The Most Effective Ways to Generate High-Quality Real Estate Leads in 2023 was written for Playlouder by a contributing author. Please note that contributing opinions are that of the author. They are not always in strict alignment with my own opinions. –Joe.
Marketing changes quickly, and what worked just a few years ago might not work anymore. From 2020 to 2021, the housing market saw a 60% influx of new realtors, creating a competitive landscape for real estate agents. Furthermore, the number of new home listings fell 22.4% from April 2022.
With fierce real estate agent competition, a shortage of home sales, and rising mortgage rates, realtors might have difficulty generating high-quality real estate leads. Real estate agents are competing for an increasingly smaller pool of clients, making it critical for your lead generation efforts to go the extra mile. This includes new forms of social media advertising, innovative video experiences, and personalized connections at scale.
Here are six top marketing tactics that work in 2023.
6 Ways to Generate High-Quality Real Estate Leads
- Billboard Ads
With so many digital lead generation options, it’s easy to forget traditional out-of-home advertising. Billboards are still a high-quality real estate lead generator, as people are forced to drive specific routes every day, increasing the frequency at which they see your message.
Also, a shocking 67% of buyers and 82% of sellers only contacted one real estate agent. This shows how valuable continued frequency is when it comes to generating leads, which is why billboards can still be helpful in maintaining top-of-mind awareness.
If you’re exploring billboard options, it might seem expensive at first. In big cities, billboards can cost as much as $14,000 monthly. However, digital billboard costs can be as low as $10 a day, depending on the location.
2. Website Chatbots
Your potential clients are searching online 24/7, but you don’t need to be awake every hour of the day to provide high-quality customer service. Implement an AI-based chatbot that prompts website visitors to engage, answer questions, and give you their contact info. Again, many potential clients only contact a single real estate owner before making their selection, so make sure you’re responding quickly and efficiently.
Automated customer support and chat tools can help you maintain relationships with potential new customers in a variety of ways:
- Answer basic questions about your services
- Send an automated list of new homes for sale
- Gather contact information for you to get in touch later
- Gather email addresses for your marketing newsletters
- Fill out a longer form detailing their question
For example, Tidio is a platform that offers a free trial and helps automate customer support and sales. It also has mobile app notifications, so you can hop in and respond if you’re available.
3. Granular Call Analytics and Tracking
After setting up a live chatbot or contact form request on your website, include segmentation that clarifies how soon they’re looking to buy or sell, desired areas, and budget. Route these leads accordingly so that you can prioritize them appropriately.
Also, many real estate agents don’t want to give away their personal cell phone numbers; they use a vanity number from 800.com that can be used globally. For example, you might want to give buyers looking in one surrounding area a certain phone number while sellers might get another phone number. These granular call analytics and information are valuable when prioritizing your time and follow-up efforts.
Other tools that help maximize your call analytics include WhatConverts, which integrates with your pay-per-click ads, so you can see what specific ads lead to calls and booked clients. Brivity CRM markets itself as an all-in-one solution for realtors to track leads, nurture their database, and close more deals.
4. Live Streaming
49% of realtors spend less than $250 monthly on lead generation efforts, illustrating that most are turning to free or low-cost strategies. Live streaming across social media is entirely free, making it a cost-effective lead-generation option.
Live streaming across Facebook or Instagram can help drive traffic to open houses, listings, and more. Sometimes, photos can be misleading or low-quality, so home shoppers like to see more real-time views.
Other live-streaming options include virtual open houses, behind-the-scenes looks, and virtual tours for remote buyers.
5. Nurture Emails
You have high-quality leads in the door – great! Now, continuously nurture people who aren’t ready to buy or sell just yet, establishing yourself as a go-to expert who is available the moment they’re ready to get started.
Reaching your prospective clients regularly, right in their email inbox, helps stay in touch. You may consider providing content such as monthly market updates, a newsletter, client success stories, new listings, and more.
All of these different types of nurture emails help you stay top of mind with your potential clients, and a CRM tool like the ones listed above keeps prospects and clients segmented, so they’re only receiving communications valuable to them.
For example, clients might want to be sent more targeted information about a specific location or neighborhood they’re interested in.
6. SMS Messaging
According to the National Association of REALTORS® 2021 profile, approximately 94% of realtors already prefer text messaging over other forms of communication like calls or emails. SMS offers personalization at scale from the comfort of your phone, helping you get back to requests quickly and service customers with a higher rate of satisfaction.
Plus, text messaging can help you build more intimate relationships with your clients, ensuring they will refer you to friends and family. In 2023, roughly 38% of home buyers used an agent that was recommended to them, so maintaining these close relationships over text messaging is critical.
More than a relationship-building tool for one-on-one client chats, SMS messaging can also happen at scale to help you reach your larger database. Tools like Attentive have robust workflows that can route leads appropriately and help you prioritize your time accordingly. Plus, you can set up automated sequences to send out new listings, announce when you’re open to new clients, and more. You can even respond once clients reach back out.
Leverage a Variety of Real Estate Lead Generation Channels
For real estate agents, it’s critical to adapt to changing times and meet your potential customers where they’re at.
Marketing yourself as a go-to realtor in your area is easier when you rely on automated tools, technology platforms, and artificial intelligence to generate leads. But, when it comes to maintaining and building client relationships, it’s still important to keep in mind that nothing beats the benefit of human connection. Positive relationships help drive word-of-mouth and referrals, which are two of the most important advertising tools in real estate.
Test a variety of lead generation methods like billboard ads, live streaming, granular call analytics and tracking, and more to see what converts best with your ideal client. Depending on their age, location, and other demographics, your best lead generation tactic might be different than another realtor’s. You’ll find that some tactics are more effective than others. So, once you’ve tested a variety, double down on the two or three channels that perform best for you.