What is real estate digital marketing?
Digital marketing is a term that you have probably heard a lot by now. You know what marketing entails, but what exactly is digital marketing, and how does this translate into the world of real estate? In this article, you will start to understand what real estate digital marketing is, as we give you a high level overview of digital marketing as it relates specifically to real estate, so you can start thinking about how to approach your own digital marketing strategy.
So what is digital marketing for real estate?
In short, digital marketing is any kind of marketing that you do in a digital medium. Examples of a digital mediums are your website, social media, email or SMS. Digital marketing is an essential way to grow your brand awareness and your business as more and more people spend (increasing) time on devices. Digital marketing is different from traditional marketing because it is not tangible (such as a paper flyer), and what might work on paper, won’t necessarily work on a screen. Digital marketing is created on a computer (or a phone) and can be created more quickly than traditional marketing materials, as there is no lead time for printing or distribution. Examples of digital marketing materials might include:
- Emails
- Banner ads
- SMS messages
- Social media posts
- Videos
- Blog posts (or articles)
- Podcasts
- Testimonials
How can I use digital marketing for my real estate?
As you can imagine, there are a lot of different ways to use digital marketing, and you are not limited to static print creations. It is relatively quick and easy to create digital marketing content, You can use digital marketing to create brand awareness, you can use digital marketing to find new potential vendors. You can reach potential clients that a pamphlet or letterbox drop would not and using digital advertising you can target specific people based on their online activity. Here are some examples of using digital marketing:
- Sending an email newsletter to your database
- Sharing a digital photograph of a happy vendor to Instagram
- Posting a new blog (article) on your website
- Sharing a new listing to Facebook
Content marketing in real estate
Another term that’s often used synonymously with digital marketing is content marketing. Content marketing is about using content (information) rather than advertising to educate and inform people. By providing information on real estate, people can learn from your content and that builds trust with the reader. If you are constantly educating your audience about real estate, then over time you will become the authority on real estate so that when someone wants to sell their home, they will come to you. So what exactly does content marketing for real estate look like?
- Blog posts – shared to your website, blog posts give you the opportunity to show that you know what your are talking about when it comes to real estate. You can share insightful tips into the current state of interest rates, trends in local hot spots in your region or advice on saving for a first home. Even if clients aren’t looking for you, they have a very good chance of stumbling across your website when they are researching the kind of advice you are sharing.
- Photos – making your social media, email newsletters and website look pretty and engaging with photographs will keep potential clients interested in coming back for more.
- Infographics – shared on social media, in email newsletters and to your website, infographics are a great way to visually represent advice and helpful information to your potential vendors.
- Videos – presenting your advice and information in a more interesting way through the power of video. Video content often performs as well as, if not better than, visuals and images.
So there is a brief introduction to digital marketing for real estate. The one thing that you do need to keep in mind though, is just like any other kind of marketing, you need to do it consistently. You need to plan ahead and create some content in advance, so you always have something to post online, whether that is on your website or social media channels. Sometimes great quality content can just start from a simple photograph taken on your phone. Other times, you need to sit down and write an article on a topic you get asked about all the time. Either way, we hope this has given you a good idea on what digital marketing for real estate is, and how you can start your own digital marketing journey.
If you don’t have time to produce content and plan your digital marketing, then The Real Estate Voice has hundreds of articles and posts for social media and can automate your digital marketing for your. Check out information on our platform for more info.
