To help realtors with their social media efforts, we asked real estate experts and business leaders this question for their best ideas. From leveraging LinkedIn to creating real estate marketing videos, there are several suggestions that may help you boost your online marketing strategy to attract new clients through social media. 

Here are 12 ways to improve your real estate social media marketing: 

• Leverage LinkedIn for Potentials Buyers
• Try a Little Humor
• Feature a Home of the Week
• Use Hashtags Effectively
• Add Testimonials on Instagram
• Answer FAQs in Weekly Posts
• Start Using Tik Tok for Marketing
• Enable Immediate Sales Calls
• Write Blog Posts With Real Estate Tips
• Create Real Estate Marketing Videos
• Utilize Chatbots in Your Sales Process
• Help Clients Declutter

Leverage LinkedIn for Potentials Buyers

From an interior designer standpoint, we found that real estate marketing is about making connections and building trust with potential buyers and sellers. So, using LinkedIn is a great addition to your marketing strategy to reach out directly to potential clients. 

A good way to use LinkedIn for real estate social media marketing is to construct a personal brand for yourself as a realtor. Create content to position yourself as a thought leader, industry expert, and trusted resource for home buyers and sellers. This can include staging tips from an interior design colleague, finance tips to prepare for the buying process, or details about closed deals with client reviews.

Alisha Taylor, Alisha Taylor Interiors

Try a Little Humor

The real estate market can be difficult to decipher for both real estate agents and homebuyers today. So to lighten up the room, why not try a little humor whenever the situation arises? 

Memes can be a great way to lighten the load while simultaneously getting your message out there on social media. You don’t even need to spend any money to do this. The right image and the right copy will bring a good laugh to your audience, grabbing the right kind of attention for your brand.

Lily Yu, Oak Springs Realty

Feature a Home of the Week

When it comes to real estate, potential clients are looking to see the types of homes they will have access to. A Home of the Week can highlight the variety of homes that a realtor works with, providing details that will catch the eye of the intended homeowner.

Beth Baranski, Markitors

Use Hashtags Effectively

Realtors can tap into a huge market by using hashtags for social media marketing. They should come up with creative and catchy hashtags that describe their posts in a detailed fashion. 

They can even do a simple search on popular hashtags that depict the real estate industry. For instance, if they are posting about new homes for sale in New York, then #newyorkhomesforsale is the hashtag they can use to connect with interested people.

Raaquib Pathan, FastPath Home Buyers

Add Testimonials on Instagram

Instagram has powerful marketing potential for realtors looking to reach a larger audience. One way you can harness the power of Instagram and build a larger organic audience of followers is by posting testimonials of previous clients you have worked with. 

After working with a satisfied client, request a short video testimonial that discusses how and why your client would recommend that another person works with you. Edit and post this content occasionally throughout your Instagram page and stories. 

This is a great way to diversify your content and highlight real-life reviews of the results you are able to produce. Over time, your testimonials on Instagram will work to build your credibility and success as a realtor.

Than Merrill, FortuneBuilders

Answer FAQs in Weekly Posts

Make a note of questions you get from your clients. Chances are, those are on the mind of many prospective clients. Start a weekly Q&A post where you answer one of those questions in a post or video. It will show your depth of knowledge, and you can build a library that you can archive in Highlights on Instagram or on your website in a feed.

Tanya Gagnon, Miss Details

Start Using Tik Tok for Marketing

In today’s world, there are so many different platforms a realtor can utilize to gain more of a following and attention around their properties. One amazing way is by utilizing Tik Tok! 

There are many ways to go about this. You can stick to traditional property tours, or you can get creative and create content that goes along with current Tik Tok trends. Many realtors have gone viral on Tik Tok, so it’s a good idea to look at those accounts for inspiration!

Brooke Wilson, Fabric

Enable Immediate Sales Calls

Realtors can leverage the power of Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram’s ability to accurately segment potential customers, thereby improving the efficiency of the overall marketing budget.

In my experience, when I was house-hunting, I came across a realtor that had set up a one-click Facebook page that immediately linked me to a video call with a sales representative via Zoom or Google Meets.

The real estate agent knew which property I was interested in and even provided other properties in the adjacent areas. This was fantastic because the transition was seamless, and it did not require me to pick up my phone and call. I thought this was an innovative use of social media marketing in the real estate space.

