In this week’s episode of Unstoppable Real Estate Agents, Kim is joined by Amy Snodgrass, a Kim Hughes & Co. team member who specializes in listing marketing, to explore some creative approaches to listing your property that can help you stand out from the competition and capture the attention of potential buyers. We’ll delve into innovative strategies that can make your property listing unique and memorable, giving you an edge in today’s competitive real estate market.
When you go on a listing appointment you want to make sure you are prepared to discuss the current market trends for your area. Having a stellar marketing presentation is going to set you above the competition, but also having your data on the area including a Property Analysis for your potential seller is going to impress them and be ready to ask questions. Such as….
- Why are you ready to sell? – This will determine if you can assist them in buying another home or refer them to an agent in the market they are looking to move to.
- Ask them to share what made them buy the home?
- Have them share some information on the neighborhood.
- Their thoughts on the schools.
- Do they have an active Facebook Group for the neighborhood and are they active on it?
- Ask about improvements made to the home. Anything they have done from painting to updating appliances, floors, bathrooms, yard, etc? The slightest thing could prove to be valuable information.
Once you have gathered all the details about the home and discussed the seller’s goal then you want to take a tour of the home noting anything that you see that needs improvements or a special feature that you can use in promoting the home.
I have always found it valuable to ask the seller to write down what they love about their home and neighborhood, so doing this involves them in the marketing and they feel included.
Always take a listing agreement, your marketing strategy, and your presentation to the appointment, so if they are ready to hire you, you are prepared.
Once you have secured the listing you should review your marketing strategy to see if you need to add anything to it or remove something.
I have always found that sharing, in detail, your marketing strategy can be the deciding factor for a seller, but many agents have been hesitant to share their marketing strategy before they get the listing for fear of the seller sharing it with the competition. Don’t let this hold you back because if you’re sharing the marketing strategy and the next agent they talk to doesn’t have that strategy, then that should be a huge red flag for the seller.
You’re the best in your market, so don’t let someone copying you bother you. Focus on the seller, your business and you will be seen as the best and that is who sellers want to work with.
Here are some ways that you can show you are a trend leader in your market….
- Hire a professional photographer/videographer. You want the highest resolution photos possible and the best quality videos that will showcase the home’s best features. Talk to your photographer about taking some unique photos, not just the standard canned photos. Also, make sure to get different views of the rooms so you can use them in your social media. Photos for MLS don’t always convey in good photos for social media or print marketing. You need to have some good photos taken of the main living areas and kitchen from angles that will look good on print marketing or social media. You might also consider doing a Twight photo session. This is when you take photos at dusk. Some photographers can even make a daylight photo look twilight.
- Virtual tours, Videos and 3D Walkthrough Tours – A virtual tour is a sequence of panoramic digital images stitched together to create a video of a home. A video tour uses a video camera to showcase a home where the viewer is guided by the camera through each room and space, usually accompanied by music. 3D tours allow you to “stand” in the room and get a 360-degree view of a room and move through the home room by room. This is a powerful tool for out-of-town buyers.
- Virtual staging – this is great to enhance a plain room or add furniture to an empty home. Box Brownie is a great company and inexpensive to use. Some photographers also offer this service.
- You have to show up where the buyers go. This would be Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com. Check these listings to make sure the property information is correct. Realtor.com does allow you to make some customization to the listing.
- Blog – write up an enhanced property description and add it to your website’s blog with photos and the link to the video. Use this link when promoting the property to drive traffic to your website.
- Show up on social media! When you utilize the photos, videos, and content correctly the property will get noticed.TIP: If the property is on the market more than a week have a weekly strategy for promoting it. For example:
First week: Standard promotion
Second week: Choose a room of the home to promote and talk about it. This could be a kitchen in the backyard, an office, the neighborhood amenities, etc.
Third week: Again, choose a different room of the home to promote that room. - So, you get it now. The longer the home is on the market, use various photos to attract a buyer audience. Buyers may see the photos, but what grabs them is the kitchen, the backyard, etc. Now you are marketing to a larger audience.
