10 Marketing Trends Real Estates Agents Should Look For in 2016
The American real estate industry has finally returned to a level of normalcy in 2016. More people are buying homes, millennials are settling down and starting families, and technology is making the real estate reach farther than ever. It was reported in 2015 that 90% of home buyers searched online during their home buying process. The real estate industry is changing and following the digital marketing trends sweeping the nation in 2016. Setschedule is committed to incorporating these technological developments for servicing clients with the latest resources. Here we’ll look at 10 of the most notable marketing trends that will have a considerable impact on how real estate functions in our country.
- Become mobile-friendly
This past year, we saw consumer activity on mobile devices actually out-perform purchases through laptops and stationary computers. More people are doing business and reading the news right from their smart phones to save time and increase versatility. To stay relevant, real estate agents should be devising mobile-friendly websites that engage users directly from their phones.
- Make an app!
To piggyback off of our first trend, developing real estate listing apps and other technological tools for home buying will come to sweep the industry in upcoming years. There’s an app for everything today. If someone can create an all-encompassing real estate agent pairing app, they’ll make millions. Jump on board with the expansion of mobile technology, and make an app for your company!
- Develop quality website content
“Doorway pages,” otherwise known as filler website pages for flooding the Internet with keywords,are getting a Google downgrade. Cut down your website and refine your pages to each list valuable and concise information. Saturating them with redundant text will send consumers away fast, and push your SEO ranking back down.
- Consider all search engines
We only think of Google as credible search engine, but studies show that Yahoo and Bing maintained a steady search market share in 2015. Be sure to incorporate studying search engine rankings on all three of the platforms to get the full picture for where your real estate agency pops up in searches.
- Social media is only getting bigger
What started out as just Facebook has sprawled into ten and counting credible platforms today. Digital marketing has made a formidable claim for itself, reaching millions of avid social media users every day. Be sure to get on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google+ if you haven’t already done so – studies show there are over a billion active users on the platforms combined every single day. Start marketing to them!
- The rise of Inbound Marketing
Contrary to the old form of Outbound Marketing, or paying for advertisements to reach out to consumers, Inbound Marketing focuses on drawing consumers in through engaging, unique, and eye-catching material. Inbound Marketing works through regularly updated blogs, interesting social media posting, and shared videos and photos. Jump on this inexpensive marketing approach to draw in home buyers.
- Harness Digital Storytelling
YouTube used to be the only place we went to watch video clips. Today, 76% of Americans who use Facebook said they discover videos there. Digital Storytelling is resonating with consumers nationwide. Preferable to reading long, boring paragraphs, consumers say they want short, engaging video clips for supporting a brand. Digital Storytelling focuses on harnessing this capability while also telling a story that speaks to consumers on their end. Start filming the homes you’re listing and post them on social media every week for people to follow.
- Learn to love Analytics
Analytics may sound like a scary word to many, but its free accessibility with today’s technology continues to grow. Google Analytics gives businesses free access to website and traffic lead information. You can potentially look at who is viewing your website, when, where, and at the end of it all, why. All-encompassing social media consolidators, like Hootsuite and Hubspot, provide a detailed breakdown of social media analytics, allowing businesses to pinpoint exactly who’s sharing their postings and at what times. The possibilities are endless for targeting consumers when you have all the analytics at your disposal.
- LinkedIn is expanding its resources
LinkedIn is a virtual professional networking platform keen on sharing resumes with professionals throughout an industry. For real estate, home buyers can get a full picture of your credentials if they want to use you for their purchase. The more transparent you make your operation, the more business you’ll have come your way. LinkedIn has expanded its page analytics and easy-to-use interface even more this year, making it’s professional capabilities that much more legitimate for networking.
- Download Periscope now
Remember when we just stressed how important videos are today? Periscope is a live-streaming app owned by Twitter that enables anyone to film any event they want. Essentially exactly what you want for an open house, Periscope let’s consumers who weren’t able to make it still have the opportunity to consider the home for a purchase. Expand your virtual visibility instantly by downloading the app and pressing: record. 2016 is clearly shaping up to be a revolutionary trend-setting year in regards to marketing trends for real estate agents. Here at SetSchedule, we’ve jumped on the technological bandwagon and incorporated many of these free platforms and apps for familiarizing ourselves with home buyer bases. It’s important to harness these capabilities before it’s too late, and to take the time to research and read up on their added benefits to your agency. From what we’ve seen so far, their incorporation as been invaluable to how we do business. Setschedule has changed the way real estate marketing is viewed, by changing the way REALTORS® access clients and listing appointments. SetSchedule is a “first of its’ kind” exclusive membership based model that provides verified appointments, marketing tools, and elite invite only networking events for its members. By blending new technologies, and thought processes with proven success methods Setschedule had incurred record producing results unseen in the industry. Commentary By: Udi Dorner, COO of SetSchedule
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