Modern-day technologies coupled with internet integration in day-to-day lives has made the audience tech-savvy. With information available at just a swipe, consumers want brands to offer solutions digitally. The availability of multiple online tools has further accentuated the research undertaken by homebuyers before purchasing properties. In such a scenario, the real estate industry has also started implementing e-marketing strategies to boost their sales.
From creating a strong online presence to nurturing leads, real estate digital marketing has become an excellent way of capturing valuable leads. In this blog, we will discuss the benefits and methods of incorporating online marketing tools for your real estate company.
What is E-Marketing?
Also known as online, internet, or digital marketing, e-marketing is a process of obtaining quality leads by advertising products or services on the internet. Since we are focussing on the use of internet marketing in the real estate industry, property management, selling or buying homes, providing consultancy or legal services can be categorized as the services which we want to promote. Let us see how online or internet marketing can accentuate your leads in a cost-effective and super-efficient way.
Is E-Marketing Same as Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is a broad term that encompasses different types of paid and free marketing channels, including TV and SMS. E-Marketing, on the contrary, uses online channels to advertise and market a product (real estate asset in this case). Tabulated below are some examples which will help you develop a clear understanding of internet vs digital marketing for real estate.
| E-Marketing Channels | Other Channels |
| Pay-per-click Advertising | TV |
| Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | SMS Texts |
| Affiliate Marketing | Billboard |
| Content Marketing | Radio |
| Email Marketing | Cold Calling |
| Social Media | Open House |
| Influencer Marketing | Newspaper Ads |
| Video Marketing |
Benefits of E-Marketing
To understand the concept in-depth, let us go through the below-listed points. These pointers explain why e-marketing, a subset of real estate digital marketing, is a brilliant way of obtaining quality leads:
- Time-saving and cost-effective marketing method
- Builds a strong online brand presence
- Easy to identify user demands and behaviour
- Boosts brand exposure through multiple channels
- With the option of leaving queries or comments, e-marketing is highly interactive
- Based on the data obtained, you can segment and target the right audience
- Ensures quantifiable results as you can check the metrics on a regular basis
Top E-Marketing Practices for Realtors
Now that you have got an overview of how online marketing works and what benefits it entails, let us go through some of the important e-marketing techniques for your real estate company.
1. Article/Blog Writing
As you know, property buyers search for listings, commercial property investment tips, real estate trends, and much more on the net. To connect with them, writing informative blogs can be really helpful. Blogging regularly will not only educate readers but it will also help in displaying your domain knowledge. This, in turn, will establish you as a resourceful real estate agent with whom leads would want to connect! Here are some themes on which you can write content:
- Property details
- Investment tips
- How-to Guides
- Market research reports
- Space organization tips
2. Forums/Facebook Groups
Getting involved in discussions with like-minded audiences on online groups or forums is another brilliant e-marketing tactic to generate quality leads. But be careful with what and how much you post. Posting excessively may force moderators to categorize your content as spam. So once your blog is live, you can share the same on forums or groups with a compelling message.
3. Social Media Marketing
From sharing market research reports and property details to posting client testimonials and informative articles, social media is one of the best e-marketing routes for promoting your business. Writing well-articulated property descriptions or explaining a case study is important for your real estate business. However, to keep the audience engaged, you need to experiment with short video tools like Instagram Reels and long-form IGTV and YouTube content. LinkedIn polls and surveys, Instagram Q&A sessions, and live Facebook videos are some of the other real estate posts for social media that you can try.
4. Quora to the Rescue
Quora is a Question and Answer platform where you ask zillions of questions and receive answers from multiple individuals or companies. You would be surprised to know that Quora has more than 300 million users and therefore, there is a high probability of finding the right set of audiences on the platform.
Apart from answering queries that are relevant to your target audience, you can create detailed posts related to your real estate niche, suggest edits to popular answers, and incorporate blog links wherever you can.
5. Medium. What an Excellent Marketing Medium
When you are implementing so many e-marketing techniques, why not try Medium? With close to 100 million monthly active users, Medium is an online publishing platform where you can republish the blog that you posted on your website. In fact, you can also write a new article and submit it to one of the many pages on Medium. If accepted, your post will be viewed by hundreds of users!
6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Your brand’s visibility increases on search engine pages through an e-Marketing technique called search engine optimization. Since the algorithm of Google and other search engines is very specific, you have to lay emphasis on numerous factors in order to rank your page on the top of search results. This includes, but is not restricted to, keyword research, meta descriptions, link building, headings, high-quality and informative media, and alt tag. Read our blog on SEO for real estate to understand the process in detail.
For the purpose of improving SEO, real estate businesses can focus on creating high quality content, That engages the audience. These generally include Posts on blogs, articles, videos, and infographics covering real estate-related subjects that can fall under this category. Real estate businesses can also increase backlinks to their website by engaging in online communities and guest posting on other websites that are related to their industry.
