Currently set to Index
Currently set to Follow

Your Marketing Dude

7 Real Estate Videos That Convert Leads Into Clients

by

Would you hire you off your website?  Be honest?  Here are 7 real estate videos every Realtor, lender, and real estate investor need on their website that will convert more clients!

When people visit your website it’s not to see what you do, but more of how you do it.

Realtors, lenders, and Realtors offer the same products of services for the most part.  All Realtors have access to the MLS just like all lenders have access to the same loan products.  With real estate investors, it’s really no different.  Within each market they have the same product and service as their local competition.

In the real estate industry, people hire you for how you do business, not what you do.  People want to make one of the largest financial decisions with someone they know, like, and trust.

The one thing that separates everybody from each other is their personal brand. It’s the one thing that consumers relate to most when making a decision on who to enlist or sell their house to.

This post is going to be specifically about these 7 core website real estate videos designed to do one thing; humanize your brand offering and sell your 💩!

Your website is your digital storefront so what you say on it matters!

1.) About Video

Your about video is one of the most important real estate videos on your website.  However it’s job is not to showcase what you do, but more of why you do it.  People should already know what you do when they visit your website. Your about video’s job is cut through the clutter and show you how you do it.

Your about video is NOT about how long you’ve been in the business or how many awards you won, but more to showcase your personality and style.  People should be able to view it and determine if they relate to you or not.

There’s a major difference between the two.  People, especially in real estate work with people they can relate to and personally like.

This is our Brand Story video that doesn’t focus so much on who we are as much as why we do it.  Throughout the video you are able to see our personality as well as tie in our brand with it.

How To Use It

Your about video should go right on top of your about page.  Your about page is the #3 most visited page on someone’s website.  The reason for that is because people want to see who they are doing business with before they contact them.

You can also place it on your email signature and it should be placed on every online resource your brand is represented including your social media profiles.

2.) How It Works/What We Do Differently Video

Why should someone hire you?  And no you can’t say because you provide great customer service, people expect that nowadays.  Another one of your core real estate videos is important because it’s only job should be to explain exactly what you do.

What is your value proposition or what do you do differently ?

You don’t want to leave any guess work for the viewer.  If you’re a Realtor, you should have one for each buyers and sellers.

This is one of our explainer videos for our monthly video marketing services.  This is one of the products and services we offer, but we needed something to explain how it works on video.  We also have a video for each product or service we have.  It’s no different for your business.

How To Use It

You should place this real estate video front and center of your “How it Works” page or even your home page.  You can also use this video to drive traffic or retargeting ads if you are running them.

3.) Testimonials/Reviews Video

There is nothing more powerful about what someone else says about your business.  Therefore EVERY business needs a reviews page on their website to showcase past customers or even case studies.

Have you ever booked the vacation on Travelocity without any reviews?

That’s what I thought. Nobody hires the real estate agent, lender, or contact an investor who has ZERO social proof either.  Creating a “Reviews” page on your website is smart to do.

Here, the Norfolk Real Estate Dad takes us through a client case study. Do you think people relate more to this or your just sold and just listed posts?

 

This is the video I posted on top of my reviews page.  I wanted to address the #1 concern we get for real estate video marketing, and that’s what’s the ROI?

For me, it makes sense to have this on my page, but for you I would host client case studies or testimonials.  Feel free to visit my page here.

How To Use It

Your reviews page can be used in your drip campaigns and ads.  It’s even more powerful if you continue to incorporate real estate video testimonials into your site as you get them going forward.  They serve for great reminders of how good you are at your job without having to say it.

4.) Frequently Asked Questions Video

Have you ever visited a website and checked out the FAQ pages? One of the most effective real estate videos on your site should be your FAQ page. Not only do you learn more about the business, but you also learn more about the brand.

Listing the most frequently asked questions and then addressing them right up front, is crucial.  Your website should have a page designated to the FAQ’s you know people ask.  This is your opportunity to address common objections.

How To Use It

This video should be on one of your core pages of your website.  You can also use this in your email campaigns and for ads too.

5.) How Much It Costs Video

Have you ever visited a website, but couldn’t find the pricing? How annoying was that?  Instead of hiding pricing, address the elephant in the room and justify it.

There’s nothing to hide and you SHOULD represent your pricing online openly.  It also expresses confidence and trust and your display transparency.

Pricing is the #1 thing most people consider when thinking about hiring a specific service.

How To Use It

This video should be on one of your core pages of your website.  You can also use this in your email campaigns and for ads too.

6.) Pros & Cons Video/Competitor Comparison

Addressing your competition is crucial.  First of all you are not perfect and are not designed to relate to every single person, nobody is.  This means that your product or service is NOT right for everybody.

Have you ever had a real pain in the ass client and you wanted to fire them? Chances are your personalities didn’t jive.

Creating a pros and cons video that addresses the good, the bad, the ugly of your service is a good thing. It will allow you to attract who you resonate naturally, while being completely transparent.

For example, for Real Estate Marketing Dude, we openly describe who is best for our services.  We attract a certain type of individual, which allows us to define who that is in our sales process.   Here’s our compare page on our site.

How To Use It

This should be a core page on your website so people can judge for themselves whether or not your service is right for them. You can also run ads for this in addition to this.

7.) Landing Page/ Contact Video

Have you ever been ready to opt into a website or even contact someone but you didn’t at the last second.  Sometimes people just need that extra nudge.

However instead of trying to sell them on your service, focus more on what is going to happen once they do fill our your form.  Address their expectations upfront.

  1. We are not going to spam you
  2. We are not going to sell your information
  3. Give them a detailed explanation of what to expect

When people visit our landing page to schedule a demo, they know what they are there for so I don’t have to sell it too hard. Instead I let them know exactly what to expect once they do schedule a demo with me. Here’s the link just in case you want to schedule one.

I hope this blog helped you see how important each of these 7 real estate videos plays a role in addressing consumer objections.  Each one has its own job.  If you liked the advice in this article, then check out our Youtube Channel for more tips.

As you can by the time you got done reading this article are you more likely to contact us for our services because I just walked you through my funnel.

How To Market Your Database With Video

by

I’m going to show you how to market your database with video on this post.

You can have the best video in the world, but if the right people don’t see it, then what’s the point?   It’s the consistency of creating videos and then distributing them to your audiences that builds your brand.

Who Is My Database Comprised Of?

The first lesson isn learning how to market your database is identifying who your database is comprised of.  Your database consists of your sphere of influence, past clients, and even family members.  It should be anyone you would expect to use your services.

Did you know that over 80% of ALL agent business comes from referrals, repeat business, or from people you personally know or met?  You don’t get referrals or repeat business from strangers, you get them from the people you know!

We use video so that you can keep your brand in front of your database in a humanizing type of way without having to talk about real estate.

Why Learning How To Market Your Database Is A Realtor’s #1 Skill

Think about how many of your past college or high school friends you have stayed in touch with through social media over the last decade.  Being able to see their pictures, videos, and stories has allowed the both of you to hold onto the relationship.  Even though you might not have spoken to each other directly, if you saw them in the grocery store you’d still say “hi” because you feel like you still know them.

