RE/MAX Escarpment Realty Inc.

English

Burlington

Hamilton

Niagara Falls

Oakville

Port Colborne/Wainfleet

St. Catharines

Welland

RE/MAX Niagara & Escarpment Marketing Department

Contact <a href="mailto:marketing@rmxemail.net">marketing@rmxemail.net</a>

Kick Start Your Marketing Strategy

by Allison Lewington | Corporate Marketing Coordinator Looking back at 2022, it’s been an adventure – from our brokerage’s growth, the social media landscape, world events and everything in between. It’s been a time to step out of comfort zones, but also to lean on the people and resources that we trust. For myself personally, that meant asking our Broker of Record Conrad 1,001 questions about market data and identifying trends (<a href="https://www.remaxescarpment.com/posts">see our weekly Appointment Centre Reports and monthly Market Pulse report</a>), chatting with every agent I meet about their challenges and successes, leaning on my fantastic marketing department peers, and not being afraid to ask all the questions. I always try to keep my “beginner’s mind” and be open to new data and perspectives.It has also meant trusting my own experience and looking inward, backing my ideas with data and analytics, and recognizing successes. Since I took on my current role, our Facebook Page reach has grown 371% and Instagram reach has grown 935%. Our social content focuses on celebrating agent achievements, useful content and tips, and the value of our brokerage’s services to agents – in other words, focusing on the people that mean the most to our business (YOU!).I have had the opportunity to branch off into education and have started hosting a weekly Digital Marketing Webinar that all of our agents can <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/470569635447">attend for free</a>. I’ve had the opportunity to work with agents on marketing and advertising that has grown their business for their specific target audience. Even though we are all under the all-mighty umbrella of RE/MAX, we are really made up of many brands that have deep and real client relationships. Working with agents and teams to craft their personal brand and grow their business has been some of the most rewarding work I have done in this role.In the spirit of giving back, I wanted to put together some useful and actionable tips for agents, gathered from my knowledge, research and first-hand experience in 2022. As you may or may not know, we also have a marketing <a href="https://www.office-tools.ca/marketing">FAQ section on Office-Tools.ca</a> for a similar reason. I try to base everything I do on tangible data, but I have discovered that often the questions that I am asked the most are based on my opinions. So please, take the below with a grain of salt, as it is only one marketing coordinator’s opinion. These are the answers I would give you if we were chatting in-person, and are based on my experience in the current market. So without further ado, I will spill the proverbial tea about real estate marketing. Social Media StaplesFacebook, Instagram, Tiktok, oh my!With so many social media platforms available to you, it can be overwhelming to choose where to put your efforts. Or worse, feel the need to be active on all of them, all of the time. When it comes to using social media, ask yourself one question – will this grow my business?Facebook (aka Meta, sorry Mark Zuckerberg, I will continue to call it Facebook until the Metaverse takes off, in which case, I might be waiting a while) still has the biggest user base in 2022 and Instagram is still rocking the best engagement. Great news - they are owned by the same company! This means you can post to both at the same time. So if you're not sure where to start, make a Facebook business page and start by inviting your friends and family to follow, with the ultimate goal of growing your page beyond your current sphere of influence. Tiktok is newer on the scene, with great potential but also risk – there is simply less data. If you have extra time, go for it! But don’t let FOMO be your only motivation to join tiktok. In fact, most users on other platforms are also on Facebook and Instagram anyway. Ultimately, get on Facebook and Instagram, THEN worry about other platforms. Pro tip: Your brokerage pays for automated Adwerx ads for you, and if you <a href="https://remaxescarpment.adwerx.com/">log into your Adwerx profile</a> you can connect your Facebook Business page so that the ads come straight from your page, as if you posted it yourself. How easy is that?!Content is KingCompetition is fierce, and people’s attentions spans are getting shorter. If you want people to follow you on social media, you need to have content on your page that is valuable. Think about who your ideal client is – how old are they, where do they live, what’s their income, what other pages do they follow? Partner up with local businesses that have cross over with your target audience. Re-use and remix content from RE/MAX Canada, RE/MAX Escarpment, RE/MAX Niagara, your local MLS, and special interest pages such as Architectural Digest. And of course, create your own unique content such as videos and blog articles. In 2023, if you don’t put out content, best believe your competition will!Google itI sometimes forget to include <a href="https://www.google.com/business/">Google Business Profile</a> when discussing online marketing, because to me – it’s a given. Having your business on google isn’t just a necessity, it’s inevitable. If you don’t create a business profile for yourself, you might find that the ‘Google Gods’ create it for you, and find the blurriest Google Maps photo for your profile image. If you haven’t already, create your Business Profile (or claim one that already exists), and make sure your basic info is up-to-date and accurate. Google is the de facto search engine, and there is no point in spending money on SEO for your website if the first google result when I search your name is an out-of-date Google profile. There, I said it! Pro tip: unless you have your own office location, use your RE/MAX office location for the address. If you need to send a verification postcard, our front desk staff will alert you when it arrives. It often takes weeks to receive, so the sooner you start the process the better! Hot-TakesTo tweet, or not to tweet?If you already have a steady following on twitter, there is no need to ditch the platform amidst the various controversies (google Elon Musk if you aren’t up-to-date on the media circus. Or don’t - that’s probably better!). If you aren’t on twitter right now, don’t join. In my opinion, there’s no point trying to grow a following for your business on a platform that is that wobbly. Just create an anonymous profile and watch the fire storm, like a normal person.Do I really need a CRM?Yes!! Or at the very least, an excel or google sheet with your client’s info. No, an email contact list is not enough. Your client list is one of the most powerful tools your business has, and it is unique to your business. Nobody else has the same list as you. If your email was compromised, are your clients' info saved anywhere else? I know many agents have gotten by without a CRM, but if you are asking my opinion – you absolutely need to have a CRM to not only store contact info, but to log calls, emails, birthdays, and target with mail and online advertising. Even if Facebook went down tomorrow, your email crashed, and your computer was stolen – if you have your clients saved in your CRM you wouldn’t miss a beat.Last WordsTLDR – My advice for 2023: get a CRM (RE/MAX offers KvCore for free!), get on Facebook if you haven’t already, make sure your Google Profile is up to date, leave twitter for the trolls and start making content. If you already have these things under control, kudos to you! If you are ready to take your marketing to the next level, be sure to join me for my<a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/470569635447"> weekly digital marketing workshops</a>, where I will be diving deeper with demos and Q&amp;A sessions.

