REALTOR® Magazine is one of the most trusted sources of value-added information in the real estate industry, including marketing tips, trends and strategies. A series of recent articles in the magazine emphasizes which marketing trends REALTORS® should begin focusing on in 2016.
The Next Wave of Digital Marketing Evolution
According to an October article published in RealtorMag.com, being on the forefront of technology trends helps gain an edge in the marketplace. The article, titled “4 Digital Marketing Trends to Watch in 2016”, references a Forbs.com report where SEO and online expert, Jayson DeMers, pinpoints evolving digital marketing trends that will really begin to have an impact this year:
- The domination of video ads. YouTube, Facebook, and Bing have helped make video ads bigger, but in 2016, look for Google’s release of in-SERP video advertising to make headway. Forbes.com predicts that more types of video ads will pop up next year, as well.
- App indexing will boost app use. 2016 will likely be a year where more business owners harness the online visibility advantages of having a dedicated app. Apps won’t replace websites – at least not yet – but they are expected to play a more pivotal role in cornering the mobile market.
- Mobile will dominate desktop. Google announced this year that mobile traffic has finally overtaken desktop traffic in 10 different countries. Google also announced an algorithm update to phase out sites not optimized for mobile. That doesn’t mean the complete death to desktop traffic, but you might want to place more of your marketing dollars on mobile-focused online marketing to best compete.
- Digital assistants become key to optimization. While search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising are two popular ways for getting your site seen by more visitors, digital assistants, such as Siri and Cortana, will arise as the new kind of optimization. Making sure your business information is easily accessible to these assistants, will be an important way to increase visitation to your website.
Managing Your Online Presence
Another article published in September, titled “Their (Online) Reputation Precedes Them: 4 Case Studies”, provides tips on how four top producing real estate agents manage their online presence. The article provides several case studies covering topics such as online endorsements, profile ownership and working as a team in group offices to drive reviews.
Another case study focused on Social Media and how real estate professionals can quickly build a presence that makes them a likely source for home buyers to find when looking for information about buying or selling a home. Three tips were offered:
- Be authentic. Videos are a powerful way to connect online and ramp up an online reputation. They are powerful because people see you and get to know you more personally. That helps build a relationship that means something to consumers, even before you actually meet them in person.
- Engage the audience. To get more interaction on social media, use contests. One example cites how a real estate agent used Facebook to post a photo of a new listing and have a contest on “guess the list price.”Click here to read the article and discover the other easy steps that were taken to garner more than 1,000 views.
- Find ways to get on others’ news feeds. One real estate agent took a photo of herself holding a “sold” sign next to her customers. She then “tagged” her customers on Facebook and Instagram on closing day and that photo was then served up to everyone who visited those customers’ pages.
Secure and Gain Control of Online Reviews
According to a September article titled “Seize Control of Your Online Identity”, customers are putting more weight on online sources when choosing the right real estate agent to work with.
NAR’s 2014 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, for example, showed that 19 percent of recent buyers viewed online recommendations when searching for a real estate agent, and half of those buyers said they were influenced by what they saw. What’s more, 38 percent of buyers who didn’t use online recommendations said they’d consider doing so next time.
Click here to read the article and learn more about how to manage online reviews. The article also covers an initiative sponsored by NAR’s Board of Directions calling for the development of an industry standard for models to allow consumers to fairly and more accurately evaluate REALTORS®.