How Much Do America's Top Real Estate Agencies Spend on Marketing? How much of this investment is earmarked for digitization? Which channels are considered the most successful?
Here's a roundup of the top trends in digital marketing for 2020.
IN THIS ARTICLE, AIMED AT REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS, YOU WILL DISCOVER:
How much do top real estate agents spend on digital marketing?
How do you split this budget between digital and traditional marketing and between the different channels?
Which social networks and strategies are most popular with top brokers?
The 6 key elements to remember for your digital real estate marketing in 2020.
1-INCREASING COMPETITION IS PUSHING ADVERTISING COSTS ON MAJOR PLATFORMS
Facebook, Google, Instagram are generating 5x more leads than in 2012. While the amount of leads is increasing, their quality is decreasing. If you don't use retargeting properly, you'll end up spending a lot more on poorer leads.
2-FACEBOOK IS THE MOST POPULAR SOCIAL NETWORK AMONG REAL ESTATE AGENT, FOLLOWED BY INSTAGRAM
In 2017, the top two were Facebook and LinkedIn. In 2019, LinkedIn was dethroned by Instagram. If you haven't already, it's high time to tame Instagram and even take a look at TikTok.
3 TOP AGENCIES PLAN TO SPEND 4 TO 5 TIMES MORE ON DIGITAL MARKETING THAN THEIR PERES IN 2020
The “average realtor” plans to invest less than $5,000 in digital marketing by 2020. More than 65% of top brokers plan to invest more than $5,000. They understand that digital marketing is a real investment, not an expense.
Source: luxury presence inman connect new york 2020
4-IN 2020, AGENTS WILL INVEST TWICE AS MUCH IN DIGITAL MARKETING THAN IN TRADITIONAL MARKETING.
More than 50% of brokers plan to invest less than $2,000 in traditional marketing, while more than 75% plan to invest more than $2,000 in digital marketing. Traditional marketing is not dead, but the share of digital marketing is growing every year.
Source: luxury presence inman connect new york 2020
5-SOCIAL MEDIA, NEWSLETTER AND REAL ESTATE WEBSITE ARE THE MOST POPULAR BRAND AWARENESS STRATEGIES.
In 2020, the top brokers rely on brand awareness as the central element of the marketing strategy. Facebook and Instagram are the best at promoting this awareness. This is followed by the use of a newsletter and a real estate website. SEO and Google advertising, on the contrary, are among the least popular means.
Source: luxury presence inman connect new york 2020
6-SOCIAL MEDIA, NEWSLETTER AND REAL ESTATE WEBSITES ARE THE MOST POPULAR STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING REAL ESTATE OFFERS.
The same trends can be seen in real estate ad advertising. While social networks, newsletters and real estate websites are at the top, SEO and Google ads are among the least popular tools. Interesting Fact: Facebook is losing the lead to Instagram when it comes to promoting real estate ads in 2020.
Source: luxury presence inman connect new york 2020
7-FACEBOOK ADVERTISING, SEO AND GOOGLE ADVERTISING ARE THE MOST POPULAR LEAD GENERATING STRATEGIES
Advertising and SEO, coupled with effective landing pages, remain the preferred means of generating leads in 2020.
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Source: luxury presence inman connect new york 2020
8-THE MOST POPULAR DIGITAL STRATEGIES IN 2020 REPRESENT A SHIFT TOWARDS BRAND MARKETING
As previously mentioned, brand awareness is central to the marketing strategy of the top realtors in 2020. Your branding and real estate website will therefore be the nerve center of the war. Both Facebook and Instagram are used as leverage to promote these 2 elements.
Source: luxury presence inman connect new york 2020
9-THE TOP AGENTS PUT AN AVERAGE 60% OF THEIR BUDGET ON BRAND AWARENESS
The statistics are surprising. One sees immediately that the top broker and the average broker are by no means investing their efforts in the same place. While the top brokers spend an average of 60% of their budget on brand awareness (vs. 40% on lead generation), the average broker spends less than 14%. If you want to be among the top brokers, you have to invest like the top brokers.
Source: luxury presence inman connect new york 2020
10-USE OF VIDEO AND RETARGETING TO GENERATE LEADS
For example, you can create a short video tour and set up a retargeting campaign to target anyone who watched the video for more than 30 seconds. Now that you've confirmed your interest, show them more about your agency or how you sell real estate, for example.
11-THE TOP BROKERAGE ARE PERSISTENT IN THEIR MARKETING EFFORTS
72% of top brokers have maintained at least one marketing strategy for 18 months or more. Data becomes your best ally to measure your actions and make the necessary corrections. You need to find the balance between a diverse strategy (say, on 2 or 3 platforms) and consistency in your efforts.
6 KEY ELEMENTS TO REMEMBER
Measure your performance and know your numbers. Put all the odds on your side.
change = opportunity. Test emerging platforms for the best organic reach.
Brand marketing is the new generation of leads. Remember the equation: video + social = results.
Leverage your social media ads. Mix campaigns to generate both buyer and seller leads.
Diversify your efforts across 2-3 platforms. But remember: persistence is the key to success.
Your only sustainable competitive advantage is your brand.