Social media in business.  At the turn of the century, this was nearly unheard of.  Now, it’s essential.  Social media is a major pillar of communication in the modern era and it’s revolutionised marketing strategy in the process.  With effective social media marketing, you can grow your audience, increase customer engagement, and boost brand recognition.  The upshot?  More traffic and more leads.  That leads to more conversions and higher profits.

So that’s the why.  What about the how?

Here are some tips to keep in mind to make your social media marketing campaign sparkle:

First step, make sure you’re clear about your goals and objectives.  You have to have clear goals before you know how to gear your marketing efforts effectively.  When beginning a marketing campaign, a social media management company will make a clear list of the goals and steps involved.  Then they can set deadlines and monitor the effectiveness of each during the campaign.  This allows you to refine your strategy to get the most bang for your buck.

The next key is to know your audience.  No product or service has a universal appeal.  You’ll want to speak to your target demographic, to the people who are interested in what you have to offer.  This lets you craft your message so that it really lands.  So, know the audience and their motivations.  Know what they want and what will catch their attention.  You can use social media to connect with the audience to engage them and respond to them.  You can get personal and show that you care.  Plus, you can gather feedback to adapt your marketing campaign.

This leads to the next step, which is to craft your content carefully.  Don’t post content just to get something out there.  First, fit the message to the platform.  Facebook is great for news and entertainment to engage your audience, especially Facebook groups.  LinkedIn is ideal for business to business, while Instagram and Pinterest are best when you have highly visual content and use it to link to your main site.

No matter what platform you’re using, make the content short and snappy.  Use good copywriting techniques and vary your content often.  Also, make sure to make use of the descriptions, as this will lead more searches to your post.  Finally, avoid being overly salesy.  You are using a social media platform to connect with your audience on a personal level, so speak to them instead of just sending out promotions.  Set up Facebook groups and make sure to respond to all comments on your Facebook business page.  You can also interact in Twitter chats or retweet posts.   Social media is also great for contests or video content to boost engagement.

Another key to social media marketing management is to make use of images.  A picture is worth a thousand words.  Put simply, when people see a high quality image, it’s more likely to catch their attention and get them to read what you’ve posted.  And if it’s a video, even better.  You can pack a load of engaging content into a fifteen or thirty second video, and it will reach a much wider audience than the equivalent amount of written content.  Make sure to keep the images in tune with your brand and audience, and watch the dimensions of the images so they’re the right size for the platform.

Following the tips above will lead you in the right direction, but that’s just the tips of the iceberg.  Social media marketing is a complex process and it can be a full-time job to do it right.  So, if you’d like to know more, feel free to contact us.  At Reputation by Design, we have the background and expertise to craft a superlative social media marketing strategy for your real estate marketing business.

So, what’s the deal with client engagement, anyway?  Why should we bother?

In the past decades, marketing and customer service were two different things, two poles of the retail industry. Since the digital explosion, these two poles have come together. If you want your business to be successful, you have to make your customers happy. Their feedback is available to anyone who looks for it. The internet puts all customer feedback and testimonials right at your fingertips.

Mortgage marketing consultants know that if you want to boost business performance, the key is to increase customer satisfaction. Customer engagement is the intersection between performance and satisfaction. Boost customer awareness and satisfy your customers, and you establish a strong, healthy brand that brings in more customers each day.

Mortgage broker marketing focuses on bringing new customers in. You have to reach out and connect with people, otherwise your business is just floating in the water. Customer engagement means that your clients know you. They feel they can can trust you. It means your clients really know what you have to offer. They know that you can give them the best in the business.

With great customer engagement, your clients not only use your services, they refer those services to others. Your customer outreach expands with each person that you service. Great customer engagement turns each customer into a brand advocate. Real people are trusted more than any advertising effort.  Each successful connection gives you an authentic influencer, someone who can make the difference for clients challenged to choose between competing products or services.

So, how can you boost customer engagement?  Here are some basic tips:

  • Write a great ad
  • Present a funny YouTube video
  • Offer product guides, checklists or manuals
  • Provide responsive customer support

Those are some generic tips, but how does it really work?  What is the core of true customer engagement? Here’s the deal:

1. Make use of social media

Let’s face it. Social media has no shortage of brands vying for attention. But the thing is, if you want your brand to make a difference, you have to make sure your voice is heard.  Know your message, know your brand, and then get it out there for others to hear.  Social media platforms are ideal vectors to help you make this happen. Social media brings you into the public eye, and if you do it right, you can boost visibility like nobody’s business. Visibility leads to conversion.