7. Affiliate Marketing
The technique of promoting your company and its services on someone’s else website and paying them a commission when you receive leads is called affiliate marketing. So these websites or entities are known as affiliates. You pay these affiliates only when they bring you a visitor or a lead. Hence, this e-marketing technique is performance-based and super affordable.
Apart from creating brand awareness, affiliate marketing targets the right audience, scales traffic, aids your SEO efforts, and builds partnerships with multiple companies!
8. Guest Posting
Guest Blogging/Posting = Writing content for another website
But why should you write for another website?
- Creates brand awareness
- Helps in building networks
- Can reach a new set of audience
- Drive more traffic to your website
- Generate backlinks from websites with high domain authority
- Establish yourself as a valuable source in your niche
Guest posting can drive high referral traffic; however, the strategy won’t work if the traffic is not interested in real estate. Hence, you need to focus on websites that are somehow related to the services you provide; be it property management, house sale, or purchase.
9. Facebook Ads
One of the most popular and effective e-marketing strategies for acquiring quality leads is Facebook real estate ads. Through its exceptional algorithm, you can push your ads in front of people who are looking for similar properties that you are selling. But remember, there are scores of ads which are published on Facebook. Hence, to convert prospective leads to clients, you need to write impeccable ad copies, create interesting call-to-action (CTAs), and incorporate high-quality images or videos.
10. Google Ads
When you Google new properties, you will often see “Ad” written on the top left corner of a link. Such search results, which are visible on the top or bottom of search engines are reffred to as paid Google ads.
Here, you bid on keywords that are relevant to your business. So through this e-marketing technique, you will attract the most interested audience.
Unlike Facebook ads where you can also add images and videos, search engine ads rely heavily on the keywords you choose and the information you provide. Hence, your content should speak a thousand words in just a few lines. Apart from choosing the right set of keywords, you also need to create hyper-targeted copies to stand out from the rest.
11. Email Marketing
As per research published by Smart Insights, the open rate of emails in the real estate sector is around 26% with 3% click-through-rates. This proves why emails are one of the most effective ways of staying connected with an existing clientele base or establishing connections with potential customers. However, the CTR also depends on how relatable and enticing the email content and CTA is.
So, to make this e-marketing technique successful, create and update your email list. You can do so by collecting contact information through subscription forms, webinars, conferences, free downloadable guides, etc. Then based on the user behaviour, you can create catchy content for re-engagement, follow-up emails, or geo-targeted mail series.
Real estate businesses should concentrate on two key aspects to maximize their email marketing potential: constructing a targeted email list and crafting compelling content that resonates with their audience. Furthermore, segmenting the email list, sending email based on demographics and behavior ensures delivery of relevant, personalized messages. It is important to emphasize on organic email marketing campaigns to generate leads instead of just spamming email to unsolicited receiver. As a real estate business owner.
12. Guerilla Marketing
The most unconventional marketing type which catches the attention of a huge audience pool is called Guerilla Marketing. These advertising activities are visible on streets, in cafes, metro stations, bus stands, etc as stickers, posters, mannequins, 3D or immersive paintings. However, using online guerilla marketing tactics like creating super creative landing pages, conducting competitions, and generating video content will help in promoting your brand!
13. Content Marketing
Content marketing is one of most valuable e marketing techniques that empowers the real estate business owner to generate more leads. By creating high quality content. Real estate businesses should focus on creating a content strategy that covers topics relevant to their target audience. This can include blog entries, essays, videos, and infographics on subjects including industry news, property listings, and practical advice and resources. To expand the content’s audience and interaction, they should also market it using email marketing, social media, and other channels.
Real estate businesses aiming for success in social media marketing must prioritize the creation of a content strategy that deeply resonates with their target audience, this may involve sharing property listings – industry news, helpful tips, and resources. Furthermore they should actively engage with their followers, responding meticulously to comments and messages, participating ardently in online communities.
14. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising
Real estate businesses employ PPC advertising, a paid e-marketing technique: it enables them to target specific keywords and demographics. Through the creation of focused ads–combined with strategic bidding on pertinent keywords–these companies draw in more qualified leads; consequently, their conversion rates surge. To truly maximize the potential of PPC advertising: emphasis must be placed by realty enterprises not only on compelling ad copy but also on crafting landing pages that deeply resonate with their identified target audience. They should persistently monitor their campaigns, optimizing them continually to secure optimal results..
There are countless e-marketing tactics to attract the most interested audience and boost sales. However, you need to understand your audience and their preferences before strategizing a marketing plan. Since users have access to multiple homebuying websites and apps, it would be beneficial to implement a mix of paid and unpaid digital marketing tactics to increase your visibility. Additionally, by posting exceptional content in different forms and using virtual reality, you can gain a competitive edge over others.
