Create a Local Presence as the New Estate Agency
Being the new kid on the block might sound like the perfect marketing subject, though this only lasts for a very short period of time before your new news becomes old news and you simply join the long list of local estate agents competing for valuations and sales. You can not have an endless launch party as eventually those opening day balloons in the office will deflate and the left over canopies and drinks will slowly get consumed… The local press, though willing to cover your opening, are now off concentrating on other meatier topics and even if you had the local mayor in to cut the ribbon they’ll have forgotten your name by next week.
What can estate agents do to grow their local presence in a new area? I write this article with vast experience of both creating and launching successful businesses that were either totally unique or from day one up against big rivals – My first words of advice goes towards you having the right mindset to succeed and plenty of it – 9 times out of 10, it will be perseverance that will deliver you success. I have also worked in the estate agency business creating franchises within areas where I had little to no connections with.
If you are looking to build your brand locally, here are some great hot tips to grow your market share:
Social Media – All my businesses were formed thanks to social media and continue to grow thanks to social media. Without question you need a strong presence:
- Capture all your business usernames on all the social media platforms and look to focus your attentions on at least two (three if possible) platforms that should include either Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok.
- Grow local community pages and groups that offer locals (ie your target audience) something of value. For example buy/sell/swap pages or property support groups that are for your local region – Building such communities will give you a local database to connect with and build brand awareness.
- Live Video Interviews is another great way to connect with your local community. Think about contacting local businesses / people of influence and invite them to be interviewed on topics relating to their expertise and local subjects.
- Connect with other local businesses and this should include you visiting them such as shops / events and sharing updates including them tagged in. For example if you visit a local restaurant then not only leave a positive review online for them, how about a selfie with a positive comment left on their account / page / group? Tagging in, especially when complimentary will likely get a positive reply.
- Local community is another way in which to highlight you and your brand. How great are the local touristic attractions, the architecture, parks, wildlife and more? Share the positives about where you live and as and when you can, tag in local authorities and services so they can see you are a proud resident.
Local Community – We touch upon this via social media, but we can also engage with our local community by the likes of newspapers, websites and events. Take time to research what is happening locally to include anything charity related – Can you sponsor some, partner with, donate to or join? Comment on posts / blogs and look to attend local events.
The area that you cover with your estate agency should have plenty happening especially the likes of clubs, societies, voluntary groups and more. How about joining some of these so you get to know more people and importantly them knowing what you do. How about local business networking / breakfast meetings such as BNI?
Exceptional property marketing techniques can also set you apart from the competition – How do your rivals market their property online? Can you improve on things from quality of photography to usage of drones / audio tours / fully presented video tours?
Think more re content marketing is certainly an important trick up your sleeve especially if you can contribute to local news publications / websites. Investing time and / or money in to the creation of quality local content will be a great (SEO) tool for your online exposure – If you are able to create quality video content then this correctly tagged / hash tagged can provide great local traffic. Working with link-building services is useful at this point since they can help you create and better optimize your content to appear first in the local audience. Share your content via your estate agency website, social media pages and submit to local press.
Invest in branding is another way in which to attract the attention of your local community. Stand out branding / colours, trendy work clothing, branded vehicles, for sale signs can all be appraised and improved on.
Leafleting might sound a bit old fashioned, but it returns some of the best reaction to action ratios – If you are looking to target an area then hand deliver these yourself and every now and then you will be able to bump in to a home owner, some will admire your personal dedication to your business and you are thus putting your face to your brand.
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