Archive for the "Real Estate Marketing" Category
6 Simple Tools for Creating Animated Real Estate Marketing Videos
When it comes to real estate marketing, video is not just the future — it’s now. These 6 tools will give you a leg up on creating animated images, GIFs, and videos that will elevate your marketing presence.
Highlights:
- Savvy real estate marketers are making video a central part of their strategy.
- Animated videos can be surprisingly easy and affordable to create, with the right tools.
- These are our 6 favorite tools for creating GIFs, animated images, and videos
We’ve written a lot about video marketing as a trend that isn’t going anywhere and how it’s a natural fit for real estate marketers. It can be one of the best and most cost-effective ways to grow your social media audience and generate leads. And the numbers are backing us up — research from Social Media Examiner has shown that nearly two-thirds (63%) of marketers use video content in their social media marketing.
Savvy real estate marketers are jumping on the video bandwagon, but the process can still be intimidating. Creating an animated image, GIF, or video can sound impossibly difficult —particularly if you’re over the age of 15! But in reality, there are plenty of tools that make creating these items not only simple but cost effective as well.
Here are our 6 favorite tools for creating animated real estate marketing videos.
1) WhatFix
This free tool is incredibly handy for creating animated flows, such as how-to videos (“How to search for your first apartment,” for example). WhatFix allows you to create easy flows showing the steps your audience should take. All you need is WhatFix’s extension for Firefox or Chrome to build widgets that you can imbed on your website or send “live” to your audience. The website will guide you through the simple process of creating a flow.
2) Gyazo
When it comes to creating GIFs, this free tool will make it as simple as it gets. Technically, Gyazo is a screen-capture tool, which now lets you capture and save GIFs and videos. The platform is straight forward, and while it doesn’t necessarily have advanced tools, it’s ideal for taking a screen capture from a video and turning it into an eye-catching GIF.
3) Make a GIF
Make a GIF is a more extensive tool than Gyazo, which allows you to choose from multiple options to create your GIF. It lets you use screenshots, YouTube videos, uploaded videos, or pre-made GIFs. It has the added benefit of being a free image hosting site, which means that once you’ve created your GIF, you can link directly to it from the website’s gallery. Make a GIF is free, and lets you create an account to store your creations, or request that they be deleted any time.
4) PowToon
For $59 a month (or $19 a month if you buy for at least a year), PowToon lets you create animated video and presentations, and export them to YouTube. All you have to do is “pick a look you like” from one of five animation themes. Then you can put together characters, objects, layouts, backgrounds, and anything else you need to tell your story.
5) VideoScribe
VideoScribe offers a free trial, and pricing ranging from $29 a month to a one-time purchase of $665. This tool specializes in whiteboard videos, giving you the potential to create clean, engaging video animations. It’s not a web tool, but a downloadable software, that you can even take offline if you purchase the Pro plan.
6) Moovly
For $24.92 a month (though it does offer a free trial period), Moovly is a “drag, drop, and animate” tool that lets you create quick animated real estate marketing videos in your web browser. It can create explainer videos, whiteboard animations, advertisements, and more. Not only that, it gives you 750,000 free video clips to work from.
Creating videos is one of the best ways out there to boost your real estate marketing game. These 6 tools go a long way towards making the process affordable and easy. If you try one, let us know in the comments how it turned out!
Related posts:
- 3 Ways to Boost Your Real Estate Marketing with Video
- How Inbound Marketing for Real Estate Works to Improve Sales
- 4 Real Estate Marketing Trends 2018
Archive for the "Real Estate Marketing" Category
3 Social Media Mistakes Real Estate Companies Still Make
Social media is a valuable tool for real estate businesses, but only if they use it to their best advantage and avoid these three common mistakes.
Highlights:
- By 2019, there will be an estimated 2.77 billion social media users around the globe.
- It’s imperative for real estate businesses to have a clear strategy that includes types of content, frequency, and pillar topics.
- Real estate companies need to focus on creating content that leaves their users wanting more.
As many as 81% of small and medium businesses use a social platform. And we all understand why. By 2019, there will be an estimated 2.77 billion social media users around the globe. That’s a lot of potential customers.
So, there’s no question as to why real estate companies are jumping on the social media bandwagon. And there’s no disputing social media is an effective way to increase brand awareness and generate leads. But it can be fairly useless if your company isn’t doing it right.
Top three social media mistakes real estate companies still make
Mistake #1: Using objectives instead of strategy
Social media platforms are continually making changes and updates to improve the user experience. In order to weather these changes and keep your audience engaged, it’s imperative to have a clear strategy that includes types of content, frequency, and pillar topics. Posts should reflect your real estate brand, so make sure posts follow style guidelines and reflect your specific tone.
