Traditional Marketing on Steroids

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You’re probably familiar with the basics of traditional marketing in real estate: The agent lists your property on MLS, makes up a flyer, sends out a mass email to other real estate agent, throws up their sign, puts some photos on their company website, and holds an open house or two. Done, right?

That is not how great agents today do it. They make sure that everything they do stands out and is unique and exception- al. And when they do that, your home stands out.

A great agent will not only list your home on MLS but on all of the real estate sites available like Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com and Trulia. (There are actually hundreds of real estate sites and I market my listings on all of them.) A Strategic agent will use the “back end” of these sites so they can make your listing more attractive and guarantee the property will stay in a primary position. They’ll post a virtual video tour of your home rather than just a few photos.

A great agent will not just post the basics with the same canned copy you see on every listing. They’ll feature things that make your home unique and particularly attractive to potential qualified buyers.

Professional Videos and Photos: Realtors who really care about doing a superior job for you will not just shoot a few photos and a quick video with their smartphone on the fly! They will pay to have a professional photographer and videographer come in to do the job.

Video is so critically important in marketing your home! Statistically, on social media like Instagram and Facebook, videos get 12 times more shares than text or photos! So, when your home is posted using video, you get at least 12 times more people viewing it organically!

When a website has video on it, people spend 88% more time on that website.

BTW, an incredibly awesome video that doesn’t get proper distribution is like your grandmother’s crystal wine- glasses that are tucked away in some closet—beautiful but use- less. 99% of agents will say they market using video, but they never take the time and energy to distribute it as it should be.

Printed Materials: Rather than a cheap flyer, a great list- ing agent will spend the time and money to create a high-quality, full color brochure with links to the virtual video tour and web- site. They’ll make sure this brochure gets sent to everyone who makes online or phone inquiries about your house or any similar homes in a digital copy, which is basically your home’s website.

I make sure that all printed materials are cell phone com- patible because 91% of buyers use cell phones in their property search.

I also create a “Pick Your Neighbor” brochure and dis- tribute it to all of your neighbors. Why? Because people who live in your same neighborhood tend to know people like themselves. Therefore, they’re likely to know others who would like to live in your house and neighborhood.

According to N.A.R. less than 7% of buyers found their home from an open house and a property sign. Open houses are ineffective but still used by many agents. Why? For one thing, it’s a way they can prospect for new clients. It’s also because they have been doing open houses for years and years, and they lack the skillset to reach potential buyers and market to them where they really look for new homes, which is online!

A great listing agent will create an attractive email with a link to the brochure, the website listing, and the virtual tour. Rather than just blasting this email out and hoping someone will open it, they’ll target their emails to the best buyers’ agents in the area, then they’ll follow up with them personally. They’ll make sure that buyers’ agents in their own company keep the property top of mind.

Your Home’s Website: Yes, your home should have its very own website, not just a crummy page with a few photos on the real estate company’s website! Your home’s website should be designed to be attractive with all the information a potential buyer needs: the virtual video tour, a photo gallery, the printable brochure, property map and information, mortgage calculator, and reports for out-of-town buyers showing an area map, area amenities, school scores and distance from the home, and community information. We love this feature and so do Buyers.

Does this sound like a lot of work? Honestly, it’s just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what an exceptional listing agent can do for you. Yes, it requires a commitment of time and money to market your home. It requires a commitment on your agent’s part to continual education on technology and innovation. This is what you deserve and what you should expect from your listing agent! And if it’s not being done, then it is costing you money and time when it comes to selling your home.

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