It’s no secret that a competent and successful real estate agent is essential in today’s changing economy. To be successful, you need to market yourself. Many people underestimate the importance of branding and marketing for themselves as a professional and as an expert in their fields.
It is also important to remember what type of agent you want to become before developing your marketing strategy. This article aims to help you develop a marketing strategy that will help you become the best real estate agent out there, whether in foreclosures, short sales, or anything else.
Marketing is about getting the word out about your product or service. It’s about getting potential clients to take an interest in your services and start reaching out to you constantly.
Your marketing strategy should help your sales and allow you to decide whether you want to become a foreclosure specialist or a short-sale expert. It also helps create a skill set that will help you prepare yourself for interviews and future job opportunities.
Also read: Buying a House Without a Realtor
Keys to Successfully Marketing Yourself as an Expert Realtor
1. Be consistent with your marketing ideas and strategies
Consistency is one of the most critical aspects of marketing, especially to be successful. The marketing ideas that you come up with should give you a resume builder and help you build your credibility as an expert in your field.
Before coming up with any marketing strategies, start creating a list of ideas for your future marketing strategies centered on branding and marketing yourself as an expert in foreclosure real estate sales.
2. Focus on your sphere of influence
The primary target market for real foreclosure estate is homeowners who are in some trouble with their mortgage payments and are looking for assistance regarding their payments.
When you focus on your sphere of influence, you will be able to locate the best possible prospects for your marketing strategies. The sphere of influence is precisely the markets that you will be able to target and get the most exposure to.
To develop your strategy, ask yourself a couple of questions regarding your sphere of influence and decide which kind of marketing would benefit you most in your career as a real estate agent in the foreclosure industry.
3. Use websites to increase exposure
Using websites as a marketing tool can help you build your credibility as an expert in short sales and foreclosures in the real estate market. The key to successful marketing through websites is to make sure that you choose the correct sites for your marketing strategies.
Today’s most popular sites are social networks and video-sharing websites like YouTube, Facebook, and Tumblr. Also, you can use popular real estate blogs and interview websites like Q and A sessions to gain exposure for your brand.
4. Leverage both free and paid marketing opportunities
You should make sure that you create a strategy that will help you market yourself cost-effectively.
One of the best ways to do this is by using paid tactics to get as much exposure as possible while using free marketing methods to maintain the success of your brand. Paid marketing opportunities are costly when compared to the results they provide.
For example, buying sponsored ads on Facebook and AdWords can be very costly if not used correctly.
5. Network with other professionals
You should not only focus on your sphere of influence but also network with other professionals in your industry.
While you should concentrate on the marketing strategies you want to use, it will be a lot easier for you to create new strategies that will help you market yourself if you learn from other professionals already successful in the field.
6. Create a brand name that represents your style and personality
When creating a brand for yourself, you must create a unique brand name. Your brand name will give people an idea of what to expect from your marketing strategies. The name should be easy to pronounce and should also stand out.
You want your clients to associate themselves with your company, so make sure that your brand name represents who you are as a person and professional in the foreclosure industry.
7. Use a professional image that represents your brand
You should use a professional image for your brand. For example, if you want to make sure that you are taken seriously as an expert in short sales and foreclosures, it would be better to use a picture of yourself smiling behind your desk or a picture of you walking around the neighborhood on Google Plus or Facebook.
Also, many experts recommend using pictures of yourself holding papers to make sure that you are taken seriously by your clients and potential clients.
8. Blog regularly
With the rise of social media, blogging has become one of the most popular marketing strategies used by small and large businesses. Blogs are very inexpensive to create but can produce many results when used correctly.
When creating blogs, make sure that you use the right keywords to get more exposure on search engines like Google and Bing. You should also make sure that your blog is easy to navigate to give your readers a memorable experience with your content.
9. Write content that is unique and engaging
You should create your blog and make sure that you develop different marketing strategies to ensure that you are being taken seriously.
The most common strategy that experts recommend is writing things like how to sell the house fast, helping homeowners with their short sale acceptances, or the latest information regarding short sales, foreclosure info, and real estate agents in foreclosure.
10. Create a video of yourself asking questions and answering them on your blog
Even if people decide to look for articles or information online, they will have a hard time finding something that will be unique and engaging. Creating a video of yourself answering questions that are specific to your field can help establish your credibility as an expert in short sales and foreclosures.
You should not only create videos in which you ask or answer questions about foreclosure real estate but also create videos about the experience you have had in the industry.
Conclusion
If you are serious about selling foreclosures and short sales, you must make sure that you learn how to market yourself properly because there will not be any shortcuts. You should make sure that you choose the right strategies that fit your brand and style of marketing.
Remember that advertising will only get you so far; it is the relationships with your clients and those who visit your website or social network pages that will help you get more clients. You should be able to create a strategy that will get you clients and keep them as customers.
While you should focus on your brand, try to learn from other professionals in the industry to find out how they market themselves and what is working for them.