A strategy will also help prove ROI. Social Media Examiner’s 2018 Social Media Marketing Industry Report found that only 44% of marketers agree that they know how to measure social media ROI. That means two-thirds of marketers don’t know whether or how much their marketing efforts are paying off when it comes to the use of social media. A strategy that incorporates defined goals, tracking and measuring will help prove data-driven ROI and improve your social media presence.
Mistake #2: Using the most popular social media platforms
Not all social media platforms are created equal. In fact, all social media channels have different qualities that make them appeal to specific audiences. Start by identifying which platform your target audience is the most likely to seek out. For example, 81% of millennials view their Twitter account on a daily basis. If your company is looking to capture millennials as leads, your social media efforts should certainly include Twitter.
Once you’ve determined where you should be posting, concentrate on creating content that caters to those specific platforms. Lots of companies post the same content across all of the apps they use. We understand how easy that is for marketers, especially with automation tools. But the foundation of social engagement is authenticity, something that is hard to achieve when posts are the same across all channels. Work to create content — including video and images of properties — that caters to specific platforms to build brand awareness and loyalty.
Mistake #3: Promoting instead of connecting
Social media is all about engagement. Users don’t want to engage with brands that are pushing their properties. Users want informative, interesting, and yes, even fun content. Real estate companies need to focus on creating content that leaves their users wanting more.
Companies that are succeeding on social media are finding innovative and creative ways to relate to users. When you engage and get users involved in your story, you create long-lasting customer relationships. Storytelling creates an emotional bond with your company and drives brand loyalty.
Greg Hadden, executive creative director of Motive Made Studios, sums up the power of connecting with users: “What often gets lost is the fact that good storytelling is potent stuff. It has the power to make people want to believe and to belong, which is the goal of all storytellers. We’re all selling something, be it an idea, an exploration of the human condition, or say, a vacuum cleaner. It’s no mistake perhaps that good stories often create products.”
Final thoughts
Social media platforms are a powerful resource that can help your real estate business grow. But they have to be used correctly. Creating a documented strategy will help shape your brand’s social media presence and give you milestones to test and tweak your progress. Need help creating a social media strategy? Let us help.
Related posts:
- Infographic: Real Estate Social Media Marketing Strategies
- Social Media Can Be a Strategic Weapon in Real Estate Marketing
- A Visual Guide to Social Media Posting Frequency for Real Estate
Archive for the "Real Estate Marketing" Category
Google Analytics for Real Estate Marketers – 4 Steps to Get Started
Google Analytics is an extremely effective tool for real estate marketers to gain insights and shape strategy. These four tips will help get you started.
Highlights:
- Start by choosing what metrics to track.
- Figure out what works and what doesn’t.
- Paint a picture of your audience using hard data.
When it comes to gaining insights into real estate leads, Google Analytics is one of the most powerful tools out there right now. This robust, comprehensive, analytical tool determines how web users are interacting with your digital assets, including social media. The data that Google Analytics for real estate provides gives you invaluable insights into how your audience is interacting with your content, as well as how your content is performing over time.
Because this tool is extremely comprehensive, the options can be overwhelming at first glance. Understanding how to properly deploy this resource, and the metrics it provides, is your best bet for delivering value to your target audience, and effectively nurturing leads.
Here are four steps to get your marketing efforts started using Google Analytics for real estate.
1. Decide which metrics to track and identify key metrics
When you first start using Google Analytics, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices available to you for analyzing your real estate website visitors’ activity. It can seem tempting to track every available metric, gaining huge amounts of data. But your time and resources are much better spent if you take a step back and identify the right marketing reports for your real estate business.
As a benchmark, Phase 3 Enterprises suggests that real estate marketers track these six reports:
- Channel Report
- Source and Medium Reports
- Users Flow Report
- Frequency and Regency Reports
- Location Report
- Age and Gender Reports
Once you’ve chosen which metrics your real estate business should be tracking, it’s time to identify two or three metrics that will be your touchstones. These are the metrics that are critically important to the performance of your website and should monitored and analyzed regularly.
2. Start with the big things
Is there a page on your website that gets a large amount of traffic? That’s where you should be concentrating. Use key metrics to determine why that content is specifically intriguing to your users, and what led visitors to click and spend time there. For example, if one piece of content on your site outperforms another, ask yourself questions like:
- Does a higher click-through rate correlate with timing of emails sharing the content, social media posts, etc.?
- What are the top traffic sources for high performing content?
- How long are users spending on your content?
You get the picture. In short, if you identify the right questions to ask, Google Analytics for real estate will offer you the data to answer them—in turn giving you the tools to optimize your digital assets.
3. Find out where your website traffic is coming from
In a perfect world, users are visiting your site from multiple sources, instead of a single or just a few traffic streams. Gaining an understanding of where your traffic is coming from lets you devote resources to top-performing sources and adjust your efforts where they aren’t gaining optimal results.
