A new year is the perfect time to take stock of your business and look for fresh new opportunities to increase your revenue. And while the property market ebbs and flows, there are plenty of key marketing trends and principles that will help you along the way.
Some require a bit of strategic planning, while others can be implemented almost immediately, giving you fast results to start your year off right. In this post, we’re going to explore the essential tips and tricks that will set you apart from the competition and help you win more clients in 2022.
Embrace The Property Video
The popularity of video marketing shows no signs of waning. In fact, it’s becoming more and more integral part of the property marketing process! This year, online video is set to make up a huge 82% of all consumer internet traffic, making it the most popular way to engage with content. As a result, videos are a surefire way of generating more leads for your listings.
Video doesn’t need to be a huge investment in the estate agent marketing toolkit. While cinematic, creatively edited videos are extremely impactful, there are different kinds of videos that can work for all budgets and types of properties.
Even adding basic property walkthroughs to your marketing packages can make a big impact on the interest and engagement with your listings.
They help to give potential buyers a better feel for the size and layout of the property that often can’t be achieved with photos alone. They are also inherently shareable, getting more eyes on your listing and one step closer to that ideal buyer.
Not only that, but they can be used in a variety of different ways to give you the best possible return.
Learn more:
- How to make the most of your property video
- What makes a good property video?
- 7 lead generating video ideas for estate agents
- Why video is essential to your property marketing strategy
Reassess Your Website
A recent survey by Fine & Country in conjunction with the Property Academy found that 61% of sellers visit estate agents’ websites before instructing them. When’s the last time you had a proper look at yours?
Your website is the digital entryway to your business. Just as you wouldn’t leave the front of your office messy or in a state of disrepair, it’s important to consider how your website is perceived. Does it contain old, outdated information or images? Or perhaps the whole design could do with a refresh?
While the way your website looks is key piece of the puzzle, don’t forget to think about how it works. In the survey mentioned above, respondents said that key features included the ability to search for properties and that the website could be easily viewed on a mobile.
Take a look through your website, page by page, and see if there any improvements to be made. Website visitors will take less than a second to form an opinion, so you want to make sure it makes a great first impression of your business.
Learn more:
Offer Virtual Tours
Given the events of the past couple of years, it’s no surprise that virtual tours have become more commonplace. However, even as people become less wary of in-person viewings, virtual tours remain a fantastic marketing tool for all kinds of properties.
Virtual tours have been shown to increase views on your listings by up to an impressive 40%. They offer an engaging, immersive experience for potential buyers, allowing them to get a much more accurate picture of a property than images alone can provide.
Concerned virtual tours might decrease the number of physical viewings? Don’t worry! You always have the option of only sharing your tours with buyers after they’ve seen the property in person. This provides a great way for them to look through it in their own time and share the tour with family and friends.
A few years ago, virtual tours were mostly reserved for large, high-end properties as part of premium marketing packages. As the technology has become more commonplace, today you might be surprised at just how affordable they can be. So why not give them a try this year?
Learn more:
Improve Your Local SEO
A huge 86% of Google users use the search engine to find local companies. So if your local SEO isn’t up to scratch then you could be losing out on valuable business.
It may sound a little technical, but all local SEO means is optimising your online presence so that when someone types in ‘estate agents in [your area]’, yours will be the first company that shows up. Why does this matter? The top result of a Google search gets almost a third of all clicks (and most people don’t even look past the top three).
Improving your local SEO is an ongoing process, but one that will keep attracting visitors to your site for years to come. It’s a great project to work on during the quieter months, and is also a lot easier than you might think. It includes things like:
- Asking clients and buyers for Google reviews
- Setting up and optimising your Google My Business profile
- Creating local content
- Adding your site to relevant business directories.
To help get you started, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide that you’ll find below.
Learn more:
Get To Grips With Your Client Journey
The customer or client journey is the complete experience someone has with your business. For a vendor, this would include everything from finding your website or following you on social media all the way through to completion and telling others about your service (whether that be in person or via an online review).
Having an incredible customer experience is an increasingly valuable way to differentiate yourself from the competition. Taking steps to improve your client journey will not only make for a top-quality service but will help you generate future business (and more revenue).
So where do you start? Get your team together with plenty of Post-it notes at the ready, put yourself in your client’s shoes and go through their entire journey with a fine-tooth comb. Here are some examples of things you may notice along the way:
- Your website takes too long to load
- Your contact information is difficult to find
- When you return a client’s message, they find they have to repeat the same information they already submitted through your online form
- When visiting your office in person, it’s not clear where to park
While some of these obstacles may be fairly minor, they all work together to create an overall picture of your business. Once you’ve identified where these pain points crop up, you can come up with targeted solutions to mitigate the problem and ensure your client journey is as smooth and stress-free as possible.
Automate Your Lead Generation
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘work smarter, not harder’. Perhaps 2022 is the year to apply this philosophy to your estate agent marketing?
These days, there is a wealth of technology at your fingertips to help you automate all kinds of business activities. There may be a bit of set up involved, but take the time to do so and you can offer a more convenient service and generate leads even when the office is closed.
Here are a few examples of automation that are great for estate agents:
- Set up an email sequence for when someone signs up to your newsletter
- Create Google or Facebook ads
- Set up live chat to guide potential clients in the right direction
- Add more lead capture forms onto different pages of your website
- Create an informative relevant webinar that potential clients can watch on demand
While traditional techniques and personal outreach still play a huge part in property sales, adding a few automations into your workflow will help you achieve even better results.
Get More Involved With Your Community
Now, perhaps more than ever, people are looking for connection. When it comes to something as personal as buying and selling a home, having that personal touch is all the more important.
Making an effort to build relationships with people in your area can have a big impact on how your business is perceived. It will not only breathe new life into your brand but also put you front of mind when it comes time to sell.
Whether you attend local events like village fairs and charity fundraisers, or even set up events of your own, showing you care about the community is truly invaluable. It means that buyers and sellers will feel more comfortable asking your advice and trust that you have their best interests at heart.
Remember, you needn’t make every event about advertising your business. Simply showing up and taking part can be just as effective for helping your credibility and your business grow.
