Our Marketing Genius Podcast has only been around since the start of 2016. Already, though, we’ve hosted a number of the real estate industry’s top marketing minds: from Jack Miller, who relayed brokerage-running tips, to Jared James, one of the premier coaches and trainers around. Our goal is to bring you insights from the best in the business about honing your digital presence and real estate marketing strategy.
To help you catch up on all the eye-opening ideas and advice shared by our expert interviewees, we’ll provide monthly recaps right here on the Placester Academy. Check out our first podcast roundup below — featuring the likes of social media aficionado Katie Lance and email marketing insider Dan Stewart — and be sure to listen to the full episodes whenever you get free time (you’ll thank yourself for doing so).
To help you catch up on all the eye-opening ideas and advice shared by our expert interviewees, we’ll provide monthly recaps right here on the Placester Academy. Check out our first podcast roundup below — featuring the likes of social media aficionado Katie Lance and email marketing insider Dan Stewart — and be sure to listen to the full episodes whenever you get free time (you’ll thank yourself for doing so).
The Secret to Satisfying Your Clients with Jeff Turner
In one of our very first episodes, RealSatisfied President Jeff Turner joined Placester Co-founder Matt Barba and VP of Industry Operations Seth Price to discuss the many benefits of online reviews for real estate professionals — and, more specifically, the missed opportunity reviews represent for many working in the industry today.
According to Turner, he and his RealSatisfied team created their agent review platform because the review systems at major real estate portals (Zillow, Trulia, etc.) didn’t give buyers and sellers the ability to share detailed thoughts and ratings on the agents and brokers who represented them. Because of this, they also didn’t give agents enough actionable insights they needed to improve their businesses.
Turner relayed several key pieces of advice during this episode, including the importance of securing comprehensive reviews from clients right after closing, the social media blunders that can plague agents’ digital marketing efforts, and why industry pros need to stay one step ahead of clients in understanding their needs — all of which contribute to positive feedback they can use to advance their online presence and lead generation goals.
Jeff Turner’s Top Insights From the Podcast:
- Ratings and reviews are a byproduct of our system — but nonetheless, they are vital cogs in the marketing machine.
- Most businesses fail to predict their customers’ needs, so agents need to be on top of their game with their clients.
- Some agents think being too personal on social media is a mistake. In actuality, your audience wants you to be yourself online.
Creating Conversations with Dan Stewart
While it’s been around forever, email is as strong a tool for lead generation and nurturing as it’s ever been. One reason for this is the plethora of drip marketing services and platforms that exist to help professionals send their audience the right message at the right time. One of the best drip marketing platforms is Dan Stewart’s Happy Grasshopper, which helps thousands of businesses set up and send personalized drip campaigns to their leads.
One of the key industries Stewart’s company serves is real estate — and as he notes in his Marketing Genius Podcast episode, it’s essential for agents and brokers to use their real estate email marketing to start meaningful conversations with their home buyer and seller leads.
Typically, it takes weeks, even months to turn prospects into clients. Because of this, Stewart notes that email is one of the best ways for agents to stay in touch and develop relationships with the leads they deem potential business opportunities.
Many agents are frustrated by how long it can take to move leads through the marketing funnel and turn them into clients. But Stewart notes that the payoff for such patience and dedication can be significant. As long as you send email that offers value and doesn’t come off as overtly promotional, says Stewart, your drip campaigns can bring in the big bucks for your real estate business.
Dan Stewart’s Top Insights From the Podcast:
- Your audience won’t be able to differentiate you from other local agents until you create content that sets you apart from them.
- Keep it human with your online and offline marketing. Your leads can smell overly sales-y promotion from a mile away.
- If you’re a beginner real estate agent, determine your own goals. Don’t just listen to what others say your goals should be.
Developing a Digital Strategy with Katie Lance
Many agents consider Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other popular social networks great tools brand awareness. But as marketing consultant Katie Lance noted on the podcast, these social platforms can actually earn real estate pros a fair number of leads when used the right way.
The CEO and owner of Katie Lance Consulting has been one of the go-to experts in real estate marketing for more than a decade. She specializes in helping real estate and mortgage industry professionals enhance and fine-tune their online marketing, including and especially their use of social media. As you’ll discover by listening to the episode, it’s the investment agents make in their online presence — from their social media accounts to their real estate websites — that will pay off for them in the long run.
In this lively episode, Lance shares examples of notable industry members who are “crushing it” on social media, the burgeoning new social media tools and apps agents ought to know about, and one of the biggest challenges facing real estate pros today: focus.
Katie Lance’s Top Insights From the Podcast:
- Your real estate marketing plan is a marathon, not a sprint. Allocate your time, energy, and marketing dollars accordingly over the long run.
- Take your time creating a marketing strategy that works for your particular brand and map out what content you’ll need to succeed.
- Scheduling and automating content, including on social media, may seem difficult, but once you start, it becomes gradually easier.
Marketing That Doesn’t Suck with Chris Smith & Jimmy Mackin
Telling it straight is what Curaytor Co-founders Chris Smith and Jimmy Mackin are well-known for in the real estate sphere. Attend any of their many speaking engagements or chat with them one-on-one, and you’ll see just what we mean: an honest, no-nonsense attitude about what agents and brokers need to thrive with their online marketing today — starting with their real estate websites.
As Smith and Mackin note, agents have to work, work, and work some more to make a dent in their online lead generation. Paying for ZIP codes on Zillow and putting ads in the newspaper are fine for agents who are content to stay or break even. But there are far more lucrative paths to success online that can turn your ad dollars into amazing revenue. All it takes, the duo told us, is the will to try something new — even if that means adjusting to a new marketing scheme.
Smith and Mackin shared quite a bit of useful information during their episode, including why indecision is the worst decision when it comes to searching for marketing and sales tools, and how great businesses must sometimes limit their audiences to find the best customers to work with (in other words, have a vision for your brand!).
Chris Smith and Jimmy Mackin’s Top Insights From the Podcast:
- There needs to be a distinct purpose behind the real estate technology you employ. Otherwise, you’re wasting your money.
- Creating content is the first move for your online marketing. The next one — promotion — is equally important.
- Your real estate website shouldn’t just be a lead generation source for your business. It should also help you earn clients.
Check out all of Placester’s Marketing Genius Podcast episodes, including ones featuring The Boutique Real Estate Group’s Raj Qsar, The BREL Team’s Melanie Piche, and other top real estate industry minds.
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