As the industry shifts and agents navigate a tight economy, marketing your real estate business has never been more important. It takes a smart, effective, creative marketing strategy to stand out in the competitive luxury real estate market. We’ll dive into our favorite tried-and-tested real estate marketing ideas that are sure to elevate your brand, develop new audiences, and keep your leads engaged.
We’ve broken our top real estate marketing ideas into five primary channels, with a few outside-the-box options as a bonus. Each strategy is adaptable for just about any agent, and best of all, you can start on any one of them today.
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Content marketing ideas for real estate
We’ve all heard that content is king. But what kind of content? How often should you create it? And where should you post it? Here are some solid recommendations to help you work content into your real estate marketing plan.
1. Use a blog post to answer a client question
Creating blog posts is a great way to attract traffic to your website. But don’t post just to post—the content you publish should be relevant to your audience. Think about your ideal clients: What are they dreaming of? Curious about? What keeps them up at night?
Now answer the questions that you know they need answering. Give them valuable content so you become an authority — a trusted advisor they won’t be able to live without.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Investing in a short-term rental property
- How to improve a home before selling
- Environmental and sustainability news and trends
- The role of smart-home technology in home valuation
For more, check out our comprehensive list of blog post ideas. The key is to become the place they go for answers. You can even use artificial intelligence technology to generate post topics and outlines.
2. Showcase your expertise by hosting an educational event
Take your expert authority one step further and consider hosting free webinars on a hot topic, such as why some homes sell faster than others. If you want to host a seminar in person, create some helpful printouts and offer popular refreshments.
Focus on delivering valuable information and your audience will see you as the expert in your area. You could also tap local businesses to expand on your expertise. For example, team up with a contractor to offer a course on the top home improvements to undertake before putting a house on the market.
3. Become the local tour guide of your neighborhood
Buyers crave information about the areas where they’re considering moving. As a local real estate agent, you’re primed to get them up to speed on the neighborhood. Keep track of local events and news — restaurant openings, holiday celebrations, zoning hearings — and share them with your audience.
For example, there’s a Charleston agent who sends out a list of what’s happening every month, from high school football games to oyster roasts. She’s so well known for it that people call it “Debbie’s calendar.” You can also create helpful neighborhood guides with the details your prospects want to know.
4. Interview local business owners
Local businesses are the lifeblood of your community. Spend some time interviewing area entrepreneurs to learn more about their services. Then, turn those interviews into blog posts, podcast episodes, or a series of social media posts.
Your audience will enjoy getting to know more people from the community, your interviewee will be honored to be included (and might send business your way), and you have a near-constant supply of quality content that benefits all involved. Make these interviews work even harder by including a video component that you can share over social.
5. Change your most successful blog posts into lead magnets
Creating valuable content is only half the battle. Here’s the secret to leveraging it for long-term success: First, share it on your social media channels and send it to your contact list in strategic email marketing campaigns. Then, track and analyze its success rates so you know you’re hitting the right notes.
Take any content that gets strong page views and engagement and turn it into a PDF lead magnet that you can offer in exchange for contact information. This makes your content work twice as hard, gives your audience valuable resources, and fills up your CRM with new contacts to nurture.
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6. Identify the 50 most important keywords in your market and target them
If you’ve already implemented our earlier content marketing ideas, you’ve done a lot of the hard work needed to determine what information your ideal client would value. Translate this knowledge into the language your prospects would use to find this information online and incorporate the corresponding keywords into your website content.
Looking for expert help with your SEO strategy? Learn more here.
7. Post 3x a week on your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is important (and free) marketing collateral, and you should capitalize on it. At a minimum, use an incognito browser to view the information Google displays about your business and ensure it is accurate.
If you want to take this marketing idea a step further, encourage happy past clients to leave online reviews. This is a key marketing strategy on Google, as prospective clients are likely to check those reviews before they even call you.
But if you want to take full advantage of the power of your Google Business Profile, you should be posting regular updates multiple times each week. Think of it as part of your social media strategy and you’ll be ahead of the SEO game.
8. Offer to write a monthly real estate piece for your local newspaper for free in exchange for backlinks
Become “that” local real estate agent with a weekly or monthly column. Local magazines and newspapers have a devoted following and are an excellent source of expert advice and information. Most smaller publications run on shoestring budgets and appreciate local experts reaching out to offer to add editorial content.
Send an email to the editor with an introduction of yourself and a pitch for an article. Make sure that the editor knows the only thing you want in exchange for your content is a link back to your website. The high authority of these local, relevant backlinks should boost the SEO of your website.
Real estate advertising ideas
Advertising has come a long way from newspaper pullouts. Here are some ways you can use ads to make your marketing budget really work for you.
9. Run Google Ads against your competitor’s name
Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are an incredibly effective way of capturing attention online. Ad networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and Google use the thousands of data points they collect about their users to put your ads in front of the right people at the right time.
This isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore. These platforms’ sophisticated algorithms can ensure your ads are seen by the highest priority prospects and drive substantial portions of agents’ businesses.
