6 Tech Strategies to Modernize Your Marketing

REALTORS® mix automation with tried-and-true tactics for best outcomes

By Megan Craig

Like those in other consumer-facing businesses, REALTORS® are always looking for new ways to market themselves.

But what’s better? Technology that lets agents automate and reach more people but is a bit of a gamble, or tried-and-true marketing methods that require more effort?

It’s “definitely a combination” of old-school and new-school tactics, says Tania May, CRS, of RE/MAX Pure in Marietta, Georgia.

May says she has automated what she can—brand promotion and a bit of lead generation through online platform Adwerx, for example—but is still a firm believer in going out into the community and talking with potential clients.

Mike Cuevas, CEO of training blog Real Estate Marketing Dude, is the inventor of relationship management software called Attracktor. This software is designed to help REALTORS® manage their contacts database and show them how to create a marketing plan tailored to their needs. He cautions against becoming too reliant on technology and eschewing traditional marketing tactics.

“Automation loses authenticity, so there’s a fine line between what should be automated and what shouldn’t,” Cuevas says. “Anything that’s too robotic is not worth it.”

Branding

Traditionalists and forward-looking agents alike see value in the old ways of branding, namely by getting out in the community and leaving a positive impression.

“Face time is very important,” says Lisa Harder, CRS, of RE/MAX Associates in San Antonio, Texas. “Everyone needs constant reminders that you are a successful REALTOR® and you’re ready to help.”

But a new branding tactic, proximity marketing, has made its way to the mainstream (see sidebar below). Also known as “hyperlocal marketing,” this allows an agent to create a short message or advertisement that will be broadcast to the cellular devices of people who come in close proximity to a beacon, which the agent has placed in a popular location.

To make this work, the agent sets up a Bluetooth-enabled device and the beacon in a particular spot—say, in the mailbox of a house they’re trying to sell—and uses the mobile device to share pertinent information with anyone who comes near the beacon, usually in the form of a text message to their phones. For this to work, the targeted customer has to have a Bluetooth-enabled phone or tablet with them at the time they come within range of the beacon.

It’s not quite as invasive as it sounds—the consumer first receives a message requesting to communicate with their device, so they do have the option to not see the targeted ad or message.

“Carry one around in your pocket or purse, and broadcast at the mall, a restaurant or a busy coffee shop,” says Wendy Lahn, CRS, of EXP Realty LLC in Big Lake, Minnesota. “People can learn about you everywhere you go, passively and unintrusively.”

Farming

It’s not exactly new technology by now, but the role of social media in REALTORS’® marketing strategies has grown significantly in the past several years. According to the National Association of REALTORS® most recent REALTOR® Technology Survey from 2014, more than 90 percent of agents reported using social media in their branding and marketing efforts.

“People are on their phone for hours and hours, and they get to know me through my posts,” May says. “I interact with likes and comments and keep up with their lives.”

To save time while keeping her social media accounts active, May uses a service called Back At You Media, which allows her to dictate how often she wants something posted and to use articles, pictures and other items of interest to homeowners available through the service.

She also occasionally buys Facebook ads or boosts posts showing successful sales to keep herself top-of-mind with social media-savvy clients.

Nelson Zide, CRS, of ERA Key Realty Services in Framingham, Massachusetts, says he uses social media only for supplementary farming purposes.

A REALTOR® for more than 40 years, Zide says he has seen marketing fads come and go, but the tried-and-true farming method—extensively working a database of past clients, acquaintances, property management companies and community members—remains the most effective tool by far for making connections and, eventually, landing business.

“Snail mail is absolutely making a comeback. I send a snail mail newsletter to everyone in my database every month, which means every month they’re seeing my face,” Zide says. “Social media is good, but it’s nothing like real-life interaction.”

Assistants

When he does have to face the “necessary evil” of social media, Zide does what any boss with an unwanted task does: He hires someone to do his social media postings for him.

“If you ask me how to do it, I don’t know. I have people,” Zide says. “I know the value of Twitter and Facebook, but I don’t need to know how to push the buttons. There are people out there who do it much better than I do.”

Other agents, like Leslie Clark Jones, CRS, of McGinnis Realty & Appraisal in Madison, Georgia, choose to use a more tech-based approach with their assistant needs.

Clark Jones says she uses a series of apps to run her entire business from her phone, including receiving leads, communicating with clients, setting up showings, opening lock boxes, giving comps, writing offers and having contracts signed.

“It’s all right in the palm of my hand,” she says.

Similarly, May uses an all-in-one management system called IXACT to categorize and organize tasks. The program prompts her much like an assistant would to send emails and letters on time, make necessary phone calls and more.

And, of course, virtual assistants are an option for “paperwork pusher” tasks, Cuevas says. “I wouldn’t have a virtual assistant talking to clients, but I could have them updating an Excel sheet while I handle the more personal stuff,” he says.

Leads

REALTORS® are constantly looking for new business, often by extensively working their databases. Recently, though, fee-based customer relationship management (CRM) software has opened some agents to new clients beyond the referral-based business.

In addition to keeping in touch with her past clients, Cheryl Zalewski, CRS, of Hagel & Associates Real Estate Co. in Cromwell, Connecticut, recently invested in TORCHx, which provided her with a great website and generates leads every day.

“I’ve only been doing it for a little while, but I think it’s been worth it already,” she says. “I’ve received several leads, the leads are legitimate and I’m not competing with other REALTORS® as I am on Zillow.”

But not everyone is sold on automated lead generation. May says she prefers the more organic route, staying connected with people in her sphere of influence and generating leads that way.

“Everyone is chasing leads, but they should be chasing relationships,” Cuevas says.

And the statistics support that theory: According to NAR, in 2017, 64 percent of sellers found their real estate agents through a referral by friends or family or by working with the agent they previously worked with to buy or sell a home. 

Megan Craig is a freelance writer based in Chicago.