What is a Virtual Open House?

There has been some confusion about what a virtual open house is and what it isn’t. A virtual open house is a live event where a potential buyer can view a listing and get their questions answered in real time. The virtual open house is promoted beforehand, just like a traditional open house and takes place at specific date and time, online. Multiple buyers and agents can show up for a virtual open house at the same time.

A virtual open house is not a simple link to a virtual tour or a pre-recorded listing video. While these types of media can and should be used during virtual open house, on their own, they do not have the same interactive components of a virtual open house. A virtual open house always has a live portion, where buyers can ask questions and talk to the listing agent live.

Check out the example, below. You can see potential buyers asking questions and interacting with agent during the tour:

What Platform Should I Use To Host a Virtual Open House?

Logistically, hosting a virtual open house is a lot easier than most real estate agents think. The best free platforms to use right now are Facebook Live and Zoom because of buyers’ familiarity with these two services.

Both Facebook Live and Zoom have screen sharing capabilities, so real estate agents can use pre-recorded listing videos or virtual tours during their virtual open house. Zoom offers step-by-step instructions on how to share your screen. And while Facebook Live requires an easy-to-install Chrome Plugin, it is seamlessly integrated.

What Format Should I Use for My Virtual Open House?

There are two options for the format for your virtual open house. You can screen share using pre-recorded materials and virtual tours or you can go live from the property. There are pros and cons to both of these options.

Pre-Recorded Materials:

Pre-recorded materials include screen sharing virtual tours or pre-recorded video tours in real time. Buyers can ask questions using the chat function while watching the pre-recorded materials that the listing agent shares.

If using pre-recorded videos or virtual tours, the real estate agent can share their screen so that the buyers can all join the listing agent in touring the home, room-by-room. Pre-recorded materials also allow the agent to practice beforehand and not feel the same pressure of a live video feed.

Examples:

Here are two examples using of real estate agents using pre-recorded materials:

Pros:

• The listing agent can control exactly what the audience sees
• The listing agent can make mistakes and re-record until they are satisfied with the tour
• Pre-recorded materials can be used over and over again

Cons:

• The agent cannot zoom in on areas buyers ask about in real time
• Sometimes there can be a bit of lag/delay when screen sharing
• Potential buyers may have already taken the virtual tour

Tips for Using Pre-Recorded Materials:

• If you are using a virtual tour that has already been available for listing, think about ways you can bring fresh insight
• Make sure to practice using the screen sharing function of your streaming platform beforehand
• Make sure you have a strong internet connection before the virtual open house
• If using a pre-recorded video, consider pausing after touring each room to offer insights and answer questions.

Live Tour:

The other option is going to the listing and broadcasting live. There is a level of excitement generated by this type of online event that pre-recorded materials can’t match. But, It does take more coordination with the seller and planning.

Examples:

The May Team records live using all of their team members.

Here is another example from the Tse Group:

Pros:

• The level of excitement of a live broadcast
• The ability to focus on features as buyers ask about them
• Buyers who have already seen a virtual tour/listing video can get a new perspective

Cons:

• Coordinating with the seller
• The agent may feel overwhelmed (not knowing what to do/say)
• The potential for bad wifi coverage

Tips for Live Tours:

• Arrive early to set up
• Be sure to test out how the lighting in each room looks on camera
• Make sure the internet connection is strong
• Practice a few times
• Always turn your camera horizontally
• Practice answering questions during your run throughs

When Should I Host my Virtual Open House?

While most open houses are held on the weekend, live streaming is different.

Research shows that the best times to share online are between Tuesday and Thursday. People are more likely to log off of social media during the weekend.

How Should I Promote My Virtual Open House?

It’s best to start promoting 1-1.5 weeks before you go live. If you choose Facebook as your platform, Facebook will automatically alert all of your page followers when you go live. But, this alone will not get a high level engagement.

You should also:

• Contact buyer agents.
• Set up a Facebook Event page and invite all your contacts. This will send them reminders automatically about the event.
• Use listing websites like Single Property Sites, that come with integrated virtual open house marketing.
• Send calendar invites/reminders with your real estate CRM. Or use an extension like Boomerang for Gmail.
• Use your social media accounts to promote your event.
• If possible, send SMS text message invites to your contacts.

How Do I Capture Leads During My Virtual Open House?

The good thing is that live streaming platforms automatically create a record of who attended. You will be able to see leads’ names or profiles. Any time someone likes or comments, you will also have a record.

To really capture motivated leads, you must be prepared to offer something of value at the end of your live stream. Before moving to the Q&A portion, ask leads to message you their email address. Email leads more detailed information about the property and follow up aftward.

It is also a good idea to include a phone number and email address for buyers to set up a showing. These details should be displayed in the description section of the live stream.

How Should I Follow Up After My Virtual Open House?

Remember to send ‘thank you’ messages immediately afterwards. You can use private messaging or email. Be sure to include clear information about how to schedule a showing and always import new leads into your real estate CRM.

Unlocking the Power of Virtual Open Houses

This season has caused listing agents to discover new, interactive ways to market their properties. Virtual open houses are a free and highly engaging way to attract buyers, right from the comfort of their own homes. And, trying this new way to market homes is a lot easier than might seem.

The post How to Host a Virtual Open House That Attracts Buyers + Examples appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

1. Use Specialized Niche Landing Pages:

Did you know that you can use IDX to create individual niche landing pages on your real estate website? Examples include web pages for mountain view properties, lakefront properties, specific neighborhood properties, or properties in specific school districts, etc. 

These landing pages attract niche leads that bigger websites miss while driving up your SEO at the same time. Try picking out the defining attributes of your listings and highlighting them for niche markets. Show them off on niche landing pages to find the perfect buyer more quickly. 

Bonus tip: Put a lead capture form on these pages to collect your leads’ information.

2. Create Squeeze Pages/Lead Capture Forms:

One of the best ways for real estate agents to market their listings is by using squeeze pages. Squeeze pages contain forms that you can fill out on websites to get something in return. Every person on the internet has filled one out before. You may have signed up for a newsletter, a chance to win a vacation, an ebook, property alerts, or something else using one of these forms. A website will ask for your name and email in exchange for something you want. 

