Two schools of marketing thought converged Wednesday morning at Inman’s Luxury Connect event in the main ballroom at the Beverly Hills Wilshire Hotel.
Beverly Hills real estate agent power couple Rayni Williams and Branden Williams, of Hilton & Hyland and Chase Nuttall, of Nestseekers International – who built his entire business on Instagram – discussed ways that agents can create marketing that lasts beyond just the transaction.
There’s no “one-size-fits-all approach”
How you market a property depends greatly on the property and the type of client you’re hoping to attract, according to Rayni Williams.
“You have to have an angle for every property,” said Williams. “Everything should be tailor-made.”
Williams said she and her husband do a little bit of everything: social media, door-knocking, phone calls, print ads. But each spend is thoughtful.
“It’s really about diversification,” said Williams, who added that it’s important to not only get those people on the phone, but turn that chit-chat into sales.
And the biggest key to that is a personal connection, she said. At the end of the day, if someone is hiring you, it’s because they like you. Then you show them you’re a specialist and knowledgeable and get them to trust you.
“When it comes to marketing, there are so many different avenues, so many different approaches that it’s continually going on in my head, how are we going to market the next property, how are we going to crack the code,” added Branden Williams.
Williams said he will still pick up the phone and make calls – he’s a big phone guy – but knocking on doors is also still integral to his business.
“I’m at a showing and I see a construction site across the street, or a house I like across the street and I’ll go over and say, hey how are you doing I’m Braden Williams, nice to meet you I’m selling this house, I sold a house up the street, I sold a house down the block,” Williams said.
Building a business on Instagram
Nuttall owes his entire business to his Instagram account, @modernproperty, which just crossed 30,000 followers. He caters mostly to new money – Youtube stars, music artists – and people in their 20s or early 30s. And he doesn’t pay a dime to Instagram to advertise.
“Instagram is so vital, it’s a tool I use to stay connected to every single client I have,” Nuttall said.
When he posts a photo or video inside a new listing, he gets actual verified replies, asking about the listing – where the home is located, what the listing price is, etc.
“It’s very casual and laid back but I am reminding them every day that I’m a luxury real estate agent and we’re friends because we follow each other,” said Nuttall.
“I post what they want to see,” he added. “A lot of them love new construction, that’s what they want to live in. That’s what I post. That’s what they’re engaging with, that’s what they want to see.”
Nuttall said a lot of people that are struggling to drive business through Instagram are having trouble because they are deploying it as a generic user.
“You have to be a stalker,” said Nuttall. “Search hashtags and locations that people are at, that are your types of clients.”
Rayni Williams chimed in and added, “And if you’re old school like us, you can go to that location and have dinner.”
