They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity, and while that probably doesn’t apply to real estate, there’s no doubt some good publicity can go a long way. The more visible you are in your community, the more potential clients will reach out for your services. Consistently well done PR can also make you look much bigger than you are, which helps when it comes to generating more listings or expanding your farm.
However, getting that press coverage isn’t always easy. Most conventional methods of getting media attention, like press releases, take a lot of time to put together and often don’t produce the results you had in mind.
If your market has a real estate reporter, contact them and let them know that you’d be happy to help if they ever need a source for upcoming stories. Be sure to tell them why you’re an expert on the area’s housing market. You could even suggest a few story ideas, if you have any.
If you’re more comfortable with newspapers, try writing a letter for a paper’s editorial’s section about an issue in your market—just try not to make it anything too controversial. If the paper prints your piece, thousands of people could read what you have to say.
You don’t have to stay local—plenty of publications and websites that regularly write about real estate are constantly looking for new sources and opinions. If your name is in any publication, be sure to post it on social media and link it back to your website.
Another great way to get noticed is to start your own blog and write about real estate issues that affect people in your area. By building a community of followers, you can position yourself as an expert in your field, and use that to prove your credibility to local news reporters.
In addition to the above strategies, you can also hire a local public relations expert and let them work to get your name out there. Web-based PR tools like PR Web are a great, less expensive alternative to traditional PR firms. Your social media accounts are essentially free public relations platforms to spread the word about you and your business—so be sure to use them!
Overall, the more visible you are to the public, the more likely potential clients will be to give you a call when they need a real estate professional. For more detailed information on how to create effective public relations strategies check out HSA Home Warranty’s Media Center.