Most real estate agents don’t use squeeze pages and are missing out on collecting leads’ contact information. When you share your listings on your website, be sure to include a lead capture form.

3. Have a Clear Call-to-Action:

Showing off listings online is great, but if there are no calls-to-action or clear next steps for buyers, your marketing efforts will fall flat. Make sure to include information about what steps buyers need to take next. Usually this will be scheduling a showing, so make sure to include buttons and links to schedule a showing.

Bonus Tip: Clearly display your contact information clearly on all of your listing materials.

4. Single Property Websites:

Individual property websites are a great marketing tactic for listing agents. Listing websites impress sellers and can help you win listings. They also help you sell listings faster by making your brand and contact information highly visible, online.

5. Listing Videos:

Videos are the #1 way to attract leads online. Listings with video get over 400% more inquiries and video receives over 400% more engagement than any other medium of real estate marketing. Most agents avoid video because of the cost or their lack of editing skills. The good news is that services like Single Property Sites can automatically create listing videos and syndicates them for you… all for the price of a cup of coffee.

6. Create Buyers Bootcamp Email Drip Campaigns:

Email drip campaigns are a powerful tool. Create an evergreen buyers bootcamp email campaign with steps and advice on buying a home. Be sure to include your featured listings.

Though it may take some initial effort to write 8-10 emails your email campaign, once the templates are written, you can use a service like MailChimp to run them on autopilot for years at a time.   

7. Create Custom Sign Riders: 

Curbside marketing can be incredibly powerful. Custom sign riders can attach to any listing agent’s ‘for sale’ sign. These sign riders have lead capture tools built in via text messaging, QR codes, web addresses, or even 1-800 numbers. It’s an easy way to capture buyer leads.

8. Floor Plans:

Did you know The NAR’s Real Estate in a Digital Age Report found that floor plans are one of the most helpful and important marketing features for buyers? They beat out even pricier listing features like virtual tours. Floor plans are often overlooked, but there are many free tools for creating them.

9. Use SEM Tools to Create Viral Listing Descriptions:

SEM (search engine marketing) tools can help you see what terms and keywords leads in your market are Googling the most. By crafting your marketing messages around the terms your leads search for most, you can make a greater impact, online.

A great example of this would be changing the language of your listing descriptions to match SEM keywords. For instance, in Colorado, “mountain view homes for sale Colorado” is a highly ranked keyword. 

By changing the wording in the listing description from “You can see the gorgeous mountains from the backyard” to “This mountain view home in Colorado features….” you can drive up the amount of people that find my listing online.

Bonus Tip: tools like SEMRush allow you to use their free trial to start learning about what search terms leads in your market use the most.

10. Start a Facebook Group:

Facebook is trying to rebrand itself with groups. Use this to your advantage by starting a group about moving to your area. Groups like “Moving to the Dallas Area” are a great place to connect with leads and share your listings.

11. Drone Photography and Video:

Drone photography and videos are quickly becoming a hot marketing tool for listings. Many real estate agents mistakenly think this trend is just about attracting more buyers.

The truth is, drones are more useful for attracting new seller clients. 83% of sellers prefer to work with real estate agents that use drone photography! It all goes back to sellers’ core desire to work with a Realtor that has a great marketing plan.

12. Curated Featured Listings Pages/Posts: 

Curating your favorite listings on a regular basis is a great way to connect with leads. Share your list on your website and on your social media accounts. 

Bonus Tip: Try running a Facebook/Instagram ad with your featured listings.

13. Offer a Market Report for Your Area with Featured Listings:

One of the biggest questions buyers and sellers have is, “When is the best time to move?” Help them take action by putting out a bi-annual market report. Make sure your featured listings are on full display.

14. Crowdsource Listings:

Why should a real estate agent do all the work of selling a home when social media users want to help? If an agent is already sharing their listing videos and photos on social media, this one is a no-brainer.

Simply tag the homeowners in the listing post on Facebook and Instagram. Their own social networks will help take care of the rest. By seeing a friend trying to sell their home, many users will share the listing on their own profiles to try and help. It’s exposure for both the listing and the agent.

15. Use Remarketing Techniques:

Have you ever visited a company’s website and then, over the next week, their ads popped up in your email, on your social media accounts, and on other websites you visited? That’s called remarketing, or retargeting.

Research shows it is incredibly effective and best of all, it’s incredibly cheap. You can retarget your listings to people who have seen your listing or visited your website using Google Ads. Remarketing is one of the most calculated ways for real estate agents to market listings.

16. Virtual Tours:

Did you know that real estate listings with virtual tours receive 87% more views? Virtual Tours are one best ways for real estate agents to market listings because they help sell listings faster. Homebuyers view virtual tours as their own, personal showings.

Bonus Tip: You can check out our guide for choosing the best virtual tour service, here.

17. Printed Mailers:

High-quality listing mailers are still useful for your farm area and contact lists. Mailers can attract local buyers looking to upgrade, downsize, or help a friend move into their neighborhood. Better still, they also can attract new seller leads who will appreciate your marketing strategies.

18. Leverage Nextdoor

A Nextdoor advertising campaign can connect you directly with leads. Try advertising your listings using an ad campaign.

Bonus Tip: Always be transparent about the fact that you are a Realtor and use Nextdoor’s advertising features and guidelines. If you try to promote yourself outside of these guidelines, you may be banned.

19. Set up a Facebook/Instagram Campaign with a Micro-Experience:

To truly engage buyers online, invite them to participate in an online experience like a virtual tour or neighborhood walkthrough. These types of campaigns receive far higher engagement than those with static images and text.

20. Neighborhood Tours / Real Estate Farming Videos:

Neighborhood tours or real estate farming videos are a great form of marketing to boost your listings. This kind of evergreen content can be used over again.

85% of both buyers and sellers prefer to work with an agent who uses video. Try developing video content that will allow buyers to experience what living in a specific neighborhood will feel like.  

Bonus Tip: Check out this example for inspiration.

21. Claim Your Listings on Portals:

Are you claiming your MLS listings when they are syndicated? One of the easiest opportunities to increase your marketing reach is by laying claim to what’s already yours. Make sure to connect your contact information with your listings on bigger real estate portals. This is one of the quickest ways for real estate agents to market their listings more effectively.

