How to Advertise a Real Estate Business?
Below, we have mentioned several advertising channels, methods, and tips to help you know—how to advertise commercial real estate. You can use the ones that best fit your needs, preferences, and budgets to generate high-quality leads!
Email Real Estate Ads
You can start with an effective email marketing campaign for free, making this channel a must-have tool in your advertising kit. It is one of the most effective real estate advertising platforms to help you use digital means to connect with your audience!
The best part is that you do not need to spend time sending emails to your existing and potential clients. Try using an online automation platform and pre-designed templates to speed up the process and enable you to pop into your clients’ inboxes regularly!
Email real estate advertisements are versatile because you can discuss anything you want, from news about the industry to your listings. Although the average open rate is only 20.6%, emails are an excellent way to remind your audience about your brand and create profitable relationships!
#1 Send Monthly or Weekly Email Newsletters
Newsletters help you provide valuable information about the real estate market to your clients. They allow people to learn about several topics they might be unaware of and move ahead with crucial investment decisions.
Email real estate advertising using newsletters and e-books allows you to contact your audience now and then. It helps keep your company fresh in their minds! Most businesses send monthly or bi-monthly newsletters, but it is better to shift to a weekly schedule to expand your reach.
You may ask your website visitors to sign up for a weekly newsletter. Or you can compile email mailing lists of your prospects and segment them for your real estate advertising campaigns. Try being comprehensive and including topics- like local events, upcoming open houses, new listings, tips on financing a home, etc.
#2 Launch a Lead-Nurturing Campaign
Every real estate advertising prospect needs a push before associating with you. They need a reason to trust and select your agency from a pool of different real estate agencies. A lead-nurturing email marketing campaign can help you reach clients at the right time and persuade them to use your services.
One of the most productive real estate advertising examples includes sending an email carrying the details of nearby properties after prospects visit your open house event. Similarly, you may list the top 10 mistakes first-time homebuyers make to those leads who are looking to purchase their first house. Deliver content according to where your potential clients are in their buying or selling journey and help them take the next step.
#3 Automate Greeting Emails
Send personalised emails to clients on their birthdays, wedding anniversaries, etc. You can also email holiday greetings as your top real estate advertising ideas because people appreciate you wishing them.
Direct Mail Real Estate Advertisements
The next item on our list of the best real estate advertising examples is the email’s famous counterpart: direct mail! It is no longer traditional, daunting, or expensive as more marketers employ advanced tools to streamline their campaigns!
Direct mail marketing allows real estate agencies to reach people at their homes or offices and talk to them personally. It enables direct interactions by eliminating the digital clutter and offering prospects something to hold onto for months or years!
Postcards, marketing letters, flyers, leaflets, etc., are among the most commonly-used direct mail formats for real estate advertising campaigns.
With 33% of Australians finding snail mail trustworthy and 81% reading their mail pieces immediately, agencies cannot afford to miss out on this channel!
Direct mail grabs more attention than online marketing and influences clients to a more significant extent. It is also long-lasting and memorable, making it among the most result-bearing real estate advertisements and ideas.
#4 Include Client Testimonials and Success Stories
Discussing your previous client stories help your prospects relate to them and pay more attention to your services. It makes them think—if others can, why can’t I?
Your real estate advertising examples must revolve around personal topics, like people buying their first home, moving into a new house after having kids, etc.
Feature specific stories with your prospect names, property location, etc., and provide tangible results. You may also add a client testimonial to level up your content and make your real estate advertising effort more authentic.
#5 Use Segmented Mailing Lists
Ensure your direct mail real estate advertisements do not use the one-size-fits-all approach. Every client is different and has unique requirements and preferences. The real estate industry primarily segments its audience according to income levels or affordability. It also considers the location choices according to other demographics, like the number of children, age, gender, etc.
For example, a family with four children would select a house nearby to a good school. Similarly, unmarried people who live alone might want an apartment close to social events, clubs, restaurants, cafes, etc.
Your direct mailing real estate advertising ideas should include using targeted mailing lists. They help you guarantee positive results because you eliminate generic mail and send relevant items to prospective buyers or sellers.
PostGrid’s direct mail services can help you compile custom mailing lists to send mailers to the right people. Age, gender, marital status, income level, location, etc., are some geo-demographics you can use for your real estate advertising campaigns.
#6 Insert Upfront CTAs
CTAs are a crucial part of your direct mail real estate advertisements because they guide readers on what to do next. They are essential to all marketing activities across offline and online channels.
You can get creative with your CTAs, but remember that they should push prospects ahead of the marketing funnel. If they are on the TOFU, your mailers must be a stepping stone to take them to the next buying or selling stage and so forth.
Use real estate advertising CTAs, like
- Visit the link and fill out the contact form to get started!