2. Make it personal

Think about it. How many emails do you get each day? How many of them have our name? Most of the messages that come your way are generic. They are blasted out to the masses just hoping to get a few responses. But when you customise the outreach, the response rate is much higher. So, the key is to personalise your messages. Put the customer’s name in your emails or other messages. Bring in some personal details, if you can. This makes the customer feel special. It lets them know that you respect and value them.

3. Make your content valuable to your audience

Anyone worth their salt in the social media management business will tell you that you need to give the customer what they want to hear. Give them valuable information, something that they might want to ask in a Google search if they are interested in your product or service. When your content answers questions your demographic hasn’t yet thought to ask, it means that your site has even more value. And, since your customers want the information, they are more likely to engage with your site. This means more traffic and more conversions.

4. Listen to your feedback!

One of the benefits of social media is that your audience can respond to you. They can let you know what they think about what you have to say. So, tune in! Your feedback can help you to refine your message.  When you hear what your audience thinks, you can adjust your message to fit your clients. And, when you respond, you let your clients know you care about what they have to say. It’s a win-win.

5. Give a solid impression of your brand

Every message you send to your clients gives them an impression of who you are, what your values are, and what you have to offer.  So use it!  Social media lets you get proactive about how your clients and customers perceive you.  The biggest thing is to let them know that they are seen, each as an individual and not just as a number.  You can do this with chatbots, social media responses, or other means.  No matter how you do it, the key is to keep connected with your clients. Let them know you’re there and you hear them.  Social media management services can help you to be courteous, friendly, and conversational, keeping the lines of connection open without bombarding your customers.

Final Words

Customer engagement is key to making your business a success. If you want to know more about how to engage with your clients in the current digital climate, feel free to contact us.  At Reputation by Design, we’re dedicated to helping your business reach it’s potential!

Although dropping housing prices can be challenging for sellers, there are several ways to take advantage of the current market.  As competition drops, interest rates fall, and discounts continue to mount, those with the cash to buy are in an excellent position to invest in property.  If you make the right move in the current climate, your investment can potentially double or triple in value over the coming years.  The wise real estate marketing consultant can take advantage of this, helping their clients to get once in a lifetime deals and massively expand their wealth. 

Here are some basic ways that the slowing property market can translate to profits:

1. Prices are Dropping

This one almost goes without saying.  The key to making money from investments and trading is to buy low and sell high.  To do this well, you have to have your finger on the pulse.  You have to know when the prices reach their trough and they’re ready to rise.  Prices have dropped nearly 30% in Sydney and Melbourne since 2017.  And, when we’re talking about property values in the range of millions, this means huge savings.  But there’s no rush to buy immediately, as prices are continuing to fall.  The key is to work with knowledgeable mortgage marketing consultants so that you maximise your profits on the investment.

2. Time for an Upgrade?

Although you may have to take a hit when selling, it’s possible to leverage this into a new property. The biggest housing bubble ever recorded is finally seeing deflation. One benefit of this is that trade-ups are easier in the current market if you’re smart and you do your research.  You can get a great deal on a property with a better location or more ideal living conditions for your family.  Remember to check out auctions to find well spec’d homes at significantly discounted prices.

3. Developer Incentives

As challenging as it is for buyers and sellers to keep up with changes in the market, developers can find it even more difficult.  Apartment development projects often take a year or more to complete construction. Buildings that were begun when the market was hot are end up being finished when the prices are flagging, meaning that a flood of new apartments go on the market and developers are highly motivated to attract tenants.  In fact, this offers opportunities for mortgage marketing consultants, as some property groups will offer bonuses of up to $10,000 for brokers, accountants, and advisors for referrals that lead to a sale.  Buyer incentives include rebates, appliances, and interior upgrades among other things.  This can significantly sweeten the deal both for buyers and brokers.

