September is Marketing and Branding Month at Inman. Tips for better branding and in-depth features on how to take advantage of marketing tools provided by Zillow, Redfin and other platforms are all in the works in addition to insights from experts. You’ll find it all at Inman, as well as our two-day virtual, flagship event, Your Playbook for the Fall Market, in October.
This article was last updated Sep. 15, 2022.
As we move into the last months of 2022, many markets are experiencing a significant slowdown. Others are already shifting into a strong buyer’s market, with experts anticipating sharp declines in demand in the months and years ahead.
To win the listing in a strong buyer’s market, you must be able to stand out from the competition. If your market is slowing or has already headed into a downturn, it’s time to aggressively market your listings and get them sold ahead of comparable homes in the area.
Here are seven ways to market your new listing at zero cost that will also help your sellers achieve the highest possible price for their property.
1. Your brochure box
Let’s face it. Brochure boxes are a hassle to keep full. They often leak, destroying your brochures, and you have to wait for the buyer to call you.
One of my neighbors just listed her house. Our subdivision doesn’t allow traditional for-sale signs but does permit brochure boxes. Here’s what her agent did:
There are numerous free services that will provide you with a QR code to use on your brochure box and print marketing materials. Nevertheless, it’s worth the price to upgrade to a service that provides a “dynamic” QR code.
Dynamic QR codes track where and when the scan occurs as well as providing you with the scanner’s phone number. Visme has a list of 14 of the best dynamic QR Code generators for 2022.
2. Facebook business page for your primary market area(s) or niches
The Facebook terms of use prohibit you from marketing your listings on your personal profile. However, Facebook does allow you to set up multiple business pages at no charge. Here’s what to include on this page:
- Updates about what’s happening in your local community.
- Videos about local businesses including interviews with their owners.
- Photos and videos of local events such as music festivals, holiday parades, farmer’s markets, etc.
- Up-to-date property values including which way prices are trending.
- Information about local schools plus a calendar of upcoming events.
- Updates on city council meetings, zoning, roads and other matters of local interest.
Update this information frequently to motivate people to visit your Facebook business page repeatedly.
3. Facebook ‘single property’ business page
For well over a decade, single-property websites that use the property address as the URL (123ElmStreetMyTown.com) have been a powerful way to market your listings. In a flat or slowing market, this is certainly worth the expense.
You can use the same strategy using Facebook business pages at zero cost. For each of your listings, create a FB business page that uses the property address as the name of the business page.
Be sure to include the address, the city and the ZIP code, since these are primary search terms used by consumers when they are looking for a home. Populate your page with:
- All the information from your business page for the market area.
- Photos and videos of the property.
- 3D virtual tours.
- Drone photography.
- Any salient information about the financing, moving resources, etc.
4. Facebook Marketplace
One of the best places to market your listings at no charge is Facebook Marketplace. This site functions like most property search sites, including Craigslist, which is another place you can market your listings at no charge.
Unlike Craigslist, which moves properties to the top based on the date they were posted and is often riddled with other issues such as fake ads, you can only post to Facebook Marketplace from your Facebook Newsfeed. Facebook Marketplace accepts properties both for sale and for rent.
5. Oodle Marketplace
You may have never heard of Oodle, but it is one of the best places to post your listings at no charge. Oodle is currently the largest classifieds aggregator, posting listings from sites such as eBay, ForRent.com, as well as listings from local newspapers and websites.
According to Wikipedia, Oodle also powers other companies’ classified websites including The Sun, The Washington Post Express, the New Your Post, AOL, Lycos, as well as nontraditional classified hosting sites like Walmart. Oodle also powered Facebook Marketplace for a number of years.
In the screenshot below for Austin, Texas, Oodle currently has links to approximately 7,500 listings. (Please note some of these may be rentals.)
6. Testimonials with a twist
Because Google owns YouTube and their algorithm also relies heavily on LinkedIn to match searches to the right person, video testimonials cost you nothing and are golden for generating additional leads for your business.
Moreover, consumers almost always search for information about agents prior to contacting them about buying or selling a property. Now, you may be curious how video testimonials can help you market your listing. Here’s how it works.
- Interview your sellers and ask, “What do you love about living in this area?” In other words, you’re asking for a testimonial about the area, not for yourself.
- Next, post this video to any online resources you’re using to market the listing. Also, send the sellers the link so they can post it to their Facebook and Instagram accounts.
- Now here’s the twist. Ask if they know anyone else who would be willing to give a “testimonial for what’s great about living here.” Be sure to send that person the video because it will put you in front of all their friends and followers.
- You can also post these to LinkedIn, which gives you additional exposure. Best of all, these videos look as if they’re testimonials for you.
7. Reposting your videos across multiple platforms
A single-property video can capture a variety of content. For example, you can shoot videos of the property itself with or without you, a virtual walkthrough where you highlight three things that make this listing special or a hundred other things.
If you shoot a longer video, it can be broken into shorter videos for Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts or TikTok. The point is, the more places you post it, the more exposure your listing has. Here are some places to post:
- Email: Rather than using words to tell a buyer lead about your listing, send them a video.
- Facebook: Post the video on your Facebook business pages, both for the area as well as your business page using the property address as the name of the page.
- Instagram: This is a great place to post short videos that highlight specific aspects of the property or what’s great about living in the area.
- MLS: Use an unbranded video tour along with your professional photos.
- TikTok: Post short-form videos and pair them with TikTok trending music. The bottom line is to have fun, and if possible, highlight what’s weird or unique.
- YouTube: if you haven’t done so, set up your own channel and then make a playlist of videos associated with each of your listings. Your sellers will love it.
To maximize the probability that you will get the listing, include this list of services as part of your “Premium Marketing Plan” both in your “Pre-Listing Package” as well as during your listing appointment.
Use your written plan to show sellers you are the best qualified agent to help them obtain the highest possible price in the shortest amount of time. Best of all, these strategies will cost you absolutely nothing!
Bernice Ross, president and CEO of BrokerageUP and RealEstateCoach.com, is a national speaker, author and trainer with over 1,000 published articles. Learn about her broker/manager training programs designed for women, by women, at BrokerageUp.com and her new agent sales training at RealEstateCoach.com/newagent.