Select “Overview” under the “Acquisition” menu to determine how much of your traffic is organic, social, from referrals, etc. The Channel Report will give you further details on where your visitors are coming from, as well as information about how traffic from various sources engages with your site.
4. Build an audience profile
Ultimately, one of the most important things Google Analytics can capture for you is a picture of your audience. This includes where they’re located, how they engage with your website, demographic data like age, and other buyer preferences. Some key audience characteristics to be on the lookout for:
- How much of your audience is new visitors vs. returning visitors?
- What devices is your audience using to access your digital assets?
- Where are your visitors geographically located?
The more you use the data to understand your audience, the more you’ll be able to optimize your digital assets to meet their needs and build and expand your audience base.
The bottom line
Google Analytics is your superpower when it comes to real estate marketing. No other tool gives you more comprehensive insights into your audience behavior, content performance, overall site performance, and more. Start using this tool today, and let data drive your real estate marketing efforts.
Related posts:
- How to Measure Social Media ROI with Google Analytics for Real Estate
- What Metrics Should You Track in Real Estate Marketing?
- How Pay-Per-Click Helped This Property Get 54 Leads
Archive for the "Real Estate Marketing" Category
5 Tips to Step Up Your Real Estate Social Media Marketing
Real estate marketers are increasingly turning to social media as a strategic tool to grow brand awareness, gain market intelligence, and generate organic traffic. Here are five tips to boost your real estate social media marketing efforts.
If you’re a real estate marketer, it’s probably old news that the vast majority of the real estate market has moved online. Increasingly, traditional marketing tactics are giving way to newer methods, and inbound marketing is taking the place of outbound. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: real estate and social media are a match made in heaven.
You should be making the most of this incredible tool for marketing luxury and commercial real estate. Here are our top 5 tips to grow your real estate social media marketing in 2019.
1. Be authentic
Social media for real estate marketing is all about the personal. Users on these platforms are looking to connect with the real people behind the brands they follow. Increasingly, social media users are craving authenticity. Part of building your brand is about discovering and cultivating your “corporate personality,” particularly when it comes to social media. Find your brand’s voice, and let it shine through.
2. Use hashtags strategically
Using hashtags well can help increase your properties’ visibility, as well as growing organic reach on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Using hashtags in your social media content lets you categorize your content, draw attention quickly and easily, drive conversations, increase visibility, and harness the power of topics on social media. Check out our guide for using hashtags in real estate marketing here.
3. Make use of the right tools
With demand comes supply, and as social media marketing has become more and more important, developers have created some extremely helpful tools to help you streamline your efforts. Whether it’s free stock photos, tools that help you create infographics, or automating your social media posts, there’s likely a tool that will help you get the job done more quickly and easily.
4. Diversify across platforms
While Facebook still reigns supreme in the social media universe, if you aren’t connecting with users on other platforms, you’re missing out on huge opportunities. While each platform requires its own content and posting strategy, you’re essentially presenting your brand identity from the various angles allowed by different platforms. Not only that, using multiple social media platforms helps improve your search engine rankings.
5. Engage with your followers
It may seem painfully obvious, but too many real estate marketers forget that social media is just that: social. When followers engage with your posts, always reply! Encourage comments and shares—and join the conversation. Not only is it a great way to cultivate a loyal following, but you can also gain valuable insights into your audience’s preferences.
As with any marketing endeavor, a crucial first step for social media marketing is strategy. We’ll leave you with this idea—your real estate social media marketing will benefit immeasurably from a clear, documented strategy, with measurable goals and a mechanism for collecting and analyzing data. Used wisely, social media can help build your brand, engage your potential buyers and renters, generate leads, and establish your reputation as a trusted resource.
Related posts:
- Social Media Can Be a Strategic Weapon in Real Estate Marketing
- 10 Social Media Statistics for Real Estate Marketers 2018
- Top 10 Social Media Posts 2018
Archive for the "Real Estate Marketing" Category
Top Real Estate Marketing Trends 2019
It’s the start of a new year, and that means savvy marketers are looking to stay ahead of the curve. These top real estate marketing trends are what we see coming for 2019.
Real estate is a competitive and ever-changing industry. Just when your business settles into a successful routine, new marketing tactics and trends can throw you a curve ball. But being aware of the forces shaping the industry is the best way to hit your marketing efforts out of the park this new year. Here are the four top real estate marketing trends that we see coming in 2019.
1) It’s all about the video
If you’re a frequent reader of our blog, you’ll know that we’ve been writing about the astronomical rise of video in real estate marketing for a while now. We can’t stress it enough: video is here to stay, and it’s time your business starts embracing it as a highly effective content marketing tool.