4. Discounted Lending

First-time buyers are a hot commodity in the lending market, especially when they have deposits of at least 20%. These borrowers boost profits for lenders, increasing dividends and leading to executive bonuses. This means that many lenders are offering great rates and discounts for selected clientele. This is an opportunity for brokers as well, as they can act as intermediaries and broker solid deals while maintaining margin. Brokers can knock up to 15 points off while still making the loan attractive to borrowers. Brokers can also waive documentation fees, legal fees, or moving costs to make the loan more accessible for new buyers.

5. Seller Discounts

The auction market has experienced a general cooling off, pushing sellers into private negotiations that allow them to sweeten the deal for prospective buyers. As sales continue to decline, vendor discounts are on the rise, with an average of about 4.9% for apartments and 4.6% for houses.  Sellers are also pushed to increase discounts when properties remain on the market longer.  With the right research and connections, it’s possible to corner a great deal with a buyer eager to sell.  Not only does the drop in competition give buyers more time to negotiate, it also offers them better leverage as the negotiations go on.

6. Rent is Dropping

In the current market, many landlords are pulling out all the stops to retain their tenants.  Translation?  Rent can be capped or lowered.  This increases the renter’s disposable income and offers more savings.  While this isn’t great for property owners, renters now have a better chance of storing up the deposit for a home purchase.  Average rental yields are dropping nationally in Sydney, Perth, Darwin, and Brisbane as supply outstrips demand.  This creates great opportunities for new buyers and longtime renters.

If you’d like to know who to speak with about saving money or building wealth in the current market, feel free to contact us.  At Reputation by Design, we’ve got expert contacts that can help you make informed investments and improve your standard of living.

The real estate market in Australia has seen some massive changes over the last few years.  After decades of continual growth, 2017 saw the first signs of a downturn in housing prices. With slow wage growth and increasing debt, buyers could no longer manage the prices supported in earlier decades.  By mid-2018, the combined capital 5 city property market had declined by 1.3%.  This trend has continued throughout 2019, though mortgage marketing consultants estimate that the signs of a downturn are slowing.

One thing to keep in mind is that these prices are variable by state. Hobart is still showing significant increases in property prices, an estimated 8.4% boost in 2019.  Increased values of about 1% have also been seen in Canberra and Adelaide, with an almost insignificant increase of 0.1% observed in Brisbane.  However, all other capital cities are showing declines. In terms of declines, the drop in Sydney housing prices has been most severe at 5.9% over the last six months.  Darwin and Perth are tied with a drop of 3.6%, while Melbourne is showing housing price declines of 1.5%.  Mortgage broker marketing is becoming steadily more challenging in the face of these shifts in the market.

Although there are clear price declines in Sydney and Melbourne, the trend is less severe than projections suggested.  Other capital cities across Australia are either stabilising or beginning an upturn.  One bit of good news from the Financial Services Royal Commission in February were more stringent requirements placed on loans, reducing investment rates.  This means fewer buyers and less competition. In order to keep the market flowing, sellers will be forced to stabilise or lower prices. While these new conditions are becoming established, buyers can expect the approval process to take longer.

It’s essential for brokers to implement solid mortgage broker marketing strategies, as a review into whether trail commissions should be kept from 2020 onwards is to take place. The independence of mortgage brokers and their ability to ensure that the borrowers’ best interests are put first are key. As a value proposition, this carries significant weight.

Projections suggest that the market will stabilise to some degree by the end of 2019, providing more security for both buyers and sellers.  In the current climate, the key is to arm yourself with the expertise and experience you need to make informed decisions.  If you’d like to know more, feel free to contact us.  At Reputation by Design, we’re dedicated to helping you grow leads and boost your profit.

It’s no secret that some of your best leads are going to come from referrals.  In fact, this is one of the most important aspects of mortgage broker marketing.  People trust those they know, people that have had personal experience with your business and know what it has to offer.  So, it’s well worth your time to make it worth their time to pass you name along.

One of the simplest things you can do to bring in more referrals – and to keep solid client relations in general – is to keep the lines of communications open with your clients.  Sometimes people overlook their previous clients.  They’ve already done business with you,  time to focus on new ones, right?  That could be a costly mistake.

Basically, your previous clients are one of your biggest assets.  You’ve got their vote of confidence.  They may be a source of new business, but they are just as valuable as a source of new clients.  Keep in touch with them.  Set up a monthly or at least quarterly newsletter to keep them in the loop on valuable information.  Inform your previous customer base of changes to your business, additions to the team, new services, promotions, current specials, or rate reductions.

