In this article, I explain how solid digital marketing strategies can bring huge success to real estate agents in Nigeria.
Real estate is an information-driven industry with high-value transactions and many middlemen like agents and firms
Being a competitive industry, a lot of agents are coming into the markets, fighting for the little available property and investment buyers.
If have been in the real estate industry for years, with lots of property and investment opportunities under your watch.
And you can testify that in the past, it was easy to find buyers begging to buy. But that’s not the story today.
And so for your real estate agency to excel and lead among many here in Nigeria, you need working marketing ideas.
That’s why I am here, to show you the exact way you can
- Build business reputation,
- Attract top leads and book appointment
- Close Sales with clients.
Let’s start
Real Estate Digital Marketing Strategy
1. Know Your Clients
Everything begins with understanding who you want to sell to – your client.
This is my first approach to executing successful digital marketing strategies for real estate companies.
Who do you want to sell to? Who has been buying from you?
You must know your audience or buyer persona before you begin any marketing, whether online or offline.
A few days ago, I received a call from the head of marketing in a real estate firm in Lagos. He complained about how the leads they are generating are not converting.
He continued, “It is not as if we are not getting leads, we do. But they are not buying. Most times, by the time we call these leads, we realized they have no idea of what real estate is. AY, how can you help?”
After many questions and answers, I realized they (the agency) themselves are the ones having issues of knowledge. They have little to no understanding of who their audiences are.
They are trying hard to sell to everyone. No wonder they are failing. So, a random person who sees their ads just fills in his email and phone number.
Is that what you do in your own firm?
Are your buyers low-income and top-income earners? Are they business owners or employees?
Do they have knowledge of real estate? When was the last time they purchase a real estate property or investment?
Some clients will buy now, some in the next 6-10 months, and others in years.
How do you differentiate them?
So you can deepen your understanding of your customers, answer the following questions:
- What are their reasons for buying properties? Retirement, pleasure, or profit.
- Who are they buying it for – themselves, family, or friends?
- Where do they feel most comfortable reaching you? In your office, at their homes, on calls, or online chat.
In the 1990s, the home buyers were over 60 years of age. But today, it’s not so. With the availability of loans and grants, most buyers now fall between the age of 35 to 50 years, with a few in their twenties.
2. Real Estate Content Marketing
When I mentioned earlier, know your audience, you thought I was joking. There is no other reason for this but for relevancy.
Knowing your buyers helps you segment them and provide relevant content. It helps you know how to work and what to expect from your content writer.
Let me give you three reasons you need to include content marketing as part of your real estate digital marketing plan.
- You Get More Unique Leads
The content marketing institute performed research that showed that content marketing generates three times more leads than traditional marketing.
Real estate businesses with blogs on their website experience over 120% lead growth than those without.
- Your Position as Experts
It’s hard to sell me if I know nothing about you. I can invest with you if I can’t prove you have the skill.
What content does is this, it educates your reader and takes away every doubt they may have about your integrity.
Someone who is interested in real estate investments but has no information about them will head over to google.
If you do proper search engine optimization and he finds your blog, good for you.
Because the more he reads about your content, the more he sees you as a trusted authority in the real estate industry.
- You Convert Better
Because you have been able to position yourself as an expert in the real estate business through your content, you wouldn’t do much talking before clients buy from you.
If you forget anything, don’t forget this:
Of course, one piece of content is not enough to earn the level of trust that will make a client believe you so easily. You have multiple related ones.
Content marketing places you in a position where you don’t chase but attract serious clients ready to buy.
The study also shows that real estate companies that use content marketing have six times higher conversion rates than those that don’t.
And when you create content, don’t create for buyers alone, also those that sell. Your marketing should not go only after buyers, but also sellers.
Invest in content writing; it’s a must-have in real estate digital marketing strategy.