One way to grab more market share is to create an ad campaign that targets potential clients who are searching for your competitors online. Let this highly targeted group know that you provide the services they’re looking for.
Looking to hand ads off to the experts? We’d love to talk.
10. Be the star of every YouTube video with pre-roll retargeting
Imagine someone visits your site and views a listing or reads a blog post. Then they leave to start making dinner before filling out your lead capture form. Successful retargeting campaigns help you get your brand in front of them again.
While Google and most social media platforms offer retargeting, we particularly like YouTube pre-roll ads. When you create one of these short ads that play before a YouTube video and target your content specifically toward prospects that have visited your site but not converted to clients, they can be extra powerful and cost effective. Pre-roll ads can remind your audience how much they liked a property or enjoyed your blog post—and, most importantly—nudge them to revisit your site and find out more.
11. Create a landing page for each of your customer segments
For real estate agents with several target audiences, dedicated landing pages can help segment messaging and craft highly specific calls to action that will populate sales funnels. Creating separate ad campaigns for each landing page will yield the highest success rates.
A landing page for buyers might be a property search page. Sellers might be tempted by a free home valuation. Either way, the agent offers something of value to the prospective lead and the lead provides their contact information to access it.
12. Connect your physical and digital marketing with QR codes
While many of us associate QR codes with the contactless days of COVID-19, they remain useful tools for agents. Particularly effective on for-sale signs, open house ads, and mailers, QR codes streamline information sharing and enhance engagement with potential clients.
As a bridge from the physical world to your digital presence, they provide easy access to property details, virtual tours, and contact information, allowing prospects to quickly obtain the facts they’re looking for and interact with listings via their smartphones. But perhaps more importantly, QR codes are easily trackable, helping you measure this offline activity so you know which postcards and physical signage are providing the most bang for your buck.
Real estate social media marketing ideas
Social media is increasingly becoming a bigger part of the real estate sales process, as 54% of agents recently credited social media for delivering the highest number of quality leads. Real estate is naturally suited to these highly visual platforms — here is how you can use them to your advantage.
13. Start your own reality show on YouTube
Video, especially on social media, is a way to let your audience get to know you. Today’s marketing landscape is all about communicating your brand and video is the way to do it. Showing up authentically as yourself goes a long way to building the “know, like, and trust” factor that often drives purchasing decisions.
If the idea of creating your own reality show sounds daunting, check out this interview our CEO conducted with agent and personal branding expert Phillip Salem. He offers some excellent pointers on how to achieve this goal without letting it dominate your time.
14. Show the behind-the-scenes of your business on Instagram Live
Social media is a prime opportunity to build a sense of personality around your real estate brand. One of our favorite social media marketing ideas is broadcasting an open house live on Instagram. It’s a great way to showcase a property, but maybe even more importantly, it shows off your personality and creativity.
It’s a real-time opportunity to answer questions, engage with your audience, and dive deep into analytics behind your viewers. Informal, inexpensive, and spontaneous, it’s one of the best ways to leverage video and bring your brand to life.
Remember: Your social media marketing efforts should ladder up to your overall marketing campaigns to ensure consistency across the board. Follow our favorite Instagram accounts for more inspiration.
15. Create a personalized list of hashtags that speak to your audience
Hashtags categorize groups of social media posts. The user experience may vary from social network to social network, but in general, clicking on a hashtag will bring you to similar content posted by other users, which is an excellent way to boost your visibility online.
Using multiple hashtags on social media helps grab the attention of people looking for posts about #YourArea, #YourProfession, or #YourTopic. But to get the most engagement, you need to choose the correct tags. Use our list of real estate hashtags to create your own, personalized repository of tags that apply specifically to your brand and audience. Save copies on your computer and mobile device for easy access every time you post.
16. Become a top contributor in your local social media groups
Your social media presence isn’t just about what you post on your grid or in your Stories. You need to be, well, social. Engagement drives interest in your brand and gives potential clients an idea of who you are and what you stand for. And in a world where people are inundated with information, engagement is what can set your brand apart.
Join local Facebook groups and answer questions, chime in on LinkedIn posts about the local market, and respond to other people’s posts on Instagram. For example, there’s a Charleston agent who is active on the Facebook history group, constantly solidifying his reputation as a local, go-to real estate pro with his engagement, responding to questions, and posting historical anecdotes.
The algorithm rewards users who get involved, but as a busy real estate professional, you don’t have time to sit around waiting to comment on your audience’s posts all day. So set your social notifications to go to one specific folder and block time on your calendar to read through them and respond where appropriate.
17. Bring chat marketing into your DMs
Imagine you have a popular lead magnet on home improvement projects to undertake before selling a home, but you want to expand its reach. First, publish a short reel or post on Instagram that explains one of the tips. In the caption, tell your audience that if they type “guide” in the comments, you’ll send the resource to them via direct message. A tool such as ManyChat automates sending a link to your landing page to those Instagram followers and can even include personalized messages to accompany it.