Remember to keep your clients happy.  Personalised thank you emails or handwritten postcards, a smiling face and hello when they see you, a polite voice when they call.  These are simple things, but they can go a long way.

Another simple tip is to have your customers save your number in their phone.  If it’s in their contacts, they’ll be able to reach you easily if the need arises in the future.  Plus, it’s easy to pass the contact along to friends and family.  This is another small detail, but the easier you make it for clients to get your number out there, the more likely they will be to do so.

But so far, we’ve just covered some of the good ‘operating procedure’ aspects.  Let’s look a bit further into some of the pro tips for generating more leads with referrals.

1. Use targeted referral marketing

This is one of the simplest tips, but well worth a moment to touch upon it. Postcards (yes, old fashioned snail mail cards) are a time-honoured technique to increase revenue and reach more clients.  But, instead of just sending loads of postcards and fishing for a lead, you can leverage your previous client base and reward existing clientele.  This is a simple, low cost strategy and here’s how it works:

  1. Generate a mailing list from your current and previous clientele.
  2. Create a smart looking postcard and include a great reward for each referral given.
  3. Mail this postcard out to your list a minimum of three times.
  4. Be ready to handle the new client calls that roll in.

It’s as easy as that.  But remember, you need to make it a good offer to inspire your clients to pass your information along.  Visa gift cards, raffle tickets on a hot item, these are just a few solid ideas.  While postcards aren’t a new idea for mortgage broker marketing, you may not be using them for referrals at the moment.  But, try it out and see how your clientele expands.

2. Automate your email follow-ups to generate referrals

This is pretty much the same as using postcards, but it offers a different channel to reach clients and keep your business to the forefront of their minds.  One of the biggest advantages is that you can set it up to run automatically.  Plus, you can set up a series of emails to ease clients into the process.

Here’s one way you can work it:

  • Input your client list in your email marketing system.
  • Write up a series of emails:
    • 1st – Thanks for your business!
    • 2nd – Win a $20 Visa Gift Card for each referral
    • 3rd – Win a free gift and help your family save money at the same time
    • 4th – Rates have dropped!  You can save even more money!

And that’s it!  Set up the timing so that the second email comes two days after the first.  A good spacing for the third is five days, and fourteen days for the fourth.  By following up consistently, you show clients that you’re there and happy to help.  This makes them more likely to think of you first when the moment arises.  The best mortgage broker marketing strategies are about maintaining visibility.

3. Partner with other businesses in the industry to massively extend your reach

This is a pro tip that most people overlook.  Spread your name around.  Get known by other organisations, and they’ll be able to send some of their clients your way.  You extend beyond your physical location, reaching channels out farther than you would otherwise be invisible too.

Here are some great partnership opportunities to keep in mind:

  • Tax specialists
  • Accountants
  • Attorneys & solicitors
  • Real estate agents
  • Insurance brokers
  • Inspection and certifying companies
  • Builders/construction companies

All of these businesses have access to people who could benefit from your services.  So, find out what they want.  Look for mutually beneficial arrangements.  Develop solid relationships and keep their staff aware of financing options or other relevant information.  You could even post a regular flyer or newsletter on their premises, if they are open to it.  Play your cards right, and you can increase the legitimacy of your business while bringing in loads of new leads.

These are just a few of the things you can do to maximise your leads.  If you’d like to know more, feel free to contact us.  At Reputation by Design, we’re dedicated to helping your business reach its full potential.

Marketing is essential for any business.  It’s how you reach your customers, engage with them, and demonstrate the value of your product or service.  No matter what industry you are in, success depends on a well thought out marketing strategy.  This is an approach that helps you to identify the needs of the customer, boost sales and increase profit, and make your company stand out against the competitors.

There are a number of different marketing philosophies or concepts, each with certain advantages.  The key to implementing a solid marketing strategy is to use the concept that best fits your business.  One of the benefits to using a marketing company, especially a local service like an online marketing agency Sydney, is that they will be able to determine which of these approaches to marketing will work best for you.  In this post, we’ll explore the five key concepts in marketing and look into the benefits of each.

The five key marketing concepts are:

  • Production Concept
  • Product Concept
  • Selling Concept
  • Marketing Concept
  • Societal Marketing Concept

Let’s have a closer look at each of these.