- Scan the QR code to get more details about the space.
- Call us to get in touch, and let us help you!
- Drop an email to our office, and our agent will get back to you.
You can employ PostGrid’s direct mail automation solutions if you are overwhelmed with the work direct mail real estate advertising can pose. Here are some ways in which PostGrid transforms your offline mailing tasks:
- Design eye-catching and customised mail pieces: Our template gallery has several appealing designs to help you create your mailers without hiring a designer. PostGrid also lets you add customisations to brand your items, like your company logo, address, name, contact details, etc.
- API integrations: You do not need to enter your prospect details into your mailers one by one. PostGrid’s online real estate advertising services allow you to integrate our API into your existing CRMs to fetch essential information and auto-fill everything. These API integrations help you combine offline and online marketing and generate better leads.
- Address validation: You may produce the best quality real estate advertisements, but your activities can be fruitful only when you target the right people. PostGrid’s address verification cross-checks and validates every delivery address on your list to ensure your mail reaches the right prospects. It also adds missing details and enriches your databases, boosting your data management efforts.
- Printing and mailing fulfilment: PostGrid does more than help you produce your mail items and prepare a mailing list. It takes care of your entire print and mail fulfilment to help you conduct an elaborate real estate advertising campaign without doing anything manually.
- Campaign tracking and reports: With our per-piece tracking feature, you can stay updated and follow up with your advertising for real estate clients accordingly. You may also view your campaign performance through your dashboard to get helpful insights and analyse results.
Social Media Real Estate Advertising Ideas
47% of real estate firms in Australia say social media helps them produce high-quality leads. Using social media channels, like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc., can help realtors grow their business online and get a massive following.
Since social media real estate advertisements only cost around $1 daily, you have better chances of getting a positive ROI. It does not matter if you generate one lead or a hundred through a campaign; social media makes your investment worth it.
With billions of social media users, finding and reaching out to your target audience can be tricky. Thus, many real estate advertising examples involve location-based marketing or other tactics to help you communicate with intended prospects.
#7 Run Sponsored Ads
Facebook’s organic reach is not great, but you can use this platform to run targeted ads. You can run sponsored real estate advertisements to connect with relevant clients who may or may not be actively looking to buy or sell a property. For instance, if you want to target people in their 20s who work from home, you can use Facebook!
Other platforms, like Instagram and LinkedIn, also let you run sponsored real estate advertising campaigns. You can consider which channels work the best for you and add them to your marketing strategy.
#8 Post Demand-Generating and Appealing Images
Imagery and social media marketing are inseparable! You must post relevant, high-resolution images with bright colours and catchy headlines—to get adequate attention for your brand.
Realtors can compile stunning pictures of the apartment they want to sell to entice their real estate advertising prospects and get them on board. They may also post images of the neighbourhood and local attractions to give potential buyers an idea of their surroundings.
#9 Use Instagram Live to Host a Virtual Tour
Instagram live videos are a hot topic for almost all businesses. They can drive traffic to their social media pages and level up their real estate advertisements by hosting such programs and inviting people to join.
Images may speak a thousand words, but videos add more life to your message. A virtual tour enables prospects to get a better view of the apartment or office space, intriguing them about the space even more!
Pro tip: Instagram is an excellent real estate advertising channel to host webinars without spending anything. You can send online invites and feature a spokesperson who can interact with the audience and make the session lively.
#10 Educate Your Clients Via LinkedIn Posts
Clients trust companies that provide them with authentic information and offer a solution to their requirements. Including LinkedIn in your real estate advertising examples help you educate and inform your prospects about the industry and answer their questions. It also enables you to highlight your expertise and knowledge and build your network.
Internet Real Estate Marketing Ideas
Digital real estate advertising includes PPC ads, online banners, SEO campaigns, Gmail ads, etc. But realtors and other businesses often forget that their website alone can help them boost their online presence and help them get genuine leads.
Boosting your website content and making it the centre of all your real estate advertising activities is a must. Clients expect companies to have a functional website that can provide them with all the information they need about their services.
#11 Design an Impressive and Interactive Homepage
75% of people admit they judge a firm’s credibility or authenticity by its website design. You can use this fact to your advantage and create an interactive and eye-catching homepage because it is the first thing visitors see.
Insert a prominent CTA, intuitive menu, and vibrant imagery to help increase the impact of your real estate advertisements on all channels. You can insert the link in your direct mailers, social media ads, emails, etc., to drive traffic to your website and get people to talk to you.
#12 Create and Post Listings Regularly
Your real estate advertising listings must make it easier for potential buyers to access all the details. Try including real pictures, Google maps links, descriptions, virtual tours, etc. List the walking distances from the property to a nearby supermarket, restaurant, hospital, bus station, etc.