Now let’s do the complete opposite.  Let’s say you haven’t seen, talked to, or even heard from or about them since you graduated. Do you even feel like you know them anymore?  Would you say hi to them in the grocery store now or even know what they look like? Most likely not.

That’s why video nurtures your relationship and generates referrals. Are you seeing  the importance in learning how to market your database with video?

People work with agents they, know, like, trust, are and referred to, but only when they are remembered! 

Learn how to market your database with video and leave a larger impact which creates top of mind brand awareness.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Your main goal should be to become the first agent they think of when they think of real estate.” quote=”Your main goal should be to become the first agent they think of when they think of real estate.”]

3 Steps To Learning How To Market Your Database With Video

Step 1: Build Your Database Marketing Lists

If you want to learn how to market your database, you must first create the actual database. We want to create a social media list and an email list. We can do this by uploading lists of your cell phone contacts and email addresses of your database.  They will become a custom audience  and you can run ads to them.

Your email list can be uploaded into a system like Sweet Assist or BombBomb where you can send your videos via email.

You might also want to also read this article to understand how attraction from your database works>>> Attracting New Clients In Real Estate From Your Database.

We start by exporting your cell phone contacts, email contacts, LinkedIn contacts, CRM contacts, and any other resource that has the contact information of your database.  Once that is complete, we will combine them all on onto one final CSV or excel spread sheet so you can move to the next step.

Step 2: Uploading Your Database Facebook And Instagram Database

Learning how to market your database is also about learning how to reach them and where they hang out.  Your database hangs out on your personal page, not your business page. However, the problem is that only about 15-20% of your “friends” see your posts.  This is exactly why you want to upload your database into Facebook. When you are building a brand, marketing it is more about staying present vs. trying to sell. Think about the concept of direct mail farming, but instead targeting your SOI vs. strangers.

This is extremely important to understand because there is a major difference in advertising vs marketing your database.  Branding and marketing is about consistency and story.  Advertising is about getting a direct action taken as a result of your ad or content. You need to separate the two as different objectives.

WHY?

Chances are that most of your friends are not also following your business page or if they are, they aren’t seeing your posts.  We recommend boosting Facebook ads to your database.

Step 3: Building Your Email Database List

Now once you uploaded all of your contacts into Facebook it’s time to make an email list out of them.  Your email list should be comprised of relationships only.  Email is a little more intimate so we recommend you only build an email list out of relationships and delete the acquaintances. The reason for this is simple –  nobody likes spam.  My advice is to go line by line and delete every contact who’s face you cannot recognize by their name.

Another way to do it is to use what I call the “smell test”.  If you were to be walking down the street, you should stop and say hi to this person, not go the other way. If they pass the “smell test” then leave them on your list. If not, then delete them!

We love video email. If people are not opening your emails, then what’s the point of sending them in the first place? We are seeing a 40% + open rate using video email, which is almost four times the national average(13%)!

The reason we use it is simple: it generates more attention than text based emails.

Once your “marketing lists” are built, all you need to do is add to keep creating videos and making sure as many people in your database sees them.  Don’t overthink it, and keep it simple.

If you stay consistent at staying in front of your database with video, your lead generation worries will soon be over.

The ROI Of Video Marketing

by

Is there really a way to determine the ROI of video marketing?

If you’re somewhat human, one of the biggest concerns to getting started with a real estate video marketing strategy is analyzing the return on investment. Real estate video marketing is NOT lead generation, it is branding and conversion.

If you were to invest in a lead generation strategy such as buying leads, it is very easy to determine a monthly ROI with it.  You either received a return on investment or you did not.  There is a difference in advertising vs. marketing and video is marketing.

Yes, video will generate leads, but I don’t consider it a lead generation strategy, but more of a branding and conversion strategy. The truth is you will NEVER be able to measure a direct ROI on your videos, but you’ll just know and feel it’s working.

Let me get a little deeper….

I must get asked this question 5 times a week at least and it’s virtually impossible to answer because of what I’m about to tell you.

Video is the MOST  impactful and fastest way to build a strong personal brand people know, like, and trust, but it’s impossible to track for what I’m about to tell you.

How We Use Video & Content Marketing To Find Clients

Let’s take my brand, Real Estate Marketing Dude for example.  I create content consistently and distribute it to real estate agents, lenders, investors, and anyone else willing to listen to me.

Some of my content is through my Real Estate Marketing podcast, which publishes every Saturday. Both are forms of media, one being audio and the other being video.  Both are forms of communication and both are being done consistently to the same audience.

Every week, I get people just like you to schedule a demo with me to check out my marketing and video services.  The very first question I ask everyone is, how did you find us?

Virtually everyone of them says the same thing, “I’ve been following your podcast or videos for a while and I’m finally getting around to reaching out now”.

I don’t know which video or piece of content caused them to schedule the appointment, but I do know that they saw the videos prior to scheduling with me.

I don’t know which video did it, but I do know that it’s just a combination of consistent communication over time.

However they first find me it’s because of content, mostly video content, but it’s more of a dating process.

You Can Use Real Estate Video Content The Same Way

The strength of using video in your business works because it’s the most impactful way to communicate.  It’s easier use video to build stronger relationships and referral sources with people you already know than meet new ones!

People who are doing a lot of video are making bigger waves than those who are not, it’s just that simple.  Our business is a giant popularity contest at the end of the day as people work with people they know, like, and trust.

How Communication From Person To Person Works

Video makes a much larger impact than any additional form of communication

  • 90% of communication comes in the form of body language and tonality.
  • 10% of communication is what actually comes out of your mouth (people don’t remember 90% of what you say)
  • You cannot express tonality and body language on direct mail, email, or any other channel as good as you can on video

Conclusion: Video is most impactful way to get your message out.  You can deliver email not through video and in some cases even direct mail.  If you logged onto social media in the last 2 days you’ll notice that everything is video.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”People don’t remember what you do, they remember why and how you do it” quote=”People don’t remember what you do, they remember why and how you do it”]

When people decide to hire a real estate agent, work with a lender, or sell their house to an investor, the ultimate decisions is based on whether or not they like you PERIOD.

So even though it’s nearly impossible to calculate a direct ROI using video, this exercise that will get you close.

Step 1-Determine Your Monthly Real Estate Video Marketing Costs

The only way to determine the ROI is to determine how many videos you are going to do each month.   You can then see what your monthly cost of video will be.

Do you want to create video content consistently or sporadically (like for listing videos for example)?  Once you can narrow down your monthly budget for creating real estate videos, you can move on to step 2.

Step 2- Multiply your monthly Real Estate Video Marketing Cost x 12

Let’s talk some numbers and get tangible on actual costs vs. ROI so you can make a more informed decision. I can’t stand when people talk in theory so let’s get mathematical.

