Modern lead generation has so many variables, from SEO to PPC, that it is easy to botch up your real estate marketing approach. Every day, even the most seasoned property professionals are losing business because they aren’t factoring in the most basic, yet crucial, marketing techniques. In this article, we will take a look at some of the most common property marketing mistakes made by real estate agents and other property professionals in order to help focus where more attention needs to be paid.

Mistake 1: Failing to be completely honest in your listing descriptions

If you just remember one lesson from this article, make sure it’s this one. OK, the family of four wouldn’t have arranged a viewing had you not mentioned that the property featured a “beautiful family garden.” However, what do you think they will say when they turn up and see a compact patch of grubby grass out the back?

Highlighting your best features is fine, but making false or misleading statements might land you in hot legal water. And even if you manage to avoid legal repercussions, what mood do you think the clients will be in? Forever in the minds of these lost clients, you will be remembered as untrustworthy by their family and friends, who will hear about it.

It goes without saying that most home hunters will want to hear all about the property’s best features before they get their first look at it, and if you are painting a false rosy picture for them, they are not going to be singing your praises when they realise what’s been going on.

“Deceptive marketing, and this is the salient point, is very unlikely to result in a sale,” noted Jamie Johnson, CEO of FJP Investment. Jamie continued, “What have you achieved? Everyone just lost an hour or two of their time because they won’t sign any deal with you. As a real estate agent, your greatest upsides are your depth of knowledge, breadth of experience, and level of established credibility. For the sake of stretching the truth to its snapping point with a listing, you can’t afford to undermine all three in the eyes of your clients.”

Mistake 2: Overemphasis on a single marketing channel

Use other marketing channels in addition to your own website. Invest in internet advertising with Google AdWords and Facebook, but don’t forget print. Encourage reviews and customer testimonials on your website. You could even approach clients and see if they mind doing a video testimonial which you can post on numerous video platforms.

Consider online virtual open homes. Virtual tours are accessible to potential clients at any time of day and can give them an impressive and immersive experience. Email marketing may be used to re-capture cold leads. When it comes to property professionals of any kind, quality video is one of the finest investments they can make in terms of marketing.

Don’t feel overwhelmed because you don’t have to learn everything at once. Don’t give up too fast while trying different marketing channels. There are several months needed for the success of each new marketing effort, and if you throw in the towel too early, you won’t get to see the full fruits of your efforts.

Mistake 3: Failing to use relevant data to direct your marketing efforts

As a real estate marketer, it’s easy to toss everything you have into the cyber ether and hope for the best when you have so many alternatives to choose from. But this is a mistake and a waste of precious resources. For your marketing budget to bear fruit, the best approach is to be guided by the results that you have been tracking and measuring.

Get to know where your strongest leads originate from, and which efforts are underperforming so you can reallocate your resources accordingly. However, before you can do this, you must first be able to follow fresh leads back to their source. Consider the following steps to help keep track of your marketing efforts:

• Install Google Analytics. It has a proven record for marketing utility, and it’s open source, free, and it will provide a wealth of useful information you can use to gauge success, or not.
• All clicks through to your listings or website should have a tracking link set up for them. Google Analytics will provide a list of parameters that you may append to the end of the link. This is how it works. For each campaign (email, AdWords, etc.), Google Analytics can tell you the number of people who clicked on the link and what actions they took afterwards.
• Print advertising will also need tracking, so call monitoring services may be worth the investment if you’re spending a lot of money on more traditional print advertising. Each print ad can have campaign-specific phone numbers that you may use for tracking.

Mistake 4: Having an excessive or insufficient personal social media presence

People respond to personalities and character, and therefore, they will not be incentivised to follow you if you don’t show some personality on your business social media accounts. Who wants to be drenched in more mundane advertising? Furthermore, to get the most out of social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, you need to be judicious about which properties you highlight as well as how often.

Try to match a highlighted property with something useful, like general property advice. For example, are you posting a home with extra space that can be used as an office? Talk about how the pandemic has compelled many to look for home office space. If you reveal too much of your personality, you run the risk of turning off potential customers.

Separate your professional and personal accounts, and don’t use your professional account to air your political opinions or personal medical results. While it’s easy to agree on the best parts of a home, it’s much more difficult to agree on social and political issues.

Don’t be afraid to talk about the things that everyone has in common with, like hobbies, your pets, your family’s special occasions, and the locations you enjoy visiting in your neighbourhood. In order to avoid monotony, publish personal content no more than once a week, and try to keep the topics interesting.

Mistake 5: Failing to demonstrate your property knowledge

The ideal use of professional social media is to share your helpful real estate knowledge. Everything from current market conditions to buy-to-let investments, it is a great channel to show clients that you are a trusted source for information on property related matters.

Respond to followers’ questions while you’re active on social media. Don’t spend all of your time answering inquiries and giving free advice, but addressing a few can help you position yourself as an expert in the eyes of your audience.