One of your real estate advertising ideas can include sharing links to your property listings on your social media pages. Alternatively, you may generate QR codes to help more people reach your website.
#13 Avoid Using Stock Images and Hire a Photographer
Nothing kills your trustworthiness more than using stock pictures for advertising for real estate listings. Using real-life images of the apartment or office space is necessary to stay authentic and not catfish potential buyers.
You can hire a freelance photographer to click breathtaking images of the properties you work around. If you do not have pictures, it is better to invite prospects to an open house than post a bunch of fakes.
#14 Focus on Your Website’s User Experience
Make your real estate advertising site easy to navigate and mobile-friendly to avoid losing potential leads because of bad UX. Brush your information architecture and design to make more people stay and complete the CTA.
Answer the following questions to ensure your website real estate advertisements are impeccable:
- Can your prospects get your contact details with a click?
- Can they see all your apartment listings on one page?
- How many seconds must visitors wait for a page to load?
- Do your competitors’ websites look better than yours, and why?
Once you have the answers, you can better spot issues and resolve them!
Video Advertising for Real Estate
People love watching videos more than reading something, primarily in the real estate sector. Delivering high-quality video content helps you stay ahead of the competition and create better connections with your audience.
#15 Highlight the Advantages of Working With Your Firm
Some buyers or sellers might believe that every real estate company provides the same services. You can prove them wrong by creating video real estate advertisements to demonstrate your unique benefits online.
Clients might trust you more when they see you using your real estate advertising ideas and channels to speak to them directly. Talk on a 1:1 basis and call upon your prospects to post their enquiries. You would be surprised to see how many leads you can generate by replying to people’s questions in your comments box!
#16 Use Animated Videos
Post short, high-quality, funny cartoon videos on your channels to help engage more people. Such visual content usually gets more likes and shares, helping you increase visibility and improve your brand reputation.
You can feature local attractions and landmarks in your real estate advertising videos to make them more realistic. Using repeating characters and high-resolution graphics can help you get more engagement and drive responses.
#17 Try to Grow Your YouTube Channel
Creating and growing your YouTube channel is among the best real estate advertising ideas to help you convert leads. Here are some examples of how to use this platform the right way:
- Post client interactions and reviews about working with you.
- Amaze your prospective clients with drone videos of your listed properties.
- Post conference videos, Q&A sessions, etc., to generate more content for your channel.
Print Real Estate Advertisements
The low cost of digital advertising has hampered print real estate ads significantly. Realtors prefer using emails or social media marketing more than taking an ad in the newspaper or a magazine.
But is that their best decision? Is print advertising dead?
No!
Incorporating print media into your real estate advertising programs helps broaden your audience and reduce digital fatigue. In a world of overflowing inboxes and thousands of social media ads, it makes sense to use offline marketing to increase the number of touchpoints.
#18 Publish Your Ads in a Local Newspaper
Aside from national newspapers, print your real estate advertisements in a local newspaper to reach the right community! It helps you improve your brand image and share helpful knowledge with people around you.
Newspaper advertising is an affordable way to promote your business and connect with local buyers and sellers.
#19 Print QR Codes to Redirect Prospects
QR codes act like lead magnets for realtors. Your newspaper or magazine real estate advertisements can only give readers a preview of the apartment. Scanning the QR code takes them to a personalised landing where they can get more details and make an informed decision.
#20 Develop and Distribute Brochures
You may send brochures to your prospects’ mailboxes as part of your real estate advertising campaigns. But you can also use them in other ways, like
- Hand them over to every visitor at an open house. It allows you to introduce yourself and give them an eye-catching brochure they can keep as a tangible reminder of your company.
- Distribute your real estate advertising brochures during networking events, like conferences, trade fairs, exhibitions, etc.
- Give them to people during in-office visits or initial meetings at the property site.
- Hand out brochures or flyers on busy streets nearby your office to emphasise your services and invite prospects to meet with you.
#21 Capture Emotions and Sell a Lifestyle
Driving emotions among your potential clients can influence their behaviour and get them to talk to you. Your printed real estate advertising examples can help you ignite interest and create emotional relationships.
For instance, a simple sentence that says, “Imagine moving into your dream house,” can make people think. Adding an emotional touch to your messages increases your chances of converting more leads.
The next thing you can do to boost your real estate advertisements is to sell the lifestyle instead of the property. For example, if your listed apartment has a big backyard, you can post pictures of children playing in it. This tip is primarily for Realtors, helping sell, rent, or buy luxury homes, getaway houses, top-tier apartments, etc.
Out-of-Home Real Estate Advertising
OOH advertising may seem expensive, but it can produce a high ROI, primarily because of improved brand recognition. You can see OOH ads everywhere, from lawn signs, billboards, vehicles, subways, and buses to park benches.