We are going to use the costs of hiring a Real Estate Marketing Dude for time sake.

If you were to do 2 videos a month that would run you $649/month.  If we multiply that by 12 months, we end up with an annual cost of $7,788.

Step 3- Determine How To Distribute Your Real Estate Videos

You can create the best videos in the world, but if you aren’t putting them in front of the right people, there’s not point.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”You don’t generate business creating videos, you do it by distributing them.” quote=”You don’t generate business creating videos, you do it by distributing them.”]

This is how I recommend distributing your video content.

  • Video Email to your database 2 times a month
  • Post on all your social profiles 2 times a month
  • Upload and optimize to your YouTube channel 2 times a month
  • Multipurpose everything back on your website with a blog post 2 times a month
  • Run ads to your database 2 times a month

If you followed this plan, do you think you would become more referable?  We like to say that the only time it doesn’t work is when people don’t like you.

It’s a channel in which you communicate through and the reason it’s so damn powerful!

  • It is a fact that 10-15% of your friends, family, Facebook friends, IG followers, and Linked In connections are moving this year.
  • It is also a fact that 100% of them know someone they can refer you to.
  • Over 72% of consumers close with the first agent they meet with.
  • Over 80% of ALL closed transactions come from referrals, repeat clients, or from people you personally met (open house, sign call, etc.).

National Association of Realtors FACTS

Step 3- Annual Cost Analyzation

Once you have determined the cost, you can make a good judgement if it’s worth it.

Would you spend roughly $8,000 a year to make sure everyone you knew was reminded of your existence?

Do you think you could generate more  referrals over the next twelve months?

Let’s use this for an example.  If the average sales price in your market is $300,000, yo will break even if you generate one client.

So when people ask me what’s the ROI of real estate video marketing my response is simple…

What’s the cost or negative ROI of not doing it?

Here’s another great article that might help you determine the ROI on video

Hiring A Real Estate Videographer vs. Real Estate Marketing Dude

by

If you made the decision to commit to real estate video marketing, you are most likely going to need to hire some kind of service, but the question is which one? On this post I wanted to compare the differences between hiring a real estate videographer or a company like Real Estate Marketing Dude for example?


This article is going to walk you through the pros and cons of each so you can make a more informed decision, but whatever you end up doing, you need to start by defining your real estate video marketing strategy first.

Are you using video to generate leads or referrals?

Do you want your videos edited professionally?

Do you have scripts or know what  types of videos to create?

How will you get more people to see your real estate videos?

Real Estate Videographer Vs. Real Estate Marketing Dude

The answer to what kind of services you need will be based upon how you intend on using video in your business.   I’m going to breakdown everything from costs to video distribution so you have a better idea of what to look for.

What’s The Cost Difference? 

The first place to start is with your budget.  The reason this is so important to your real estate video marketing strategy is because there will be a major cost difference based on how many videos you want to do per month and who you hire.

Are you looking to do videos sporadically or consistently?

Typically speaking you can expect a real estate videographer to charge anywhere between $300 on the very low end up to $1,000 on the higher end for a video.  If you are relying on your real estate videographer to get more creative or use a drone, you can expect the cost to be on the higher end.  Most real estate local videographers tend to work on a video by video basis, but I’ sure you could find someone willing to work something out with you. 

If you are looking to create real estate videos sporadically here and there, finding a good real estate videographer you work well with is probably a good option.

A Real Estate Marketing Dude scripts, edits, and distributes your videos, but we do not shoot for you.  Our costs range from $1,197/month for 2-4 videos, but we offer many additional services, like multi-purposing your content for you.

Another company who has a similar service is Vyral Marketing.  They complete interview style videos and also help you distribute your videos each month.  Currently their service is $550/month, but much like Real Estate Marketing Dude is a monthly or annual subscription.

Who Provides The Scripts?

One of the reasons hiring a real estate videographer is attractive is they show up and shoot the video for you, but do not assume they create the script for you too.  That is going to depend on who you hire. The vast amounts of real estate videographers will handle the shoot and editing, but many times, the content creation is up to you.

You should always determine what kind of content you are going to create before you hire a real estate videographer.  Shooting a listing video should be relative easy for any videographer, but if your plan was to create an ongoing video marketing strategy, you might want to put a little more thought into it.

TIP: Make sure your real estate videographer knows what your vision is.  Just because they know how to shoot videos DOES not mean they see your vision.

On the other hand, if you were looking to hire a real estate video marketing service such as, yours truly, we would plan your strategy based on what kind of videos enhance your personal brand and fulfill your objective.  We build a video strategy unique to you and based around your personal brand.  We will also provide the scripts, step by step instructions, editing, and distribution.  Most real estate video marketing services have a plan around content creation for their clients to follow.

Can I Shoot My Own Real Estate Videos?

This is a very important part of the process to consider when thinking about how to carry our you real estate video marketing strategy.

Let’s first start with how the shooting process works hiring a real estate videographer.  They will shoot your videos and edit them.   However, that’s generally where they stop. 

If you were working with a Real Estate Marketing Dude, you would be responsible for shooting video based on our scripts, training, and step by step format using just your cell phone.  We will provide scripts, editing, and distribution for you, but you have to shoot your videos. We will provide lots of coaching and training, but ultimately you have to time block to make sure you get your content created.

We can and will direct you for green screen videos, but shooting in the community you are using our personalized scripts we make for you.

Who Distributes My Videos? Real Estate Videographer Vs. Real Estate Marketing Dude

You can have the best videos in the world, but if nobody sees them, then what’s the point?  If your goal is to create videos that are going to die in your newsfeed and never be seen again, then you might want to rethink your video marketing strategy.  Properly distributing and multi-purposing your videos is arguably the most important part of the process.  Part of building a brand should be to use your videos to communicate to your audience (aka database).  They should also be distributed onto your Youtube Page (subscribe to my channel right here)  and website.

The tasks of multi-purposing your video content builds your local authority in addition to your online footprint.  It’s not unheard of to rank your website for hyperlocal content.

Typically most real estate videographers do not offer video distribution services.  Real Estate Marketing Dude video emails your database, optimizes on your Youtube Channel, writes a blog post on your site, and sends you publishing instructions for your social media channels.

What’s The Difference Between A Real Estate Videographer Vs Real Estate Marketing Dude

ServiceVideographerMarketing DudeVyral Marketing
Costs$400/Video$1,197/Month (2-4 Videos)$550/Month (2 Videos)
Who Films?ThemYou/ThemYou/Them
Video Scripts ProvidedNoYesInterview
Uploaded To Youtube For OptimizationNoYesYes
Blog Post Written On WebsiteNoYesYes
Video Emailed To DatabaseNoYesYes
Ongoing Coaching NoYes?
Additional Social Media Images Created MonthlyNoYesNo
Personalized Branding Strategy & Show CreationNoYesNo
Ads ServiceNoYesYes
CreativityYesYesNo
The Difference Between Video Options

I hope this  helped you see the differences between hiring a real estate videographer vs. a Real Estate Marketing Dude. If there is anything we can assist you with, please don’t hesitate to schedule a demo with a dude. Schedule a demo with a dude now!

