7 minute read
Ahead of the curve
Level Up
As a successful real estate agent, you recognize the industry is constantly evolving and you need to evolve along with it. Staying on top of the latest trends and technology may be a full-time job, but the good news is: you don’t have to know all the answers, you just need to know where to find them. Fortunately, you have access to an extensive network of trailblazers who are here to help you.
We asked the Royal LePage Learning Services team to share their insights concerning what trends to watch for and how you can position yourself to stay ahead of the curve.
Ask the Trainer: Using Technology to Level Up
The Royal LePage semiannual live workshops, together with our extensive library of online webinars available on rlpNetwork, are designed to help you exceed your business goals by providing cutting-edge insights and longlasting benefits.
Mike Wrobel
The ultimate goal of social media is to build trust and foster relationships. A better question to be asking is: which platforms are best for establishing more valuable connections?
First, look externally. Ask your contacts what sites they enjoy interacting with. It doesn’t make sense to invest in a channel your target audience isn’t using. If you’re dealing with Boomers, then Facebook is a given. If you’re targeting a younger demographic, you may want to consider TikTok, or its Chinese equivalent, DouYin. If you’re working in commercial real estate, perhaps it’s LinkedIn. Ask your audience and start there.
The second step is to do an internal investigation. How does the platform mesh with your skill sets? Create an account and play around with it. If you’re producing videos, look at YouTube, IGTV or TikTok. If you prefer writing, consider exploring LinkedIn Pulse or try experimenting with long-form posts on Instagram.
Finally, consider the platforms that are making waves in your community. Which ones do you see other businesses using effectively? Get comfortable with putting yourself out there, because if you don’t, you’re missing out. Instagram Stories may not come easily to everyone, but eventually you will realize it’s actually fun.
We created our Social Marketer Designation to walk agents through the major social media platforms and help you understand how to leverage those relationships through targeted engagement. Afterwards, you’ll walk away with a designation that you can use to differentiate yourself in a crowded marketplace.
Tilly Murphy
When you’re tracking KPIs for your website, look at where visitors are coming from and how deep they’re going. Are they just there to read a blog post or are they clicking through to a contact or sign up form? Track organic reach, unique visitors, bounce rates and time spent on the site.
When it comes to Facebook ads or Google Adwords, monitor your click-through rates (CTR), and think about it from an organic perspective. How is your reach and engagement on social media? What’s your CTR on non-boosted posts? When people click through, how much time are they spending on your site?
Once you know how many visitors are coming to your website (and where they’re coming from), focus on your Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). Most people think this means converting into an actual transaction. But if you’re looking at it from web visitors to sold signs, you’ll have a huge gap. In this case, a conversion is an inquiry – someone who says, “Hey, I’d like to learn more.” Then, you need to nurture that inquiry into a lead, and turn that lead into a close.
During our Your Digital Footprint live workshop, we helped agents build out their marketing funnel and track KPIs. Not only does this demonstrate how well your website is performing in terms of delivering inquires, but it also allows you to determine exactly how much it costs to turn a visitor into a lead.
Ariane McCourt
The tracking tools available today are designed to target a very precise audience. Imagine you take out a bench back ad, and every person who looks at it for at least 10 seconds receives a postcard from you saying, “I see you’re interested real estate, how can I help?” This is what the latest technology allows you to accomplish.
The key to using this technology effectively for prospecting lies in retargeting. Facebook’s Pixel is extremely successful at this. It works by placing and triggering cookies, which tracks users as they interact with your website and your paid Facebook ads.
We help agents set up their Facebook Pixel in a Tech Toolkit webinar, and suggest simple strategies for using it effectively.
One strategy is to build a campaign that drives traffic to your website with a compelling offer (such as listing details or home-buying strategies). Once they arrive on your site, they are tracked and you can now retarget them a week later with a different type of information. The reason this is so effective is because you are no longer just targeting a region or demographic; you’re targeting people who have already taken action on your content.
From here, the options really are endless. You can generate lead capture landing pages where you retarget people in order to collect deeper information about them. You can even use the rlpSPHERE open house app that prompts users to sign in and be automatically added to your email list.
And now that you know which clients are looking at which properties, you can use rlpSPHERE to create an automated email or text to ask if they have any questions. rlpCampus shows you how. You don’t even need to lift a finger...except when you need to send them a digital sales agreement!
France Raymond
As a top performing agent, you are always learning and advancing your skill sets. You stay innovative by leveraging cutting-edge technology to cultivate more leads and secure more clients. You study the latest trends to adapt your offerings and outshine your competitors. In addition, you study your clients’ needs and wants, so you can provide greater value and coach your clients through the transaction process (and beyond).
Specialization helps you learn these skills and connects you with other agents working in the same niches. Use these saleable assets to promote yourself and better service your clients. Royal LePage’s Learning Library allows agents to earn industry-recognized designations, such as Real Estate Negotiation Expert (RENE) or Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR®), at better than market rates.
You need to communicate this value-add to your client in a personalized way – specifically, by explaining how it benefits them. For example, let them know your specialized training means you’re equipped to better negotiate for their best interests.
Lesley Whittle
It’s all about starting conversations. You’re the expert salesperson – once you’ve started a dialogue, you can close that sale. Video marketing accelerates the discussion. People are no longer reading your words solely off a website, social post or newsletter – they’re listening to your voice, watching your facial expressions, and visually experiencing you delivering your value.
Instead of only creating listing videos, which don’t typically garner as much engagement on Facebook and Instagram, use video to relate to your audience and teach them something new. Share quick tips, answer client questions, or showcase specific and noteworthy features of a property (as a teaser instead of a walkthrough). The best part is, you can repurpose that video over time. Keep it short and engaging. Include closed captioning (CC) for followers who watch on mute, and use an editing app like Videolicious to package that piece of content in a professional way.
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