As a real estate agent, why do I need an internet marketing plan anyway? Is it really an important key to the future success of my real estate business? Maybe you’ve heard other agents complain that their website just doesn’t produce any results. Mine didn’t either, that’s because most websites leave out one super important feature of a successful online marketing plan, the strategy itself! (No I’m not a real estate website salesman) In fact, being online is crucial to your business success if you are plan on staying in business for the long-term. The problem is most people know nothing about successful internet marketing.

Real quick note: Before starting any online strategy, you must know that there are two different but equally as important parts to a successful online plan.

1. SEO. Search Engine Optimization. On page and off page.
2. Online Marketing. The touchy-feelies, call to action, etc.

In short, SEO gets you in front of the prospect and online marketing determines if the prospect likes you or not.

We must revamp our real estate marketing plan to include the internet, especially with all the new technology and opportunities available to us online. You know as well as I that we really don’t have the option to “opt out” of this one. The internet is here to stay and our ways of doing business certainly have, and will continue changing as the Web continues to grow and becomes even more the “primary” way people transact and exchange information.

The question is have you noticed? If you answered no, you might be one of the few brokers left who are still convinced that this “internet” thing-a-ma-jigy will just go away…someday, if you wish hard enough.

On the other hand, though, you may have conceded to the fact that you do need a solid web-based real estate marketing plan but you don’t know where to start. You don’t want to get suckered into a “guru program” and spend a bunch of money only to find yourself with the same terrible results that your old canned website produced. Again, a website is not adequate in itself to produce any measurable results and is not internet marketing or SEO. I break down the differences of online marketing and SEO in another article.

When it comes to online technology and internet strategies do you feel like you’re in the middle of the movie, The Matrix, where everything seems to be a bunch of meaningless green letters and symbols just floating across the screen? (it makes sense if you’ve actually seen the movie) My point is you feel lost. If you do, its important to understand that you don’t need to know any of that techie stuff to learn to do what I and other successful real estate agents do to succeed online. You might be encouraged to know that many brokers who start learning the techniques I’m talking about are anything but tech-savvy. Some are even strangers to browsing and email.

Now, I don’t consider myself a super wiz kid or anything when it comes to technology either, but when it comes to SEO and online marketing…that I can do. So you might be thinking to yourself; okay Mr. Smartypants, why don’t you just tell us how to do everything you do so we all can have an effective online marketing strategy too…right now? I’d love to, but truthfully, it takes more hands on than just reading one simple article to learn how to put the pieces together and work. Instead, I think I’ll start with some of the things that you don’t need to understand to kick- start your new agent success plan.

You don’t need to:

* Understand the Google and other search engine algorithms.
* You don’t need to know how to write computer language.
* You don’t need to consider yourself a pro at the internet.
* You don’t need to be “tech” savvy. Some students are even new to email and browsing!
* You don’t need to pay a guru for their help. They usually charge you too much anyway.

Knowing the need and understanding the benefits and success potential you could have with a solid internet marketing plan, you just need to decide how you are going to learn the nuts and bolts, strategy, techniques, needed to take your business success to the next level. Because I wanted to collapse time frames and get moving quickly, I chose to hire a private mentor to coach to train me. Or, you can read books, research web articles and spend the next year or two trying to figure it out.

There are many different techniques you could learn to attack the market online, but my suggestion is to learn 3 or 4 to start. That way, you won’t get exhausted, overwhelmed, and give up. I believe it is very important to start like I did:

1. Get a mentor or training system
2. Learn a few powerful and proven techniques and master them quickly.
3. Get an auto-responder system (like AWeber)
4. Start seeing results in 6-8 weeks with diligence.

What kind of results? Well, what is our goal with any marketing plan? Leads, or better yet, FREE inbound buyer and seller leads! This is the reward for any well thought out and targeted marketing plan, whether it’s offline or online. The main purpose of an internet strategy is to create a system for free inbound leads where prospects contact you for your real estate services. I’d say this is a much better (and rewarding) plan than spending hundreds of dollars on postcards, mailers, and print advertising where you get one (hopeful) bang for your buck, then it’s over. As a matter of fact, the techniques I use are free, and once I create an internet sales funnel (or pipeline), it keeps working for me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! I don’t know about you, but if I can find massive success online through free techniques, I’m all in.