Is Real Estate Lead Generation Is Dead?

by

What Is Real Estate Lead Generation?

Real estate lead generation is the process of generating interest in a product or service for the purpose of creating a future sale or prospect.  

There will always be real estate leads, but how they are being acquired is what is changing. Paid real estate lead generation and old school prospecting methods are dead or at least dying, but before you start writing me hate mail, just hear me out. I’ve been writing about attracting business for over 5 years because I personally saw the changes in buyer and seller wants and needs begin to happen in 2013-2014. 

People didn’t want to be sold, they wanted to be served.  Old school prospecting techniques like cold calling, prospecting FSBO’s, and expireds were not working.  

The difference between real estate lead generation now and then…

That’s when I realized how important BRAND is. Today, anyone has the opportunity to look you up online before they respond to any of your marketing.  There’s a reason why your About page is the #3 most visited page on anyone’s website.  People look you up before they hire you. It’s the same reason you read the reviews on Travelocity before you book your next vacation.  Think about it.  Has anyone ever booked the vacation without any reviews? Hell no!

Would you hire you if you visited your website?

 

[click_to_tweet tweet=”If a large portion of your business relies on real estate lead generation a source you don’t control, then you are not running business, you are just another sales person chasing a check.” quote=”If a large portion of your business relies on real estate lead generation a source you don’t control, then you are not running business, you are just another sales person chasing a check.”]

 The only real estate lead generation strategy that outlasts any market is having a strong personal brand.  

What Do You Mean Real Estate Lead Generation Is Dead?

Let me first clarify what I mean by real estate lead generation is dead. I believe that many traditional “lead sources” are drying up for a number of reasons. Ultimately, what consumers expect from an agent has changed, so we must change with that and meet their requests.  This includes how we “market” our business and why your brand is so important. it’s what sets you apart.

Agents with a strong brand presence will have a HUGE advantage over those that don’t for this reason.  Your brand is what converts leads into prospects, which eventually turn into clients.

The future of real estate lead generation will rely on each agent’s own ability to attract customers vs. buy them

I’m not telling you any of this to scare you, I’m telling this to SCREAM IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS that when there is change, there is also major opportunity!

If real estate lead generation is dead, how do I make it?

You cannot build a brand without creating content. 

Consistent communication to the same audience over time.  Video is the fastest most cost effective way to do it.

Building A Hyper Local Real Estate Brand Is The Future Of Real Estate Lead Generation

In 2013-2014, I started to dive heavy into content marketing.  I wrote blogs, created video content, and started just splashing it on my personal profiles.  I rebranded to the ChicagoRealEstateDude and the “dude” became what people started calling me instead of Mike Cuevas.   Before I knew it I had a brand that stood out, but the brand only existed because the of the content I created.  I started ATTRACTING business through branding and generating attention, not just with me but everyone on my team too.

Today my podcast generates about 5,000-7,000 downloads a week and it was never once promoted in any type of paid advertising(It’s not the best but something I’m proud of for growing organically). I was consistently communicating to the same audience and over time and they started to listen.

The only reason you are probably reading this right now is because you somehow found me through some kind of content I created or through a group I create content for. I’m now able to create content for Real Closers because they found me through my content creation.

The content on my website demonstrates if I have the expertise they are looking for!

Content Creates Engagement. Engagement Creates Conversation. Conversation Creates Trust. Trust = Getting Hired.

The good news is that for you there’s no reason why you can’t do the same.  Any real estate agent in the United States can RIGHT now commit to building a brand and in a 6-12 month time frame(or less) become a very well known name within their marketplace.

You have an unbelievable opportunity to steal the ATTENTION of your database and local community because let’s face it, who else in your market is really doing it with video?  And that my friend is the opportunity in itself.

The question is, will you? 

Why Real Estate Lead Generation Is Dead: Failure To Adapt

About 2 years ago I got a new car. I opted into a form online and I will never do it again for this very reason. Within about 5-10 minutes I started getting calls, emails, and even texts from all kinds of car salesmen. I have nothing wrong with car salesmen, but it was probably the most annoying thing ever.

Then, I thought to myself, “holy shit this is what Realtors do to people when they fill out a form on Zillow”.   

That ? used to work, but today not so much.

What consumers expect from their agent has changed. No business can thrive doing business as usual when their customers expectations change. Not to be cliche, but remember Blockbuster, Taxis, AirBNB, etc?

Quit Doing What You Hate Being Done To You.

How are your expired campaigns going vs. 7+ years ago?  How is door knocking today vs. 10 years ago?  How is chasing FSBO’s working out for most agents?  It’s not a coincidence.

Why Is This Happening With Paid Real Estate Lead Generation?

The Biggest problem has been that ALL these LEADS that have been sold you agent from Zillow, Realtor.com, and other online companies has been that they haven’t been followed up on.

This is a major reason why I think Zillow and Realtor.com have pushed towards a referral model.  Guys like Tristan Ahumada from Lab Coat Agents  are great at converting online leads because they have amazing systems behind them. 

Although 80% of people found their home online, only 11% found their agent online

In my business, I don’t consider agents who sign up for my one of my offers a potential client, I call it a potential prospect. They are not a serious lead for me until they schedule a time to be contacted( schedule a demo with me on Calendly)

I create content to attract more business. If not how else would you find me?   This post is just another example of that.  It’s my content that will eventually determine if you want to schedule a time with me or not.

Are You Changing With Real Estate Lead Generation?

 What are you doing differently on your follow up for leads?

“You will begin attracting  business once you start creating consistent content in an authentic way. This is how you’ll build your brand”

You build a brand? when you create content consistently with the same audience over time. Think about brands you follow.  If they were NOT omni-present, would you still have the same connection?  Probably not, which is why creating content consistently is so important to building your brand.

Real Estate Lead Generation Targeting: Where Does The Business Really Come From?

Did you know that roughly 80% of closed business for real estate agents come from people they already know, used in the past, or personally met?

 

 

If 80% of business comes from people you know, then where should you place your energy and marketing budget?

I don’t know where our industry went so far down the “real estate lead generation” rabbit hold, but the truth is that most business is right in front of you. 

Generating sign calls or open house contacts aren’t leads, those are prospects since they have already demonstrated intent. I would rather have two prospects than 30 online leads, what about you?

Referrals or potential repeat business that is inbound to you is not a lead, that’s a prospect.

I don’t know about you but I want to be the first agent they think of when they think of real estate. Creating consistent content helps accomplish that!

Real Estate Lead Generation Facts

10-15% of your network is moving this year and most don’t even know it yet. How many more referrals would you generate if every time someone thought of the word “Real Estate”, they thought of you?

At the same time, every person you know has the ability to refer you at least one person this year, but it’s hard for them to do that when they forget what you do for a living. In a referral dominated industry, top of mind brand awareness is everything.

