One of the most important factors involved in selling a home is marketing it to potential buyers. In the contemporary real estate industry there are more methods of marketing than ever before, thanks in no small part to the internet. You can see this by opening up any magazine or looking at any online listing site. As you start the process of selling your home, you’ll want to find a real estate agency that is able to utilise as many of these options as possible. Your real estate agent should be willing to go over all of your options to pick and choose the media that will make the most sense in your case. A strong marketing effort will not only reach a relevant audience, but it will help maximise your eventual sale price.
(You can start the process of comparing different marketing methods by getting in touch with potential real estate agents. You can compare agents at at LocalAgentFinder. So you can find a great agent who’ll be able to discuss which marketing methods could be the right option for your property).
What Influences a Marketing Approach?
There are many factors that a qualified real estate agent must take into consideration as they start to work out a sales and marketing strategy. The right agent won’t treat every property with a cookie-cutter approach; but will factor in your budget, the current state of the local market, and your home’s location. Marketing involves not only reaching the widest target audience, but also ensuring that this is a relevant audience who will be interested in your property. Good real estate agents will also work hard to ensure that your house sells for the highest possible price.
Agents with experience will already have tried and true marketing plans for you to pick and choose from, and will know exactly what works and what doesn’t in today’s market. It will give you peace of mind to know exactly how the marketing aspect of selling your home will be approached, and what it will cost you. There should be clear objectives outlined in this marketing plan, along with sensible means for achieving them. You should expect to see measurable goals, including deadlines and responsibilities.
It’s helpful to work with an agent who has experience selling homes in your local region. With a focussed knowledge of your prospective buyers, they will be able to tightly fine-tune the campaign to highlight the details of your property and neighbourhood. This should take into consideration whether potential buyers are likely to come from the local area or from outside the region. Your home’s best features should be placed front and centre. You can look specifically for agents who have a strong working knowledge of your suburb by comparing their experience using LocalAgentFinder. This will ensure that they can customise your campaign to give you a great chance of success.
There are many different types of media that can be used for marketing purposes. The internet is one of the prime targets, including agents’ websites, independent listing websites, real estate websites, message boards, forums, blogs, and social media. Other areas to look at include print ads, magazines, mail flyers, posters, street signboards, and brochures, as well as referrals, TV advertisements, and office property presentations. Your marketing strategy could include an email or direct mail marketing campaign, viral advertising, or letterbox drops. The sky is truly the limit when it comes to methods of advertising!
Most successful campaigns will include some combination of the above. You can speak to your choice of real estate agent about what their ideal strategy would be. It’s helpful to take a closer look at these options as well:
Internet Marketing
In today’s modern information age, it’s all important for those who wish to market their property to a massive audience. The World Wide Web never shuts down, can be accessed anywhere in the world, and offers limitless possibilities for communication. It’s essentially a shop front that never closes and can be accessed at any time, in any place.
Yet to make the most of all the possibilities that the internet provides, it’s important to stand out from the crowd. Although you can showcase a property, so can millions of other people. The key to utilising this medium effectively is to make your home as visible as possible. Appealing, full-colour photographs of your home will be far more effective than any dry description. A competent real estate agent will put multiple attractive photos and information about your property on today’s top listing sites. These include but are not limited to:
In addition to these generic listings sites, ads should be placed on the agency’s own website, which allow visitors to take virtual tours of your home and learn more about what your property has to offer. Because the internet is updated to the minute with thousands of comparable properties across Australia, the most effective listings will appear on websites that receive a lot of traffic. Choosing lesser known listings sites and avoiding the big names will only cost you opportunity.
There are additional forms of online marketing that your real estate agency may employ. For example, some agencies send out e-magazines, email or RSS feeds, and targeted email alerts. These alerts are a useful tool, automatically sending out information about your home to buyers who have indicated they would be interested in the types of features your home possesses. Those potential buyers would then be updated regularly with information about open inspections and auctions or other deadlines.
Further digital marketing opportunities include market reports, search engine marketing, PPC (pay per click) advertising, and real estate blogs, just to start. There is a wealth of opportunity available online for those who have online marketing savvy and drive. Using social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter can also increase visibility and garner you more views for your listing. All of this can serve to cast your net wider than ever before for potential buyers and gain the maximum sale price.
Signboards
Traditional advertising methods like signboards are still used by most real estate agents. They may seem old-fashioned, but they have been proven time and again to capture the attention of drive-by traffic. For signboards to stand out, they must be high-impact, colourful, and appealing. The best designs usually include large, colourful photographs. These can showcase your home’s best interior and exterior features, and invite those walking or driving by to learn more about what your property has to offer. They can also include attention-grabbing headlines and textual elements to create a story about your property. Signboards can be lit for night-time viewing to offer day and night exposure.
Print Marketing and Editorials
Many human beings are creatures of habit. We don’t always like change, and tend to feel most comfortable in familiar surroundings. This means that when you are selling your home, a good percentage of prospective buyers will most likely be from the surrounding area. This could include families who are ready to upgrade to a larger abode, or older couples looking to downsize after their children have left the nest. Despite these lifestyle changes, many will want to stay close to existing amenities, friends, and family.
This is why advertising in the local newspaper or property magazines can be effective. Advertising in local print media means that ads are delivered directly to your neighbours and potential buyers. Good real estate agents may also be able to get your property featured in editorials or promotional articles, which provide more in-depth information and wider exposure.
Colour Advertisements and Brochures
There are many other forms of printed media that can be used as part of a well-rounded marketing campaign. Colour brochures, letters, postcards, mailed newsletters, and pamphlets offer prospective buyers in-depth information. These can be offered to buyers who have come to view your home during an open inspection, or those who have visited your real estate agency’s office. Printed materials are glossy, attention-grabbing, and professional. They showcase your property’s best features and keep the property in the minds of interested buyers.
Direct mail and property magazines offer an exclusive, attractive way to showcase property. They can be distributed on a weekly or monthly basis, and provide both professional photography and text content for readers to enjoy. If you use any of these printed methods, be sure to take clear, high quality colour photos. This is one of the most effective ways to generate buyer interest and make your property look its absolute best. Buyers often make snap judgments regarding which properties they are going to visit, so you don’t want your competition outshining your property due to better photos.
Striking the Right Balance
With all of these various methods of marketing and advertising available to homeowners, it can seem complicated to choose an effective strategy. A good real estate agent will have the experience and knowhow to be able to devise a customised strategy based on past performance and proven statistics. The most referrals for properties are generated by the internet, print media, referrals, and walk-by’s, in that order.
Real estate professionals are extremely skilled at determining how to best market your property to ensure a quick sale and a high profit margin. Yet they are even more valuable when the time comes to follow up on leads. This is the task that will truly lead to success, as your agent forges relationships with potential buyers and keeps them updated about your property’s situation. Whether you choose traditional print media advertising or delve deeper into the world of digital marketing, you’ll want a real estate agent who is able to follow up on leads effectively.
Marketing when selling your property – what’s next?
The right real estate agent will have numerous suggestions for you as you get started, always respecting your needs and budget. You can start comparing agents at LocalAgentFinder. Find out how it works and narrow down your search for the right agent and marketing strategy to increase the visibility of your property.