Mogale Modisane, ToolsGaloreHQ

Write Blog Posts With Real Estate Tips

Social marketing is one of the marketing trends since 2020 that, until now, is growing. Real estate agencies should take advantage of the benefits that social media has to offer in terms of marketing. 

One social media marketing idea I recommend you try is creating blog posts about real estate tips. Anyone in social media dreams to have a house of their own, so posting this kind of content will hook their attention and might inspire them to share your post, which is good for your agency. 

Cameron Miller, Cameron Miller Real Estate

Create Real Estate Marketing Videos 

No matter what type of real estate you’re selling, you should use video as part of your social media strategy. A picture is worth a thousand words; that’s true. But if a photo can help generate more leads, a video may be the reason those leads turn into sales. 

Footage not only lets the realtor showcase the property in detail but also allows the viewer to feel like they’re roaming around and checking out the place by themselves. The best thing to do is to hire a professional to shoot and edit a video of your real estate. 

But if you’re on a budget, you can do it yourself. All you need is a smartphone and a video editing tool. Just remember to keep it short. A video between two and six minutes is best. If you create a video longer than that, you risk losing your viewer’s attention. 

As for the type of videos you should post on your social media pages, consider making listing videos, live open-houses, before and after renovations, advice videos, and testimonials.

Estrella Alvarado, Brafton

Utilize Chatbots in Your Sales Process

Things can move fast in real estate. When I was an office manager for a real estate firm, I was surprised to see that no one used chatbots. Chatbots are cheap and not a particularly difficult tool to set up. 

They’re great at doing the easy, time-consuming, rote, and preliminary part of a sales process. Check out Intercom or ManyChat.

Karen Zachary, Anchor Virtual Assistants

Help Clients Declutter

Time and time again, I see homes for sale that are staged with a Pod sitting outside, making me wonder how the seller REALLY lives and where storage is. Teach your followers (via TikTok then recast on Facebook and Instagram) how to declutter, clean a room in 10 minutes, or any other strategic home hacks that allow a seller to get ready to sell — without a headache!

Erin Lubien, Empoweru Consulting Group

To understand the power of online reviews, consider these recent research findings from BrightLocal’s 2014 Local Consumer Review Survey:

• 88% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
• 88% of consumers read reviews to determine the quality of a local business.
• 85% of consumers read up to 10 online reviews when researching products or services.
• 72% of consumers say they are more likely to make a purchase if the product or service has favorable online reviews.
• 72% of consumers will take some sort of action after reading a positive review.

The question is not if you will get a negative review but when you will – which means you need to know how to effectively respond so a negative review doesn’t have a negative effect on your reputation and your bottom line!

7 Effective Ways to Respond to a Negative Online Review

The way to successfully handle a negative review is first, to have as many positive reviews as possible. Think about it, the last time you went to order something on Amazon, did the product have both positive and negative reviews? Of course!

But you still purchased it right? Why? Because innately we all know that no matter what product or service is sold, there will always be someone who is not happy. So as long as we see more positive reviews than negative ones, we usually still invest in the product or service.

People are not looking for perfection from you; what matters is how you address problems by being transparent, genuinely concerned and responding positively. Here are seven effective ways to address a negative online review:

1. Contact the review site. If the review is flagrantly false, defamatory or you can prove a disgruntled former employee or competitor submitted it, you can contact the review site and ask for its removal. Just be sure you can prove what you say. In my experience, it’s unlikely they will edit or remove the offending review, but it still doesn’t hurt to ask them to in a professional manner.
2. Address it quickly, professionally and positively. Respond directly to the review on the site and let the reviewer know you are sorry they are not happy and will do everything in your power to make it right. Be positive in your response! Let them know that although you have worked with hundreds of clients who are happy with your services, to hear that there is even just one who is unhappy upsets and concerns you. Encourage them to contact you directly to try and resolve the issue. That shows other readers you are responsive and care about what people think. Thank them for their business, for bringing this to your attention and mention any specific actions you are taking to address their issue or to keep it from happening again.

Note: Yelp uses an algorithm to determine the “legitimacy” of reviews and often hides reviews in the filtered reviews section at the bottom of each page. Even legitimate, 5-star reviews can be found there, especially if they are from first-time reviewers. If that’s the case on your page, don’t be shy about drawing attention to these reviews in your commentary. Many people don’t know where to find the hidden reviews.

