14 Best Ways to Generate Real Estate Leads in 2022

Although there are numerous articles and videos about generating real estate leads online, most realtors still use inefficient lead generation methods such as door knocking.

And since real estate is a field where you might have to deal with feast and famine periods, you really have no choice but to be able to fill up your pipeline if you want to be successful.

This article will show you some of the best real estate lead generation ideas for 2022.

How to generate real estate leads

1. Use Facebook lead generation ads + captivating creatives

Facebook lead generation ads are just like regular ads that show up in your target’s timeline. But instead of directing people to a landing page, Facebook lead ads incorporate an easy-to-fill form that users can fill out without leaving the platform. Based on various studies, the less steps people have to complete to enjoy your offer, the better.

Here’s how to generate real estate leads with lead gen ads on Facebook:

Use captivating content

Whether you use a video or image, your content should be able to stop people in their tracks. Check out this example from the Corcoran group. It makes use of short, persuasive copy and a direct CTA.

Stick to five form fields or less

Here in this article, one of the case studies detail how Realestatebees, a real estate Martech agency, was able to increase lead form conversion rate from 3% to 11% by replacing a longer website form with a shorter one.

What happens when people click on any CTA in a lead gen ad is that Facebook autofills the form with the requested information. This is an easy and efficient way to gain new leads for your real estate business.

2. Create video testimonials for social proof

95% of people say that reviews – whether positive or negative – influence their purchasing decisions.

Video testimonials will increase your credibility. It’s the best way to leverage social proof to win more business. That’s because when a random customer talks about your business, you get more points with a prospect than by promoting it yourself. In fact, 2 out of 3 people say they’d be more likely to make a purchase after watching a testimonial video demonstrating how a business, product or service had helped someone else.

Yet, you need to be more strategic with how you use video testimonials. You can add these testimonials to your website homepage to give it personality and make people more interested in your brand. But, if you really want to get new leads, you need to be sharing your video testimonials on social media.

Here’s a step by step process to do that:

1. Have a system for getting testimonials from past customers. Don’t wait a month to ask, since a new client who’s happily moving into a new home is far more willing to give you a testimonial than one of your long-time clients.

2. You could offer to give a nice closing gift to clients who create a video testimonial about your brand to incentivize them. You can also just have your team interview clients about their home buying or selling experience.

The way video testimonials work is that they improve people’s perception of your brand. This makes it easy to convert people who have been on the fence about you into new leads and prospects.

3. Ask for referrals from past clients

Some of your best clients will come from referrals. Referred customers are less expensive to acquire and have a greater chance of retention. In fact, a referred customer has a 16% higher lifetime value than a non-referred customer. The problem is that your past clients aren’t likely to give you referrals unless you ask. Only 29% of satisfied customers refer others without asking.

One of the problems with asking for referrals is that it seems like you may offend customers by asking for a referral, especially high-end customers. But the truth is that most of your customers will be happy to give you one. 83% of customers say they are willing to share a referral.

Referrals are, in fact, how many real estate agents get new business. According to stats from Buffini & Company, 21% of realtors get over 50% of their business this way.

So how do you get referrals from past clients?

Just ask. Here’s a simple email script for getting referrals from past clients (by Revrealestate). As mentioned before, you want to ask for referrals ideally when your client is in a happy mood, for example, they just moved into their dream home, made considerable profit on their home sale, etc. Here’s a script you can modify to fit your situation.

4. Launch a referral campaign

Through referral campaigns, you can offer incentives to past clients for referring their friends and colleagues to you. Referral marketing is used by big brands in many industries, such as AirBnB, PayPal, and Masterclass. It wouldn’t hurt to take a page from their playbook.

To attract leads through referral marketing, you’ll need to:

• Offer an attractive gift to any of your former customers who give you a referral, e.g., gift cards, a welcome home gift, etc.

• Promote your referral program via your email signature, email newsletter, social media post, word of mouth. If people don’t know a referral program exists, they won’t participate.

• Remind customers about your referral program in your happy birthday emails, anniversary emails, and other emails to past clients.

• Opt for a referral marketing solution if you want to bring more organization to your referral campaigns. Here is a big list of referral marketing software to select from.

5. Start a blog and attract SEO traffic

One of the best ways to drive traffic to your site is by showing up in the search engines (organic traffic). A well-written, optimized blog will rank high on Google and drive visitors to your website. According to many sources, blogging is responsible for 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links. Blogs on company sites result in 55% more visitors.

While there are many ways to gain high quality leads through blogging, it’s not as simple as ABC. The first hurdle is creating blogs that actually drive traffic. The second hurdle is capturing leads through your blog posts, but more on that in a second.

A blog that is designed to bring traffic requires an understanding of SEO, or the involvement of someone who is knowledgeable about SEO.

The second hurdle is that traffic doesn’t automatically translate into sales. So, how can you generate leads through blogging?

Try this simple strategy:

1. Create remarkable content. It’s best to speak to your customers and tailor your content to their needs.

2. Include CTAs in your best posts. If people read your blog posts and then leave, you’re probably going to lose them for good. You’re leaving a lot of money on the table. Use lead magnets (gated, ultra-specific info) and pop-ups offering relevant value to generate real estate leads through your blog. When you use pop-ups, make sure you’re not disrupting the user-experience. Your offer should align with what users want and your pop-up should be well-designed and easy to navigate away from. This is an example of real estate pop ups done right from Whiffin and Wilson realtors.

6. Start a real estate podcast

Podcasting is poised to continue growing beyond 2022. During the last annual survey in 2021, it was found that 57 percent of American consumers listened to audio podcasts, compared with 55 percent in the previous year.

Podcasts work because, unlike many other content formats, they are easy to consume. People can listen to them while relaxing, commuting, doing chores or working out. 59 percent of podcast listeners listen to podcasts while doing housework, 52 percent while driving, and 50 percent while cooking or baking.

They are also easy to create. You can create podcasts with your smartphone and upload your podcasts to free podcast hosting platforms like Soundcloud, Buzzsprout or Podbean. You can also use an app like Anchor to create, host and distribute your podcast for free. However, to make sure people find your podcasts, you’ll need a promotion strategy.

Here are a couple steps to generate real estate leads through podcasts:

1. Choose topics people care about. Your content should revolve around trending real estate topics in your neighborhood or in your state. They’re usually easy to find if you’re plugged into the news. Other possible topics include real estate market trends and specific tips for buying and selling homes.

Katie Lance, real estate social media strategist and host of the Katie Lance Podcast, gives this advice in a realtor.com article:

“When you are first starting, one thing to consider is the name and the theme of your podcast. The name can be as simple as your name or your business or community. Think about what type of content you want to share and this will help create and form your title.

Your topics should be things you are passionate about. It could be community or neighborhood happenings, real estate or housing tips, what’s going on with your local market, etc. Looking for some inspiration? Go to Stitcher or Soundcloud and start searching real estate topics or topics of interest to you to get a flavor of what is out there and different formats available.”

2. Include a CTA at the beginning, middle, and end of your podcast episodes. This should be a simple call to action such as telling your listeners to subscribe to your email list. Ensure that your CTA demonstrates what’s-in-it-for-me value to your listener.

3. Promote your podcast. You probably would be inviting people to speak on your podcast. These people have thousands of followers on Twitter and other social media. Ask them to share your podcast and tag them. Other ways to promote a podcast include partnering with fellow podcasters, using podcast aggregators and more.

https://www.getresponse.com/blog/generate-real-estate-leads