22. Put Everything in One Place:

When your listing information, virtual tours, videos, and floor plans are all scattered on separate websites (YouTube, Matterport, etc.) buyers get overwhelmed. They get tired of clicking around, don’t see your information, and opt out. Make it easy for leads to contact you by putting all your listing marketing materials in one, simple place. 

Tools like Single Property Sites are designed to show your contact information prominently and share information like photo galleries, videos, virtual tours, drone content, floor plans, open house information, walk scores, and neighborhood information in one place.

23. Professional Photographs:

Photography can make or break your real estate marketing efforts. Just take a look at some of the greatest listing photography fails. Taking time to invest in a professional real estate photographer can increase your buyer leads immediately.

Bonus Tip: Want to know how much you should be paying for a photographer? Check out our pricing guide.

24. Featured Listing Ads on Facebook and Instagram:

Connect your listings with leads instantly using Facebook Business Manager. Ads that show off your listings and link back to your business website are a great way to sell faster. Be sure to put a “schedule a showing” button on the listing webpage and display your contact information clearly.

Bonus Tip: When choosing your ad audience, consider using the town your listing is located in as well as 2-3 neighboring townships.

25. Target Older Generations With Print Media:

If your inventory is primarily condos, single story townhomes, or +55 community properties, print media is worth your time. Even though newspaper sales have decreased in the past 15 years, readership of local newspapers and newsletters remains strong with older generations. 

Additionally, older generations continue to shy away from the internet. Lucky for you, the price of advertising in local papers has gone down as a result of the internet. If you are looking to reach older buyers who need to downsize, the newspaper is the the #1 place to advertise.

26. Give Tours of Exclusive Listings on Instagram:

People are curious to see what’s behind closed doors. One of the most successful real estate Instagram tactics is to use your phone to share highlights from exclusive listings.

27. Give Tours of Exclusive Listings on Snapchat:

As mentioned above, this is a proven social media tactic with high engagement.

28. Curbside Flyers: 

Adding a flyer insert to your “for sale” signs can also help you sell faster. These easy, take home flyers should always have a clear call-to-action for scheduling a showing, your contact information, and a web address where they can learn more.

29. Google AdWords

If your inventory has a specific niche, Google AdWords may be able to help you sell listings faster and attract new seller leads, too. Google AdWords allows real estate agents to buy up certain keywords, so that their websites appear first in Google search results. 

For example, If you primarily sell mountain homes near Vail, CO, you could start AdWord campaigns for, “Houses for sale in Vail, CO”, “Colorado mountain homes for sale”, and “Vail, CO real estate.” 

The key is finding the common theme to the properties you sell. If you use keywords that are too generic like “homes for sale in colorado” then the Google AdWords pricing will be far more expensive, the competition will be steeper, and the amount of qualified buyer leads will be smaller. Using a specific city and property type (ranch, condo, etc) is a great way to get started.

30. Don’t Forget to Showcase Your Sold Properties:

Listing agents who want to position themselves as sales experts should create web pages that show off their sold properties. This can easily be done using an IDX plugin.

31. Use Instagram/Facebook Stories:

An easy way to for real estate agents to market listings is by using Instagram and Facebook stories. This is a great place to show off your listing photos and videos. Be sure to include a call-to-action to call/text for a showing.

Bonus Tip: Use the Q & A feature to answer some frequently asked questions about the property.

32. Use Infographics: 

40% of marketers say that infographics drive the most engagement of any form of online content. And, three days after viewing, people remember 65% of what they saw on an infographic versus only 10% of what they read.

Try adding neighborhood infographics for your listing marketing materiels. Include Walk Scores, school district information, population data, etc. The best part is, you can recycle these infographics later. 

Bonus Tip: You can easily make real estate infographics in minutes, using this guide.

33. Use Social Share Buttons: 

Make it easy for people to share your listings by adding social sharing buttons to your business website, blog, email campaigns, and video content. This type of tactic is designed to increase your web traffic and the amount of people that see your personalized branding and contact information.

34. Open Houses:

Even though there has been debate around open houses recently, many markets still swear by them. Most importantly, open houses are one of the best places to find new seller leads in your farm area.

35. Craigslist:

Craigslist is like the wild west of the internet, but there is still plenty of treasure to be found. After years online, Craigslist remains a proven place to generate real estate leads…if you know how. 

Bonus Tip: Avoid getting penalized for over posting. Only post photos of your listings (never of yourself), make your contact information clear, and create compelling descriptions that stand out. 

36. Virtual Staging

Make your listing photos and virtual tours even more powerful by adding virtual staging. If your listing is vacant or needs an instant makeover, virtual staging may be just the trick.

After empty spaces are photographed, virtual staging software allows real estate agents to add professional quality furniture and decor to any space. Virtual Staging software like PadStyler allow real estate agents to transform listings, instantly.

37. Network with Buyer Real Estate Agents

One of the most effective ways for real estate agents to market listings is by networking with other agents. Some listing agents invite buyer agents to private walkthroughs for listings about to hit the market. Others will spread the word to real estate Facebook and LinkedIn groups, while others will email their list of contacts about their newest listings.

No matter how it’s done, letting other agents know about your listings and what sets your listing apart is a great way to sell faster.

38. Use a Social Scheduling Tool :

Use a tool like Buffer to schedule and share all of your listings to social media. These scheduling tools save you hours of time each month.

39. Canvas Local Stores and Coffee Shops:

This is another great way to market your listing without spending any money. Many local grocery stores, coffee shops, and libraries feature bulletin boards that are free to add to your listing information to. Just use one of your curbside listing flyers and be on your way.

40. Write Strong Listing Descriptions:

Tightening up your MLS descriptions can help you sell faster. The NAR revealed that 85% of homebuyers found property descriptions to be one of the most important factors when searching online.