3. Real Estate Social Media Marketing
What social media platforms are best for the real estate business? It’s a question I hear every week from realtors who wants to steal from my knowledge of real estate digital marketing.
Actually, post everywhere. I mean on all the social media platforms. This is what we call Omnichannel marketing.
But that would be too much for you to manage. So, I encourage you to stick with this four – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Reasons below.
Facebook because of its extensive database. No other platform has more details about your prospect than Facebook. So use it for interest and demographics data filtering.
Twitter because of its hashtags. No social media platform can make you go viral in hours like Twitter. All thanks to hashtags. With Twitter, you can get your real estate deals to the screen of the richest man in Nigeria.
LinkedIn because of its networks of professionals. No other social media platform can get you more companies’ top executives than LinkedIn.
If you sit and tell yourself the truth, you will realize your most likely buyers or investors are top employees in various companies who have the money but no time to do business.
Such is good to sell real estate investment opportunities.
Also, the recent graduate open to hiring on the platform, you can employ them as your sales executive and place them on a commission-based salary.
Instagram because of its visuals. No other platforms have more people watching videos than Instagram. Since part of your real estate digital marketing strategy is creating videos, use Instagram and its hashtags.
How often should you post on social media?
Momentum matters in social media marketing. A perfect real estate digital marketing plan will include content categories for each week in a month.
Something like:
- Monday: Industry News and Showcase Listings
- Tuesday: Real Estate Tips and Guides
- Wednesday: Share Blog Content
And more…
Consistency matters and no weeks off. Instead, double down on your social media content posting speed and relevancy.
4. Real Estate Email Marketing Campaign
Here is a deep truth:
Most people who invest in the real estate business choose email as their preferred mode of communication.
Unlike calls, with emails, they are not under pressure to take immediate action on your deals. But when they do, they often fulfill it.
Have a place for email marketing in your real estate digital marketing plans and strategy.
With email, you can remind your existing clients of new offers and opportunities they are missing.
How do you communicate via email?
Your emails should include a drip of your weekly blog content, investments, and listing promotions.
The listing promotion cycle campaigns you can include in your email marketing include:
- Coming Soon Campaign
The coming soon email is best before you list the property for sale to the public. They will feel special being the first to know what others don’t know.
Don’t be surprised, you might even sell the property before listing.
- Just Listed Campaign
If you can’t find a buyer in the coming soon campaign. Opt for the just listed campaign. This email campaign should follow immediately after you list the property to the public.
Watch them ask for a price. If there is a discount, use this email to inform them.
- Just Sold Campaign
The last campaign in the promotional cycle is the Just Sold Campaign. This is where you show how you sold the property, and a testimonial from the sellers about their satisfaction working with you.
Let your results (transaction images and videos) speak louder than your voice words (texts) here. They will come to expect your next listing.
5. Do Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization SEO plays an important role in digital marketing for real estate agents and companies.
By optimizing your content with your prospect search, you can rank high on the first page of Google.
More than ever in history, more prospects are searching on Google to locate the best real estate company.
The number of real estate searches is three times greater than previous results. And the reasons are not far-fetched.
- Easy access to trends and information.
- Ability to compare among many real estate option deals.
- Quick contact with agents and companies.
- Analysis of reviews and comments from previous buyers.
Over 60 percent of these searches, happen on mobile phones and increasing every year.
If your brand ranks high among competitors, you will have the upper hand in making quick sales.
So you know; it’s not enough to create good content, you need to implement certain real estate SEO to come top of other searches.
And if we work together, I can help build and optimize your entire website for real estate SEO and mobile to generate more organic traffic than you expected.
Final Thoughts on Real Estate Digital Marketing Strategies
Real estate companies in Nigeria need the best digital marketing strategies to boost their visibility and generate more quality leads.
The growth of the internet has placed a lot of pressure on the real estate business industry and challenges the status quo.
If you desire to meet sales targets and increase revenue, then apply all marketing ideas listed here in your real estate agency.