Our first few lessons on AdWerx University dealt with building your brand through awareness marketing, and taking advantage of that awareness by properly optimizing your destination page.
Today’s lesson will discuss the marketing strategies and practices that allow top producing agents to stand out from the crowd and succeed in the real estate industry.
A recent Active Rain study (link to study) took a deep dive into the habits of over 1,700 real estate agents to study what differentiates “rich agents,” or agents making over $100,000 a year, from “Poor Agents,” those making less than $35,000 a year. Their conclusion? Success hinges on investment in marketing:
- Rich agents spend 10x more on marketing than “Poor Agents”
- Rich agents invest in broadcast marketing
- Rich agents invest 6x more in technology
Of course, the rich agents’ success isn’t simply a function of throwing more money at marketing. If you take a closer look at the spending habits of the rich agent, you’ll notice that they heavily favor awareness marketing.
These successful agents are spending more of their budgets on Internet marketing and email marketing. According to the Active Rain study, “rich agents” are 175% more likely to invest in internet marketing. Although some might still be doubtful when it comes to online marketing, the fact of the matter is it’s what’s most effective. By utilizing online marketing to build your awareness in your local area, you’re going to become the name people know as a real estate and marketing professional.
In addition, these agents are 35% more likely to use content marketing to not only broadcast their message, but also retain their customer base. As we discussed in Lesson II (link to lesson), compelling content not only captures prospects’ attention at the top of the funnel, it helps to seamlessly convert them into leads when used correctly on your destination page.
Don’t be a “Poor Agent.” Spend your marketing budget where it counts!
In today’s digital world, video is the king of content. “Rich Agents” know this, and are 78% more likely to invest in video marketing than “Poor Agents”. If you’ve done your homework this should come as no surprise. According to popular real estate marketing blog FlyerCo, 75% of people who watch your video on YouTube will then visit your website. This could be using video for listings, using video to reconnect with former clients, or using video to tell potential clients move-in tips, neighborhood details, etc.
In the end, these “Rich Agents” aren’t just investing more money in any type of marketing; they’re turning to awareness marketing techniques that will keep them top of mind when it matters most.
One of the things “Rich Agents” do best is foster a relationship with each client that can result in referrals and future business. You can learn more about this by continuing on to Lesson Five!
Suggested Reading from Free Agent:
- What is a Client Really Worth: Recap of Our Webinar with Inman News
- Real Estate Advertising: Awareness Marketing vs. Lead Generation
- From the Trenches: Real Estate Marketing Tips from Bill Gassett
- Video Options: Using Vine, Instagram and Youtube for Real Estate Marketing
Landing pages: sweat the details - Adwerx Blog - Real Estate Marketing Technology ,
[…] Do you want to learn more? Check out our suggested reading, and then head on over to our next lesson: The Marketing Secrets of Rich Agents! […]
Mike Toste ,
Found your blog looking for ideas for creating remarkable listing headlines. I then made my way over to this post and I couldn’t agree more with what’s said here. Although digital marketing for real estate agents can definitely be more “complicated”, “frustrating”, and “overwhelming”, it’s goes without saying that people are on the internet constantly and to not be where your target audience is at, is to not exist. Top-of-mind campaigns are expensive, and take time, but are proven to work. I can tell you that print media can be much more manageable for older-than-millennial agents, but print media is simply not enough to get you to the next level. I’ll definitely be checking out more of your stuff.
– Mike Toste, Luxury Realtor® at Lake Norman, NC.
Lauren ,
Mike, you get it! Thanks so much for the note. (And listing headlines is a great idea for new content!)