3. Resolve the problem. If you can find an email address for the reviewer (or already know who they are), email them directly, If not, respond in the comment thread and ask them to send you their email address or phone number privately so you can personally address their issue. Then ask them what you can do to resolve the problem and work with them to find a solution. Even if the issue seems unreasonable to you, making them a satisfied client will pay off for you down the road.
4. Request an updated review. Once the problem has been resolved to the reviewer’s satisfaction, ask them if they would consider deleting their original post or updating it to reflect that the issue has been resolved. If they prefer not to, then provide a comment on the site that you were happy to resolve the problem to the reviewer’s satisfaction. This will demonstrate to other readers that you have acted to address and resolve issues proactively.
5. Proactively encourage client feedback. Prevention is always cheaper than treatment! Be proactive in seeking out client feedback by conducting an exit interview following the conclusion of every client’s transaction to ensure they have been satisfied with your services. Giving your client a direct voice in expressing any dissatisfaction may prevent them from taking it out on you online.

The Power of the Positive Review

We have a client that currently gets 80- 90 percent of its leads from the Internet. The majority of those leads come from review sites.

And these leads are above average. They are very good about a quick response to an email or phone call, following up to book an appointment the next day and calling to make sure the prospect shows. They have a very low no-show rate in their main office. These people come ready to engage and, usually, hire them.

They have done a great job of leveraging happy client experiences into positive online reviews. While many are wary of online reviews, they embrace them and even post links on the home page of their website with a large banner that touts what their clients are saying about them.

Yes, there are a couple of negative reviews in their pile of client ratings online, but those few serve to legitimize the entire process for them. People find balanced reviews more believable; all positive ratings are usually suspicious.

However you craft your approach to online reviews, you need to be aware that they are not going away. You cannot stick your head in the sand and hope that no one finds the negative reviews online. People want to share their experiences, and others looking for those same services want to know what experience others have had with a service provider. People are not dumb; they will weigh the good with the bad in their own minds and discount those reviews that are clearly irrational or offbeat.

If you let the good work you have done for years speak for you, it will do more for you in bringing you prospects who will already have a propensity to buy from you.

I would like to share with you some techniques you may not currently be using when holding your open houses. This simple step-by-step process can provide you with great opportunities for listing and selling houses.

In order to have a productive open house, you have to invest time and effort – which is the same thing as money. Before you commit yourself to such an investment, make sure that the property you want to hold open has what it takes. Here are the five things you need:

1. Make sure it is priced right. Any neighbors who visit your open house probably have some idea of selling in the not too distant future. When these neighbors, or other sellers come to your open house, they often have a good idea of the values in that area. When they see your overpriced tag, it ruins your reputation with both the potential buyers and the potential listers.
2. Create good traffic flow with directional signs off a main thoroughfare. It doesn’t make sense to hold an open house when no one can find it. When it is necessary to place a sign on someone’s private property, always ask permission. Otherwise, they might turn the sign around or lay it down. And remember to send a thank you note to them right away.
3. List within your service area. Don’t drive 40 miles to hold an open house. The buyers who come in soon realize that the out-of-area agent doesn’t really know the neighborhood and any potential listers realize the same thing.
4. The sellers must be gone. Buyers only go to open houses to avoid contact with either owners or salespeople who are too pushy. They see open houses as opportunities to get a maximum look at a property while giving the agent minimal information about themselves.
5. Brighten up the home. The sellers must know that unmade beds, unwashed dishes and unmowed lawns won’t help to sell the house. A little paint, polish, and elbow grease will always make the house more attractive and thus enhance the value of their home. Also, consider bringing some brighter light bulbs for lamps in rooms without much outside light.

The advance preparation that goes into an open house is critical to making your day a success. Part of the preparation includes hand delivering at least 20 invitations to the neighbors living closest to your open house. Hand delivering, not mailing these invitations, opens up an opportunity to meet people in your service area as well as demonstrate your energy and professionalism. They may come just to find out what the home is listed for. It could be enough that they would consider selling, too.

Serving refreshments at an open house is one way to get the people coming through your open house to slow down. Most want to come in, take a quick look, and keep moving. Have refreshments to slow them down so you can ask them a few nonthreatening questions. Nearly every potential buyer who walks in the door will own another home they may have to sell in order to move. Therefore, every open house contact represents a potential listing.

When offering cold drinks or coffee, don’t serve them in plastic or offer water bottles. Those are easy for people to take with them. When being served in glassware or coffee cups, guests will take more time on the property, and will most often ask what to do with the glass or cup when they are leaving, which gives you another opportunity to speak directly with them. Note that you’ll have to do an occasional walk through the property yourself to look for any cups or glasses set down and left instead of being brought to you. And, you’ll have a do a few dishes, but this strategy is worth it for the added face time you get with visitors.