A few tips for creating fantastic descriptions include:

Using well-scored adjectives like “luxurious,” “captivating,” “updated,” “upgraded,” and “beautiful”

Using search terms buyers are likely to use to find listings. Homebuyers don’t care how websites sort their data, they are more likely to put precisely what they want into search engines. Words like “Cul-de-Sac,” “Lakefront,” “Ranch,” “Basketball,” “Inground Pool,” “Finished Basement,” “Bar,” and “Landscaping,” should be featured for appropriate listings.

Avoid negative descriptions. While honesty is important, avoid words like “fixer-upper,” “outdated,” “TLC,” and “handy-man special.” Instead, use softer descriptions like, “Ready for a new owner to leave their mark.”

Ideas for Real Estate Agents to Market Listings

These 40 tips and tricks for marketing your real estate listings are designed to help agents impress their sellers, sell their listings faster, and attract future sellers, too. When choosing the best marketing tactics for your real estate business it is wise to consider your local market, seller expectations, and the target demographic of your ideal buyer.

The post 40 Ways for Real Estate Agents to Market Listings appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

1. Compile a curated list of top real estate listings of the month
2. Write a step-by-step list for closing
3. Create a step-by-step guide for accepting and rejecting offers
4. Write a guide for pricing a home correctly
5. Create a list of some of the best home inspectors in your area
6. Make a step-by-step guide to selling a home
7. Compile a list of some of the craziest properties that have sold in your market
8. Record a VLOG walkthrough of a luxury property in your market
9. Make a definitive guide to all of the educational options in your market (public, private, and charter schools) and how they can be used to help market a home.
10. Make a list comparing shopping for home online versus in person
11. Compose an article on the emotional stages of buying a home
12. Write an article on the emotional stages of selling a home
13. Create an article about the top mistakes sellers make and how to avoid them (being around for showings, pricing incorrectly, not staging, not using an agent, etc.)
14. Compile a list of the top décor/staging trends for the year
15. Write an article about the best times of the year to sell in your market
16. Create a tip sheet for moving with pets
17. Compile a tip sheet for moving with kids
18. Write an article on the best ROI home improvements
19. Write an article detailing what exactly a real estate agent does on behalf of sellers
20. Create a home staging guide
21. Compile a list of red flags when looking at homes
22. Highlight a specific neighborhood in your market including schools, industry, recreation, etc. and how those strengths help you market homes.
23. Compile a list of things NOT to do when selling a home
24. Write an article about where you see the future of the real estate industry heading
25. Blog about how you became a real estate agent
26. Write an article about selling a specific type of niche property in your market (i.e. waterfront, cabins, farmland, etc.)
27. Do a VLOG virtual walkthrough of a neighborhood using your cell phone.
28. Write an article about how to tell if you are/not ready to sell
29. Write an article about how to get your home to sell faster (price reasonably, use an agent, staging, etc.)
30. Explain the value of having a real estate agent
31. Share a local market update
32. Write an article featuring the house that sold the fastest in your market in the past year and the listing that has been on the market the longest. Compare and contrast what made one sell quickly, and why the other isn’t selling.
33. Do a vlog for each listing you have on the market
34. Write a “secret tips” article about negotiating real estate deals
35. Write an article on how to select Airbnb/rental properties in your market for real estate investors
36. Compile a list of your top ten listings on the market
37. Compile a list of the worst listings you have come across in your market
38. Do a vlog explaining the process of selling a home
39. Create a vlog featuring one your past clients about how you helped them sell their home
40. Do a monthly update of your favorite active listings
41. Compile a list of the best local contractors
42. Interview a local contractor about making home improvements before selling
43. Write about how to get the best resale value on a seller’s home
44. Share an updating blog about the step-by-step process of helping one of your clients sell their home. Share on social media as well.
45. Compile a list of the best ways to market a home; include examples of things you do to market homes (Matterport, Single Property Sites, listing videos, curbside, etc.)
46. Do a profile on a neighborhood/subdivision including home valuation, selling statistics, and ROI.
47. Write an article on a neighborhood that is headed for gentrification, discuss why it is changing, and why it is a good time to sell in that area.
48. Write an article about the best way to plan a move across the country
49. Interview a local mover about the best tips for keeping possessions safe, secure, and well-packed during a move.
50. Create a VLOG about showing off the differences between shopping online for a home and how it stacks up to shopping in person. Select a listing that may be deceptive online and compare it to a real walkthrough.
51. Write an article about how to successfully sell a home with issues (i.e. flooding, poor clay/soil, radon, etc.)
52. Create a guide about selling historic/older homes.
53. Write an article about how to tell if you are ready to sell your home
54. Write about selling options during foreclosure in your market
55. Interview a contractor about renovations
56. Compile a list of top contractors for renovations
57. Make a list of the best historic listings on the market
58. Write an article about the history of your market
59. Write an article about the best value-adding changes you can make to the exterior/yard of a home
60. Do a Q&A with the questions you are most frequently asked as a Realtor
61. Make a list of the best real estate lawyers in your market
62. Create an article about marketing homes online
63. Write an article about marketing homes curbside
64. Blog about improving curbside appeal
65. Create an article about your preferred marketing strategies (open houses, Single Property Sites, virtual tours, professional photos, staging, etc.)
66. Blog about knowing which offer to accept
67. Make an article about choosing the best listing agent
68. Write an article about the benefits of using an agent versus FSBO
69. Blog about breathing life into stale listings
70. Share your personal stats on how quickly your sell or go under contract
71. Interview past clients about what they wish they knew when they started the selling process
72. Interview a home inspector about what issues are most common
73. Create a VLOG or article about comps and how sources like Zillow can sometimes be deceptive
74. Write an article about what you wish clients knew before starting the sales process
75. Write an article about the cheapest/easiest ways to add value to their home

Real Estate Blog Ideas for Listing Agents

The best real estate blog ideas are easy to write, helpful to leads, and drive up SEO. These articles are often compiled in list format, are how-to guides, or feature reviews. Drawing on the real estate blog ideas listed above, listing agents can attract leads and kick writer’s block to the curb.

Convert the Real Estate Leads You Attract

Real estate blogs are great for driving up SEO and attracting leads. If you are interested in converting the leads you attract, check out Single Property Sites. With Freeview, listing agents can blow sellers away with all-in-one marketing tools for free. Get a free account and start creating listing websites. Single Property Sites features tailored listing websites, automatic listing videos, media showcases for every virtual tour, video, high-res photo, floorplan, and more.

