5 Ways To Get More Real Estate Leads
If you are a real estate investor, your leads list is the lifeblood of your business – and your ability to turn leads into deals will determine whether or not you are successful at what you do. But before you can start making deals, you need to be able to build high-quality prospects and leads lists that will propel your business forward.
One of the most significant factors in determining whether an investor will succeed or fail is the quality of the leads they can generate. Without a solid list of leads, a real estate investor will not be able to secure consistent deals to keep their business afloat. So how do you find high-quality leads and make those essential connections?
Use Direct Mail Marketing
The most effective lead generation tool in real estate investing is also a timeless classic – direct mail marketing. Direct mail marketing is a simple concept that has not lost its effectiveness, even in our increasingly digital world.
Direct mail marketing campaigns are effective because they send a physical letter or postcard to the prospect’s home. Unlike an email or digital ad, a prospect will have to look at it for a few seconds before throwing it away or keeping it in a safe place to reference back when they need it. Direct mail marketing is more effective at getting your message to the intended recipient. And if you send out enticing mailers, your chances of getting more than a two-second look increase.
Personal letters and postcards are much easier for prospects to remember than emails or social media posts. Even if your first message is disregarded, they will recognize your branding when they receive the next one, increasing the chance they will read it.
But blasting postcards to an entire town isn’t necessarily the best way to run a campaign. Creating lists based on similar characteristics and sending more personalized messages is the best way to ensure your direct mail campaign succeeds.
Be Active On Social Media
If you are looking to connect with leads there is no better space than social media. As an investor, you should have some kind of social media presence on Facebook and Instagram for people to refer to. Beyond that, you should become involved in groups and discussions based in the neighborhoods where you want to find leads. Getting your business in front of as many people as possible is a great way to network and build brand recognition digitally.
The most effective way to find leads is through advertising. Setting up Facebook Ads in the areas of interest will make sure that people in those places are seeing your ads on their feeds. Direct your ads to your website where you can provide prospects with more information about the process and what you do. You can also build ads that point to a short questionnaire where you can capture information about leads and market to them in different ways later.
Utilize Content Marketing and SEO
If someone is looking to sell their home for cash in their area and they type that into Google will your website pop up? Spend some time on content marketing and SEO to make sure that it does. The leads with the most promise are the ones who are looking for you, not the other way around.
You don’t have to become a prolific blogger to use content marketing to your advantage. Regularly publish articles on your website’s blog about the real estate industry, the local market as well as FAQs sellers have when working with an investor. This activity will not only make you look more knowledgeable and professional, but it will also give you a boost in SEO. Blogs also make great content to include in your social media posts and email marketing blasts!
To make your website and blog the most search engine friendly as possible, do a deep dive using an SEO tool to find popular keywords that you may be able to hop on in your area. If you add keywords in page titles, URLs, and headers, Google will understand what your business is about and serve it up in relevant searches.
Display Advertising
Another traditional method of lead generation is display advertising. This is an excellent strategy if you are interested in a neighborhood with many prospects and are trying to establish your business before making contact.
Display ads can be great tools for generating leads as long as your message is short, direct, and easily actionable. Always include a phone number or website (or ideally, both) to tell people how they can find more information.
Before purchasing ad space make sure you are advertising in the best locations possible for your budget. You don’t want to purchase a billboard ad on a road that isn’t frequently traveled.
Networking
There is nothing quite as effective as word of mouth, which is why networking is so important in real estate investing. While creating an effective network of contacts is time-consuming and difficult, the leads that it will generate tend to be warmer. People trust the people they know, so if someone in your network recommends you to a prospect you have a much better chance at securing their business.
You want to build a network with other investors, real estate agents, and brokers, contractors and laborers, and others in your community. You want to know people who know the neighborhood inside and out. Befriending and giving your business card to a postal worker may seem silly but no one knows the homes in a certain area better than them. And when they notice someone on their route falling into financial hardship they can refer you to them.
Now, you don’t have to connect with everyone you see! You just have to make sure that you are active in the community and making connections with people who are in the know.
Final Thoughts
You cannot rely on one method of lead generation to keep your business moving. People simply are not always looking in the same direction!
To make sure your business gets its message to every prospect you need to make sure you are diversifying your messaging. Maybe some people will respond to a display ad more while others need to get a postcard in the mail. You want to make sure you allow every prospect to turn into a lead by approaching them in different ways.
A well-thought-out and multi-channel lead generation strategy will make any real estate investment business unstoppable!