Finish up your advance preparation by having a nice little guest directory for people to write their names in. Or, offer a small gift (with your photo and contact info) to each person who leaves their name and thoughts on the property with you. The sellers like to see signs of activity. And for the periods when no one is there, keep a set of work materials so you can use your spare time productively. If you’ve followed everything outlined thus far, your open house is sure to attract some attention. Now, you must keep that attention.

The day of your open house, start early so you have plenty of time to get everything set up and operating at the appointed hour. This involves placing the signs in the right locations, and making sure the sellers have left the residence. Switch all the house lights on and open all the drapes. Set the thermostat so the temperature is noticeably cooler or warmer than the outside temperature, and light a small fire in the fireplace if there is one, especially in the summer. This is a great attention-getter and conversation starter.

Open houses require a lot of time. If you want to be an open house specialist, create your own checklists for all the things you must do to make them a smashing success. I ask just one thing. Don’t do it halfway and expect 100 percent success.

Why? The reason can be found in what I believe is one of the best sales, marketing and communication books ever written: “How To Win Friends & Influence People,” by Dale Carnegie. If you haven’t read it, get a copy. First published in 1939, it continues to be a top seller because it’s based on a profound truth about human nature: To get people to give you what you want, you have to give them what they want first.

To build and grow your business base, you need listings and referrals. But what do consumers value when choosing a real estate agent? According to a 2014 report about real estate tech trends, 39 percent of consumers said they chose an agent referred by friends or family, and 25 percent said they went with an agent they’ve worked with before.

Staying in regular contact before, during and after the close of their real estate transaction — and providing a message of value during that contact — is a huge step in the right direction. A step that (which might be hard to believe) many agents fail in taking.

You understand that repeat business and referrals by professionals and past/current clients are key to grow your business, but do you have an actionable plan? Start by selecting content everyone would consider noteworthy or, better yet, socially sharable. If you don’t have time to create all the content yourself, just identify some credible industry partners. Companies such as RPR, HouseLogic or Imprev may offer multitouch campaigns with content delivered in both print and digital marketing materials.

When it comes to sought-after content, topping the chart is market data. Answers to commonly asked questions like “How is the market performing? How long does it take to sell a home right now? Do I need to renovate before I put my house on the market?” can help agents brand themselves as the go-to source in their area, armed with data like up-to-date local real estate market analysis, managing conditional offers or bidding wars, and improving curb appeal.

Even better, when this information is presented as agent-branded video content within a newsletter, it becomes highly shareable via email and social media. These are the kinds of things that homeowners want to know beyond the purchase date of their home, and are also topics that they are more likely to share with their friends and family. Before you know it, you’re not working as hard to get your name “out there.”

Suddenly, you’re no longer just a salesperson. You’re a trusted real estate concierge. People come to you when they have questions and need advice. They become your faithful fans. They want to refer you to friends and family. And, just like Dale Carnegie said, this is how you get what you want: listings and referrals.

I will begin with a well-known marketing principle – the Law of 7 Touches. Under this theory of thought, it takes seven meaningful touches to make a lasting impression on someone. In today’s marketplace of over access to everything, we may, in fact, need more than seven touches. Look at Twitter – it is a constant stream of updating statuses. One tweet is irrelevant 10 minutes – or in some cases one minute – later. The world – and your prospect – has moved on to the next latest blurb. In this overly saturated world, the marketing world has accepted that this number is somewhere around 12.

Defining Meaningful

So what differentiates between a meaningful touch and a normal, entirely unremarkable touch? Running through a networking event and talking at everyone for a moment is not sufficient. You need to make a lasting positive impression at least 12 times to remain relevant in the eyes of your prospective client or prospective referral source.

• Here are some easy and meaningful ways to reach out to your network:
• Host a seminar and invite contacts to attend.
• Call up your former clients and check in with them; see how they’re doing.
• Attend a local networking event and make a point to listen to others.
• Attend a networking event in the industry you serve – ask attendees questions about their needs, their concerns, etc.
• Schedule lunch with an old referral contact and catch up.
• If you see some information on a topic of interest to a client or colleague, forward it on.