When you create consistent content that reminds your network what you do for a living it just becomes a numbers game.  People want to make one of the largest financial decisions they ever make with someone they feel comfortable with, not a stranger and certainly not a robot.

It’s not your database’s job to remember what you do for a living, it’s your job to remind them!

I am in the business of helping agents build a brand that attracts business through video content creation as opposed to real estate lead generation, so YES I have a not so hidden agenda of trying to sell you my shit, but it’s because I know I can help you. If you are serious about building your brand with video, I’d love to speak with you.  Schedule a time to speak with me here.

Attracting New Clients From Your Database vs. Prospecting

by

Attracting new clients from your database beats prospecting any day of the week.  The key to success in this business is very simple.  You either have the ability to generate business or you don’t.   The reason why I believe 87% of newly licensed fail is because they chase the wrong people.

Attracting new clients from your database is the complete opposite of prospecting.  I am not talking about cold calling, door knocking, or anything else related to old school prospecting.

In order to understand how this works, you need to understand how and why people refer or use Realtors.  I have a more in-depth article you can read here about the psychology of whats makes someone refer you, but let me summarize it for you.

People refer and use Realtors they know, like, trust, and… REMEMBER!

Attracting new clients from your database starts with creating a marketing campaign that makes it easy to be referred.  You don’t need any tech experience, a super duper autoresponder, or a killer “Script”.  You just need to be top of mind to the people who already know, like, and trust you.

Over recent years, many “shiny objects” have infiltrated the real estate marketing space and although they sound really bad ass, the truth is that online Internet leads only accounted for about 3-5% of closed transactions last year.  It amazes me that so many real estate agents pay so much attention to systems that account for such a small percentage of closed sales.

66% of buyers closed with the agent they were referred to or already used in the past

10% of buyers closed with a Realtor they met off a yard sign

4% of buyers closed with a Realtor they met at an open house

I don’t know about you, but the first thing I would do in any business I owned is research where the largest amount of sales originate from.  I can then craft a marketing plan to speak directly to that audience.  According to NAR, 80% of buyers closed with the agent they already knew, were referred to, or personally met.

One thing that hasn’t changed with the Internet is that the majority of people still use the first real estate agent they come into contact with.

Therefore people still overwhelmingly depend on a referral from a trusted source for their real estate needs.

How do you attract new clients from your database?

I’m so glad you asked.  You follow the exact same marketing plan every business follows.  Your create a target audience out of your past and most ideal clients, then continue to keep your brand in front of them through consistent communication.

Your audience is your rolodex of relationships and past clients!

Attracting new clients from your database begins by defining who goes into your database.  There are several meanings to the word database so let me explain.

The database I’m talking about is nothing more than a collection of people you would invite to your wedding or funeral if you had an unlimited budget for both.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Your database is NOT a collection of Zillow leads, opt ins, or other people you have no personal relationship with. ” quote=”Your database is NOT a collection of Zillow leads, opt ins, or other people you have no personal relationship with. “]

I’m talking about your best friends, your neighbors, your dentists, your family, your cousins, the parents at your kid’s school, and anyone else you would say “hi” to in the grocery store.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Anyone who you would be pissed off to log onto to Facebook and see them holding keys to their new house with another agent is part of your database.” quote=”Anyone who you would be pissed off to log onto to Facebook and see them holding keys to their new house with another agent is part of your database.”]

Your best referral sources are your best friends, past clients, and family. Quite often, real estate agents shy away from “marketing” their closest relationships in fear of being cheesy.  You are only cheesy when you send them cheesy shit.

Nobody cares how many houses you sold this month so quit bragging about your closings and start telling stories about the people you helped instead.

TRUE STORY: I got married in Cabo!  When you get married, you create a wedding list of people to invite. My wife’s side of the family knew me as Mike, Allie’s husband, not Mike The Chicago Real Estate Dude. Although I see them every other weekend, they didn’t look at me as a Realtor and I knew that.

After the wedding, I made sure I added everyone on my wife’s side of the family to my direct mail and email lists.  I knew that by adding them onto my marketing lists would turn into referral and direct business. Within 12 months I almost paid for half of the wedding.  The point of the story is that you should never assume those closest to you know how to help you with referrals.

What Do You Mean By Marketing “Them” Or Marketing Lists?

The key to marketing your database is being a great storyteller so that your messaging is not self serving.  You don’t want to send your database sales related messages talking about interest rates. You also don’t want to send them watered down “turn back the clock” emails reminding them that Spring is coming either.

My marketing messages don’t really talk about real estate, but remind them I’m in real estate. F

Attracting new clients from your database is not about generating a lead, it’s about generating the attention of your audience.

Why ATTENTION is So Important…

Having the attention of your database creates top of mind brand awareness.  Top of mind brand awareness creates a higher likelihood of you being the first person they speak to about making a real estate decision.

10-15% of your database is moving this year.

100% of them can refer you to someone who is moving this year.

Attracting new clients from your database is about creating a consistent communication strategy with them so it’s very difficult to be forgotten about.

Have you ever heard about direct mail farming?

It’s a concept that had been around since the dinosaurs ruled the Earth.  An agent will pick out a number of homes in an area and mail them out a postcard once a month. These numbers are pretty consistent with the results in a typical farm area.

Year 1- 1-3 listings

Year 2- 3-5 listing

year 3- 5-8 listings

Over time, you begin to brand yourself as the neighborhood go-to-agent, but it takes time and consistency to do it. If you decided to take 3 months off your campaign a year it could derail the whole thing.  It’s the consistency of the mailings that eventually builds your brand.

Do you know the difference between farming a neighborhood vs farming your database?

Your database has the ability to refer you business where a farm typically doesn’t. People don’t refer their friends and family services they have not experienced themselves so farming a neighborhood is really about playing the turnover game.  Farming your relationships you play both!

Both strategies work, but farming your database is more effective because you have the ability to generate referrals from them which accounted for 51% of closed buyers last year!

So if you want start attracting new clients from your database, start by recognizing who your audience is, and then setting up a consistent communication strategy no differently than you would if you were setting up a farm.

Did you enjoy this article? Help us get the word out and share it amongst your friends and colleagues.  It is my mission to make real estate marketing simple again!

How To Market Your Database Without Talking About Real Estate

by

If you feel slimy advertising your business, we’re going to show you how to market your database WITHOUT having to talk about real estate.  Nobody likes talking about real estate all the time so don’t do it!  Many real estate agents be default market their database with real estate related content only, but do you really need to do that?  Much like your friends, your database doesn’t always want to talk about work either.

 

Learning how to market your database begins with embracing  your personal brand.

The truth is…

  • Your database doesn’t care how many houses you sold this month!
  • Your database doesn’t want your turn back the clock emails!
  • Your database doesn’t want to hear about today’s interest rates!
  • Your database doesn’t want to hear about real estate until they are in the market to buy or sell themselves!

So quit talking about real estate and start creating content people would actually look forward to receiving.