Your audience feels like you took the time to respond to them directly, they get access to an important resource, and you get increased engagement and their contact information once they download the guide. And it’s all on autopilot.
Local real estate marketing ideas
Online marketing and social media posts can bring people to your door, but local marketing strategies will engender the goodwill and trust of your community. By failing to localize your marketing strategy, you could be putting a lot of effort into building relationships with people who live too far away to benefit from your personal experience.
18. Sponsor a youth sports team
Consider sponsoring a youth sports team (or supporting the arts or volunteering for a mentorship program — whatever aligns with your interests). Whether a grand gesture or small investment, community engagement is a reliable way to build trust, create brand loyalty, and deliver new leads. Plus, when those little soccer players are ready for a bigger backyard to play in, their parents are going to call the agent whose logo has been on their kid’s jersey for the past three years.
19. Find a local business partner for every stage of the transaction
Many agents have a list of home mortgage lenders they call on. But don’t forget the value of partnering with local vendors for staging help, handyman services, open house treats, home repairs, and closing gifts. When entering a mutually beneficial business partnership, you are building relationships in your community that could offer consistent referral opportunities.
Offline real estate marketing ideas
Marketing any business effectively without a website, social media account, or email is nearly impossible. However, neglecting the tactics real estate agents have relied on for decades is also a mistake. Ideally, you’ll want to strike a balance. The following offline suggestions can deliver a great return on your investment when paired with digital real estate marketing.
20. Create on-brand swag that will actually get used
The beauty of swag is that it can be just about anything. But this also means there are a lot of options that miss the mark and end up collecting dust. Remember, the items you select to bear your name and logo act as brand ambassadors. Make sure they’re consistent with your business identity.
Think about how your prospects and clients will interact with your branded gifts. Simple products like pens, keychains, notepads, and travel mugs are popular because they are inexpensive and genuinely useful. Imagine how top of mind you’ll remain as your current, past, and future clients sip their coffee out of a branded mug, sign their names with a branded pen, and hear the clink of your branded keychain as they lock their door.
21. Make your gifting unexpected, local, and even delicious
Closing gifts can inspire clients to write a testimonial or even post an image of your thoughtful present on social media. But too often they’re an afterthought that agents put on autopilot. Here are two ways to avoid this in your marketing plan:
- Add the element of surprise: Gifting isn’t just for former clients anymore. In this interview with us, Glennda Baker shared that her fellow agent and friend, Monica Carr, uses home-baked goods to reach new business in delicious ways: “Every time that somebody posts [about] a graduate of Walton High School, she sends the graduate a box of brownies. She did more deals from that than any other source because what are those people doing when the kid goes to school? They’re downsizing.”
- Go local: Everyone benefits when your care package includes items from your local business partners. Clients who are new to the neighborhood can learn about the unique businesses in the area, and you’re lifting up local businesses. If you’re not the most adept in the kitchen, combine this tip with the previous one and send prospects items from your local bakery.
Bonus brilliant real estate marketing ideas
If you’re a go-getter looking for extra credit, here are some more involved marketing ideas that are still likely to pay off.
22. Start a “small on purpose” podcast targeting ONLY the people in your market
Most podcasters are looking for the largest number of listeners possible, but in real estate, that’s not always the best marketing strategy. Consider creating content that speaks specifically to your community and you’ll develop a loyal following that’s preconditioned to think of you as their personal source of real estate knowledge.
Podcasts can be demanding of your time, but AI is making the repurposing of this type of content easier than ever. Take any piece of long-form video or audio content, like a podcast or a webinar, and use a program such as OpusClip to dice it up into shorter, dynamic clips perfect for dissemination across social media. One piece of content can instantly transform into ten or more potentially viral videos.
23. Soundtrack all your video walkthroughs with the trending audio of the week
Video content is incredibly popular online, which is why you should already be using walkthroughs as an opportunity to market listings to a wider audience. Different from a live feed during an open house, walk-throughs are entertaining and informative, and can have a higher level of production quality. Or, keep it casual with a self-filmed walkthrough that highlights the home (and your sparkling personality).
No matter the style you decide on, take advantage of the audio curation that many social media platforms already provide by adding whatever song is trending that week in the background. Throwing in some catchy, popular music will bring you more attention so you can show off exactly what makes that property and your brand unique. The TikTok crowd won’t be able to get enough.
24. Invite local influencers to your open houses
Think outside the box and use your personal network of local businesses to create a unique open house experience. Invite a local celebrity chef to do demonstrations in your listing’s kitchen, stage a home with high-end art from a gallery, or host a pet adoption event in your listing’s extensive backyard. Just make sure you clear your brilliant marketing idea with the sellers.
Real estate marketing ideas + Luxury Presence
With this wealth of real estate marketing ideas in your back pocket, you’ll be set up for success—and an increase in qualified leads. And if you’re looking for a team of highly skilled experts who have handled real estate marketing for some of the top-producing agents in the country, we’d love to talk to you.
