Marketing is easily the business activity that property owners/managers and estate agents do the most. Marketing is at the center of your success when renting or selling homes. Yet marketing does not get easier simply because you do a lot of it.

In reality, when marketing tools become easier to use, getting your voice heard above the noise gets more difficult. This is why, as a property owner or real estate professional, you always find yourself wondering how you can make your marketing more effective.

That is a question people in the real estate industry ask every day. However, if you are only looking for a marketing gimmick to add to your existing ones, you may be searching for the wrong thing. That’s because the tools you use are often not the reason your marketing is underperforming.

Sometimes the problem is not using enough of the tools at your disposal or the right combination of tools. Other times it is failing to choose a technique that suits the audience you are targeting.  Having a repertoire of tools is important but knowing how to use them is even more important.

As you go through this list of real estate marketing ideas, do it with the goal of understanding what each idea is best suited for and how you can combine them to amplify each one’s power.

12 Real estate marketing ideas that will get you more business

1.    Build a website

It is always amazing to find realtors or property investors who think they can get by without a website for their business. This makes no sense in a world where most of your marketing is digital. A website is where your business lives on the internet. It should form the foundation for your digital marketing strategy.

2.    Set up your website for marketing

But just any website will not do. Your business website should be responsive and able to perform equally well on mobile or desktop. It should have video capabilities and incorporate Google maps to let prospective buyers get the street view of a property.

3.    Go social

You should have a presence on the major social media networks; create pages and post relevant information regularly (even when you are not selling anything). Add share buttons to all your emails and ads. Be quick to respond to comments and questions on your social media pages.

4.    Hire a professional photographer

Do not use generic images on your website or social media pages. Hire a photographer to take pictures of your area. Clients prefer to work with agents and investors who are in their locality. For each ad, use actual pictures of the property.

5.    Stage your properties

To make the images of the home more appealing, you should stage your property before listing it. If physically staging the home is a hassle, you can use virtual staging. As Dawson Management explains, staging helps to create a realistic impression of what a home will look like and clients value the effort you make.

6.    Create engaging videos

There is no excuse for not using videos with your ads. But, it is also better to have no video than to use poorly-made videos. One of the best ways to create engaging videos is through drone photography. You can get panoramic views of the property and adjoining areas.

7.    Use virtual tours

Virtual tours make it possible for prospective buyers or renters to do a walkthrough of the home without seeing it physically. It saves both you and the client’s time because you will not waste time showing a property to someone who will not like it eventually.

8.    Consider animated video

Animated videos are fun to watch; they let you do a lot that you cannot do easily with photography or video. You can add personality and humor to your ads, while also educating the audience. You can outsource your animated videos or do them yourself.

9.    Always ask for testimonials

One recommendation from someone who has bought from you in the past is worth more to future clients than all your marketing efforts put together. Customers trust the opinion of other customers. Never fail to ask for testimonials from your customers, even if it means offering incentives.

10. Use paid advertising

If you want to really improve your marketing, make peace with the fact that you will have to use paid ads on sites like Zillow, Instagram, or Google. Customers are more likely to discover you when you use them because you get more exposure and they are trusted.

11. Build local partnerships

There are many local businesses that come into regular contact with the customers you are targeting. These customers know those businesses and trust them. You can benefit from that relationship by setting up mutually beneficial partnerships with these businesses.

12. Stay in touch with clients and build a referral system

Your past customers hold the best chance to win new customers. By keeping in touch with past clients, you can make them a part of your marketing system. Make it easy and profitable for past customers and others to help you find clients by building a referral system.