Technology has certainly changed the way business communications and marketing work, especially when it comes to real estate marketing. Listing details, open house locations and agent information can be sent and received in seconds, often right where your prospects prefer to view it, such as in a text message or on a social media platform. This—as opposed to relying on interpersonal, word-of-mouth or traditional avenues of marketing—is easy and highly-appealing due to its instant gratification and low involvement on the receiver’s end.
However, a misconception many agents and brokers have is that lead generation can be accomplished solely through the ease of digital marketing and communication. If you’re growing a brokerage or growing your client base, the marketing communication basics shouldn’t change.
You cannot rely on just one channel to reach all leads.
In short, a balanced blend of both digital and interpersonal communications is the recipe for successful lead generation growth. We can’t forget about the indelible impressions and conversations that happen when interacting with someone face-to-face.
Facebook, with its 1.28 billion daily users around the world, is a staple for any brand or company. A company Facebook page is just as important as having a company website. Social platforms are a fantastic way to build a community presence by giving prospects a place to garner more information about your brand and what the voice and tone are that your company communicates to the world.
Managing any social platform should be done on a scheduled and consistent basis and issues that arise need to be addressed professionally and quickly. If managed properly, social accounts can be an effortless way to boost leads in your real estate business—but social accounts alone cannot replace your personal presence in the community.
Email and texting are standbys in real estate marketing, and your shared content should be relevant to the channel you are using. Email will often be full of useful links and information, whereas texting is an ideal method to communicate quickly and succinctly. However, without interpersonal communication to back these virtual messaging channels up, emails will be deleted and texts may never be answered.
What will completely round out lead generation in your real estate marketing focus is to continue relying on your face-to-face communications and relationships. If you’ve been lax in this area, using only digital marketing to handle the lead gen for you, it’s time to bolster your agenda with in-person meetings, industry events—even phone calls.
Digital communication and marketing alone cannot give your potential clients or future agents the same level of trust and accountability that a face-to-face conversation and solid handshake can do. All non-verbal cues are not created equally.
It wasn’t too long ago that companies wined and dined their clients when establishing a business relationship. When technology entered the workforce, dynamics slowly began to change and loyalties began to fade. This waning lack of interpersonal connections gave clients or leads the ability to slip away as opposed to fortifying their business relationships.
Granted, you won’t be able to personally connect with the same amount of potential leads that you could through a digital channel (this is why digital is great!), but once these agent/client or broker/agent relationships are strengthened by reaching out on all levels, you may find that your leads will begin to grow—and remain loyal—throughout the years.
Todd Sumney is the chief marketing officer for HomeSmart International. In his leadership role, Sumney is responsible for spearheading all of the company’s branding and marketing initiatives, including agent marketing and presentations.
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