the same time, see your value and want to hire you, you're leaps and bounds above all the other competing agents with the shiny business networking pages, just listing their accolades or business experience. That formula no longer works; there are too many people using it. Instead, agents who have a story and who are connecting with their audience get more business. Best of all, they also develop a following. They build a “tribe,” and the tribe is where the repetitive business comes from! When someone asks — “Hey, do you know a great real estate agent?” — it's going to prompt them to think of you and your story and how they connected with you emotionally right away. That means they're going to say, “Yes! You have to call Joe. He is the best.” They may even say something like, “I have not worked with him yet, but I’ve so much heard about him. I heard he's the best.” Guess what? That is a referral! And it grows your sphere! The point is, growing your sphere of influence to include people you haven’t even worked with yet is important because those people will promote you, too. The secret is to build your story, make it personable, and have it deliver value.
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Chapter 4: Keeping Up with Previous Clients Are you looking to reach out to previous clients in a creative way? The easiest way to consistently reconnect with your previous clients is with a simple update of some sort. While it’s true that no former client wants to see content from you all the time, whether on social media or in their mailbox, there are still many times that an update is appropriate and very much appreciated. Often, previous clients count as warm leads when they truly enjoyed working with you. You should aim to have a system for reconnecting with your old clients regularly so they get accustomed to receiving a card, gift or update from you at certain times. Staying in touch ensures that they remain part of your sphere and think of you when someone in their sphere needs real estate help. By going through your sphere on a regular basis, you'll make this a habit and eventually get through all your contacts. Mail a Monthly Postcard, Letter, Newsletter, or Magazine.
When you're expecting a package, you can’t wait for the mailman to drop it off so you can tear up the box and get to the contents, right?
Your previous clients are also part of the 79 percent of consumers who act on direct mail immediately, compared with 45 percent who act on email communication.
Mailing your former clients a monthly newsletter of some kind is a great way to maintain contact. Depending on what kind of newsletter you send, it doesn’t even have to be that expensive. You can send a monthly letter for pennies. Send Postcards or Letters The effort you put into a card and sending it will go a long way with your real estate clients. Holidays are the perfect time to stay in touch with your past clients. Doing so will increase your chances of getting referrals.
We have templates through our membership site to keep in touch with past clients at key times throughout the year. A few more examples appear later in this guide.
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Call and Have a Conversation Another really old-school method that is still effective is calling and having a phone conversation. Once a quarter, for example, you could call all the people in your database who are likely to refer you and just touch base with them to see how they're doing. This doesn't have to be a complicated script — it's all about being natural and keeping it personal.
Conversation starters could be:
How are you enjoying your new home?
Do you need any help with things around the house? I can put you in touch with a good local contractor.
You can also reference things you previously discussed or that you recently saw on social media, such as a new employment opportunity or recent graduation.
Chances are, they won’t ask for any assistance from you, but the communication lets them know you care and are available, which is what you’re going for. Break Bread Over Coffee or a Meal You can always offer to catch up with former clients over coffee, breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The core idea here is to involve your sphere in a no-pressure gathering that will show you care about them as people, not just as clients. Give Them a Gift This is going the extra mile for sure, but it’s worth it a lot of the time, especially if you believe that this client could soon change from a warm to a hot lead. Sending gifts will likely bring up your name around the dinner table, and then hopefully lead to more referrals. Something to keep in mind with this method is that you shouldn’t do this with every client you’ve ever had. Which clients are very likely to refer you, and which ones are likely never going to refer you? Obviously, you should spend your time and money on the ones who are going to give you the most business and send you the most referrals.
Here are a few ideas for various seasons. Some of them could be used at any time.
