If you want to be successful in real estate, you must know that just waiting for the phone to ring will not get you anywhere. You must be the one who initiates and seeks out new clients. This is the concept of lead generation in real estate.

Lead generation in real estate marketing refers to the process of bringing potential buyers to your website or business and converting them into a client who relies on you for all of their real estate needs.

With the ever-expanding reach of digital marketing, we have narrowed down the top 4 real estate lead generation ideas that will help you win valuable real estate leads.

1. Paid and Organic Social Media

Over the last several years, social media channels have provided real estate agents with a platform for selling homes, interacting with other agents, and building connections with prospects in a more genuine and personal way. Facebook and Instagram are top 2 social media platforms that can help your business generate leads.

Both paid and organic social hugely complement each other. They are two sides of the same coin. Running ads with little to no activity on organic social channels does not encourage your potential clients to engage with your business in the long term. Whereas, if you don’t have any paid activity, your content will struggle to reach your target audience.

• Paid social media ads can be massively effective when done right. They allow you to directly target demographics and users that have shown interest in buying in your area. You can also create “lookalike” audiences that mirror your current targets to expand your reach even more.

• Organic social media content is essential because it allows you to build and maintain an online presence. Create content that showcases your personality, work ethic, current listings, and any upcoming activities, such as an open house. You should strive to come across as professional, approachable, and genuine. Before you realize it, your profile will be emerging and generating leads.

Paid social media ads have the ability to provide immediate results that are often worth paying for. Organic social, on the other hand, is a long-term cost-effective solution, but it requires effort. Ultimately, combining the benefits of each type of social will yield the best results.

2. Optimize Your Website

The first step toward real estate success is to have a website that can generate leads and convert them efficiently. With a strong lead-generation web marketing plan, you effectively expose your services to a bigger number of internet users and potential clients. Your website must be the foundation of that plan, and capable of converting leads into actual sales.

• Put up value-added real estate material.

Your audience will see you as an industry thought leader as you produce more value-based material, such as buyers and sellers guide, suburb insights, property prices, market updates, real estate tips, tricks and info. 

When it comes to content, the more value your material provides, the more likely you are to earn meaningful leads. Remember to include the keywords you wish to rank for. Keywords might be single words or phrases that you know your prospects are looking for.

• Optimize your website for search engines

According to the National Association of Realtors, 44% of all buyers search online for property listings as the first stage of their journey. Therefore, it is important for your business to get found online first before your competitors. Having a nicely designed website will not increase your Google ranking; you must also have valuable material that is effectively optimized for search engines.

The following elements should be included in a real estate SEO lead generating strategy:

• Local SEO with Google My Business
• High-quality content aimed at low-competition local keywords
• Website that is mobile-friendly and visible on all search engines
• Increasing domain authority and creating local backlinks

• PPC (Pay-per-click), most known as Google Ads

Google Ads lead generation for real estate agents is the most common approach, especially since nearly every customer will conduct an internet search first.

We can reach people with Google Ads while they are searching for something relevant and putting their query into the search box (Search Ads) or while they are reading other blogs and websites (Display Ads).

A good PPC campaign will rank your website at the top of the page for your targeted keywords, potentially bringing in a huge number of visitors. You may have to pay a small fee for each click, but if you’re utilizing PPC well, you can get new leads, drive revenue and achieve a solid ROI.

• Add a testimonial page to your site

Buying and selling a house is a big financial decision someone can make and trust plays a big role. Potential clients will read online testimonials and reviews before they get in touch with you. Testimonials may favorably impact your website visitors in the same way that they help build social proof for your social media accounts. Dedicate a section on your homepage to testimonials and reviews. Choose statements that showcase your unique traits as an agency and build trust.

3. Email Marketing is Not Dead

The impact of email marketing can do much more than just getting messages into inboxes. Email marketing may be 43 years old but it’s as strong as ever. Based on the survey from Hubspot, 78% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months.

Real estate newsletters are a tried-and-tested method of nurturing old clients. This is an effective way to keep your brand on top of their mind. Signature Dream Homes, one of Geonet’s Real Estate clients, utilised this method to engage with first home buyers who previously signed up for information and they generated 25 leads in less than 48 hours.

Follow these suggested patterns to ensure the success of your marketing strategy:

• Gather your top performing content from the month and use it in your email to showcase your industry expertise.
• Informative topics of interest should be shared.
• Highlight some of the best properties you’ve sold while also promoting current properties for sale.
• Remember to keep them connected to your brand by encouraging them to follow you on all of your platforms, which will reinforce your brand recognition.

4. Build Referral Partnerships

It is also one of the cheapest and easiest ways to grow your business. According to the National Association of Realtors, the average realtor received 17% of their business from referrals. That is a significant portion of total business that may be affected just through word-of-mouth marketing.

Forming connections with other businesses that serve potential buyers and sellers, such as mortgage brokers, lenders, contractors, and tradesmen is a fantastic approach to enhance your referral leads. Professionals in these industries benefit from recommendations as well, so you may help each other expand your businesses.

• Include your partners’ name and logo on your website, and link them to an appropriate place on their website.
• Describe the partnership in a short synopsis of how they support you or how they are involved in helping you work toward your mission. 
• Promote your partners’ program on your social media channels, and make sure you mention and tag them.

It is important to know that consistency is the key. Choose the strategies that are ideal for you and your real estate business, and then fine-tune them until they work like a well-oiled machine. To find out more about how Geonet can provide full-service digital marketing, contact us.