The post 75 Easy Real Estate Blog Ideas for Listing Agents appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

Infographics are images that present readers with easy-to-digest knowledge that they can refer to quickly to learn from or make decisions.

These images are fantastic at capturing leads’ attention, driving up SEO, and promoting viral sharing of a listing agent’s brand. 

The best part is that real estate agents can make real estate infographics easily, for free, online. We have created the ultimate guide to making real estate infographics from start to finish.

Real Estate Infographics are Great Because They Are:

Fast and Free

Create beautiful, fast, and free real estate infographics online using sites like:

• Canva.com
• Spark.Adobe.com 
• Pictochart.com 
• Visme.com 

Attract Attention

• 41.5% of marketers say that graphics like infographics are the most valuable (Venngage)
• 40% of marketers say that infographics drive the most engagement of any form of online content (Venngage)
• Three days after viewing, people remember 65% of what they saw on an infographic versus only 10% of what they read. (J. Medina)

Have Viral Sharing

• Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images. (HubSpot)
• Infographics are liked and shared on social media 3x more than other any other type of content. (NN Group)

An SEO Goldmine

• Infographics boost web traffic by 12% (Demand Gen Report)

How to Make Real Estate Infographics

All of this may all sound great, but you may be wondering: 

1. What would I even make my infographics about? 
2. Where can I make infographics for free? 
3. How much time will it take?
4. And, how can I get leads from infographics? 

We put together a real estate agent’s guide for using infographics, that answers all of these questions and more:

1. Pick a Topic

There are two ways to choose a topic:

1. Use free tools to choose a topic specific to your market.
2. Look at real estate infographics that others have created.

Both options are covered, below.

Use Free Tools to Choose a Topic for Your Market

Free tools like Google Keyword Planner, Keywords Everywhere, Google Correlate, Wordtracker Scout, and Keyword Sh!tter let you research what topics your leads want to learn about.

Here is an example using Keyword Sh!tter: 

Keyword Sh!tter allows you to enter a root keyword like “sell my house” and it spits out keywords that are highly searched and related to the main root keywords.

Example:

Let’s start with some easy keywords: “sell my house”. If you look at the top results, most of them indicate people wanting to sell their homes quickly. This is a great lead subset to go after because they are hot and want to take action. Yay!

A great infographic to create based on this data would be “Tips for selling your house fast” or a “How-To Guide for Selling Your House Faster”. Tips could include pricing the home appropriately, staging advice, choosing an experienced agent, etc. The call to action embedded on the infographic would be to call or email you, the agent.

Look at Other Real Estate Infographics for Inspiration

Or, if you are pressed for time, another great option is to look at real estate infographics other real estate pros have created. Choosing a similar topic like one of the examples below is a great way to get started. Here are 14 great real estate infographic examples for listing agents:

20 Tips for Preparing Your House for Sale

The Power of Home Staging

Why Use a Realtor

How to Choose an Asking Price for Your Home

9 Emotional Stages of Selling Your Home

Best ROI Home Improvements for Sellers

Tips for Moving with Pets

The Seller’s Roadmap

8 Ways to Make Moving Easier for Kids

11 Basic Steps to Closing

Most Common Issues Found During Home Inspections

Top Days to List Your Home for Sale

Think You Should FSBO? Think Again!

Top 4 Renovations for the Greatest Return on Investment

2. Gather Stats and Info

After you choose your topic it’s time to gather stats and info, online. A simple Google search is usually all that it takes. Credible sources like the NAR are full of useful data.

3. Pick a Free Tool to Create Infographics

Choose a great, free tool to create real estate infographics in minutes. Some choices include:

• Canva.com
• Spark.Adobe.com
• Pictochart.com
• Visme.com 

4. Add Your Brand & CTA

Make sure to upload your logo/branding to the infographic maker and brand every infographic you make. Including a call-to-action for leads to visit your website or email you is equally important. 

5. Share and Boost

Share over social media and on your website. Boost visibility using social media marketing if desired. 

Closing

It really is free and simple. Infographics are great for real estate agents because of their viral sharing capabilities, their ability to get leads’ attention, their SEO boosting capabilities, and their free and fast creation time. 

Other Ways to Attract Leads

Infographics are a great way to attract leads, for free online. But there are plenty of other ways, too.

The #1 specialty homeowners look for in a real estate agent is someone who can market their home. Single Property Sites are designed to let agents win every listing, for free.

Using Single Property Sites as an all-in-one listing marketing solution is the perfect way to show off your marketing expertise.

Single Property Sites are beautiful listing websites that include automatically-generated listing videos. These sites also showcase every high-res photo, video, drone capture, virtual tour, floorplan and more in one, easy location. Sellers love the vanity domain names featuring their address (i.e. 1122mainstreet.com).

Best of all, it’s free to start an account to use for listing presentations.

The post Fast, Free Guide to Making Real Estate Infographics + 15 Examples appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

Real Estate Video Stats

• Listings that include a video receive over 400% percent more inquiries than those without. (Small Biz Trends)
• 85% of buyers and sellers prefer to work with an agent who uses video. (Inman, NAR)
• Professionals who use video grow their revenue 49% faster than those that don’t. (Aberdeen Group)
• Video receive over 400% more engagement than any other medium of marketing in real estate. (Virtuets)
• 81% of real estate agents and marketers who use videos say video has helped them generate leads. (Wyzowl)
• 84% of real estate agents and marketers who use video has helped them increase traffic to their website. (Wyzowl)
• Video Facebook posts have a 135% greater organic reach than photo posts. (Social Bakers)
• Video marketing gets 66% more qualified leads per year. (Aberdeen Group)
• Social media video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined. (Small Biz Trends)
• Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video. This is compared to only 10% retention for text. (Forbes)
• 52% of Marketers say that video has the highest ROI of any type of content. (Sydnacast)
• Video is consumers’ #1 favorite type of content to see from brands on social media. (Animoto)
• Video ads are the #1 way that consumers found out about a new brand/product before purchasing on social media. (Animoto)
• 59% of purchase decision makers prefer to learn about new services and products through video. (Vidyard)
• Mobile video consumption rises by 100% every year. (Invisia)
• 76.5% of marketers and small business owners that have used video marketing, say that it had a direct impact on their business. (Small Biz Trends)
• In 2020, there will be almost 1,000,000 minutes of video per second streaming online. (Cisco)
• 93% of businesses say they’ve gotten a new customer thanks to a video on social media. (Animoto)
• 46% of viewers take some sort of action after viewing a video ad. (Online Publishers Association)
• 54% of consumers want to see more internet videos from professionals, businesses, and brands. (Hubspot)

So what does this mean for real estate agents? 