Here are some of my favorite internet marketing techniques:

* Blogs and share blogs
* Video marketing
* Article marketing
* Social media

You see, that doesn’t sound too hard right? The key is to master the methods, techniques, and strategies that will boost you in the search engine results and not risk identifying your content as spam. This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes into play. This is also why I recommend reading my article about SEO and Internet Marketing.

Development and implementation of real estate marketing strategies is an important part of buying and selling houses. Without some sort of marketing plan it is virtually impossible to locate realty for sale or buyers ready to purchase. Whether trying to buy or sell residential homes, commercial properties or raw land, marketing is the key to success.

The first stage of real estate marketing involves developing an overall plan. Marketing plans help investors establish their target market and identify buying habits of potential clients. Individuals interested in residential properties will have entirely different needs than those buying commercial real estate.Retired couples will have different housing needs than newly married couples or families with children. In order to sell properties investors must gather as much information as possible about their clients and the market.

One of the most common mistakes investors make is to gear marketing materials around their own successes. The first rule of thumb for any marketing campaign is to remove the marketer from the equation.

Although it is true that clients might be impressed that an investor possesses 20 years experience or closed mega-million real estate deals, they really want to know how investors can solve their problems or help them buy or sell property. Therefore, realty marketing materials should address how investors solve problems and overcome challenges.

The best way to start is to compose a list of common problems buyers often face. After identifying these challenges, create a list of how your investment company can solve each problem.

These might include addressing financing options for buyers with bad credit and those who have filed bankruptcy or lost their home to foreclosure. Realty marketing materials can help investors establish trust and build relationships by demonstrating how they can solve problems.

Another important aspect of marketing plans is to develop follow-up strategies. People rarely make important financial decisions simply by reading a marketing brochure or sales letter. In most cases, it takes an average of five to seven contacts with a person before real estate deals transpire.

Realty marketing plans should encompass the various tools investors can use to attract buyers. These might include developing a website; sending out letters, sales flyers, or postcards; follow-up marketing strategies; and advertising strategies such as billboards, signage, park benches, Internet marketing, or Classifieds ads in local newspapers or realty magazines.

Real estate marketing is an on-going process, so investors should plan to review their marketing efforts on a quarterly basis and make necessary adjustments. Technology is constantly evolving, so investors must make an effort to stay abreast of market trends.

Investors should consider hiring freelancers to help with marketing materials. These can include copywriters, graphic artists and webmasters. While hiring others initially costs money, having professionals design real estate marketing materials can save money in the long run.

The Internet is a great resource for locating freelancers and obtaining marketing advice. Consider joining investor forums, social networks, and real estate clubs to network with other professionals. By taking time to network, investors can find the resources and buyers necessary to develop a successful business.

How have you been using real estate social marketing to your advantage? I’ve personally found that it’s far too easy to get caught up in all the hype of the cool functionality and features that each platform offers, without ever using them to their full potential.

In another sense, I think that these tools can also become a huge distraction. When agents or brokers start to look at these sites as the end all be all to their marketing campaign, they may be extremely disappointed when things don’t pan out as expected.

There are definitely right ways and wrong ways to use social media for your real estate business. For those who want to implement these tools as a part of their real estate marketing plan, it’s important to keep several points in mind.

* First of all, the idea is not to just drive traffic to your social media sites. Your number one goal should be to capture leads and entice visitors to visit again in the future. These websites provide a perfect opportunity to build rapport, offer great information, and get people interacting with you and one another. Therefore, use the bells and whistles to your advantage, and focus on what’s most important-capturing their contact information.
* Along with the first point, it is crucial that you build a quality profile/landing page that tells your audience exactly who you are, what you can offer them, and how to get it. Include links to your main real estate marketing blog, lead capture elements and free reports. Again, do this with a specific purpose in mind. Your visitors don’t need 5 videos and 3 different offers to choose from, so keep things targeted and non confusing.
* For sites like Twitter, it’s important to offer your audience variety. So instead of posting dozens of messages that just link back to your blog every time you update it, try throwing in some motivational quotes, links to new sources or something funny. Don’t be robotic about this stuff. Be human and show people that you are a valuable resource. I bet your followers will skyrocket with this real estate marketing tip alone.
* What’s the first thing you think of when I mention social media? More than likely one or all of these top 3 platforms immediately came to mind: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (and not just because I mentioned Twitter above). But as powerful as these 3 sources are, there are many others sites to choose from.