Production Concept

The production concept is one of the most traditional approaches to marketing.  In essence, the philosophy is that products will bring in more sales when they are readily available and inexpensive.  The key to the production concept is to make both production and distribution as efficient as possible.  The less money spent on production and distribution, the cheaper the product can be sold for while maintaining a profit margin.  While this is helpful in some instances, it can lead to a tendency to focus solely on the operation of the company and lose sight of the customer.  Plus, the quality of the product can suffer if low operational costs are the only goal.

Product Concept

The product concept arose when a wide variety of inexpensive products began to flood the market.  At this point, product quality became more important.  Innovative features and product performance are the focus of this perspective.  So, the product marketing strategy emphasises continuous improvements and refinements in the product.  While product quality is important, this marketing strategy can still leave a company out of touch with the customers’ needs.  For example, your company might make the best obsolete product on the market, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s obsolete.

Selling Concept

The selling concept for marketing emphasises reaching the customer.  When this is the driving concept, the marketing efforts will be directed towards large-scale promotions and selling efforts.  While both of the previous concepts overlook the customer itself in favour of the product, in this perspective, the focus is on making the customer aware of the product.

This strategy can bring increased legitimacy to a product, even when its quality is on par with several other products on the market.  It emphasises single sales rather than the development of a lasting relationship with the customer.  The challenge is that this marketing approach rarely takes into account the market.  It is most successful when measures are taken to find prospects that are interested in the given product.  Social media management is helpful for this strategy, as it lets a company reach a wide range of different interested parties through targeted algorithms.

Marketing Concept

The marketing strategy is focused specifically on knowing the market.  The key is to tune in to the needs of the customer and meet these needs better than the competitors.  This is a more sophisticated approach. It makes the customer the most important element of the sales process.  So, instead of first creating a product, and then trying to find the right customers for the product, this approach emphasises market research, finding out what the customer needs and then meeting that need with the best value.  The marketing concept is less risky since it’s focused on targeted market awareness and customer satisfaction.  One benefit of this approach is that it can be focused on local businesses, and you can use a local online marketing Sydney agency in order to target customers in your area.

Societal Marketing Concept

The societal marketing concept is the most sophisticated marketing strategy.  It explores the relationship between customer desires in the short term and customer welfare in the long run.  Essentially, the focus is on delivering value to the customer with the product, just as with the marketing concept strategy.  However, it also emphasises improving societal and customer well-being.  This means that sustainability in sourcing, production, and distribution become important.  The future viability of the business is seen as just as important as profits in the moment.  This factors in human welfare and ensures that the marketing and sales are responsible on both an environmental and social level.

If you’d like to find out the marketing concept best suited to your company feel free to contact us. Reputation by Design are dedicated to helping you reach your sales goals and make your business as successful as it can be.

There’s no way around it.  The face of marketing is changing.  Traditional methods have fallen by the wayside in favor of online efforts.  Nearly everyone has access to a computer and mobile phone, and online marketing is more visible than any other form.  Digital marketing is essential to taking your company to the top in the modern era.  Digital content creation, social media promotions, and streaming content are major keys to reaching your customers.

One of the challenges here is that technology and our use of it is changing so quickly that it’s hard to keep up.  The digital marketing strategies that worked last year might be past their prime this year.  This is one of the reasons that it’s so helpful to work with digital marketing consultants, as they can help you keep abreast of the changing landscape.  But, to help you tune in to some of the newest changes, here are a few trends that have come into focus in 2019 and that point to the direction of future digital marketing success.

1. Facebook is Moving Past Its Prime

Although Facebook is still the most popular social media platform worldwide, the demographic is aging.  Global statistics show that user engagement rates have leveled off for all age groups except for 55+.  So, while it’s not out of the game yet, if you focus all of your social media promotions through Facebook, you’ll miss a huge chunk of your potential customer base.  Platforms like Snapchat and Instagram are becoming increasingly popular, not only for the younger generations but across the board.  A number of services have come out that allow you to consolidate all of your social media platforms and manage them from one central location.  However, since this can be an art in itself, the best bet is to find a social media management agency to handle your posts and comments.