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Fall/Holiday Gifts ● Seasonal items such as spiced tea or coffee ● Tickets to a football game or other sporting event
● Gift cards to an upscale supermarket ● Tickets to a movie, play or holiday event ● Seasonal dishes or glassware for a party
● Home items such as a candle, wreath, photo frame, hand soap or sofa throw ● Pies or festive food item (Desserts are always welcomed, as are “snack” baskets) Spring Gifts ● Floral arrangements ● Seed packets for fruits, vegetables and flowering plants ● Flower pots ● Gift cards to home improvement stores, cleaning services, window washing, car washing ● Something to enhance the outdoors such as a lantern, strand of lights, or bird feeder ● Tickets to home or garden events Summer Gifts ● Tickets to a fun park, water park or something for the family ● Gift cards to a movie theater ● Fresh produce, or homemade food items made with fresh produce ● Gas cards for road trips ● Tumblers for keeping drinks cold ● Beach totes or coolers Host a Dinner at a Property and Invite Them A party is a great way to not only get back in touch with older clients but also to meet a few potential clients, if you ask them to bring guests. You could even invite people to bring their own dishes to share.
Here are a few tips to make the party easier on you and everyone you invite:
● Stage the home to create a festive environment. Provide seasonal treats, goodies and finger foods with non-alcoholic beverages, such as punch or iced tea in the warm months or cider and cocoa around the holidays. Play music in the background to improve the atmosphere without making it so loud that people can’t comfortable hear each other and talk.
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● Include a raffle for prizes or gift cards. Again, holding a drawing also allows you to collect names and contact information for future leads. ● Give out your books from Authorify.com or your other marketing materials to attendees next to a plate of treats with a sign that says “Take one of each!” Recognize Big Events in Their Lives If you aren’t doing this already, keep a calendar with all of your past clients’ birthdays and other milestones, if possible. While this might strike you as a great deal of effort, remember that the people you’ve worked with are the lifeblood of your business.
When you send them birthday or holiday cards, you can also choose to send a gift or a gift card for a small amount along with it.
Besides birthdays, home anniversary cards are some of the best ones to send out. These cards will remind your clients of the excitement they felt when they moved into their new home — and how you helped them find it.
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Chapter 5: Engagement Tips for Social Media Long before social media became the mainstay it is now, I was regularly calling and emailing prospects and clients, asking them for feedback and reviews or just checking in. I thrived on it, and they were happy to engage with me because it was clear that they mattered. These days, you probably use multiple social media platforms just like I do. And while you might not know everyone who follows you the way you know people in person, the same principles of making them feel special to encourage great business rapport continue to apply. Yes, even people you only know on a virtual basis count as part of your sphere. That’s how cold leads become warm! If they regularly look to you for engaging content, chances are they will want to do business with you in the future. Facebook Facebook has plenty of advantages, including a variety of ways to engage with followers. In fact, out of these three platforms, you have probably used Facebook the most for your real estate business. But are you using it correctly to gain likes and direct people to your website and other content? Promote Your Brand ● Keep your page up to date. Make sure your contact information (including your website) is all relevant. Include links to your other social media pages, such as Twitter and Instagram. Your profile picture and cover photo should be switched out often, as well. ● Keep fresh photos in your albums, as new visitors to your page will most likely be looking for photos. Offer photos of recent listings, as well as recent homes sold, if applicable. Don’t be afraid to ask clients if you can post a happy photo of a home closing! ● Come up with a posting schedule. Yes, Facebook will allow you to schedule posts for the future, but many agents still prefer using programs such as HootSuite, SproutSocial or Buffer to manage multiple accounts. ● Make sure your posts are varied. Instead of always sharing a motivational meme, for example, opt for several kinds of content, including survey questions, photos, links to your own blog or website and links to articles about the real estate industry. Here are a few tips.
