The Importance of Real Estate Marketing: Ask Your REALTOR®!
- August 11, 2019
- By Cody Battershill
3 Marketing Questions to Ask Your REALTOR®
Selling your home is an exciting thing to say the least! Whether you’re an empty nester and are downsizing or are a new family and need more room to grow, you’ll want to maximize your home’s value on the market in any way you can.
That begins with marketing. The importance of real estate marketing cannot be stressed enough.
Many home sellers don’t know where to start with marketing, but that’s perfectly fine as your local REALTOR® should!
A strong marketing plan goes hand-in-hand with the success that top-producing agents and firms have. But what exactly is a “strong” marketing plan anyways?
If you don’t have a sellers' representative yet, these are important questions to ask when interviewing an agent for the job. Also see:
Question #1 – Who Does Your Marketing Media?
Have you ever seen an online listing with poor photos? Chances are you closed the browser and continued looking at other properties.
That’s what happens when you don’t have crisp photos and other professionally done media representing your property online. Potential buyers just pass on by.
If there's anything indicative of the importance of real estate marketing, this is it. This applies across the board for all forms of media as well:
- Videos
- Pamphlets
- Brochures
Ensure that the real estate agent you end up using to help sell your home gets all their media done professionally. This will help with first home impressions and boost your online presence.
Question #2 – What is Your Online Marketing Presence
According to the National Association of Realtors®, just less than half of home buyers began their search online, and about 90% used an internet search at some point to browse homes.
Your marketing plan should begin and end online. Blog posts, email campaigns, virtual tours, and social media such as Instagram and Facebook are all great online channel for real estate agents to use.
Physical advertisements such as those in magazines and neighbourhood sales flyers really should come second in today’s information age, as a complimentary marketing option so-to-speak. With that being said, however, it doesn't mean they can't be an important part of an effective marketing plan.
Another critical part of online presence is branding. A few important questions to find answers for:
- Does the agent have professional-looking branding?
- Do the colour and design elements look modern and appealing?
- Does their media capture your attention?
- Is the text – like the home address and contact information – easy to read?
You can have the best photos in the world. If your REALTOR® has outdated branding that doesn’t maximize the appeal to potential buyers online, it’s a missed opportunity.
Make sure you are comfortable with any branding an agent has before choosing to use them as your sellers’ representative.
Question #3 – Can You Help Stage My Home? Open Houses?
An experienced REALTOR® should also have insight on how to best stage your home for showings. Presenting your property in a way that allows potential buyers to envision themselves in your home is key.
Your agent of choice should know that, and will recommend to remove things such as personal photos, university degrees, and anything else of the sort.
Also ask about open houses. They are a great way to get people into your home and spread the word, but this also requires marketing online and in the physical.
How would they market your open house? Online, social media, street signs, advertisements?
The more information you have about a real estate agent’s marketing plan, the more comfortable you will feel about using them as your sellers’ representative.