When I first got started as a real estate agent, my soon to be broker asked me how I planned to generate leads. At that time, I was only 23 but I told her I planned to use online and social media marketing for my real estate business. She basically laughed in my face and told me that wasn’t going to work in this business. I spent my first year learning traditional methods like cold calling, door knocking, and hosting open houses.
There were 2 problems with this…
First, I was actually taught HOW to do them, just TO do them. Choosing the right brokerage fit is important early on. although that’s a blog post for a different day.
Second, I didn’t WANT to generate real estate leads that way. I wanted to implement the content marketing strategies that I had been learning and that I loved. But, I was not confident enough at that time.
Now, years later, I know there are many ways to build a real estate business. And today, I’m going to share some of my favorite modern real estate lead generation ideas with you.
lead generation with a local facebook group
No, Facebook groups are not dead. In fact, Facebook is investing heavily into their group features.
Starting a local Facebook group is a great way to combine content marketing and community. You can bring people together around a certain topic, hobby, life stage, or geographic location. This works really well because the people that know you beyond just being a real estate agent, are more likely to use you as an agent. Especially when you’re able to talk to them beyond real estate.
Facebook groups have been one of the biggest contributors to my email list growth. When you setup your Facebook group, you can use one of the membership requests to offer a local guide if they answer with their email address.
Now, you can stay in front of them by posting and commenting within your Facebook group along with your email marketing. As you continue to develop relationships with your group members, you have created more opportunities to generate the lead when they’re ready.
generate leads with real estate videos
Video marketing is a great lead generation activity. I love using video marketing within a real estate marketing strategy because videos are the most powerful and engaging form of content there is. If you are IN the video (even better if you’re talking), you have the opportunity to build just as much trust as if you were sitting in front of someone in a 1 on 1 meeting.
Using video for lead generation can feel intimidating for many agents, but it’s a skill that can be learned and developed over time.
If I wanted to get started using video today, I’d start with short videos on Instagram and Facebook.
You can use B-roll clips with text over them to start. B-roll clips are short video clips, 5-15 seconds, that are behind the scenes style…AKA no talking to camera, yet. 😉
Here are some ideas of short video clips to have ready for Instagram videos:
Once you start getting more comfortable, you can start creating videos where you’re talking to the camera and then work your way up to creating real estate YouTube videos!
Real Estate lead gen with Local guides
Using local guides, both real estate focused and community focused, is a great way to attract local and relocation leads. Here are some local guide ideas for you:
- Moving to [City]
- Seasonal Guide to [City/State]
- Things to do in [City, State]
- [State] Hiking/Biking Guide
- [Niche] Guide to [City] i.e. Moms Guide to Boise, Idaho
Once you have created your PDF guide, you need to create a landing page to collect their email address and a workflow to deliver your local guide.
You can do this pretty easily with Flodesk. My referral link will get you 50% off your first year.
Once you have people on your email list, you can send regular email content and updates about your local area and real estate.
Recap
If you are ready to start generating real estate leads with content marketing and online strategy, these are 3 great ideas to help you get started. There are many ways to start generating real estate leads online, but the goal is to pick a few strategies that you can stack up to speak to your ideal client from the time they first meet you all the way to the sale, and beyond.
Ready to learn more real estate marketing strategies with a like minded community and implement to create a strong online presence and brand? If so, I want to invite you to The Breakout Agent. This is a real estate marketing and community based membership! Learn and implement real estate marketing every single month while connecting with other real estate agents, and building a referral network!