A Simple Solution – Newsletters

One of the easiest, and most overlooked, tools in your arsenal is creating and distributing a monthly newsletter. This is an easy way for you to reach out to your entire network at the same time and to keep your name in their mind.

Firstly, when I say newsletter, I mean an electronic newsletter. Like all contact in today’s age, newsletters have gone digital. This is an obvious solution for several reasons:

1. No Print Costs – Since this is a digital only product, you can send it out to a never-ending list of contacts (just make sure they opt-in). There is no cost associated with the digital format
2. It Establishes a Dialogue – When someone receives something in print, they need to take a few extra steps to contact the advertiser. With the Internet, consumers are able to respond instantaneously to digital communications. Most email marketing companies make it easy to provide links to email and social media. The easier you make it for a contact to share information, the more likely they will share it.
3. It’s Easy to Track – With email marketing companies like Constant Contact and Vertical Response, they will make tracking your effectiveness simple. They know who opened your email, who opted out, who clicked through. It’s an easy way for you to find out if the newsletter is working.
4. Keeping Them Informed – With a newsletter, you can include information about other marketing highlights you want to share. Did someone just get an award? Do you have an upcoming event? Did someone new join the firm? Consider doing a profile on a different agent each month. It’s another way for your contacts to feel more connected to the firm.
5. Keep in Touch – Use the newsletter to keep in touch with former clients. It will reinforce the positive impression you had on them and ensure that you are top of mind if a new issue arises. The more people you have on the list, the further your reach. There is a direct correlation between the size of your contact database and the size of your bank account. Make sure that you have a system in place to capture all contacts – prospects, clients, referrals, leads, etc.

By sharing pertinent information with your network of contacts, you will ensure that you are at the top of their mind. The more valuable and relevant you make the information, the more positively they will think of you. By giving them information that is relevant to their needs, then they will see you as a constant asset to them. It is a long road of small interactions, but by focusing on creating a solid relationship with your network you will benefit in the end.

There are a growing number of skeptics in the marketing world, who question the effectiveness of email marketing. Whenever someone comes to me and tells me they’ve issued newsletters, but pigeon-holed them as ineffective, I know they’re doing something wrong. Here are some cardinal mistakes that you need to avoid: (1) not sending the newsletter frequently enough – an annual newsletter isn’t enough; (2) your newsletter is too long – people are busy, get to the point; (3) not checking the effectiveness of the newsletter; and (4) the worst sin of all, running promotional, uninformative content.

The benefits are obvious and the risks nearly non-existent. I highly recommend you start your monthly e-newsletter campaign as soon as possible.

If you think that online reviews have no influence on your prospect, you’re dead wrong. More and more consumers are looking for online reviews about you and the only thing that may be worse than a negative review is to have no reviews at all! After all, wouldn’t you be skeptical of a product on Amazon or eBay that didn’t have reviews? Of course, hiring a real estate agent is a much bigger decision, which makes online reviews that much more important.

CONSIDER THESE 2013 GOOGLE RESEARCH FINDINGS:

• 89 percent of consumers say online reviews are trustworthy;
• 86 percent of consumers look for online reviews when researching products or services;
• 80 percent of consumers say negative reviews will dissuade them from making a purchase;
• And, 85 percent of consumers say they’re more likely to make a purchase if the product or service has favorable online reviews.

Google and Yelp! are the most influential online review websites, and the study showed that having no reviews is as bad as having negative reviews. So how can you get good reviews or offset negative ones? Here are some tips:

HAVE AN OPTIMIZED WEBSITE

This sounds simple, but having a website that ranks well in search results will allow prospects to see who you are and give you control over the message.

ASK CLIENTS FOR REVIEWS

Happy clients are the least likely to post a review, so ask your satisfied clients to go to Google, Yelp!, LinkedIn or other websites and post their feedback on your services. I also recommend that you implement an exit interview process after each matter is concluded; this allows you to address any issues with your client that could prevent a negative review either online or via word-of-mouth

NEVER POST FAKE REVIEWS

Consumers can sniff out the fake reviews and after that happens, you won’t be trusted. Not to mention this is highly unethical

MONITOR ONLINE REPUTATION

If you get a negative review, respond appropriately online and offline. Acknowledge the review with a reasoned, rational response and then take it offline to attempt a resolution. Be sure to thank those who post positive reviews as well.

Most REALTORS hesitate to become involved with online review sites, fearing a negative review. Let me share something with you: you cannot work in this industry without eventually having an unhappy client. Avoiding these platforms altogether because you’re fearful that someone will give you a negative review just doesn’t make sense. Don’t let your fear control you.

