Top 5 Places Agents Spend On Their Business

Wade Webb on November 10, 2021

top 5 places agents spend on their business

“You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that.

“ – Michael Jordan

Curaytor recently surveyed real estate agents about what they were planning to spend their budgets on this fall. I know a lot of people say they don’t focus on their competition but the truth is we all take a peek. The reality is that if your competitors are planning on spending money to promote their business somewhere you may want to be there as well. Even if you don’t one thing we know for sure is that your potential future and past customers are going to be. Here are the top five ways agents plan on spending their budgets this fall:

1. Facebook Ads

Due to COVID-19 a record number of people are using Facebook and Facebook is the Internet. While it may not be as new and sexy as emerging social networks like Tik Tok, what Facebook has going for it is that it is proven. If you need traffic, leads and sales Facebook is still a clear choice for ad dollars amongst agents. In fact, nearly 60% of the agents we polled said they are planning on increasing their spend on Facebook this fall. That was more than Instagram, YouTube, Google and Twitter. Those who do will be glad to know that based on our research the cost per click and cost per lead on Facebook are both down. Partly due to the increased usage of people who have been sheltering in place. But also partly due to the fact that a lot of advertisers across nearly every industry have decreased their budgets. Let’s face it travel, retail and restaurants are all struggling and are not exactly in a position to be spending big bucks on ads. Thankfully, real estate is thriving right now and so with less competition for ads the prices have dropped while the eyeballs have increased.

Pro Tip: You can actually see every Facebook Ad any of your competitors (or agents and companies you admire) are running right now. Simply visit their Page and look for the Page Transparency section. Click “See All” and then scroll down to where it says “Ads From This Page” and click “Go to Ad Library”.

2. Instagram

Instagram just turned ten years old. And it is still going strong. In fact, besides Facebook the next place agents planned on increasing their spending the most was on Insta. Seeing that Facebook owns Instagram it looks like Mark Zuckerberg is going to have a lot of agent dollars flowing through his ecosystem in Q4. Real estate and Instagram are a match made in heaven due to the visual nature of both. Most of the photos of listings are taken by professional photographers and homes, architecture and landscaping are all popular types of content on the Gram.

Pro tip: You can actually use other people’s pictures from Instagram and embed them on your website to create content.

3. Retargeting

It is so much work to get someone to visit your website that retargeting them as they continue to browse the web and social media has become a no brainer. That is probably why 55% of the agents we polled said they were planning to increase their spend on it. This tactic become especially important as many buyers are currently having trouble finding a home they want due to low inventory and thus will be searching longer than normal. These ads create the “we see you everywhere” moment for consumers which is especially important when you are trying to generate seller leads and listings.

Pro tip: Retargeting historically required that someone visited your website in order to then show them more ads on different websites. But companies like the one we use (Adroll) are now offering geographic targeting options that don’t require someone to visit your site in order to show them ads. They simply need to live in the area that you choose and your ads will display to them.

4. Branding

One of the most surprising results of our survey was that nearly 70% of agents planned on increasing their focus on building their brand for the rest of this year. We all know the brands we look up to and admire and buy things from and refer business to but it is no small feat to become one of those. I’m glad to see that so many agents are making it a priority.

Pro tip: There are some amazing books about branding but two of my favorites are Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller and The Method Method. I also highly recommend the 1000watt blog where they have become the authority on branding for the real estate industry.

5. Video

COVID-19 has accelerated the need for agents to be tech savvy and provide modern consumers with access to “seeing” properties online first. Nothing does this better than a well done video. I would argue that due to the pandemic this year video went from a nice to have to a must have weapon in your arsenal. Unsurprisingly, nearly 60% of the agents we polled said they are planning to increase their spend on videos and 40% said they plan to increase their spend on YouTube ads. In an industry where it feels like everyone is doing video how do you stand out? You elevate your game and you create videos that are a cut above the rest of the agents in your market.

Pro tip: One of the most important elements of a great video is actually the audio. In our experience any video that you produce should also have quality audio as well but most of the high end cameras don’t have a good mic built in.

So now you know where your competition plans to spend their money and time this fall. I know many of you are busy right now but don’t fall into the trap of stopping your marketing because you are. Make it a priority and do it well. And if you need help don’t be afraid to ask.

Strength and courage,
Wade

How to Lead Generate Using Facebook for Real Estate Agents in 2014

kelowna on June 4, 2014

Learn to Use Social Media as a REALTOR to Develop Client Relationships

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As REALTORS® we have seen so many ideas on how to use Facebook in the real estate business in the past few years and I wonder if any of these ideas actually generate buyer or seller leads and make us any money?

Today I am going to share some ways to generate actual real estate leads and to put some income into your business using Facebook in 2014.

Now this idea may seem really simple but it amazes me how many agents have not done this yet.[vertical_spacing height=”10″]

Connect on Facebook with Everyone in Your Real Estate Database

The very first thing you need to do is take your database list and connect with everyone in your database on Facebook. This will obviously take some time but sit down and connect on Facebook with all your contacts in your mobile phone, in your email address book, in your business to business database and obviously your past, current and future real estate clients.