Let’s walk through the process of identifying your personal brand, creating a marketing message, and then a consistent strategy going forward. The key here is creating a marketing strategy that is authentic, fun, and doesn’t rely on regurgitating boring real estate information people don’t care about.

Step 1: Identify Your Brand Theme

First, it begins by realizing you are a brand.  Yes, that’s right you’re a brand.

It was reported only 4% of consumers used the agent because of the brand they were affiliated with.  This means 96% of consumers chose the agent over the brand.  So quit marketing your broker’s brand and start marketing your own!

Your personal brand is your “story” and why you do what you do.  It’s how people know you and remember you.

real estate marketing dude

Can you imagine any new business becoming successful without identifying who they are or what they represent?  Every business has a “why” behind them or something they stand for.

How Do I Find My Niche?

As in any business, the first place to start when coming up with a marketing plan is to determine where the largest percentage of sales come from.  Once you know that number, then you can begin creating a marketing plan that caters to that audience.

If I were to open up a taco stand in San Diego, I would first research who buys the most amount of tacos demographically and then craft my brand and message to cater to that audience. It makes common sense when you think of it. In real estate your database is your audience.  Learning how to market your database is not optional, it’s a necessity.

 

Seller statistics

You don’t get referrals from strangers, you get them from the people you know.

We overthink our branding strategy, but it’s just being you.  If you’re a doctor, then be the real estate doctor.  If you’re brand is your name, then build a visual storyline around it that reflects whom you are as a person. The best part about this is that every agent has a brand unique to them! God only made one of you!

At the end of the day your brand is nothing more than a visual reminder and consistent story of what you do and how you roll.  Make sense?

I’m a dude.  Thats my brand.   I wish I cold be a luxury agent, but I can’t. A long time ago I realized the “Dude” is how my network remembers me.

Your brand needs to do the same thing. It has to be authentic and should reflect whom you really are.  Don’t overthink this as it’s really that simple. This is the single mindset shift needed when learning how to market your database.

Step 2: Create Consistent Marketing Through Multiple Channels

The first goal when marketing your brand is to create impact.  When I create marketing content for my database, I am not doing it to generate a lead, I’m doing it to generate attention of my database.  My only goal is name brand recognition.  This is the first mental mind shift that occurs with learning how to market your database using your personal brand.

Over 80% of  home buyers and sellers find their agent from referral, repeat client, or they personally met them.    This means the vast majority of business comes from the people we already know not strangers.   The reason it’s so important to stay in communication with your entire database is because 10-15% of them are moving this year and 100% of them have a potential referral for you.

If I had 100 people in my world who knew what I did for a living about 10-15 of them are moving.  At the same time all 100 of them knows at least one person who is moving this year they can refer me to.

Generating referrals from your database is much easier than you think, but it requires consistency in communication to do it. You will begin attracting referrals just by staying in touch with your database.  Often times we overthink the mechanics of how to market your database, but it’s very simple.

referral marketing

 

 

Marketing your database is simple.  You want to stay in touch with your database through direct mail, email, and social media.  I’ve tried this with countless agents all with different levels of experience and it has worked every time.  The only time it does not work is when and if people don’t like you. Real estate is one giant popularity contest and when you have the RIGHT branding strategy, you become unforgettable.

Everybody lives somewhere and has the potential to refer you business too, but it’s not their job to do so, it’s your job to remind them. If you’d like to learn more in depth about the marketing your database with direct mail, video email, and social media, then check out this article.

The name of this game is TOP OF MIND BRAND AWARENESS!

Once you define your brand there is no shortage of content to create around it.  If you’re stuck trying to figure out how to market your database, schedule a demo with a Real Estate Marketing Dude now.

Your Real Estate Logo Vs. Your Personal Brand

by

Your brand is what you stand for and/or what people think of you. Your real estate logo is part of your brand, but it’s only the visual representation of your brand.  Therefore your real estate logo is NOT your brand,  it’s the visual reminder of what your brand stands for.  Your brand is your overall offering and everything it represents.

What Is A Brand? It’s Not your real estate logo but that’s part of it.

It’s for this reason that your real estate logo is probably your most important marketing piece as long as it tells your brand’s story.

We classify a brand real estate logo do three things.

  1. Tell a story
  2. Remind people what you for a living
  3. Inflect tone or personality

What is your personal Brand and why it’s so important to tie it into in your real estate logo.

The reason why your brand is so important is because staying on top of mind is everything!  People don’t remember real estate agents, they remember their personal brand.  People don’t remember you do real estate or mortgage, they remember how you do it.  Your real estate logo(if done right) allows you to do it visually and through the experience your brand portrays.

What Is A Brand? Experience? Huh?

Yes, experience.  You see, I’m a dude.

In 2015,  I completely rebranded to Chicago Real Estate Dude.  The “Dude” is a good representation of my business.  I’m not very professional and extremely laid back.  Everything I do is very dudey, but ultimately it’s just who I am.  In 2017 I picked up and moved across the country and stopped selling real estate, but now sell video and branding services to real estate professionals, but I’m still a dude.

I could have called my company anything, but Real Estate Marketing Dude is what best describes what we do and how we do it.

My logo tells my story.  It’s obvious what I do and where I do it, but it’s also unique to my audience.  The “dude” thing tells you exactly how I roll and what we do WITHOUT me having to say a word.

What Is a Brand: Why It’s Crucial For Real Estate Agents

Each year, over 60%+ of business each and every year comes from referrals, past clients, or people you already knew according to NAR.  It doesn’t come from email autoresponders, ZILLOW, Facebook ads, or any other type of prospecting.

“The vast majority of business comes from the people you know, not strangers”

  • 10-15% of the population is moving each and every year.
  • 100% of the people you know this year have the ability to refer you to at least one person this year because everyone knows someone who is moving.
  • 72% of people will CLOSE with the first real estate agent they meet.

Those are the facts! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where you should concentrate your referral marketing efforts, but it’s your brand that determines your tone and how you do that.

So Do I Need A Real Estate Logo?

Do you know of a successful business that doesn’t have a logo?  Often times, this gets overlooked by real estate agents who instead press the easy button and use their broker’s logo vs. develop their own.  Creating your own real estate logo is central to your long term referral marketing efforts.

People don’t hire your broker, they hire you.  As a matter of fact, it was reported that 96% of consumers hired the agent over the brand they worked for.

Your real estate logo is your visual reminder of your brand. 

According to Ekaterina Walter & Jessica Gioglio’s book, The Power Of Visual Storytelling.

  • The human brain processes visuals 60,000x faster than text
  • Web post with visuals drive up to 180% more engagement than those without
  • 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual
  • 94% more total views on average are attracted by content containing compelling images

What you can show visually is more powerful than anything you can say verbally!

Your real estate logo helps reinforce your brand. It helps keeps you top of mind while at the same time constantly serves as a subliminal advertisement for your services without having to ask.  It’s constant reminder that you are a Realtor without having to say it.  Building a brand and generating referrals is not about generating leads. It’s about nurturing, maintaining, and developing relationships with consistent communication.