They generate a massive number of impressions daily because of their large size. The OOH real estate advertisements provide a fantastic alternative to the digital noise people experience.
It is harder not to see OOH real estates advertisements like social media ads and digital banners. And they advertise to people repeatedly, like those stuck in traffic or who take the same route to work daily. Thus, they are better for brand awareness campaigns and can result in frequent lead generation.
#22 Add Humour to Your Messages
The best way to make something memorable is to make it funny. Do not limit yourself to formal real estate advertising messages to show yourself as a professional or elegant company. Use puns and play with words to engage your audience differently than your competitors and generate more enquiries!
#23 Make Your Headlines Powerful
You cannot add a lot of sentences to your OOH real estate advertisements, so make the best of your available space.
Use impactful headlines to grab every passerby’s attention and make them respond. Keep them short but choose your words wisely. As discussed earlier, ignite an emotion or spark interest among your prospects.
Draft your real estate advertising artwork according to the dimensions of the OOH media you select. It helps you work with high-resolution graphics and experiment with unique shapes. Yes, you can be creative with the shapes and sizes of your billboard or other ads to make your message more memorable.
#24 Print Your Contact Information In a Larger Font
People are likely to turn away or get distracted from your primary purpose if your contact details are not visible clearly.
Try using larger fonts for your real estate advertising headlines and contact information to keep people hooked and convince them to complete the CTA!
#25 Use Mobile OOH Ads More Often
Though using billboards or subway OOH real estate advertisements is more popular, you have the benefit of mobility with other ad types. For example, a bus wrap can garner attention with its colours and slogan. And you do not have the pressure of choosing a spot with high foot traffic, unlike ads on benches and lawn signs.
Branded Promotional Items
Promotional materials with your brand name and logo enable you to stay with your prospective clients for a long time. Your advertising for real estate emails might get 10 seconds of your audience’s attention. But most branded items remain in a household or office for years!
Depending on your items, this real estate advertising strategy can cost you between 10 c to $1,000 per piece. You can get massive discounts if you purchase them in bulk and conduct large-scale campaigns. However, PostGrid helps realtors produce customised promotional materials in any number at low rates, allowing you to be flexible.
#26 Send Local Care Packages to Your Clients
Your work does not end after a prospect buys or sells a property through you. There is more to real estate advertisements, and it is—client retention! Give them something they can remember you by and recommend your firm to their family and friends. One such thing is a care package for all your real estate advertising clients that move to a new city or neighbourhood.
You can compile restaurant gift cards, supermarket vouchers, a list of all hospitals and schools in the vicinity, etc. They will appreciate your care and maintain a long-term relationship than the prospects you never speak with again after closing a deal.
#27 Be Seasonal
Sending branded items as one of your real estate advertising examples leaves you with a hundred choices, like
- Pens
- Notepads
- Keychains
- Paper holders
- Pen holders
- Drink koozies
- Mugs
- T-shirts, etc.
Seasonal real estate advertising materials make your existing and prospective clients feel valued! They are also likely to keep your items for many years and share them with everyone around them. This practice enables you to reach more people using the same branded pieces.
One example is to send a recipe card holder with some holiday-themed recipes. Print your contact information and logo on all the cards. So, every time a prospect or client looks at them, they can recall your brand and talk about it.
These advertising for real estate tips also apply to direct mailing, social media marketing, email, etc. Seasonal messages drive more engagement, and it is an opportunity you should not miss!
Other Real Estate Advertising Ideas
Apart from the real estate advertisements discussed above, you can use other tips and methods to grow your firm, and they are
#28 Create Referral Programs
Always have an active referral system to encourage past clients to refer you to potential homebuyers. These programs help you create a buzz for your services among everyone and allow you to get more prospects in your sales pipelines.
Provide incentives for every referral to motivate clients to discuss your company with more people. It is among the most effective real estate advertising ideas to help turn past clients into your brand ambassadors.
#29 Analyse Your Competitors’ Marketing Performance
It is wise to keep an eye out for your competitors’ real estate advertisements and compare them with yours. How often do they post on social media? What is their client acquisition strategy? Finding these facts can help you improve your performance and beat them.
Try conducting a SWOT analysis now and then to be aware and take the appropriate steps at the perfect time!
#30 Keep in Touch
Often, realtors are confused between reach and frequency. Reach refers to how many people they can reach with their real estate advertisements, and frequency is the number of times they contact the same people!
Though focusing on reach helps you keep your real estate advertising message in front of more people, frequency allows you to develop valuable bonds. Similarly, keeping in touch with your prospects and clients using different channels is essential!
It can help you in more ways than one, from acquiring clients and increasing revenue to depicting your company as a people’s brand—the one they love and trust!