If you don’t have a list yet then please still read the post and keep it in mind for when you do.

When coaching clients I always ask if they fish with a hook or if they fish with a net? What do you think will catch more fish?

Connecting with your list on Facebook is the first step to create that net for social media lead generation.

Once you have created the contacts on your Facebook page the next step is to build, nurture and deepen your relationship with them.

Isn’t the first reason for anyone choosing to do business with an agent is the fact they like and trust that person?

Here are just a few great ways to begin to be liked and trusted on Facebook without pushing real estate down your databases throat all day.

Facebook is a “social” tool so we need to have a social strategy and social mindset when using it.

Follow the 5-5-5 System With Your Real Estate List

Start each week sitting down and following the 5-5-5 approach. The 5-5-5 approach is a simple consistent Facebook system where you write on 5 of your friends walls per day (or each week if you are really busy) with information that is of value to them.

This information would be beneficial or personal to them and their interests.

For example you may know what their favorite sporting team is and you find a great article about their team and write on their wall “Hey I know how your favorite hockey team is ____________ I just saw this great article about your team and thought of you… here is the link to the article, I hope you are having a great day.”

Take the time to really deliver something of value to that person when writing on their Facebook wall. Remember to write on 5 people’s wall a day (or per week) with something of value to them.

The next step is to begin chats with 5 people a day (or a week) on Facebook. The chat area on Facebook is a simple and fast way to connect and engage with your database.

A simple and powerful way to start up a chat with anyone on Facebook would simply be to ask them “How’s work?” They will respond and bring you up to speed with what is happening in their work and will most likely lead to them asking you “How’s your work?” this opens the door for you to share with them.

Now really pay attention to this next part… If they ask you how your work is we need to be ready with an excellent engaging response like –

“What a market for opportunity. Listing inventory is down and sales activity is up. We are seeing some really good first time buys and move up buys for someone wanting to get into the market or upgrade their existing home. Thanks for asking.”

Take the time to engage on Facebook 5 chats a day or a week and build that opportunity to share about the market in a pleasant way.

The final “5” on Facebook is to private message 5 people a day or week on Facebook.

The stats are showing that almost 100% of private messages are being responded to on Facebook through private messaging. That is a far better response rate than email.

Private message is a great way to check in with someone and ask if there is anything you can do for them and let them know how much you appreciate them as a friend and what they mean to you and your business success.

So many people would do business with their agent again but don’t because their agent never kept in touch with them.

What a simple and powerful social way of keeping in touch with 5 people a day or week in your database on Facebook.

Use Reciprocity Marketing in Your Real Estate Business to Go to the Next Level

As you begin to really connect with your database you can now start to put your reciprocity marketing into place on Facebook. I always love the power of giving to get. More importantly giving with no expectation of return. There are so many opportunities for us to give on Facebook with our
database.

I love that you have the ability to “Gift” someone on Facebook. Why not each week take a bit of your business budget and build up your “give to get” factor on Facebook. Look for the Gift tab on Facebook and with Amazon you are able to digitally or physically gift anyone in your Facebook database.

What would a $5 gift card to Starbucks for a friend on Facebook do for your relationship?

Think of all the opportunities you have for a gift on Facebook like; Birthday, Wedding Anniversaries, Home purchase Anniversary, Accomplishments and more.

Set a budget for how many gift moments you would like to create on Facebook. You even have the ability to share the wall post of the gift on your Facebook wall and their Facebook wall if you wanted too.

Another great opportunity on Facebook we can do is take the time to post our Best Buys or Hot Deals on the market.

How many of us have ever bought a vacation or an item from an email notification of a hot deal? We had no intention buying anything but saw this incredible deal and had to buy it before we missed out.

We are in the “creating” business and not the “waiting” business.

Why not post your deal of the day or the deal of the week? Something that you know is a fantastic buy for somebody.

My post would read “I have no reason to believe you’re in the market for another home but if you know a friend or family member who might want this hot deal, just message me with their name and number and I will follow it up and give them excellent service.”

Share the hot deal and why it is a hot deal.

Don’t give the address.

Have them call you for more details to view. It is not so much about the people in your Facebook database but “who” they might know looking for a hot deal and referring you the lead.

For those of you that are not Facebook savvy and have very little or no time to be looking for good content to share with your Facebook audience, do not be afraid. I personally recommend you look at City Blast.

City Blast is a customizable content posting system for real estate professionals around North America. City blast will post when you want, what you want, how often you want valuable content on Facebook and other social pages automatically for you for very little cost. It is fantastic content about many different topics including real estate and all written, found and posted on your pages while you are out face to face with your clients.

I spoke to the owners of City Blast and negotiated a special offer for you… check out www.cityblast.com/boost and get your free trial started today!

I hope these ideas for Facebook marketing in 2014 will deepen your relationships and build your reciprocity factor for your business.

I know your value proposition will increase and the leads and referrals will come from Facebook if you take the time to implement this system for your real estate business.

Take action and dare to be different in 2014 with your business.

Strength and courage,

Wade

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