3 Secrets to Generating Buyer Leads via SEO and Social Media

This post was contributed by Tyler Zey.

REALTORS® need to be marketing online more than ever, but what are you actually supposed to do?  What tactics produce results? The frustration for many REALTORS® is that the typical online lead generation tactics big brands use simply don't work on a local level. These are the strategies that most often make it onto the big marketing websites. I'm going to share with you three secrets to generating buyer leads via your website, social media and online marketing.

Tip #1: The Formula for Booming Hyper-Local Community Pages

Did you know that over 92 percent of buyers now start their search on the Internet? That's a daunting fact considering how poorly most REALTORS® show up online. The problem is that there is so much competition for search engine results, and it can be very hard to cut through the noise.

To attack this problem, I suggest that REALTORS® focus on creating local community and niche pages.  These pages and sites can focus 100 percent on a small community near you.  What you'll find is that it's a lot easier to get a website near the top of Google when you go after specific communities.

But how do you do this? Simple:

You'll want to create a page on your website that is solely about the community you are targeting. You can do this on a WordPress website or your broker's.  The key is to focus on filling it with quality content.

Here are some guidelines:

1. Write over 1,000 words on the page of original content
2. Use your community's name 1 percent of the time (10 times if you write 1,000 words)
3. Include three images that you took
4. Consider including 1-2 YouTube videos about the area

While this isn't a bulletproof formula, you will start to see some Google traffic find your website if you follow it!

Here's a quick video walkthrough talking about this in depth:

Tip #2: Make Buyers Care About You

Why do you think buyers start their real estate website search online? Well, it's most likely to avoid talking with you. People simply don't want to talk to REALTORS® until they've done their research. This puts you at a significant disadvantage.  How can you compete if everyone has the same IDX listings and people don't want to talk with you until after they've found several listings to look at?

Here's the deal:

You can get buyers to care about you by educating them about the buying process.

The best way to do this is through blog content.  There are tons of real estate blog ideas out there for you to fill your website with, and the best blogs will educate the end-user.  They empower the potential client to make decisions more confidently. The best part is you become the REALTOR® who stands out.  No one remembers the agent whose image is next to the listing on a national search. But, they do remember the person who took the time to educate them about a specific part of the buying process. Generating real estate buyer leads is all about creating hooks for the buyer to care about you.

Tip #3: How To Get Twitter To Email You Free Leads

One of the biggest questions I get is: As a REALTOR®, what should I do on Twitter?

Twitter is a hard nut to crack on a local level, but there is a cool little trick you can use to make the network more effectively for you. You can use a tool called IFTTT to scan Twitter. Then, set it up to automatically email you when someone near you talks about buying or selling.

Here's how:

You'll need this little string of words to complete the setup:

“House Hunt” OR “House Hunting” OR “moving soon” OR “moving to” OR “headed for” AND “Kansas City”

Don't forget to do a test search before setting this up! You'll want to adjust the settings for your area before automating the system.  I've seen REALTORS® get several free buyer leads a month with this tool.  It's a great way to start using social media if you haven't been that active in the past.

What do you think?

These three tips for generating real estate buyer leads online can get you on the right track. The tips are simply three starting points for you as you continue to build pillars of incoming lead sources for your business. I highly recommend starting with one today and then adding one next week.

What do you think of these methods? Do you have any tips you'd like the share? Post in the comments below!

Tyler Zey writes real estate marketing tips for Easy Agent Pro.