Online Strategies for Brokers and Agents To Gain More Clients

The rise of social media has given brokers and agents a better way to reach out to prospective clients. You can now reach people farther and get connected to clients faster. In addition, instant messaging allows better communication through messaging apps and showing pictures of properties can instantly be done.

But as brokers and agents with a thriving business in the digital world, you have to learn additional skills to make yourself more visible and reputable online. Starting an online presence in the digital world is not easy at all. You need to dedicate a lot of time learning the different platforms and how to broaden your digital reach.

 

If you’re starting from scratch, it will take a few months before you can build your profile, have a good number of followers, and have your posts seen by many people. So if you’re an agent without an online presence, the best time to start building one is today because it takes quite a while to become established.

Why is online presence significant? Studies have shown that 51% of people who purchased their homes first found it online. If anyone is interested in buying real estate, the internet is the first place they will go to search. The broker and agent who can catch the attention of these searching clients are the ones that will win them over.

To get you started, here are some strategies for brokers and agents like you to help improve your online presence and gain more clients.

Create an attractive online profile

Every broker or agent needs to treat themselves as a brand. Your work is their business, and the only way to sell is to build your profile as a successful broker. Your name is your capital, and the past deals you have closed with clients are the foundations of your work. The best way to highlight your name and achievements is by creating a personal brand website or an online portfolio.

 

The purpose of an online portfolio is to help clients find you. First-time property buyers often have many questions and seek an agent or broker who can assist them with their queries. Of course, not every prospect will become a buyer, but the more leads you have, the better chances of closing a deal.

 

There are different platforms to choose from if you want to create an online portfolio. Fortunately, most of them are free. Here are some of them:

• Create a Facebook page
• Create a LinkedIn profile
• Create an Instagram account
• Get creative with Canva

 

You can also create a free website at:

• Wix
• WordPress
• Simplesite
• Blogspot

 

Creating an online platform takes time, so it’s okay if you can’t complete it in a day. You need to produce high-resolution photos of properties and write quality content to attract clients. Make sure all your spellings are correct in your posts. Your name and contact information should be highly visible on your profile. Include a professional photo of yourself on your site, so clients will know who they are communicating with. When completed, you can start the process of building and sharing your profile with your prospects.

 

It is also important to note that your online profile is the heart of your business. That’s why it is crucial to update it periodically and make sure that all information is accurate. Highlight every deal you closed and share the most beautiful property photos you can acquire. Remember that real estate online marketing is all about visuals, so make sure to create good images to attract more attention.

Share your real estate knowledge

The best way to make yourself sound like an authority in real estate is to share your knowledge. They will know you are someone they could trust if you give them helpful tips. The more you feed them the correct buying information, the more you can build your reputation as an authority on the field.

 

According to Forbes, sharing your expertise can help increase your value as a professional. Sharing knowledge also helps to ingrain the information in your head. If you go this path, you can eventually do training and mentor new agents.

 

How do you apply this information sharing in your online strategy? Write an informative blog post or write short and shareable tips on your social media accounts. For example, Twitter is a great platform to share advice and information on real estate easily.

 

Good information attracts people, and when you have built your reputation as someone who knows a lot about real estate, it is the clients who will come to you.

Be active online

Answering comments and private messages actively can help improve your online reputation. There’s nothing more frustrating for a buyer than having their question answered by an automated message or a response three days after. If you answer at this rate, it makes them feel you are unreliable and difficult to reach.

 

These days, selling online is all about personalization. Clients want to talk to someone as if they are talking to a friend, and they want quick responses. So you need to engage with your buyers and answer their questions, especially in public posts that everyone else can see and hopefully pique their interest.

 

If you’re in the period of developing an online presence, answering on a personal level will help them get to know and bond with you. With every client, your goal is to earn their trust enough to make them feel comfortable doing transactions with you on property purchases.

Focus on the right platform

Establishing an online presence can be very time-consuming. That is why it is essential to focus your energies only on suitable platforms for what you are selling. In this case, you are selling real estate, and what people need to see are high-quality photos and images showing some details of the property.

 

Real estate online selling can attract more buyers by posting beautiful photos. Platforms that work best with image-heavy advertising include Facebook and Instagram. Focusing initially on these two platforms will already have your hands tied with work.

 

When you post on property listing websites, make sure you also use beautiful, high-definition images. This will help grab more attention to your listing.

 

How about videos?

 

You can also try posting videos on Youtube and, yes, Tiktok! According to digital experts, videos are the future of content marketing. People are heavily visual and would rather watch a few minutes of videos than reading text or scroll through photos.

 

If you have editing skills, you can try uploading videos on Youtube, and you can post the same on Facebook and Instagram. While it seems an unlikely place to advertise real estate, it turns out some agents are already doing it. Some are using Tiktok as a medium to post real estate content.

Learn SEO and Ads Creation

If you start writing blogs and social media posts, you will have to learn about search engine optimization (SEO) to help get more traffic to your website. SEO uses specific keywords in your blog and social media posts to help increase online visibility in search engines.

 

You should also consider learning about creating ads on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Using targeted ads is the only way to target more people other than those already in your network.

 

Be prepared to invest a little bit in ads because this will help boost your online presence. Many ad choices can fit your budget. It all depends on the type of ad you choose and how many days you want to set it running.

 

If you do not have time to learn and do all these things, you might want to consider hiring services that can do SEO writing or ad campaigns.

Keep your posts relevant

If you are establishing yourself as a real estate professional, don’t post cute dog videos on your public business accounts. Instead, keep your posts relevant to real estate and avoid writing political, religious, and opinionated things. People have other platforms to go to for those things, so keep yours clean and in line with what you are selling.

Takeaway

Brokers and agents are the lifeblood of the real estate industry. They are the ones who keep the workflow rolling. We at Hoppler believe in raising the standards of the real estate industry. That includes working hand-in-hand with brokers and agents and empowering them with the knowledge and skills they need to gain a competitive edge in a challenging but fulfilling industry.

 

As an agent and broker, establishing an online presence gives you complete control of where you want to take your career as a real estate professional. You can check out our comprehensive roundup of real estate tips that helped many brokers gain more insight into this industry and acquire more clients in the process.

 

To further help you, we have also recently launched the Hoppler mobile application for iOs designed to generate more leads. It is effortless to use, provides convenience for all parties, and its features have a clear and focused goal of selling properties.