In real estate, there are a lot of options for agents when it comes to marketing. Everywhere you look there is a new ‘shiny object’ or a new app to download. But, when it comes to marketing – consistency is the name of the game. Whether you are ready to employ a traditional marketing strategy with print advertising or an online marketing campaign – consistency matters most in any marketing strategy.

Here are 5 ways for you can rock your marketing strategy:

1. Invest in your brand. Whether you are part of a large brokerage, franchise or independent, it’s important to build your personal brand. Your brand is more than your logo – it’s the flow of your website, it’s what clients say about you, it’s how your business cards look, it’s how your social media channels look and much more.

Self-audit your brand and make sure you are consistent with the look and feel of your brand across the web and your print marketing. It may be worth it to work with a graphic designer that can create for you a style guide to help you be consistent with all of your marketing efforts.

2. Tell your story. Every great brand tells a story and evokes an emotion. Apple, Starbucks, G- Pro and many other brands have created more than a logo – by telling their stories and creating excitement for their brands – their customers buy into the experience as much as they do the physical products. How can you tell your story of what it feels like to work with you? Take photos of you and your clients, create quick videos sharing helpful tips, and write blog posts with helpful and relevant content are just a few ways you can think about telling the story of what it feels like to work with you and your team. Remember, people work with us because of our experience and expertise, but they come back to us time and time again because they connect with our story – with our ‘why!’ And, have we mentioned – consistency matters most in any marketing strategy, your story must be consistent!

3. Invest in your website. If your brokerage doesn’t offer a website option, invest in having a website you are proud of, a website that looks great on mobile and is a reflection of your brand.

A great real estate website has:

• Up-to-date information about you and the community you serve (use Widgets that serve up great local content!)
• Easy-to-find contact information
• The capability to look great on a mobile device
• An easy way to capture leads
• A simple way to market yourself and your listings

4. Get a plan in place. Success in marketing doesn’t happen by accident. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Start by auditing all of the marketing you are doing right now. Open up a spreadsheet in Excel or Google Documents and start to put in everything that you do: postcards, online marketing, lead generation, Facebook ads, email marketing, etc. Then start to map out the next 3, 6 and then 12 months. By having a consistent plan and budget in place, you are more likely to be consistent, and more likely to see results in your marketing – and, have we said consistency matters most in any marketing strategy.

5. Look at the data. Dan Zarella has said,“Marketing without data is like is like driving with your eyes closed.” Look at your Google Analytics – how long are people staying on your website, what do they search for to find you and where is your traffic coming from? Check out your Facebook Insights to see who your demographic is on Facebook, when it is the optimal time of day to post to your page and what posts received the best engagement.

Data helps to weed through our marketing and give us, in black or white, what is working or not working with our marketing.

Final thoughts?

Don’t be a jack of all trades

You don’t need to be all things to all people, and you don’t need to employ every new marketing strategy. What works for you and your business and what has worked in the last 6-12 months.

Ask every client where they heard about you and try to get as specific as possible – but remember so much of marketing, whether it’s traditional or digital is extremely hard to track. As the saying goes, many people need to see 5+ marketing messages before they act – so it can be challenging to know what was the ‘tipping point.’ But, by asking and tracking you can start to see patterns. Also in this vein, don’t feel like you have to do it all. If you want to create videos, graphics or blog posts – but don’t feel like you have the time or resources to do so, consider bringing on-board a virtual assistant to assist with areas you need help with.

How are you building your brand through marketing? Do you have a marketing question for us? We’d love to connect with you, leave us a comment on our Facebook page, or send us a Tweet!