The way to successfully handle a negative review is to have as many positive reviews as possible. Think about it, the last time you went to order something on Amazon, did the product have both positive and negative reviews? Of course!

But you still purchased it right? Why? Because innately we all know that there will always be someone who isn’t happy with a product or service. As long as we see more positive reviews than negative ones, we usually still invest in the product or service.

Recognize that it’s just feedback. By asking people to review you and give their honest feedback, you have the opportunity to grow, learn and improve the client experience. Although the experience can be painful, it is necessary if you really want to wow the client and build a lifestyle real estate business.

CLIENTS AS REFERRAL SOURCES

There are four primary reasons real estate agents don’t receive more referrals:

1. Your referral sources aren’t adequately educated about what you do.
2. You’re too vague about your perfect client.
3. You don’t consistently communicate with your clients.
4. You fail to remind them to send you a referral.

So how do you identify your best client referral sources? Listen! You’ll learn what clients want and be able to deliver it, which makes for more referrals and better client retention. Here are some important methods you can use to actively listen to clients:

OPEN FEEDBACK

Always offer clients a way to provide feedback, through your website, an online survey and in your e-newsletter campaign. Simply asking for their thoughts is often enough to garner some important insights.

TRANSACTIONAL FEEDBACK

If you’re a regular Starbucks customer, you have undoubtedly received a free survey with your receipt. You provide them with some feedback online and you get a free drink for your efforts. This demonstrates the importance of asking clients for their thoughts about their experience with your firm. Keep your finger on the pulse of how satisfied they’re with how your firm is treating them, and you’ll have a satisfied client who is more likely to refer you to others.

SOCIAL MEDIA INTERACTION

Monitor your social media channels to see what people are saying about you. You can search for your company name on Twitter and Facebook, and you should be regularly monitoring LinkedIn groups, Yelp! and Google for other comments about your company

CLIENT SATISFACTION SURVEYS

Using formal client satisfaction surveys gauges client experiences with your firm. Send one out after each engagement is closed and respond immediately and personally to any negative feedback.

Once you have gathered a list of good potential client referral sources, you need to educate them on what your ideal client looks like. Here are the top five things your referral sources need to know:

1. What your perfect client looks like. You need to answer this question very specifically. The more clear your description, the easier people can envision your clients.
2. Why someone should hire you. Be sure your referral sources understand the precise reason you’re better than your competitors and how you differ from others.
3. What problems you solve. By helping your referral source understand the kinds of problems you solve for clients, they will know what to listen for in daily conversations and be able to recommend you to someone who mentions having a problem you solve.
4. How you follow up. Your referral source needs to know you will follow up promptly and professionally with the people they send your way.
5. Why referrals are important to you. Let your source know that you rely on referrals as a way to build your business and how much you will appreciate their referring people to you.

And finally, always remember to thank them and let them know that their referral is meaningful to you.

You are taking up valuable space. Before websites and social media, this may have been useful. It is a good part of marketing to have a current picture on your website, so that clients feel like they know you before they know you. If you’ve handed them a business card, however, they’ve met you.

2. Stop Asking for Referrals

I’m not saying to actually stop asking for referrals that would be marketing suicide. I mean, stop asking for them on your business card. Let’s face it. The people who are going to refer you to their friends, family, coworkers, etc. have probably worked with you. You’ve sold their home or helped them find their dream home. They have your contact information. The people you hand your card to are the people you’ve just met. You’re trying to win their business, so stop skipping steps.

3. Use Both Sides of the Card

If you’re leaving the back blank, you’re wasting 50 percent of the space you have to market to potential clients. Use that space to share some unique information with them that may drive them to hold onto your card.

4. Leverage Technology

While QR codes have gone out of fashion – almost as quickly as they came in fashion – there still may be a use for them on business cards. If you don’t feel like a QR code is right, just listing the URL works as well. The important aspect to consider is where said QR code or URL brings them. Instead of just bringing them to your website, bring them somewhere they would want to go. For example, most people ask REALTOR®s about the market. They’re concerned with how it’s doing. When they ask that question, we all know they’re asking about their neighborhood and more specifically their own home.

Create a website or a sub-page within your website that addresses this question. For example, you could create the HowMuchIsMyHomeWorth.com website. Visitors could enter their address and get the live listings and sold and trend data from your MLS surrounding their home. This would give them a good idea of what their home is worth. The website could send all the information to their email and continue sending regular reports. Since you created the website, your branding and contact information are on every email they receive.