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Connect With Others ● Comment as much as possible. Venture to other pages and post comments so that strangers notice you, keeping everything you say positive and friendly. ● Share posts from other pages in the industry, as well as relevant pages within your community, such as local events or news. You’ll want to remain relevant to folks who are shopping for homes in your neck of the woods, and giving them the scoop is key. ● Give shout-outs to other businesses when you can. Not only does it help you build relationships, but it gives you more visibility. Did you recently have lunch at a local taco spot with a client? Tag that establishment. Did you stage a home recently and borrow furniture from a friendly business? Give them a mention on your page. Twitter With 326 million monthly active users currently using Twitter, you can’t afford not to have a Twitter account for your real estate business. With practice, you can engage with followers and earn new leads. Promote Your Brand ● Stand out with a profile photo of yourself (not your logo), a relevant location and a succinct bio that shares who you are, as well as a link to your website. Try something like: I’m John Doe, a Realtor in the Jacksonville, Florida metro. View recent listings at JohnDoeinJax.com. The header photo can be a beautiful home you recently listed, a page from your website, or whatever you think will attract visual attention. ● Make sure your profile and Tweets are completely public — there’s a box you have to uncheck so anyone can find you and search your Tweets. ● Use a social media manager such as Buffer or SproutSocial to schedule out Tweets. You should try to Tweet at least once daily, if not two or three times. ● What should you Tweet? Videos do well on this platform, so I suggest a quick video of a home you have listed, relevant market statistics and the occasional motivational quote. Connect With Others Once you have a profile and get accustomed to Tweeting, it’s time to connect with followers. Try these tips for getting more followers on Twitter and ensuring they stay engaged.
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● Use hashtags to your advantage. Many real estate agents don’t understand how hashtags work, but it’s a simple concept — they allow others to search for particular topics. That means if you want to be part of the conversation about #AmeliaIslandLuxuryHomes, include that phrase in your Tweet as a hashtag. Check the hashtags you’re using regularly, and make sure to follow the folks who are using them. ● Check the “Trending” hashtags daily, and try to Tweet something that speaks to appropriate trends. ● Retweet diligently. Not only should you retweet what your own followers say, but go ahead and retweet anything relevant to your area and the business of real estate. ● Ask your followers to Retweet your Tweets. Try saying something like, “If you live in #JacksonvilleBeach, please #retweet!” ● Ask your followers questions so they’ll reply with a Tweet. Reply to others who are talking about real estate and your area. ● Don’t be afraid to use Direct Messages (DMs) to send someone a quick follow-up. I suggest moving the conversation elsewhere, like email, but DMs can be a great starting point to connect with a follower. Instagram Thanks to the younger generations, Instagram has risen to immense popularity. And it’s with good reason, of course. Instagram is built around sharing photos, from beautiful destinations, houses or food photos to selfies with puppies and grandkids, and people by nature love to engage with visual content. So how can a real estate agent use all this visual beauty to his or her advantage? Promote Your Brand ● First, opt for an actual business account, rather than a personal account — they’re slightly different. Your business account should be focused on real estate, so keep your family and travel photos on another feed. Make sure your bio and profile picture are related to your business, as well, and most definitely include your website. ● Since Instagram is visual, it doesn’t hurt to have a color scheme, “style” of posting and “mood” that suits your business. Are you coastal and casual? Luxurious? Mid-century modern? Let that shine through your posts. ● Aim for a few posts a week, and try to post as late in the day as possible, or even in the evening, when more people are scrolling through and likely to see your post. ● What should you post? Decide ahead of time what content will work best. Attractive photos of listings or homes you recently sold are an obvious choice, as are “Stories” (short videos you can post to run on your profile for a set amount of time). You can show clips of home
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tours or record short videos inviting people to your open houses. Always use the best photos you have — nothing blurry, grainy or dull. Try out the built-in filters to enhance photos, but don’t go overboard. Your “Story” should drive viewers to your feed as much as possible and make them curious about you. ● Use the “Insights” feature to gain knowledge about your followers, such as their ages, locations, genders and times of day they visit your feed. Connect With Others ● Follow everyone that follows you, and then some. A great way to find other people who work in real estate — or who are looking to buy or sell — is to search relevant hashtags, just like on Twitter. Use hashtags in your own posts, as well. I recommend using the same hashtags on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, to create cohesion among your platforms. ● “Regram” posts from influential people in the industry — or anyone you think is worth a follow — and give them a shout-out in your caption. People will likely return the favor. ● Talk to your followers as much as possible. Ask questions and invite comments to photo threads. ● Instagram contests are a great way to engage with followers. Come up with a catchy hashtag for your followers to use and ask them to repost your content for the chance to win. Or ask people to comment on a photo and pick a winner from comments. When someone wins, share their profile on your feed and let your followers know. ● Use Instagram’s filters and effects when you post a story. Add music, locations, hashtags and even ask questions to encourage your followers to engage.