2. The Use of Chatbots is on the Rise

This is one of the marketing trends which reflect our current shifts in technology and computing.  Chatbots are automated responders that communicate with site visitors and engage with them just as human operators would.  They communicate either through verbal interaction or text boxes and help users to meet their goals.  Chatbots increase user engagement and reduce the need for constant online operators while personalising the site experience.  They are especially important when your business is focused on eCommerce, though their use in other areas has risen significantly in the last year alone.

3. Video Content is Becoming More Important Every Year

Videos can be embedded directly onto a website or posted on social media channels.  It’s one of the most popular ways of engaging with content.  Video allows you to you showcase products or services far more effectively.  You can deliver much more information in a short amount of time, while adding personality and connecting with the customer.  In addition, it’s now paired with sophisticated metrics that let you see how effective your marketing is and how it can be refined to improve your reach and boost sales.

4. Content is King, but the Key is the Right Content

Content marketing has always been an essential part of digital marketing.  Keywords have been a key part of this, though refinements in the search algorithms are favoring higher quality and information that’s tailored to the target demographic.  It has to be valuable to the customers, adding value to your site and brand.  This requires a more in-depth understanding of the target market.  Know your customer, know what they will want to know or questions they are likely to ask, and then create targeted content to address these questions.

Metrics are also used to determine the effectiveness of blogs and site content, offering valuable feedback for tailoring the site to the target demographic.  Plus, fresh, relevant content is essential for improving your search ranking.  Since this requires constant content creation, it’s another great reason to work with an online marketing company so that you can focus on other aspects of the business.

5. Email Personalisation is Becoming More Important

Email is one of the most vital forms of communication for professional and commerce purposes.  But, since there are loads of messages dropping into a person’s inbox each day, it’s important that the messages are tailored.  Using email to connect with a repeat customer is helpful, especially when personal touches like the name and a written signature are added.  Generic, across the board emails are as likely to be discarded unopened.  Plus, with email marketing, you can target specific offers based on previous client behavior or interest.  This is ideal for remarketing or creating a targeted sales funnel with a call to action.

6. Voice Searches and Other Voice Interactions

Voice interaction with devices is still relatively new and as yet being explored, but they have huge potential in terms of connecting with customers and boosting conversions.  When it comes right down to it, it’s more natural for us to communicate verbally.  Now that Siri, Alexa, Google, and a range of other applications have made it available, voice search is on the rise.  However, a voice search is different from a text search.  It will often result in only a few search results, perhaps only one.  Plus, spoken keywords are different than written keywords, since we speak and write differently.  This means that the meta descriptions of the site should be optimised for verbal interaction.  This is one aspect of marketing which requires a higher level of technical understanding to set up effectively.

If you’d like to connect with a local marketing expert, or look into how to revamp your marketing efforts, feel free to contact us.  At Reputation by Design, we’re dedicated to helping you to find the right marketing strategy for your company.

Generating leads is one of the most important things for any real estate company. You have to connect with prospective buyers and let them know what properties are available. Since the internet has become such an integral part of life, traditional methods aren’t getting the same traction that they used to. The name of the game is online marketing. So, let’s look at some of the first steps in leveraging your digital resources to improve outreach and corner the market.

1. Set up a Solid Website

This may go without saying, but the first step in generating leads in the digital age is to create a website that showcases your brand. If you do it right, your website can reach thousands of people every month, maybe even every week. In terms of exposure, this blows other methods out of the water.

A clean, easy to navigate site shows potential buyers that you are professional, established, and trustworthy. It lets you create a connection with the buyer before you ever meet in person. Remember that mobile searches have now become more common than desktop, so your site needs to be optimised for mobile devices to have the best effect.

2. Establish a Strong Social Media Presence

These days, nearly everyone is on social media.  Facebook and Instagram have become a way of life.  So, if you don’t have a business page established, it’s time to set it up. Social media creates additional channels to reach potential buyers, dramatically expanding your outreach.

Facebook gives you the opportunity to showcase your blogs and backlink them to your site.  Instagram is especially useful for real estate marketing, because it allows you to share high-quality images and videos of your properties.

Plus, with social media, you can use retargeting to send ads to those who have shown interest in your posts.  Many brokers overlook this tool for lead generation simply because they are too busy with other channels.  If this sounds like you, consider a social media management company (like 101 Things) to help you get the most out of your online presence.