2023 Marketing Tips and Predictions

VIDEO can help set your brand apart from the competition. Let us help you start incporporating video into your existing marketing strategy with Agent Evergreen Videos and Client Testimonial Videos to keep you on track to cut through the social media noise and stay ahead of the curve!

Capture the Right Audience

If you already have a social media presence in place, but are just looking to delegate tasks or have a fresh pair of eyes, we’ve got you covered! You can securely and safely give us access to your existing Ad Account and have us create Brand Awareness Ads, Listing Ads, Sold Ads, and/or Lead Generation Ads on your behalf. All ads are proofed by you before they are published, and all results are reported back to you. Have an innovative idea for an ad campaign? We can work with you to create custom ads for your unique idea.  As REALTORS® we are in the lead generating business Facebook and Instagram are valuable tools used by many top producers in their marketing plan. Lead ads work by offering value to a user, in exchange for their contact information. Your offer of value can include private showings, virtual CMAs, access to online content, PDF booklets, consultations and much more. Your ad will appear on social media, and entice users to enter their information. All leads collected are sent directly to you!

RE/MAX Niagara & Escarpment Marketing Department

Your go-to marketing resource for RE/MAX Niagara Escarpment Real Estate Agents

Kick Start Your Marketing Strategy

2023 Marketing Tips and Predictions

Capture the Right Audience

Personalized Digital Marketing