Traditional SEO is Unattainable for Most Real Estate Agents. Here’s What You Need to Do Insted

Traditional SEO is too time-consuming, costly and elusive, unless your brokerage very deep pockets. If you’re one of those disillusioned real estate professionals who think Facebook is a fad and Google Plus is a waste of time, take a look at the following tips by Bernice Ross, a marketer and real estate coach.

1. Avoid vanilla marketing.

Vanilla marketing is simply marketing that’s designed to appeal to everybody. According to Inman’s social media director, Laura Monroe, vanilla marketing hurts your business in multiple ways. A classic example of vanilla marketing is sending out postcards or other marketing material that says, “It’s a great time to buy or sell real estate.”

Vanilla marketing can happen on Facebook, too, and it harms your overall marketing strategy because Facebook pushes these posts down in the news feed. To have your posts place higher on Facebook, focus on connecting with your followers emotionally. Be a solution to their problems. When they post on Facebook, do more than just “like” what they said. Instead, make specific comments about what they’ve posted. This approach builds connection; vanilla marketing does not.

2. Identify trending personas.

Monroe cited two different approaches to what she calls “trending personas.” Currently, there are three driving forces: millennials, renters and empty nesters. Your advertising, social media posts and other marketing communications must be tailored to how the group you are targeting thinks and feels.

To illustrate this point, Monroe suggested that you market to millennials by describing homeownership as an investment in their future. Owning a home is also an excellent way to avoid having to move back in with mom and dad!

If you are a baby boomer, remember what mattered to you when you were their age. What is it that you would want to know now if you were in your 20s and thinking about buying a home? What pain points can your services solve? What solutions can you provide to the challenges they face, such as obtaining down payment assistance?

3. Tag — you’re “it”!

Tagging is an easy way to extend your reach on social media. Jeff Lobb, founder and CEO of SparkTank Media, recommends that you comment on the top posts in your news feed. This is an easy way for that person’s followers to see what you write. Make sure that what you write provides value to the person posting, as well as to the people who may read your comment.

4. Employ targeted boosting.

The old style of marketing is to conduct transaction-based campaigns. For example, data about prices, the best time to sell and how to obtain down payment assistance for first-time buyers are all examples of transaction-based marketing.

Targeted boosting is a hot new alternative to this approach. It is also much less expensive than using SEO (search engine optimization) to obtain first-page ranking on the search engines.

Rather than paying for expensive SEO, use Facebook ads to identify a specific profile of the user you want to reach. For example, if you love music, you may want to target music lovers who also love real estate and live in a particular subdivision or ZIP code.

Finally, remember to post across platforms — Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn — and leave the breadcrumbs to help potential clients where they are.