3. Generate Consistent (and Fresh) Blog Content

When it comes to reaching people online, content is king. Blogs help to improve your search rankings and develop a relationship with your customers. Plus, each blog you write can be linked to a social media post to create an additional channel to your website. Remember to make the blogs actionable and give information that’s valuable to your customers. This shows them that you value them as individuals and builds brand awareness.

Blogs can also be used for influencer marketing. If you have a solid understanding of your target market, of who you really want to reach, you can partner with influencers that will speak to them. This lets you connect with a wider audience and increases the popularity of your business.

4. Make Sure SEO is Up to Date

No matter how good your site is, people need to see it before it will generate leads. So, make sure that your SEO is on point. The closer you are to the top of the list on the first search page, the more clicks you will get for your page. A third of people will click on the very first result. Results in the tenth position will get only about 1% of clicks.  Better SEO means that more potential buyers will see what you have to offer.

One of the best strategies for SEO is to optimise your site for the keywords and phrases that your audience will search for. It’s also helpful to focus on keywords that tap into a local audience. Since the search algorithms are changing every year, it’s worth it to invest in an SEO specialist to boost your ranking and maximize exposure.

5. Video Rich Content

Any real estate marketing consultant keyed in to the current climate will tell you that video is one of the best ways to reach your customers and boost conversion is through video. People are more likely to watch a short video than scroll through loads of text-based listings. And seeing is believing. With a video, you can show off a property inside and out. You can engage with your audience, showcase the best features of your properties, and generate much more interest than through pictures alone.

Another benefit of video is that it improves your search rankings. So, just by including videos on your site, you get more exposure, connect more personally with your target audience, and dramatically improve conversion rates.

6. Referrals are Essential

One of the best ways to establish yourself as a trustworthy and reliable agent is through word of mouth.  Every client you work with is a potential inroad to other clients.  Whenever you deal with a customer, ask them for referrals. Recommendations from friends, family, and coworkers carry a lot more weight than anonymous reviews.  You might even offer a reward plan for clients that share your name with others.  This makes it worthwhile for them and helps you to build your network.

7. Set up a Regular Newsletter

No matter what industry you’re in, the competition is high.  One of the best real estate marketing strategies is to keep potential buyers aware of your company.  Newsletters let you do just this.  With a newsletter, you can feature new listings, keep clients aware of real estate news, and offer valuable tips for interested customers. Plus, they’re a great way to share local news for urban clients. Remember to offer valuable information so that your newsletters are welcomed and appreciated.

Lead generation is the key to a success as a real estate agent.  And it takes work.  They don’t just come out of nowhere.  A solid strategy and the right foundation will boost exposure, develop brand awareness, and establish the momentum you need to succeed.  If you’d like to speak with a real estate marketing consultant or look into social media management services, feel free to contact us.  We are dedicated to helping you generate leads and grow your brand.

When you work with a digital business or eCommerce site, it’s crucial to leverage your social media.  But, with so many social media sites – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and more – how can any one person have the time to manage them all?  After all, it’s a full time job just to keep up with one or two of them.  The key is social media management.  And, you can find a company to manage your social media.  There are plenty of them out there, and they’ll help to boost visibility and ultimately up your conversions.  But, if money’s tight and you want to do it on your own, here are some great free tools for social media management.

Social media management tools allow you to post once, and have this post duplicated across all social media channels.  They also route all responses to a single channel, allowing you to give feedback or respond to messages without having to switch from one site to another in the process.  They exponentially reduce the time needed to handle your various accounts by bringing them all into one place.  Social media accounts let you schedule posts, track analytics, run contests and more.  Plus, since there are plenty of free tools out there, you won’t have to wade through miles of red tape and budget approval to make it happen.  With a few clicks, you can eliminate the bulk of work required and connect with your clients at a fraction of the cost.  So, let’s have a look at some of the hottest free social media management tools on the market today:

1. Hootsuite

This is an excellent site, clearly, s it’s on the top of my list.  It’s the first one I found when I woas working as a marketing assistant, and it dramatically transformed my life.  I went from spending eight hours a day on social media management for a major company to just three.  That’s huge shift.  Hootsuite lets you manage 3 social media profiles at one.  It also lets you schedule posts beforehand.  You can pre-arrange up to 30 posts and schedule them to be released when you want.  Finally, Hootsuite lets you set up contests to generate new leads and boost engagement.  It also lets you use analytics to refine your site based on user behavior.

