Real estate agents wear a lot of hats. They’re sales people, customer service reps, housing market prediction analysts, and so much more all at once. 

But marketing? That’s a whole different ball game. Yet, some of the most successful real estate agents utilize some of the easiest tactics and techniques to grow, engage, and maintain their sphere of influence. 

Here’s a closer look at a few of the simple ways you can take your marketing game to the next level. 

Have a Social Media Presence

This is our No. 1 tip, but it’s also the easiest thing agents can do to level up their marketing.

For some agents, just the idea of using social media is overwhelming – especially if you’re the type of person who didn’t grow up with social media, or who just logs in to Facebook to keep up with distant friends and relatives. That’s okay! 

Agents who aren’t currently super active on social media often find that part of what overwhelms them is the vastness and potential of it all – they feel like they need to be active on every single platform and posting seven times per week, if not multiple times per day. And in short, that’s simply not true! 

While most platforms have limits that cater to their algorithm and define what the maximum or “ideal” number of posts in a given timeframe is, the truth is that even picking one primary platform and posting more frequently will help you slowly build a broader audience to market yourself, your services, and your listings to.

Utilize Video on All Platforms

We always encourage agents to use video as part of their social media strategy, if only because real estate and home buying is such a visual process. People want to see the places they could be living. Humans are curious by nature, and have a desire to know and compare what other homes look like in contrast to their own. 

You’ve heard the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but in the modern age of video, pundits take it a step further: “If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million.”

The numbers back it up: 93% of social media marketers say video is integral to their strategy, while 85% of consumers say they’d like to see more video from brands (which includes personal brands like the one you’re creating by establishing a social media presence). Across the board, 50% of social media users say they prefer video to other types of content. 

Here’s a breakdown of some platform-specific numbers for context:

• 62% of Facebook users report increased interest in a product after viewing a video
• 91% of Instagram users watch video on Instagram weekly, and 43% of users reported watching videos in Instagram stories more than other types of video content on the platform.
• 73% of businesses report acquiring customers from an Instagram story, and 39% of users reported having a greater interest in a product if they’d seen it in an Instagram story.
• Tweets with video get up to 10x more engagement than those without, and on average get twice as many retweets, likes, and replies.
• LinkedIn videos get 20x more shares than regular text posts and generate 5x more comments
• TikTok has 1.2 billion monthly active users, 86% of which are Gen Z and Millennials, and is the No. 1 app for driving consumer spend in the world. 
• No. 2 on that list? YouTube, which boasts one billion hours of video being consumed daily and is used by 74% of all consumers. 
• YouTube users are twice as likely to buy something if they saw it in a YouTube video.

As you can see, video is a significant piece of the social media puzzle. But it doesn’t have to be difficult: record on your phone, create reels or TikToks, go live on Instagram or another platform, and talk about how your week in the market went or provide updates on various projects. Your posts don’t need to be complex or professionally produced – a lot of what we see from successful real estate agents on social media is created using what they already have: unique market insights and a smartphone with a camera that's more powerful than you think!

Promote Your Wins and Successes

This one is pretty simple, and it circles back to social media 101: people love to see more of the good things in life. Don’t be shy or afraid to celebrate your accomplishments as they come along! Every time you have a closing or a property under agreement, post about it. If you get a new listing, are leasing a new building, or reach a milestone as you’re working to fill a beautiful new development property, post about it!

Constantly Reconnect with (Potential) Clients

There’s nothing worse than meeting someone at an open house and hitting it off, or working with them to help buy or sell a home, only for them to turn around when they next need a realtor and say “wait, what was their name again?”

You can make the best impression in the world, but the nature of real estate means that agents only briefly intertwine in peoples’ lives. Being forgotten five years later isn’t an insult – and it isn’t uncommon, either. 

That’s why you need to keep yourself top of mind with potential clients. Agents like to talk about the community they build as their “sphere of influence.” One great way to influence that community is an email newsletter. 

If you’ve never sent an email newsletter, it probably feels daunting. And if you’ve only ever been on the receiving end of newsletters, they might even feel kind of annoying. But here’s the truth of it: nearly 60% of consumers say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions, and 50% of consumers reported buying from a marketing email once a month! 

Of course, you don’t need to be salesy in your emails. Treat it as a touchpoint for clients, and a place where they can keep up to date with what’s happening for you and in the market. At worst, it’s a friendly way to stop by, say hi, and remind customers that you’re there for them to connect and engage with. And they’ll never forget your name. 

Be Yourself

A lot of the feedback we get when discussing marketing with real estate agents is that they (understandably) don’t consider themselves a marketing professional, and they don’t have any background in it, so they’re not really comfortable or confident putting themselves out there.

When you think about it, though, marketing is about people, and if there’s one thing for sure we know about people, it’s that they crave authenticity. 

Think about what makes you a successful real estate agent and what makes your clients enjoy working with you. Why wouldn’t you replicate those little (or big) things that make you who you are and let them shine through while promoting yourself and your services in marketing materials?

It’s okay to show your personality!

It’s normal for anyone marketing themselves to think “I’m not interesting enough for people to want to watch or read or listen to what I’m putting out there,” but they’re wrong. Being authentic is your superpower, and when you’re unapologetically you, you’re going to get an audience that appreciates and understands who you are and what you’re putting out. They’re going to consume your content, and they’re going to reach out. 

Embrace your personality and let it shine.

Ready to learn more about how CHARLESGATE helps agents level up their marketing? Click below to learn more about the agent experience at CHARLESGATE.