Part of what makes video such an appealing form of content is its inherent shareability, which drives organic traffic. Getting your content and properties out to your base audience is one thing but empowering that audience to be your ambassadors is a huge next step. Creating appealing, engaging video is an ideal way to give your target audience material to share with their networks—with the potential to expand your reach exponentially.
2) People are craving authenticity
One of the dangers of a strong marketing presence is that it can almost become too smart and slick for its own good. It’s no surprise that, as Instagram edges us all towards posting only carefully curated, perfectly doctored reality, companies are likewise looking to share nothing but perfection.
But increasingly, social media users are craving authenticity. Of course, this doesn’t mean creating and sharing sloppy content, but it does mean allowing your followers to get a real, honest sense of your company and properties through the content you post on social media. Let your social media platforms be places where you engage your followers through compelling content that says something about the culture of your business and your passion for real estate.
3) Keep it personal
In a world of bots, robocalls, and AI, don’t underestimate the power of the personal. Much as users are seeking authenticity from marketers on social media, your potential buyers and renters will respond all the better to personalized content and relationship-building.
Whenever you can, add a personal touch to your communication with your audience. This doesn’t just mean adding their names to emails—in fact, marketing automation can (perhaps paradoxically) be your secret weapon when it comes to developing personal communication with potential buyers and renters. (Check our guide to marketing automation tools for real estate marketers here.)
4) Get creative
Writing and talking about creativity is a bit of a paradox. As soon as trends start to catch on and become, well—trends, they’re no longer shiny new innovations. One thing we can say for certain about the new year, and the future of real estate marketing going forward, is that creativity is going to be key.
While we can’t tell you exactly how to be creative, we can give you tips for developing an environment in which creativity can thrive. Being aware of trends, benchmarking your marketing efforts against those of your competitors, reading industry blogs, and listening to your client-base are just a few key ways to foster a culture of marketing creativity.
Related posts:
- 4 Real Estate Marketing Trends 2018
- Infographic: Real Estate Marketing Trends 2018
- 10 Social Media Statistics for Real Estate Marketers 2018
Archive for the "Real Estate Marketing" Category
Measuring Content Marketing Success? Check Out Our Top 3 Posts for Analytics and ROI
Measuring content marketing success for real estate can seem like a daunting task. Our top 3 blog posts on analytics and ROI will keep you on track.
We talk a lot here at Fronetics Real Estate about the importance of a data-driven approach when it comes to measuring content marketing success for real estate. Without a documented strategy, your efforts are likely to be scattershot and aimless. To grow your business strategically, you need to track your efforts, analyze successes and failures, and determine ROI.
This year, we’ve focused on analytics and ROI several times on our blog. Measuring content marketing success can often seem daunting, so we’ve aimed to share some tools that work for us. We’ve discussed why it’s important to benchmark your content marketing efforts against competitive properties, published a guide for real estate marketers to measure that ever-elusive brand awareness, and offered up a monthly marketing reporting template to help you track the right metrics.
Here are our top three most read analytics and ROI posts for 2018.
1. What Metrics Should You Track in Real Estate Marketing? (It’s key to measuring content marketing success)
Traditional real estate marketing involved a lot of “post and pray.” That is, marketers would place ads in local publications, on billboards, and with other traditional media outlets and hope that buyers and tenants would read them and take interest.
Our monthly marketing reporting template for real estate will help you measure success, drive strategy, and demonstrate ROI. Read more.
2. Why You Should Benchmark Real Estate Marketing Against Competitive Properties
When people are searching the internet for apartments or condos, what are they seeing? Part of an effective, data-driven marketing strategy is regularly taking the time to benchmark real estate marketing against competitive properties.
We all know that competition drives results. Take Elaine Thompson and Michael Phelps. In August 2016, Thompson claimed the title of the world’s fastest woman, and Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time. They achieved these incredible feats by continuously pushing themselves to do better — and they weren’t just tracking and measuring their personal performance. Read more.
3. How to Measure Brand Awareness: A Guide for Real Estate Marketers
When it comes to selling property — particularly luxury properties — growing brand awareness is an important goal. Prospective buyers need to know that your property exists and that it can provide the kind of lifestyle that they’re looking for.
Measuring how well you’re doing at getting the word out about your brand and property/properties is critical to optimizing your marketing strategy. But measuring brand awareness can be tricky. Read more.
A final word
Thank you for making us your go-to source for real estate content marketing insights. Please join us in 2019 to learn the latest on measuring content marketing success and everything else you need to grow your real estate business.
Related posts:
- Three Ways to Boost Your Real Estate Marketing with Video
- Infographic: Real Estate Social Media Strategies
- Video: How Content Marketing for Real Estate Can Help Sell Properties
Follow Us
