5 Tips to Market Your Brokerage to Home Sellers

As a brokerage, you build your brand to attract top talent and build a rapport with home sellers. Luckily, many real estate broker marketing tactics that assist you in attracting top talent also assist in attracting home sellers that your top agents are looking for. You can attract home sellers by understanding what they need, making simple adjustments to your marketing strategies, and showcasing what makes your brokerage standout.

Consider the process home sellers go through to get a better idea of their needs. According to the National Association of Realtors, 57 percent of home buyers start the process online. They may start their search by simply referring to Google with phrases like "how to sell your house," "how to sell your house fast," and "selling your home."

At the first stage of their selling process, they are looking for quick tips that will direct them to more detailed assistance. Some websites offer information to help sellers get an estimate or start seeing comps, they might be discouraged or even confused by the overwhelming information. The moment a potential seller decides on a path to further assistance or more detailed information, you want your brokerage to be the next logical step.

How do you attract home sellers and become a valuable resource?

First, keep in mind the marketing tips we covered regarding attracting top agents in a previous blog post. We will break down each of those marketing tactics along with a few home seller specific marketing tactics to provide five easy tips to market your brokerage to home sellers.

1. Develop an Online Search Presence

In Google, try typing in some of the keywords we listed above. The first thing you'll notice are the sponsored ads that look similar to search results, but they often target the person who is searching geographically. You can easily add your brokerage to the mix by investing in Google AdWords with targeted geolocations.

When you type in some of the keywords we listed above, you'll notice the majority of search results are blog posts. Those blogs are not paid search results. Blogs are seen higher in search because of the relevance of their keywords and the date they were posted. To add your brokerage to the list of blogs featured, you need to create frequent (2-4 times a month) blog posts using the search terms we listed as your keywords. You also need relevant and distinct content. If you're already working with Matterport, 3D photos, videos, and Matterport Spaces are great examples of the type of content that will help your brokerage stand out to potential home sellers.

2. Maintain a Strong Website

After a home seller clicks on your brokerage from their search, they are heading straight for your website. You can ensure your site yields the results you need by checking your status using Google Analytics. Consider analyzing each of these key Google analytics data:

• Where people live who view your website. If you receive many viewers who are not in your desired audience location, those out-of-towners may contribute to people who leave your website quickly because they will be looking for local brokerages.
• How people find your website. When you look at where people find your website, you are tracking how effective your search results (or other campaigns like Facebook) are performing.
• What people do once they are on your website. This data is the most important. You can view which pages they visit, how long people stay on those pages and what they do when they leave the page (view another page, leave your website, etc.). If people tend to visit your website and leave quickly, update your website for a better user experience.

To create a better user experience, make your contact information very easy to find. Consider adding your phone number to your home page as well as a contact page with your agents' contact information displayed. Next look at your navigation. Are you giving simple instructions and can people easily find your contact and about pages? If not, change your navigation. Then update your 'About' page. Clearly define what sets your brokerage apart from others. Show off your top agents, their success stories, and highlight your technology by showcasing Matterport Spaces as examples of what your agents could do for home sellers. Download this best practices guide to get started today.

3. Create Targeted Facebook Ads

You have already begun to show up in home sellers' search and made your website more user-friendly. Now meet home sellers on another website they frequently visit - Facebook. If you're still hesitating to invest in social media promotions, consider this: using Facebook you can make small (less than $100) investments and more than double your reach. Everyone is talking about Facebook ads because, simply put, they work. You will need to apply the best strategies to compete with others using Facebook ads. Disguise your content by choosing images that blend as posts, so people may not even know what they're looking at is an ad.

After you have selected the type of ad and the graphics you want to showcase, be sure you set your demographics carefully. Pick the age and location of people in your area who fit the audience you wish to attract home sellers. You can also choose to direct the ad to a list of email addresses you may have acquired at previous events. Lastly, hook anyone who has viewed your website but still not decided to choose you as a broker. Add a Facebook Pixel to your website. Then, when you set up ads select the retargeting option and choose your Pixel. The people who see your ad will have previously visited your website, ensuring your impressions are interested, potential home sellers. Download our free guide on Facebook marketing for real estate here.

4. Offer Virtual Open Houses

Provide your top agents with the tools to be more efficient and cost-effective while making life easier on the seller. By leveraging Matterport's 3D technology, home sellers will be very impressed by how incredible their home looks in the 3D Dollhouse view. They won't have to leave their home as often during the selling process. Your top agents can start presenting the house online with Matterport's immersive virtual walkthrough. The virtual open house can be used to promote an upcoming open house ensuring that qualified buyers who have already fallen in love with the property online attend.

Your top agents will be more efficient and have less per-listing expenses. The home seller will notice that your agents' time is focused on finding buyers not on coordinating with multiple marketing vendors. To save even more time for sellers and agents, virtual open houses can also replace traditional open houses because the experience is as complete as an actual walkthrough. But don't just take our word for it.

Read about how Berkshire-Hathaway HomeServices Professional Realty sells real estate listings sight-unseen with Matterport.

5. Build Credibility and Be Responsive

You promoted your brokerage by highlighting your tech and top agents, you have readied your website for home sellers, and you have leveraged your tech to showcase what sets your brokerage apart. When you start seeing your hard work pay off, be sure you lay out the red carpet for eager home sellers. Put in a communication process among all your agents to ensure that interested sellers are contacted as quickly as possible. Once you have started working with sellers showcase all of your 3D tech and testimonials from other happy home sellers. When you have added another satisfied home seller to your roster, assist them in becoming an advocate for your brokerage. Building credibility starts at the beginning of the process and comes full circle. When someone first starts to consider selling their home, they are conducting initial research including asking friends and family for advice. Remind those people about the amazing experience they had with your brokerage. Consider sending holiday cards or cards commemorating their first year as homeowners. You never know who your satisfied home sellers will talk to or when they will be ready to move again.

As a broker, your brand is starting to reap some benefits of all the hard work you put in to attract top agents. Now you can focus some of your marketing skills to attract home sellers. Use our quick five tips to get in front of a home seller's research, maintain a website that helps your agents, find home sellers on Facebook, show-off your Matterport 3D technology, and build credibility that will keep home sellers returning and referring new clients for years to come.

To view the original article, visit the Matterport blog.