2. TweetDeck

Twitter is a great platform for getting short pointed messages out there and linking back to your site or other posts.  If Twitter is a major part of your social media influence strategy, then you need to check out TweetDeck.  It lets you use custom timelines, manage multiple Twitter accounts, and create and manage Twitter searches and lists.  With TweetDeck, you can also add team accounts to allow multiple members to handle the messaging.  If life Twitter conversations are critical for your business, this is one of the most valuable assets around.

3. Buffer

Burrfer is another amazing site.  It has been in the game for a while and has an established reputation.  Buffer is ideal for scheduling content and managing multiple profiles.  It also provides a number of Chrome extensions that improve your internet experience.  To top it off, Buffer will actually recommend the best times to post your articles or blogs.  Buffer comes with both free and paid plans, but the free plan will take care of your needs when you’re just starting out.  It gives you access to an image creator and video/GIF uploader, as well as browser extension, tools to track and shorten links, tools to create and schedule content, and the capacity to manage three social networks at once.  Plus, you can schedule up to ten blog posts.

4. SocialOomph

SocialOomph, in addition to having a creative name, also offers a host of features that can help your site climb to the top of the list.  It provides scheduling and analytics for your social media sites.  But that’s not all.  It helps you to manage blog posts and set them to release on a prearranged timeline, keep your DM Twitterbox clean so that you can increase followers and site traffic, shorten URL’s and track Tweets.  SocialOomph also provides loads of tools to help manage your Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts.  The free plan is a bit limited, but it provides great tools for Twitter management.  If you opt for the paid plan, you’ll be able to manage multiple accounts and optimize your effort across multiple channels.

5. Followerwonk

Thus is an untraditional tool, but it has a number of unique benefits.  It will help you to better understand your audience, regardless of the niche.  Followerwonk lets you look into Twitter bios and compare them to find the best influencers.  It lets you analyze your followers’ locations, followed accounts, and other details.  Plus, you can compare this with the impact of competitors.  It’s one of the best tools out there to get feedback from your social media accounts to refine your efforts.  The key here is that it helps you to find the followers that will actually engage with your brand.  There are paid versions, but the free account lets you view followers, locations, and rankings for a single profile.  To work with multiple accounts, you’ll have to opt for the paid version.  Depending on the number of accounts, you’ll have to pay anywhere from $29 to $79 a month.

6. Friends+Me

So far, we haven’t discussed Google Plus much, but this is a powerful tool for social media.  Who doesn’t have a Google account?  But the good thing is that Friends+Me doesn’t stop there.  It lets you access a wide range of social platforms and manage them from a single location.  It offers a number of different paid plans, based on the size of your business.  But, even if you don’t have much to spare, you’re still good.  Their free plan still lets you schedule posts and shorten links.  It also features browser extensions, standard support, and Zapier integration.  It can be used for a number of social media sites, including Tumblr, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google Plus.  When you upgrade, you’ll get access to Instagram and Pinterest as well.  The least expensive plan is as low as $7.50 a month.  If you want to go all the way, it’ll cost you $216, but the expense will be more than worth it.

7. Zoho Social

Last but not least, we have Zoho Social.  This tool lets you manage multiple accounts and it also offers some unique analytic tools, like searching relevant keywords and monthly hits.  Zoho Social also allows you to work with other team members to manage your social media accounts.  Plus, you can schedule blog posts to be released at the best time for you, all from one dashboard.  If you’re still wondering of Zoho is right for you, check it out.  You’ll find that it gives you everything you hope for in a social media management tool and more.  CRM integrations, a SocialShare browser plugin, advanced report features, and Facebook lead ads.  And that’s just the beginning.  Depending on the size of your company, a paid plan can run you anywhere from $8.3 to $125 or more.  But even the free plan offers a host of features, including the SocialShare plugin and a URL shortener.

We’ve got plenty of options on the table so far, but even so, this is still just the tip of the iceberg.  Go for the right social media marketing management option, and you’ll reach more of your target demographic while dramatically reducing the time and money you need to make that happen.  If you want to know more about social media marketing management or look into social media management packages, feel free to contact us.  We are dedicated to helping you reach the right customers for your product or service.

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