Marketers are not the only ones taking advantage of online video. These same real estate video stats apply to real estate agents who are using listing videos and content videos, too! These trends are continuing to grow year-over-year and are expected to rise. Video is a ridiculously easy way to increase sales and generate real estate leads, online.

But most real estate agents don’t have the time or technical know-how to put together their own real estate listing videos. In fact, studies have shown that lack of time and video editing experience are the biggest problems keeping real estate agents away from video.

Automatically Created Listing Videos

For real estate agents lacking time and video resources, Single Property Sites automatically creates real estate listing videos for users. Beautiful listing videos are automatically populated from already existing MLS data. These videos are designed to impress sellers and to sell listings more quickly. They are easily integrated into Single Property Websites, Youtube, Facebook, or anywhere else online.

Best of all, agents can set up Single Property Sites for free. Real estate agents can use it for listing appointments for free.

The post 20 Real Estate Video Stats: Why every agent needs videos by the end of 2019! appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

Relationship Building Opportunity: Divorce Attorney/Divorce Mediator 

An unfortunate selling opportunity comes with divorce. Never will an agent find more motivated sellers then a couple that is splitting up. And while it’s hard to find leads who are divorcing on your own, attorneys and divorce mediators make it easy. By forming a relationship with a local divorce attorney or divorce mediator, agents can reap the benefits of referrals for years to come.

Unsure of how to walk into an attorney or mediator’s office and make a business ally? It is important to ask for a lunch date to learn more about serving this niche segment. After forming a relationship, a simple trick would be to offer a helpful real estate guide specific to divorcing couples. 

Pro Tip: divorce mediators are often unsung heroes with more free time than attorneys. They also spend more time with their clients than attorneys do. It’s best to start with mediators and then move onto the attorney’s office.

Join Local Facebook Groups 

This is probably the easiest way to drum up real estate seller leads. Over the past few months, I have watched the same real estate agent snatch up lead after lead on a local Facebook mom’s group. It’s a great place to hang out online since women make up 70%-80% of all purchasing decisions.

When women in the Facebook group ask for advice about moving or home valuation, the same agent swoops in and picks them up with a DM, every time. It’s so brilliant and simple. Using the group search function allows agents to look for anyone talking about moving, even when they were offline. As long as an agent participates regularly in the group and builds relationships, joining local lifestyle groups is an easy way to get seller leads. It’s a great way to use Facebook to grow your business without spending a dime.

Engage Past Clients Often 

One of the biggest missed opportunities comes from past clients. More than half of real estate sellers use their old agent when they sell again. This number goes up when a strong relationship is maintained. There are plenty of great ways to engage past clients. This includes giving great closing gifts, making sure past clients have current market information, and making sure to add past clients to tailored drip campaigns.

The relationship shouldn’t stop after closing. Every year agents should personally connect with past clients via email or phone.

Pro Tip:  Using email drip campaigns is an easy way to nurture your past clients. Just make sure your messages are personalized. Your emails should contain questions like “How are you enjoying your first holiday in your new home?” Nothing will turn your old clients off quicker than spam or generic messages.

Relationship Building Opportunity: Financial Planners 

The highest percentage (23%) of sellers are empty nesters, age 55-64. And most sellers make between 100-124k a year. Firms like Edward Jones and Fidelity specialize in serving and partnering with this same demographic and are often aware when one of their clients wants to sell. These planners advise their clients on how to handle their assets, including when it’s time to downsize.

Forming a relationship with a financial planner is an excellent way to get referrals, especially as these professionals are involved in the financial decisions of their clients. Asking for an educational lunch or coffee is a great way to learn about the empty nester/downsizing demographic and how advisors counsel their clients during the selling process.

Offering value, like partnering with a financial planner for a home valuation class and sellers’ course is a great way to generate leads. This niche market is full of leads that are methodical and like to think ahead. So, offering market reports and tips for improving their homes to sell for a greater ROI is always welcome.

How to Get Real Estate Seller Leads for Free

Real estate seller leads don’t grow on trees, but some covert more easily than others. Data shows that most real estate seller clients come from referrals and relationships, not from being purchased online. There are plenty of places to find free leads. Clients can come from Facebook, divorce mediators/attorneys, financial planners, past clients, and more. 

The post 6 Places to Find Free Real Estate Seller Leads appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

What Sellers Want in A Real Estate Agent

According to data collected by the NAR, the top five things sellers want in a real estate agent is help:

1. marketing their home to potential buyers (20%)
2. pricing home competitively (20%)
3. selling the home within a specific time frame (19%)
4. finding a buyer for home (14%)
5. finding ways to fix up home to sell it for more (14%)

Help marketing their home to potential buyers (20%) 

There are two services that sellers want most in a real estate agent. They are marketing a seller’s home and pricing their home for sale. According to the NAR, 20% of sellers most want a real estate agent who will market their home to buyers.

Listing agents who want to get more clients should focus on creating a stellar marketing plan. The best way to do this is by answering the questions home sellers will most often ask. These include:

• What online channels will me home be shared on (Zillow, MLS, Social Media, etc.)?
• How will the real estate agent make my home stand out from the thousands of listings online (Single Property Sites, media used, target ads, etc.)?
• Which forms of media will be used to promote my home (Professional photos, floor plans, virtual tours, etc.)?
• How will my home be promoted locally (open house, sign riders, etc.)?
• How will the real estate agent’s professional network be leveraged to promote my home?

Since marketing skills are the most important thing sellers want in a real estate agent, making a stellar marketing plan should be #1 priority.