Think of your referral marketing plan as nothing more than subtle reminders you are still alive and that you’re a Realtor.

If you don’t have one get a real estate logo, get one!   You don’t need to be a “dude” or have a cartoon character, but it DOES need to resemble you.  Do you know of any retail business who doesn’t have a sign in front of their store?  You not having your own logo is no different than that business not having a sign.

Real Estate Logo vs. Personal Brand Conclusion

Your brand is what your or your business stands for.  Your logo is just a visual reinforcement of your brand’s existence, but more important your brand is how you communicate.  Your brand is what others think of you.  It should also define how you practice real estate.

People don’t remember what you do for a living, they remember how you do it!  That’s your brand.

You might want to check out this content:

Podcast: Rockstar branding With Cherrie Brown: How To Make Your Database Love You

Podcast: You Cannot Market Your Business Without Having A Brand

PODCAST BRANDING BRANDING BRANDING With Bald Guy With A Red Tie

Why Video Is The Best Real Estate Branding Strategy

by

You can’t build an attraction based business WITHOUT having a brand. Once you can dial in what your brand stands for, using video is the best real estate branding strategy you can implement. In the rest of this post, I’m going to explain why.

“I work for a broker and they are my brand…”

NO, The agent is the brand. The broker is not.  Helping build your broker’s brand does you NO BUENO. As a matter of fact less than 4% of consumers actually chose their agent because of the brand they were affiliated with.

What does this mean?

It means that buyers and sellers don’t give a shit what company you work for.  Company brand used to matter as the public perception used to think they needed to work with an agent at a big brand name.  In today’s brokerage world, that is no longer true for the most part because 96% of consumers reported they hired the agent vs the brokerage they affiliated with.

Real Estate Branding Strategy Step 1- Determine Your Brand Story

Over 60% of all agent business is derived from referrals and repeat business because people seek out agents they know, like, trust, or are referred to. You don’t get referrals and repeat business from strangers, you get them from the relationships you have in life, but only when you are remembered.

Which is more memorable?

NIKE

OR

images (3)

I think we know the obvious answer here, but the question is why? Over time we’ve been trained to associated Nike with their logo.  When I see it, I don’t just think of the company, but I think of what the company stands for. Instantly I get images in my head of:

Michael Jordan

Basketball

Sports

Just Do IT

Adrenaline

Competition and so on….

That logo has the power to trigger all those thoughts and emotions in my brain.  That’s the power of branding. Over time I have been exposed to a consistent combination of marketing campaigns where Nike associated their branding with the stories of well known athletes.  They didn’t need to put their shoes or apparel in the ads, they just placed their logo next to the athletes stories. Therefore, over time, my brain was programmed to associate that swoosh with athleticism.  It was the consistency and branding of the Nike’s logo that created that association in my brain.

I understand Nike is a billion dollar company and we are talking about real estate branding here so let’s go through my own branding from when I still practiced as an example.

Mike Cuevas, Realtor

OR

RealEstateDude-logo-final_primary

The logo is more memorable than saying Mike Cuevas, Realtor.  Images are more power than straight text and why I use my logo in everything I do because I know my logo resonates more than my name.  Over the last few years I have built up the Chicago Real Estate Dude brand so that I was known as the “dude” amongst my network.  I purposely did this because I get how the mind works.  I knew that if I kept my brand in front of my database that it would turn into business because it’s a numbers game and I just wanted to be thought of first.  I’m fighting for attention, not leads. 

When you have the attention of your database you’ll attract clients

My only goal in real estate branding is to be the most known Realtor amongst my network.Once that is accomplished,  it’s just a numbers game because people move. The more people who know who I am, the more referrals and repeat business I get. It’s that simple.

I don’t market Mike Cuevas the Realtor, I market the Chicago Real Estate Dude who’s name happens to be Mike Cuevas.  

My brand also reflects my style. I’m not a luxury agent. I’m a dude. I have found that the more “real” that I am in my marketing, the more people I connect with.  Connecting with people , nurturing, and building relationships is the entire goal of my marketing strategy.  I don’t market my brand for leads, I market my brand to build on my relationships and stand out.

The reason this is the #1 client generation strategy in real estate is because…

referral marketing

The goal of marketing your brand should be to become the most well known Realtor amongst your network possible. People hire Realtors they know, like, and trust, but they can only work with you when they remember who the hell you are.

“The Realtor who is beating you in sales is not better than you, they are just more popular”

I no longer sell real estate actively, but I didn’t change my brand. Today, I’m the Real Estate Marketing Dude.

Mike Cuevas, Marketer

OR

In the last 3 years I have completely changed what I sell, but my brand remained that of a “dude” because it’s just who I am.  I went from selling houses to selling video and branding services to Realtors, but my brand didn’t change, my job did.   The reason for that is because your brand is not based on what you do for a living, it’s based on who you are as a person and what you stand for.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about why knowing your brand is essential before getting started with video in real estate.

Video Is The Best Real Estate Branding Strategy Because…

Using video as a real estate branding strategy is a most impressionable way to communicate.  Determining your brand’s voice gives you the RIGHT scripting to get on video and connect with people on a deeper level.  In other words, your delivery will be more authentic, which allows you to a better communicator.

Did you know 60% of all communication is based on your tone?

Did you ever hear the phrase, it’s not what you say it’s how you say it?  Your tone is everything.  If you spoke in monotone boring voice in all your videos would it affect your messaging?  Of course it will.  Your tone is the most important part of how you communicate as it expresses emotion. Check out what Jerry has to say…

Did you know 30% of communication is based on your body language.

When you are using video as a real estate branding strategy, you need to consider your body language as a form of communicating.  When I’m directing people on video and they begin communicating with their body language all their facial expressions suddenly open up and they appear more natural. 

Are you excited about what you are saying or are you doing so uncomfortably?

Don’t stand there with your arms at your side showing no emotion whatsoever.  The more animated you are, the better you will execute your message.  What’s more memorable?  Someone jumping around or someone sleeping?

10% of communication is based on the actual content.

This is going to blow your mind.  Only 10% of what you actually say will be retained.  People don’t typically want to talk about real estate unless they are in the market.  Therefore, when you are considering using video as a real estate branding strategy, you need to consider the content you are creating.  Quit focusing on what you are saying and put more emphasis on how you say it.  

Every video you create does not need to sell real estate, it needs to remind people you are in real estate.

Do you remember ShamWow?

It’s this guys tone and body language that people remember. I didn’t recall the product because it was a good product, I recalled it because of the dude!  His body language and tone are what is memorable. That’s the power of video.

Can you express your tone using email?

How about body language?

(Emojis are the exception)

Video is a great real estate branding strategy because it allows you to communicate more effectively. The key to implementing a real estate branding strategy is to  make a lasting impression with people in your network who are most likely to generate business for you.  In real estate that’s your database because over 60% of all agent business comes from referrals and repeat clients.