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Chapter 6: Email Marketing Emailing allows homeowners to respond whenever they feel compelled to do so — on their own time, not yours. You can also use an email as a reason to call. When you reach out, ask them if they got the email you sent and use it as a talking point. The email will let you prove your expertise (if done correctly) to the reader, without the potential of being interrupted, or worse, hung up on.
Plus, 91 percent of people check their emails daily. Your emails have a better chance of being opened and answered the same day you send them.
Grouping your email list into cold leads versus warmer leads is helpful, so you don’t “blast” colder leads with too many emails or too much real estate-related material (though keep in mind cold leads might appreciate other content!). Host a Facebook giveaway in exchange for contact information.
If this is done correctly, it can pay for itself multiple times over. If you come up with a good enough idea, people will readily engage with your content.
Gift cards, gift baskets, and tickets to anything are a few ideas. You just need to provide something of value. Trade content for email addresses.
Tradable content needs to be longer or different from anything free you post. It also needs to be relevant to real estate, so the people who reach out are engaged with the topic.
Here are a few content ideas:
● Move-in checklists ● Move-out checklists ● Relocation guides ● Neighborhood guides ● Local event guides ● Staging tips
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Have a squeeze page on your website. The goal of a squeeze page is simply to get people to enter their email addresses. This page needs to have a few standard components, such as a clear headline that shows visitors who you are and what you're offering. A subscription or opt-in form and a video or image that enforces your message are also crucial. When someone opts in, a welcome email should be triggered. You can set this up through your email platform. Segment your email list to get the most out of it. This is one of the most critical steps to having a successful email list. You wouldn’t send market updates for certain areas to someone who just bought a home. This is the fastest way to lose your email subscribers.
Start by segmenting your past clients. You want to reach out to them with separate messages to stay in touch for referrals.
Then, segment leads by their interest in selling their homes. Make a separate list for hot leads, warm leads and cold leads. You can send the same newsletters to them, but tweaking a few words makes a world of difference.
If you want to go even further, you can make lists for expireds, FSBOs and vacant homeowners.
Once you have an effective list, use the best subject lines to continually reach them. This is the other crucial part of your email success. People receive dozens and dozens of emails a day. Your subject lines need to grab their attention but can't be too complicated. Make sure your emails stay out of the spam folder. Eighteen percent of agents face this problem. There are steps to take to avoid it. The first is to include your office’s physical address on the bottom of each email. This shows readers you are legitimate.
Fortunately, your mass email service can handle a lot of this for you. They’ll include an unsubscribe button. However, if you have extremely low open rates, you may get marked as spam.
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You should use your work email, since emails that come from @gmail or @yahoo are much more likely to be marked as spam. Remove inactive emails from your lists.
This is the main reason agents get marked as spam: If a large chunk of your contacts' addresses are unreachable, you'll be put in the spam folder of active email addresses.
When you get a bounceback email, or your email platform says an email is inactive, delete it from your list. When you get responses, reach out to meet those leads in person. Closing these leads is much easier than closing someone that has no interest in you. Ask leads that seem interested if they want to meet you and learn more about the market or what you can offer them.
If they open the majority of the emails you send them, chances are, they’ll say yes. Here are a few examples of the types of emails that will build a relationship between you and your leads.
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Chapter 7: Here’s How to Use LinkedIn LinkedIn includes some of the best leads for agents, but you have to know how to effectively use the platform. While fewer people are active on LinkedIn than on Facebook, 77 percent of users are 30 years old or older and make household choices. In fact, studies show 90 percent of users on LinkedIn are responsible for household decisions. Furthermore, according to the NAR®, the median age of first-time buyers is 32 years, and the typical homeowner is 55 years old. Even though only 29 percent of people use the platform weekly, that 29 percent is likely to be made up of people who will be interested in your services. In short, it’s a networking tool for people who mean business. LinkedIn can also introduce you to qualified contractors and other professionals who can send you referrals. Construction companies, home builders, job recruiters who hire people from out of town and divorce lawyers are all users of the platform. These people are looking for business partners who can also refer people to them. Essentially, if you pat their backs, they might just do the same for you.