Help Price Home Competitively (20%) 

Pricing homes competitively is just as important to sellers (20%) as having a solid marketing plan. Sellers want an agent who will list their home at the right price. But, giving sellers the best listing price possible isn’t good enough. Sellers want a real estate agent who will show them exactly how they decided on the listing price.

In a world of inaccurate Zestimates, real estate agents need to be incredibly honest and open about how comps are acquired and how listing prices are decided on. Sellers love printouts and explanations of detailed comps. 

Real estate agents should view themselves as educators. Home sellers need agents to teach them about the best price for their home and how that price is determined.

Help Selling a Home Within a Specific Time Frame (19%) 

Real estate agents have a great opportunity to help calm a seller’s anxiety and get new clients, by emphasizing a commitment to selling homes within a specific time frame. With job changes, expanding families, and other relocation needs, many sellers become nervous and frustrated when thinking about their time frame needs.

A seller’s fear and frustration are a huge opportunity for real estate agents. Presenting a track record of previous sales, past client testimonials, and emphasizing how the marketing plan and listing price are important to selling quickly are important.

Help Find a Buyer for Home (14%)

Fourteen percent of sellers most want an agent that will help them find a buyer. This need ties directly into a real estate agent’s marketing plan. And, highlighting the real estate agent’s professional network is a must.

The listing agent should also highlight their ability to find the right buyer for a seller’s home. Talking about qualifying buyer leads is important. Not only will the real estate agent find a buyer, but one who is financially secure, is going to make it to closing,  and who is not asking for an outrageous price cut.

Help Find Ways to Fix Up Home to Sell it For More (14%) 

It’s not a surprise that many home sellers want to increase the asking price of their home. And while this can cause headaches for agents, what many sellers actually want is help and guidance fixing up their homes to sell for more.

When presenting a fair listing price and comps, part of the conversation often turns to increase the listing price. No surprises here! But agents should be ready with a list of data-backed home improvement options to increase the sales price. Having the name of a few good contractors on hand is also a great idea.

What Sellers Want in a Real Estate Agent

While many real estate agents focus on their negotiating skills, their brokerage’s reputation, or other strengths, the truth is, we have data on what sellers want in a real estate agent. A strong marketing plan, a competitive listing price, help selling their home quickly, finding a buyer, and advice on home improvements is what sellers actually want most. Above all, agents who focus on these needs and marketing toward those needs will see the highest pay-offs.

The post What Sellers Want in A Real Estate Agent appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

With 50% of buyers finding their homes online and a sea of online listings, floor plans stand out to buyers. Additionally, they close faster and impress sellers, too! The #1 thing sellers look for in an agent is a great marketing plan, and floor plans are an important piece of that plan.

What Counts as a Floor Plan? 

With so many marketing real estate tools online, the lines between products and services are constantly getting blurred. Is it a virtual tour, a 2-D drawing, a 3-D rendering or something else, entirely?

Most simply: a real estate floor plan is a 2-D blueprint of a home. It is usually a black-and-white .j-peg image featuring a home’s dimensions and visual spacing.

Floor Plans Beat Out Popular Real Estate Listing Tools 

These simple, black and white .jpeg images are beating out fancy tech across the board. It is surprising to many real estate agents, but the effectiveness and helpfulness of floor plans beat out:

• Virtual Tours
• Drone Photography
• Drone Video
• And even Realtor Contact Info

Many agents are spending hundreds a month on virtual tour software and drone services, but floorplans are actually way more helpful for finding a buyer.

Why Floorplans Matter to Sellers 

Sellers are usually buyers, too. They have been spending countless hours scouring the internet to find their next home. During that time, many sellers have come to form their own opinions on what makes a good listing. The NAR data that applies to buyers applies to sellers also, since they are most often buying another home, too.

But floor plans are rarely ever featured during the marketing portion of listing presentations. This is a missed opportunity for agents to win listings. As we have covered in the past, data shows that the most effective online real estate marketing features stunning photographs, strong property descriptions, and helpful floor plans.

Creating Floor Plans Easily Online 

The good news is, there are tons of easy, cost-effective ways to create floor plans for real estate marketing online. Below, we have gathered the best options at various price points.

SmartDraw  

SmartDraw is the easiest and most cost-effective option. For only 9.99/mo real estate agents can create beautiful 2-D floor plans and even add virtual staging. Smart Draw’s integration with G-Suite and Microsoft Office make it perfectly tailored to fit real estate life.

RoomSketcher 

RoomSketcher creates beautiful 2-D renderings of properties for $49/yr. This floor plan maker is a hidden gem because they offer creation services for agents. Their team will create 2-D floor plans, 3-D floor plans, and virtual tours all-in-one, for agents. It is a huge timesaver.

SketchUp 

SketchUp is by far one of the easiest floor plan tools to learn. It also allows for simple 2D floor plans and for 3D floor plans, too. It’s price point of $399/yr may be off-putting to some agents, but for agents looking for a floor plan tool that is insanely easy to use, this is one to use.

Showcasing Floor Plans Online 

After creating floor plans for real estate marketing, agents can easily show them off with the rest of their marketing materials. Single Property Sites are one of the best ways to showcase floor plans during a listing presentation.

Floor Plans for Real Estate Marketing 

Floor plans are often overlooked as real estate marketing tools. But the data shows that floor plans are actually one of the most effective and helpful features of an online listing. There are plenty of tools available to easily creating floor plans as well as tools for winning listings with them, too.

The post Floor Plans for Real Estate Marketing: Why are so many real estate agents missing out? appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

The internet is full of articles about how real estate photographers can get the most money possible for their services. But little has been reported about how much real estate agents should be paying for listing photography. We know how critical photographs are to helping agents win and selling listings. So, we did the digging, looked at the local markets, and found out the truth about real estate photography pricing.

Why is Real Estate Photography Important?

Sell Homes Faster and for More

Rismedia recently reported: 

Listings with high-quality photos sell 32 percent faster.

Listings with more photos sell faster.  A home with one photo spends an average of 70 days on the market, but a home with 20 photos spends 32 days on the market.

For listings in the $200,000 to $1 million range, those that include high-quality photography in their listings sell for $3,000-$11,000 more.