5. Less is Always More

Don’t go overboard with information. The card should be simple with the necessary information only. Don’t clutter your business card with information about yourself. Leave white space. Firstly, the white space is a good place for someone to write down some notes. Secondly, the card will look cleaner and more professional.

While technology continues forging ahead, leaving behind many of the old marketing mediums, the business card still stands strong. Make sure that you make good use of that real estate.

Why do so many real estate people fail to tap the by-owner gold mine? Three reasons:

1. Lack of knowledge.
2. Fear of rejection.
3. No persistence.

Follow my step-by-step process and you will find gold under by-owner signs. At this point, let me warn you about one thing: my process won’t work overnight. You have to keep at it strongly for at least three weeks before you see the nuggets start to come out of your personal forsale- by-owner gold mine. If you aren’t willing to wait three weeks for a payoff, you’re in the wrong career.

Some of the steps overlap a bit, but read them all before you take any action.

No. 1 – Stake Your Claim Concentrate your efforts by choosing a clearly defined target area in which you’ll work with all promising by-owners. This could be a geographical area, a type of home, or a certain price range of property. Before you begin, clear your plans with your manager. It’s vital that you fully understand your office’s policies and the rights of other agents.

Since you intend to dig deep enough to strike gold instead of skimming over the treetops, start with a smaller area than you expect to cover eventually. Sharpen your skills there. Then, as soon as you’re working efficiently with by-owners, you’ll be able to expand your effort without losing power.

No. 2 – Research By-Owner Ads or Listings Every Morning Not once in a while – every morning, every month. Enter the information into the CRM you are using. You won’t have all the information you need at first, but you’re going to get it.

Once you start making some money in this business, you might want to subscribe to a service that does this step for you. There are companies online that will, for a fee, provide you with all the latest by-owner listings

No. 3 – Decide on a Plan of Action for Each When will you call on them? What will you say? How will you get them to see that you’re not the enemy, just someone providing a valuable service in the area? Start thinking strategy the moment you lay eyes on each ad.

No. 4 – Act on Your Plans Every Day of the Month Energy is the key element in getting started at listing for-sale-by-owners. One of the major reasons why they eventually go for professional service is that they get tired of giving up their free time evenings and weekends. By-owners look for workers, not players. If you call Monday on their Sunday ad, they’ll think you watched the ponies run while they sweated through another open house. You won’t become a champion lister on the 40-hours-a-week plan. Be sure to let the by-owners know that you’re making things happen in real estate on the weekends.

No. 5 – See the People There are two ways to get in to see a by-owner. You can phone them seeking a listing – only if their number does not appear on the National Do Not Call List. If you have a qualified buyer, you may call as the buyer’s agent – even if the number listed is on the Do Not Call List.

Another way of contacting them is to stop by the home. If they’re not on the DNC list, always phone for permission to pop by and visit. The advantages are many. You can call earlier in the morning than you can knock. With the time that one unannounced visit will take, you can phone several by-owners. By phoning first, you won’t waste so many precious minutes ringing doorbells at empty houses or interrupting people during their morning get-out-of-the-house routines. On the phone, you’re more in control of the situation; you can use your sophisticated and well-rehearsed techniques to ease your way into their presence.

To keep FSBOs from hanging up on you when you identify yourself as a real estate agent, simply say this, “I understand that you want to sell the home yourself. I’m just asking for permission, if I have a qualified buyer who might be interested, to bring them your way.” This will make them curious.

When they ask why you’d do that say, “As the agent for buyers, it’s my job to be able to present them information on all available properties that meet their needs, whether I’ve listed them or not.” This tells the sellers you’re a professional and will cause them to lower their resistance to you.

Then, simply ask for permission to view the home with the intention of gathering data for your buyers to consider. When they agree, you have your foot in the door because you’ve approached them differently than all the other agents who called asking for the listing.

During your visit with them, don’t push for the listing. Simply ask how they’re handling the marketing; if they’re getting many showings, and so on. In other words, help them realize the heavy load they’ve taken on by trying to sell the home themselves. Then, call them weekly asking about how much activity they’ve been having while telling them about all the activity you’ve generated. Eventually, most FSBOs will see the light and give you the listing.

Follow these steps and you’ll soon tap into the by-owner goldmine!