- Make sure you use each social media platform to its fullest.
- Does your seller belong to an HOA? They could have a private Facebook group and if you ask the admin of that group to promote the property and they say yes, then you can get in front
of another audience. Who do they know? Don’t get your hopes up on becoming a member of that group, so ask your seller to get permission first and they can load the information you
provide to them. - A good rule of thumb is to get to know the board of these HOA’s in the markets you want to work in.
- Use relevant hashtags. Don’t be so broad, so you want to use the city, state, neighborhood, your branding, but maybe use something like #homesforsaleindallastexas,
#dallastexasrealestate #100acresforsaleinDallasTexas. Get creative and start making your own hashtags to use on all your listings. - Make sure you engage with your audience on your social media. Social Media can be your best lead generation tool if you use it correctly.
- You need to create your direct marketing pieces. Flyer/brochures, Just Listed/Sold Postcards etc. Get creative with this. Create a package with photos, descriptions, the seller’s story about what they love about the home and neighborhood, the amenities, etc.
- Purchase the property address domain and point it to your website page on the property. A great program to look into is AgencyLogic.com, I have used them for many years and have been impressed with their program. You get your own property website that gives you some amazing tools to work with. Make sure to include this in your marketing package that you share with the homeowner.
- If you are hosting an Open House, make sure you have all the tools to make it a successful one. Make sure to have a mortgage broker, insurance agent on-site available.
- Get creative…. have an ice cream truck at the event, etc. You can get really creative, but make sure what you do is good with the neighbors. I always recommend talking to the homeowners surrounding the home sharing what you’re doing and inviting them to come over and enjoy the event.
- Influencers! Yep, this is a new one and it could have a huge impact on bringing buyers to the table that you would never meet. Research your influencers in the area, how many followers do they have, are they in line with your vision and values? Remember, influencers are global, so your buyer could come from another state or country.
- Make sure you have taken the time to write your description. Romance the listing and talk about the details of home. Maybe do a video of you in the backyard sitting at the patio table sipping some tea. In the kitchen talking about the home. This is more of an intro to the property. You don’t want to walk around the home talking, leave this up to the videographer.
- If you are marketing a land, ranch, farm, etc., then get aerial photography taken. This would also be good if you are in a homeowner’s association with a large amenity center or your home backs up to a greenbelt or private space.
- If the home is in an area with a lot of amenities, then use google maps to take a screenshot. You can then label the photo by pinpointing the home and then label with arrows pointing to area attractions, schools or community amenities in close proximity.
- Pinterest – You can create a Pinterest board for a single property that, in addition, to property photos, highlights features and benefits of the area. Pinterest is the #2 search engine so make sure you utilize everything Pinterest offers.
- Eblast the property flyer to your database and include it in your monthly newsletter.
- Showing feedback: If you are not getting a response to feedback from agents then call them, text them for the feedback so you can share with your sellers. And make sure you offer feedback when you are showing homes to buyers.
So, let’s recap:
- Have a stellar listing presentation.
- Share your awesome marketing strategy.
- Know the property – review the comps, the property, the neighborhood so you can answer questions or share information with your seller.
- Hire the best people who are there to give ideas, etc.
- Have your photographer take unique photos of each room.
- Stand out on social media.
- Ask the seller about the neighborhood Facebook Group (or the Nextdoor app) and the rules to post property for sale.
- Create unique hashtags and use them as well as keywords in your property description.
- Write a blog and upload it to your website making sure to use the blog link to promote to drive traffic to your website.
- Create impressive marketing pieces.
- Collaborate with influencers.
- Give it your best!
Now that you have some fresh ideas on how to market a listing go back to your current listings and review them to see if you can use some of these tips to enhance them and make them stand out.
Episode Resources:
- Free Download: Marketing Checklist
- Episode 29: 5 AI Tools Every Real Estate Agent Should Know About