Impress Sellers and Get More Listings

But most importantly, photos are important to home sellers. According to the NAR, The number one service home sellers look for in a real estate agent, is someone with a great marketing strategy. Photos are a huge piece of that marketing strategy.

Incorporating beautiful and appropriate photographs in marketing materials can really help a listing agent to make their marketing services and expertise tangible to sellers. Showcasing the best photos alongside floorplans, virtual tours, and videos with services like Single Property Sites is one of the best ways agents can show their marketing strengths.

What is Average Real Estate Photography Pricing?

The average price for real estate photography is between $100 and $350.  This price can vary slightly by region and by property size. This price should include 1-3 hours of photography time, at least 25 edited images, a quick turnaround time, and images that don’t require reformatting for the MLS or across social media. Copyright for each photo should fall to the agent for commercial use.

Real Estate Photography Pricing by Region

West: Denver

Hot Shot Pros focuses solely on high-end real estate photography. They offer an array of packages, but the most popular, MLS-specific package is $195 and includes 35+ edited photos, home tour, Youtube video, and interactive floorplan. Springing for a luxury listing package only costs $250.

South: Miami

iUSE Photography is Miami’s premier real estate photography company. They offer a blue sky guarantee on all their photos with tons of a la carte pricing options. Their best is their $249 twilight package which includes 24 photos and 1 twilight photo. The best part is their quick turnaround time with next day delivery.

East Coast: Washington DC

Northern Virginia Real Estate Photography is one of DC’s most trusted real estate photography studios. Their standard package is $300 for 30 edited images and includes a virtual tour. They have multiple awards from Houzz and offer drone services, too.

West Coast: Portland

Tim Sadle Photography has had agents singing his praises for years. Seriously, check him out on Yelp! His photos are stunning and his packages are very well priced. For $135 real estate agents get a full package with 15-35 interior and exterior photos with professional editing. All photos come pre-formatted for the RMLS.

Southwest: Dallas

Capture 2 Sell is an all-in-one listing stop for real estate agents. Capture 2 Sell offers traditional photography, videos, drone photography/video, and Matterport virtual tours. Their drone and standard photography package runs at $260, and additional products like Matterport and videos can be added on.

How to choose a real estate photographer

Choosing a real estate photographer is one of the most important services an agent will choose.

When picking for a real estate photographer, it is important to look for:

Binding Contracts

Many photographers have contracts designed to protect themselves and their clients. Real estate agents should never hire a photographer who does not offer signed contracts. They can skip town with an agent’s payment before delivering any photos.

Golden Hour Photographs

Taking real estate photos during dawn or dusk can set a listing apart from everything else on the market. Agents should look for a photographer who specializes in using natural light and takes “golden hour” photos at dawn or dusk. These photos wow both sellers and buyers alike.

Real Estate Only

Many aspiring photographers will try to brand themselves a jack of all trades by offering engagement photos, family portraits, pet photos, and real estate photography. Even though an agent may be attracted by a lower price point, Realtors should steer clear. Taking listing photos and taking family photos require two different skill sets. It would be like asking a dentist to operate on a hand, simply because they are a doctor.

Delivery Method & Post Production

Real estate agents should also be aware of how their photos will be delivered. Some real estate photographers offer flash drives, some offer disks, while others send the files securely online. For the easiest use, direct download is best. The best real estate photographers also use post-production filters, editing, and touch-ups using programs like Adobe Lightroom.

Real Estate Photography Pricing

Finding a good real estate photographer should cost no more than $100-$350 per listing. Choosing a good photographer is important because photography impresses sellers, sells homes more quickly, and makes an agent’s job easier. Being mindful of contracts, post-production, when a photographer takes their photos, and their area of expertise all play a part in choosing the right real estate photographer.

The post Real Estate Photography Pricing: How Much Should Agents be Paying? appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

Inman is one of the leaders in real estate commentary, but they are not always right and they are not always transparent. For example, Inman has a history of biased reviews. Looking at their unsponsored articles, it is easy to see they have a knack for reviewing and recommending their paying sponsors. These are the same sponsors who line their pockets with thousands every year.

Recently, Inman put out an article on single property websites. The article questioned if these websites actually help sell homes. Their research was inconclusive, but the news giant brushed off using single property websites to sell homes. And while they’re wrong because of Single Property Sites ability to house every piece of listing material in one place, Iman missed the entire point of single property sites by asking the wrong question.

They Were Asking the Wrong Questions

Instead of wondering if single property websites helped sell homes, Inman should have focused on the real issue. Their question should have been, “Do single property websites win listings?” The answer is yes. Getting the listing is the hard part, once an agent has the client, its money in the bank.

What Sellers Look for in a Real Estate Agent

The NAR’s 2018 Buyer and Sellers Report reported the most important traits home sellers look for is a real estate agent. Marketing ranked at the top. 20% of all home sellers say home marketing is their number one concern when evaluating a Realtor.

Single Property Sites are useful because they blow sellers away during the listing appointment. They are an all-in-one marketing powerhouse. Single Property Sites don’t just come with custom URLs and photos anymore. Now, they are all-in-one marketing hubs to upload floor plans, virtual tours, videos, panoramas, and more listing information than the MLS can contain.

Most importantly, they are designed to win every listing. Single property websites make sellers feel valued and that their real estate agent is a marketing expert.

Why Sellers like Single Property Sites

Sellers love when real estate agents use listing websites. It shows how intentional and professional the agent is about marketing their home. The diverse forms of media and information displayed on single property sites go above and beyond traditional MLS listings. It sets their home apart from the rest. And these sites build trust between the seller and agent before the seller has decided which agent to sign with.

Win Every Listing

Sales are all about overcoming clients fears and hesitations. One of the biggest ways sellers evaluate an agent is on their marketing abilities. Single property sites help agents stand out. And most importantly, they overcome the seller’s fears about an agent’s marketing skills.

Inman may not think that single property websites are the best way to sell homes. But they are looking at the wrong question. The point of single property websites is to amaze sellers and never lose a listing. Their job is to win listings, and they do.

The post Inman Needs Educating: Single Property Websites appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.