Your brokerage is not your brand, YOU ARE!

If you want to build an attraction based business you need to start by defining your real estate branding strategy because that’s what people will remember!  Then put it on video and watch what happens!

 

Real Estate Marketing vs. Advertising… What’s The Difference

by

Are you feeling stuck with what you should be doing to generate more business? What kind of real estate marketing activities do you really need to be doing? One set of gurus is telling you to prospect until the cows come home and other set it telling you to do the complete opposite and it leaves you feeling confused as to which is more important?   In this article we’re going to discuss the differences between real estate marketing and advertising because they are night and day.

What’s the difference between real estate marketing vs advertising?

As a Realtor and small business owner (YES you are), you need to know the difference and the truth is you should probably be doing both as BOTH are crucial to building your real estate business long term.

Real estate “marketing” is  anything you do to keep your brand on top of mind.  It’s your ongoing story of how your brand relates and interacts with others.  It’s what you do to keep your brand in front of your audience so you are not forgotten about.  It’s things like branding on your signage to your monthly direct mail or email communication with your existing database.  I like thinking of marketing activities as something you do consistently to stay top of mind with your past clients and future potential ones.  

“If you aren’t marketing your database, then someone else is”

Your largest source of business will come from people you already know.  It’s a fact that over 60% of business comes from referrals(51%) and Repeat business (12%).  This means people choose to work with agents they already know, like, trust, but more importantly REMEMBER.  Only about 13% of consumers use the same agent again, but over 70% say they would use the same agent again post closing so what happens?

Real Estate Marketing Seller statistics

Agents tend to lose touch with their clients after closing, which ends up costing them the repeat business in addition to a source of referrals over the course of time.  However that DOES NOT mean you stop communicating with them.

You create real estate marketing activities to nurture the relationship you have with your audience (SOI and past clients).  Marketing should be all about maintaining and generating attention around your brand. Real estate marketing activities are not meant to generate a lead, they are meant to generate attention!

Real Estate Marketing Using Direct Mail

The first marketing campaign you can easily run and automate is a direct mail campaign to your entire database.   Instead of farming a bunch of strangers, why wouldn’t you farm your relationships first? The thing I love about direct mail is that everyone gets it.  Even if the recipient throws it in the trash within 1 minute of seeing it, they still make a mental acknowledgment of your existence.   

The question you should ask yourself is if you had 100-200 people on your direct mail list that you sent one piece to a month for one year straight, would you be more memorable than if you didn’t?  None of this is theory either because statistically, because out of this list, 10-15% of them will be moving and 100% will know at least one person they can refer you to.

Real Estate Marketing With Video Email

Another channel you can use to stay in front of your database would be a consistent email campaign, but one geared at staying in touch with your rolodex of relationships and past clients.  The goal is not to generate a lead, but more so to stay in touch.  

The key is in the type of content that you send.  I’m not talking about sending just listed emails or anything that related to real estate but something more along the lines of holiday greetings, local events, or happenings that are newsworthy.  The same reason you don’t always talk about work with your best friends is the same reason you don’t always talk about work with your database either.  

We have found extreme value in using video email to send personalized messages to our database as opposed to real estate related ones.  They get more opens, responses, and overall is a much better form of communication as video allows you communicate visually in a way traditional email cannot.

Real Estate Marketing & Content Creation

Blogging would also be considered a real estate marketing activity. The content I create on my website is meant to drive traffic and build my authority as an agent.  I create it to build trust with my audience. It also gives me a reason to keep my brand in front of them so I’m not forgotten.  People who read my content are more likely to be attracted to working with me as it allows me to showcase my expertise with complete strangers without sounding like a narcissist.

This is the same reason I am writing this post.  I may find some agents who need to hire a dude, but I was found through the content I created and not through some kind of direct response advertisement.  I can also use the content I create to market my database no differently than you would market yours.  The concept is all the same regardless of what type of business you are in.  

You create content to generate buzz around your brand which can then be used to be put in front of your database and local community.

Real Estate Marketing With Video

Creating videos is another form of content that would fall on the real estate marketing side of things.  We create fun neighborhood videos like you see above to serve as an excuse to remind our database what we do for a living, but also create new relationships with people we have not previously met. .  I can host these videos on my You Tube page and then optimize them to try to attract new clients.  I can also post on my site, blog, and social media sites to multi-purpose them for further brand and authority building.

Marketing is all about maintaining and creating attention around your brand that doesn’t necessarily involve a lead generating activity

Real Estate Advertising

So now let’s talk about real estate advertising activities. Real estate advertising activities tend to have a goal of generating direct business or a lead.  These are things we do to create “NOW” business.  Regardless of what kind of campaign we are running we are looking for a direct return on investment for an action taken to generate a lead as a result of our efforts.

If you are running ads any kinds of lead capture ads, buying any kinds of leads or online placement, or targeting direct “prospects” with direct response type of campaigns, I would then classify this as advertising because you are looking to generate an action directly as a result of your advertisement. 

Pay Per Click ads would also be considered an advertising activity. You are buying placement at the top of Google search results to generate a lead.

Zillow is an advertisement activity. You are paying a monthly fee to generate leads directly.

Anything you pay for in exchange for a direct lead is considered an advertising activity.

Real estate marketing is all about attracting business while real estate advertising is all about creating business.

The key is what you do with the “leads” once they come in. There are many ways to make your phone ring, but what you do once it does is the difference between an agent who can turn an ROI on their advertising activities to one who’s losing money.  Especially in the online space, most “leads” are far out from taking action, so how do you get them to convert?  This is where the marketing side of things come into play.

Your ongoing “marketing” campaigns are what keep you in front of the leads while at the same time humanizing your brand.  Your marketing plan would look more like the image you see below.  The key is not scaling into too many advertising campaigns until they are profitable.  Focus on turning a positive ROI in one at a time and then scale on up.  My personal goal in advertising is to extend the reach of my audience vs the reach of my leads, because I know it’s just a matter of time until people move.  

“72% of them close with the first agent they meet with”

I want to be the first once they think of.  The model looks something like this.

So, Which One Is Better?

You should have both working in your business at all times for the following reasons.  

Marketing campaigns keep your brand at the forefront and nurture your relationships.  If you don’t build a brand amongst your SOI, then you’ll always just be a sales person chasing a bunch of leads. Building and maintaining a database isn’t optional, it’s mandatory because in real estate over 75% of all agent business is directly attributed to referrals, repeat business, or people you run into.  You don’t get referrals and repeat clients from complete strangers, you get them from the relationships you have established in life.

moving stats

If you consistently stay in touch with every person you have a relationship with, you’ll have a better chance of getting their direct business when they are ready to make a move.  If you had 100 people you stayed in touch with consistently, about 15 of them are moving this year.  Do they remember what you do?

More importantly 100% of the people you know, knows someone who is moving this year.  If you consistently keep your brand in front of them, how many referrals could you generate?

This is why you may want to look into implementing both into your business.

Marketing Tips