So how do you get in touch with these leads and potential referral partners? Here are a few pointers.
Join real estate groups and referral groups.
LinkedIn has incredibly valuable groups that every agent on the platform should join. When you join, be sociable and reach out to a few people from the group. Optimize your personal page and keep it up to date.
This is where you show off your real estate expertise. It doesn’t have to just be a formal resume of your accomplishments. Add some personal information, just like you would on your website.
You can also add some of your best testimonials — but keep them short. Many people who are browsing won’t click the “read more” button, so keep everything shorter than that point.
Your headline, which is less than 100 characters, is extremely important. It should include your job title and a few words on what you specialize in.
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Make your LinkedIn profile a custom URL.
There’s an option to the right of the banner on your profile to do this. If you don’t change it, you’ll have a long, drawn-out string of characters for your profile’s URL.
Create a custom URL to stand out and improve your credibility. Use your name or your company’s name in it. When someone views your profile, you’ll immediately look more established by having a URL that mentions your name and/or your company’s name. Reach out for endorsements or recommendations. When you list your skills, people can endorse them to give you more clout. Reach out to your colleagues and past clients for endorsements. Also, ask for recommendations from past clients — there’s a section for this, as well. Add local content or repost from credible sources. Keep your profile active by posting relevant content that doesn't necessarily have to do with your real estate business. It can be something you created or shared from another source. Keep it local if you can, or keep it relevant to the connections you've made. Make local connections. You should aim to send out 10 connections a day. Use the “suggested connections” feature. Once you’re connected, users will be subscribed to your feed, and you’ll have the ability to message them. You can use the “advanced search” feature to connect with locals who could be good referral partners or even potential clients. Just reach out to them, and tell them you’re looking to connect with locals in the housing market, or you’re looking for referral partners. Offer to answer any questions they may have. This is a good way to ensure no one unfollows you for flooding them with strictly sales content.
Ask them questions about their businesses and backgrounds, as well. Then, you can sort your connections according to the types of potential clients or resources they might be.
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Reach out to anyone who looks at your profile. LinkedIn sends you a notification the day after people look at your page. Anyone that finds you organically is a potential lead. You can also go to “who viewed my profile” in the menu bar. Reach out to each person and ask if they have any questions, while explaining who you are. If you want to view the full list, you need to upgrade to premium. However, you can still view a few recent visitors if you don't have a premium account.
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Chapter 8: Tricks to Boost Your SEO
Did you know that according to Hubspot, 97 percent of people start searching online to find a local business? That means that having your name and website highly ranked should be your ultimate goal in online marketing, since how you rank online can mean the difference between attracting a desert full of tumbleweeds and a stadium full of screaming fans. So what’s the best way to get people to take notice? Here are a few tricks for boosting SEO — including handy software you need to try — that can help you track and optimize your website’s ranking and grow your sphere of influence. Find relevant keywords. You don’t want to haphazardly clutter your website with keywords — you need to select a few keywords that are especially relevant to you, your specialty, and the area you serve. Sign up for Google Keyword Planner, and search for the terms you are interested in. You’ll be able to see the volume of searches each day and each month for various keywords. Remember to target keywords that are searched often and would apply to your real estate business. If you want to spend a little cash, Google Adwords can give you an estimated price on pay-per-click for each keyword. SEMRush is another website you can use for this type of research. It isn’t free like Google Keyword Planner, but it has more features, such as analyzing your listings or mentions around the web. Understand that not all keywords are practical targets. There’s a dark side to keyword research. While you may discover a certain keyword gets 100,000 searches a month, that also means it’s incredibly difficult to get ranked for it. The most popular keywords require an enormous amount of content and backlinking through other websites. Getting your website ranked on the first page for those keywords is typically not attainable if you’re doing your own marketing or working with a small budget. For example, a phrase like “Florida Realtor” is almost impossible to rank without the help of an SEO firm. It’s even possible that targeting large cities — think “Miami Realtor” — could be too lofty. So, instead of those top keywords, target other keywords that still promote a lot of traffic. There will still be plenty of attainable ones, especially if you focus on your location — the more hyperlocal, the better. Target specific areas such as neighborhoods, counties or smaller towns. Also target what
