Online Real Estate Marketing Ideas

If the mortgage crisis is winding down, online real estate marketing ideas will once again be explored in earnest. Some economic indicators, along with some prognosticators, have suggested that indeed the mortgage crisis is bottoming out. If this is true, then not only online approaches will be reevaluated, but all real estate marketing tools will be taken out of storage and placed on broker's grindstones to be honed to a new height of effectiveness. The fact is, real estate brokers have used real estate marketing tools that include online strategies for a number of years. The only question at this point is how much improvement can be made to the process. "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

Traditional methods of marketing houses, businesses and buildings for sale are still a staple for agents. In fact, marketing experts for all types of selling recommend at least three or four mediums to drive the sales wagon of any venture, including real estate. Traditional ways of advertising include newspaper ads, flyers, pens, calendars, open houses, mass mailings, brochures, ground signs, and even road advertisements. Many a refrigerator magnet has adorned appliances all over the country, reminding owners of that friendly agent just around the corner who is waiting to list the next home for sale. There have also been, over the years, the many home salespeople riding in the local Fourth of July parade with a friendly wave and a large magnetic sign on the convertible's door. These kinds of personal, up-close contacts can never be replaced in the arsenal of real estate marketing tools.

From broker to broker, rules are different, but many agents must pay for these traditional marketing tools from their own income. These advertising methods are personal, and tax deductible, but they are also expensive. Giving out a number of different products to prospective clients can be a heavy fiscal outlay. A healthy balance between the traditional methods and the online real estate marketing tools that are now voraciously ensconced in the business are called for in the 21st century. The marketing of any product has become a delicate science of knowing when and where to use the advertising mediums that are available. Real estate advertising methods are becoming more and more imaginative.

When it comes to online real estate marketing ideas, the Web has really become the oyster for the agent. It is a less expensive way to engage prospective buyers per capita than the traditional methods that still need to be used. And data supports the assertion that Internet customers looking for homes spend at least 25% more for a home purchase than non users. The handwriting is indeed on the wall. The Web today provides a number of advantages that brokers no doubt wished they had possessed twenty years ago. Consider the following real estate marketing tools that are available to agents today:

Websites are now emerging to make investigating a property's history available to online prospects which include former sale prices, virtual inside tours of the property, satellite images and now even allow for the negotiation and final sale of the house, saving a large chunk of the agent fee on the buyer's end. There is the availability of pod casting and even video casting, which enables agents to give daily or weekly personal messages to all clients, thus building a trust factor as clients get to better know the broker. Websites now allow clients to view housing price reductions on the property of interest, and can also see how long the property has been on the market. These features can play right into the hand of a savvy broker. Here is another of a number of real estate advertising possibilities tools:

Consider a fictional agent who uses a viral marketing plan as part of a number of online real estate marketing ideas to sell a million dollar house. The agent contracts an author to write a half page mystery story with an ending that is not complete. The story is loaded online and sent to every email address that the agent has ever collected. It is hoped that the unsolved mystery piece will then be sent as a fun interlude to all friends and family of the original recipients and on and on. At the end of the short mystery story, a link is provided with an invitation to travel to the agent's website for the solution. Upon arrival at the website, a sweeping panorama unfolds of the house's many amenities and beauty, as well as a place to get the mystery's solution. While wild video clips and online games have been used for viral marketing to younger people, this more cerebral approach could appeal to the demographic that possesses the economic means to make such a purchase.

Online real estate marketing ideas also include the ability to give a virtual tour of any listed home, room by room. In addition, clients can have realtors automatically send them more home choices, selected by location, price, schools or a combination of all three. Broker authored newsletters that can be sent as email attachments are a good way to keep in touch with customers after the sale. Sending valued clients important holiday greetings with actual personal handwritten messages, through traditional mail sources, can all be done from online services. As the mortgage crisis begins to wane, the real estate broker has plenty of help to make the future business outlook bright.

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