To be a successful real estate agent, gaining new leads should be a top priority.

While cold calling, prospecting and other traditional methods still work today, it is important to keep up with the ever-evolving marketing techniques for REALTORS^®. 

From refreshing your visual content to utilizing the growing power of social media, 2021 is the year to update your real estate marketing strategy to gain more leads. 

In this blog, you will discover five of the best marketing tips for REALTORS^® to get you leads fast in 2021:

• Create Virtual Walkthroughs
• Hire a Professional Photographer
• Utilize Instagram Stories
• Host Social Media Giveaways
• Share Educational Content

If you’re looking for new and fresh real estate marketing ideas to boost your business and grow your client base, look no further!

Create Virtual Walkthroughs

In 2021, more and more real estate professionals are understanding and utilizing the power of video for their business. And when it comes to showing a home, there is no better time to pull out your smartphone, hit record and offer your leads an immersive experience from wherever they may be. 

Video walkthroughs offer more insight into how a home is realistically represented and give prospective buyers a better sense of what the space looks like in person. 

Pre-recorded video walkthroughs are a great addition to your listings, but don’t forget about the perks of going live across different social media platforms. Host an upcoming live tour where you can walk your sphere through a home and showcase details that may otherwise be overlooked. This also gives your leads an opportunity to ask questions and engage with you, creating a relationship. 

Not only will this help promote your listings, but it will help present your efforts in a more personable and relatable way that today’s homebuyers crave. 

As more prospects are turning to the internet to begin their home search, it’s more important than ever to offer this experience, make your listings stand out among the competition and win over more clients for your business. 

According to a 2019 NAR report, 29% of REALTORS® hired a professional to operate a drone for their business, while an additional 14% of REALTORS® plan to incorporate the use of drones in the future. Consider investing in a drone to film aerial shots of the property, showcasing the acreage, home size and style of the surrounding neighborhood.

Check it out: An Agent’s Guide to Shooting a Better Virtual Home Tour

Hire a Professional Photographer

For a successful listing to catch the attention of multiple buyers, photography is a must. With a busy schedule full of open houses, client meetings and team workshops, taking great listing photos can seem like a daunting task. Hiring a professional photographer can help you not only capture perfectly-lit staged images for your listings, but also connect you with a great resource for your business.

Professional photographers can be found in almost every market, making it easy for you to hire the right person for the job without looking too far. And they are pros for a reason—they understand lighting, angles and perception.

Check it out: 7 Photography and Videography Tips to Attract Potential Buyers 

Hiring a pro can also save you lots of money that you can use elsewhere in your business plan. As mentioned above, virtual walkthroughs are a staple in today’s real estate market. If you can’t afford to outfit yourself with the right gear, such as a high-end camera or drone, a professional photographer is the way to go. 

Look local for photographers in your area. This will not only make it easy when you have multiple listings in the same area that need to be photographed, but it will also give someone from your community the opportunity to boost their own business and potentially open up a client pool for them as well. Collaboration is key!

Picture this: A young couple looking to buy their first home hires you as their agent. During a conversation with them, you find out they are planning to get married next year. Now, on top of helping them find their first home, you can also refer them to your photographer, who will appreciate the recommendation and likely refer friends, family and other homebuyers to you in the future.

Utilize Instagram Stories

Digital marketing for REALTORS^® is an ever-changing piece of the marketing puzzle. With new features constantly popping up across different social platforms, it can be confusing to determine which will help you business the most. 

When it comes to Instagram for your real estate business, the key to building your brand is becoming great at getting your followers to engage with you. The ‘stories’ feature provides a method for not only generating engagement, but also gaining brand recognition in the process.

Similar to Facebook, you can use Instagram stories to go live with your audience, whether you are hosting a virtual walkthrough, attending a local event or connecting with your sphere to answer questions about the buying or selling process. This is a great way to establish your standing on social media and get your face in front of the people who matter most to your business.

You can also get creative with Instagram stories. Instead of going live, you can post photos, videos, polls, surveys and questions—anything that will get your followers engaged with your account. Incorporate GIFs, stickers, emojis and links or play with fonts and text colors for a fun and immersive experience. Just don’t forget to have fun with this piece of your marketing strategy!

The more content you add to your Instagram stories—and the more you train the algorithm—the more organic reach you will be rewarded with, gaining more followers and ultimately, more business. 

Host Social Media Giveaways

For those who are looking to boost their engagement and brand awareness, hosting giveaways across your social platforms can help generate more traffic and leads. As mentioned earlier, you can use Instagram stories, complete with Q&A’s, stickers and other features to make it visually appealing. You can also add a poll or survey to your Facebook and Twitter, spanning across multiple social platforms for maximum reach.

First, you need to get to know your audience. Understanding who they are and what they value will help you determine what type of survey or poll is most relatable, as well as the prizes you will reward the winner with. If you do this right, your giveaways and contests will be compelling and promote engagement on your pages.

Now comes the fun part—prizes! Of course, you don’t want to blow your budget, so stick to affordable items that will also be useful for the person who receives it. Here are a few suggestions for contest prizes that are sure to grab the attention of your clients and prospects.

• Exclusive Content
• Gift Cards
• Short-Term Subscription Services
• Personalized Items
• Real Estate Services

From photo submissions to polls and surveys, there are plenty of ways you can host a contest or giveaway across all of your social media accounts. Just remember to have fun, just like you do with Instagram stories. Include a CTA for contest participants to follow your social pages, encourage engagement by asking them to like and share the post, and consider using a random number generator to choose a winner fair and square. 

Adding one to two giveaways per month is a great strategy to help boost engagement and brand awareness. Not only will your followers, clients and leads thank you, but your business will, too!

Check it out: How to Host Giveaways to Boost Engagement and Brand Awareness

Share Educational Content  

When it comes to content marketing for REALTORS^®, educating your audience should be your top priority. From information about the real estate transaction process to tips on decorating a home, content categories are seemingly endless. 

However, creating this content may seem like a time-consuming task. But that is where RISMedia’s ACESocial comes in handy! With this marketing tool, you can provide high-quality, educational content to your audience with ease. Simply set your schedule and let ACESocial do the work! 

Remember that you are the local expert. So, in addition to general and evergreen content, include information highlighting local businesses and community events. Agents who take the time to create and share local and community content will quickly become the go-to source for future homebuyers looking to connect not only with a reputable and experienced agent, but one with educational and authentic local expertise. 

Check it out: Becoming a Go-To Source for Local and Community Content

If you’re looking to get more leads fast in 2021, these marketing ideas for REALTORS^® can make a big impact on your efforts, your brand and your business. 

As the real estate industry continues to change and grow, so should your strategies! Even if you just refreshed your social media marketing strategy, consider adding one of the above suggestions to your 2021 plan.