There's no doubt that the real estate industry has experienced a significant shift over recent years. However, it has become even more challenging for realtors to find success as American homebuyers are afraid to leave their homes to view listings in-person in the midst of a pandemic.

Instead, clients have been viewing and buying houses online, researching markets, and picking out listings for their future homes using digital guides, all from the comfort of their homes. This brings digital marketing to the forefront of your marketing campaigns, making it an indispensable tool for you to engage and convert buyers online.

But how do you ensure your online marketing efforts are a resounding success?

Here are some tips to help you market your properties and create a buzz across the internet:

Participate In A Virtual Chat

Several realtors are connecting with their colleagues through platforms like Zoom and Twitter chats to benefit from their combined knowledge and share their network connections and resources.

Realtors can find chats specific to their regional markets and collaborate with nearby realtors to facilitate solutions for their clients and help each other bear the COVID-19 situation easier. Hashtags such as #TwitterSmarter and #CMWorld are at the top of the list for such outreach efforts.

This allows realtors to extend their reach into nearby neighborhoods through new professional connections, increasing chances of survival during such testing times.

For example, #TwitterSmarter creator Madalyn Sklar consistently updates the hashtag to post updates and tips on Twitter Marketing, such as tool recommendations (SociAlert), where real estate agents can track how industry-related hashtags are faring in real-time.

Find Your Audience's Preferred Social Media Networks

With social media marketing as competitive as it is today, knowing your audience's favorite social media sites can help yield the results you want. Otherwise you may be left displaying content that no one ever sees.

While official listing sites like Zillow and Realtor.com might seem like a good idea, Instagram and the more popular TikTok might be better options to showcase your listings and post success stories.

Silvano Barcocio, for example, has garnered over 160,700 likes and hundreds of comments on their real estate content on TikTok, with hashtags like #realestate and #realestatelife trending for the subject.

As realtors, you will want to ensure that your content offers value to even broad audiences outside your market segment. You need to connect clients to the best home for them and provide a strong testimonial for why they should go through you to achieve it.

It is vital that you place your listing within the context of your buyer's everyday life. Sell them a lifestyle!

Users flock to sites like Pinterest for inspiration on home aesthetics and design. Use these platforms to market the lifestyle your property allows them to experience. Build interest and entice them by marketing not just your location, but the standard of living that comes with it.

Use High-Quality Photos

Research shows that 87% of homebuyers, who use the internet to research listings, find photos about properties for sale very useful.

Ultimately, selling real estate is a game of aesthetics. Using images across your social media channels like Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook can help you entice your target buyers and come across as a professional service.

Avoid using your smartphone! You'll want to invest in professional photography for high-resolution images for your marketing channels.

Bright, clean, professionally done photos grab your buyers' attention a lot faster than blurry pictures taken on your phone. In fact, realtors who invest in professional real estate photography sell homes 32% faster and at higher prices.

Don't forget to use location-related hashtags with your images to make your listings appear on your buyers' radar.

Also, creating and posting video content on your marketing channels can give buyers an idea of what to expect from the property. Some tips:

Facebook and Instagram Live videos are effective at bringing in clients to view properties in real-time
Host a virtual tour to give them a little peek at the property in videos on social media
Instagram story stickers allow users to ask profiles questions. Leverage this to answer questions as you go, with images and videos to engage them with your listings while you alleviate their concerns
Record short video snippets and save it to your Instagram highlights that users can view for more information

Creating video content is not only time consuming, but editing work can also make it a strenuous process for real estate agents. Take advantage of PosterMyWall's real estate templates to highlight video snippets easily – without having to spend heavily on a graphic designer or video editor.

Use Flyers Online

Real estate advertising doesn't have to be expensive. Once you have curated content – it becomes easy to repurpose it and attract buyers.

Online flyers are a stellar way to engage clients and get them to view your listings! Not only is this a budget-friendly way to reach your customers, but you can also place them on websites and channels where you can target demographics and geographical consumer segments.

Because flyers present actionable information in a small space, they make the ideal marketing strategy to retarget past clients and get their interest in new listings.

PosterMyWall's real estate flyers are easily customizable according to the message and theme of your brand. You can also use your professional property shots to flaunt listings and engage buyers to view your properties.

What's more? These flyers look just as good in videos as well!

Offer Virtual Tours

Virtual home tours are incredibly useful content that realtors can leverage to boost their digital marketing strategy, especially in a coronavirus-ridden world where in-person viewings aren't always an option.

Not only do virtual tours give you shareable video content innovatively and interactively, but they give homebuyers a sense of what your properties have to offer them. And they don't even have to leave their homes to get an immersive experience of the property!

According to the Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report 2018, approximately one-third of buyers say that virtual tours are crucial to their home buying experience.

Take Hommati, for example; they offer 3D virtual tours on their website, and as a result, hundreds of listings on their website are viewed every day! These tours include interactive walkthroughs and contact info for real estate agents along with the listing.

Here are some tips on creating virtual tours for your properties:

Use real footage of your listing instead of digital illustrations
Make the virtual tour as interactive as possible, as well as optimize the experience for both mobile phone and desktop viewing
Make your 3D tours as user-friendly as possible, especially for older homebuyers who might not be as tech-savvy as younger buyers

Realtors can also use the Zillow 3D Home app, among other platforms, to create virtual home tours on their mobile devices for free. With an iPhone, it can take you about 30 minutes to an hour to create a video. But it'll be as little as 10 minutes with a 360-degree camera.

In Conclusion

It's possible to boost awareness for your real estate business and listings to make the most of your online reach today and maximize sales tomorrow.

With the many tools at your disposal, there are infinite possibilities to reach out to buyers and engage them in properties and listings that could potentially be their dream home. Your online marketing campaign can not only bring awareness about your business, but it can also generate better ROI for your property listings, especially when you leverage the right channels to help you make it big.