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you specialize in, but first make sure those terms get a reasonable amount of traffic. Your visitors will be more likely to convert with keywords specific to their needs and interests. Use keywords on websites, blogs and URLs. Publishing content consisting of at least 300 words, with headers and a URL including your keywords, is a great way to get ranked. Avoid fluff or repetition. Keep in mind the longer visitors stay on your page and the better content you have, the higher visibility Google gives your site. If you don’t have a blog, implement keywords on your Home page and your About page. A little content on these pages goes a long way in ranking them. For relevant content topics, think of questions that potential clients need answers to. Make sure they work well with the keywords you’re targeting. For example, if your title is something like “What to consider in the Jacksonville Real Estate Market in 2019,” your keywords might be “Jacksonville Real Estate Market.” Then, when you use that phrase in the headers and copy, it fits naturally and will boost your SEO. Google will downrank your site if keywords are not used in a way that makes sense. Don’t ever hesitate to get SEO writing help. Unless you’re brand-new to the industry, you’re likely familiar enough with real estate to successfully write blog articles about it. But if you’re more comfortable having wordsmith help, don’t hesitate to find it. A freelancer or blogger will cost money, but the results will give you a better chance of getting ranked. Virtual assistants can also help you produce and curate content, and VAs can get content inexpensively. If you go that route, you may have to heavily edit the results. Still, hiring a virtual assistant can be a good way to save time. Optimize your images. Images are one of the most overlooked parts of SEO. Each image on your website should have a description caption as well as an alternative text tag. Come up with a relevant photo description using keywords you are targeting. An alternative text tag is specifically for search engines when they crawl your website, and it can just be one or two words identifying the photo. If you have a Home page or About page with an image, that image title should match the page title and its URL. The same principle applies to any published blog posts. The more things match up, the better your rankings. Try backlinks for a boost.
Backlinks are links from other websites to yours that can boost your SEO.
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One great way to achieve this is to ask other local businesses to link to your website, and offer to do the same for them. If targeting the local area is your goal — and it should be — it only makes sense to ask related local businesses to partner with your website. Another way to use backlinks is posting your reviews and profiles from sites such as Zillow and Trulia. Overall, any links from other websites to yours will improve your ranking — and the more hits from other sites you’re linked with, the better. Measure your success. Do you have a Google Analytics account? It can help you see how many visitors you get from certain search engines. You might also want to sign up for Google Search Console. Once you set up your URL there, it will sync with your Analytics account. After almost a month, you’ll have detailed data on your keywords, their rankings, your pages and your search traffic. Use the “HTML Improvements” report to find out what parts of your website you can improve, from headers and copy and image tags to everything in between.
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Chapter 9: Your Cheat Sheet for Social Media Marketing
We’ve talked before about how important and impactful your online brand can be.
When used effectively, your email and social media marketing can help you form relationships with more leads and inspire others to build trust in you. You can paint yourself as a local expert, a real estate authority and someone who genuinely cares about being there for his or her clients and the community. There are so many ways you can use these platforms. There are also almost endless content ideas you can use. We’ve put together a list of 30 simple ideas to help you build your online presence. These strategies can be used on your social media channels or in your email marketing.
As always, the name of the game is to make cold leads warmer, and warm leads hotter.
Connect with Seller Leads
The first category of content is tips to attract seller leads. These work best with an email list of leads you build. They could also work on Facebook. 1. Home-staging tips — Sending these tips to FSBOs or expireds works well. Repost content with your own caption, or write your own list. 2. Home upgrades that improve value — Help homeowners who want to sell in the future but feel hampered by run-down parts of their homes. 3. Home repair or improvement tips — This is the same concept as the last tip, but with less extreme measures than full upgrades. 4. Gardening and lawn tips — If you can find statistics about home sale prices with great-looking yards compared to average-looking ones, that would be the perfect info to pair with these tips. 5. Recent sales in your city — The more in-depth information you can provide, the more you can appeal to your audience. Homeowners will be interested in sales prices for homes in their area. 6. Market predictions for upcoming quarters — This would inform readers how a sale could look for them when if and when they decide to sell.
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