Are you struggling to make a name for your real estate agency and attract new listings? Sure, vendor-paid advertising can be helpful, but relying solely on it won't leave a lasting impression on potential buyers and sellers. In fact, without effective brand promotion, your agency might not even cross their minds when it's time to sell. That's where the real estate marketing funnel comes in - a powerful concept that can help you attract new business and build brand awareness. By understanding the three stages of the funnel and crafting campaigns that cater to the needs of buyers and sellers at each stage of their journey, you can create a marketing strategy that truly sets you apart. In this article, we'll take a deep dive into the real estate marketing funnel and equip you with the tools you need to optimise your campaigns and make a lasting impact on your target audience.
What is a real estate marketing funnel?
A marketing funnel is a framework used to understand the customer's journey from initial awareness of a product or service to the final purchase decision.
The funnel can be divided into a number of stages, but for the purposes of real estate marketing we’ll define it in three:
- Awareness (Top of Funnel): At this stage, prospects become aware of your agency and services
- Consideration (Middle of Funnel): At this stage, your prospects consider your services as an option, weighing them against others.
- Decision (Bottom of Funnel): At this stage, your prospects decide to use your services over another agent’s.
When it comes to real estate, the time from the top of the funnel (awareness) to the bottom of the funnel (decision) can be long. To ensure you’re name is top of mind when your future prospects decide to sell you need to be reaching them at every stage of their property journey. Ignoring the marketing funnel and trying to target only the hot prospects at the bottom means competing with every other agent and their dog for a lead that knows nothing about you. So, what’s the objective of each stage of the real estate sales funnel and what types of messaging, targeting and ad content should you use? Continue reading to find out.
Top of the funnel: The dreaming phase
The top of the real estate marketing funnel represents the dreaming phase, where potential clients are still in the early stages of considering selling their homes. While they may not be actively searching for a real estate agent, they are contemplating the possibility of selling in the future.
It’s during this stage that building awareness, familiarity, and trust is crucial. Your brand awareness campaign should aim to get your brand, image, and message in front of your target audience on a consistent basis. Your real estate website should also play integral part in your top of funnel strategy because it is often the first impression potential clients will have of your business.
Target audience:
At this stage, it's essential to keep your targeting broad since your audience isn't actively looking to sell their homes. Set your target audience to everyone in the suburbs you're farming.
Channels and budget:
Your brand awareness campaign should be designed to reach your target audience through multiple touch points over time. It's crucial to use all the channels at your disposal, such as Facebook, Instagram, and the Google Display Network, to provide consistent messaging relevant to them. Your website also plays a vital role in this stage by showcasing your expertise, providing valuable resources and insights, and establishing your authority in the local market.
A marketing budget as low as $150 per month can be effective, as long as your campaigns are ongoing. Consistency is key, as it can take several interactions with your brand before potential clients remember your name.
Ad content:
Engaging your local community through relevant content is essential at the top of the funnel. Running a competition or providing updates on the local market are great examples of content that can boost your brand awareness.
Middle of the funnel: The research phase
As potential clients move to the middle of the funnel, they are closer to becoming leads. They may have started actively considering selling their homes or may be open-minded to the possibility. For example, they may decide to sell if they found out that the value of their home is greater than they thought, giving them enough equity to upsize.
At this stage, your goal is to educate your audience about your services and gain an edge over the competition. Building traffic to your website, offering value, and nurturing leads into prospects via email and retargeting campaigns are key strategies to consider.
Target audience:
This is where you can start getting smart and target people based on their online behaviour. Rex Reach’s built-in Performance Formula helps you do this by using audience signals to determine who’s in the market to buy or sell and who’s the most likely to engage with your ads. You can also start include retargeting audiences from your database of past buyers and sellers.
Channels and budget:
Maintaining a multichannel approach across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and the Google Display Network is crucial to reaching your target audience. Email campaigns can also be effective for nurturing leads. Since these are lead acquisition ads, a higher budget should be allocated towards campaigns targeting this level of the funnel. A budget of around $400 per month is a good starting point, but this can be adjusted as needed.
Ad content:
At this stage, offering a home appraisal or directing prospects to a market update on your blog can pique their interest. Use your website to deliver valuable resources and insights, such as market reports, property listings, and guides on the home selling process.
An example of a multi-channel ad campaign that targets prospect sellers in the research stage could include a Facebook ad promoting a blog post about the current state of the local real estate market, followed by a retargeting ad on Instagram offering a free home appraisal.
Bottom of the funnel: The ready to sell phase
At this stage, your audience is the smallest but has the highest intent. They are actively looking for an agent and are ready to sell their property. This is where all your hard work moving people from the top, through the middle of the funnel pays off!
The most crucial aspect of the bottom of the funnel is directing people to your website. Your website is your shop front and a vital part of your sales process. Make sure your website is well-designed, fast, mobile-responsive and contains all the information that sellers may be interested in.
Target audience:
You should target people whose online activity shows they’re ready to sell. Use Rex Reach’s smart categories or create custom audiences based on website visitors who have engaged with your content.
Channels and budget:
Your budget for these campaigns should be higher than campaigns targeting the middle and top of the funnel, as you are trying to capture real leads. Larger budgets tend to drive better results. Consider how much you are paying for a lead through the portals and how much a genuine hot seller lead is worth to you.
Ad content:
Use targeted messaging to showcase your unique selling points and direct people to specific pages on your website that are most relevant to them. For example, an agent profile page or a client testimonial page can help build trust and credibility with potential clients. Additionally, use forms strategically on these pages to capture leads and contact information of potential clients.
In short, if you want to be the go-to real estate agent in your area, you need to be intentional about building your brand, educating your prospects, and showcasing why you're the best choice. But how do you do that? By crafting an effective real estate marketing funnel that attracts, engages, and converts your audience into loyal clients. Armed with the knowledge of each stage of the funnel and a plethora of messaging, targeting, and ad content ideas, you're ready to launch your next branding and lead generation campaigns with confidence. So go ahead, take the leap, and watch your business soar to new heights!
Looking for a real estate marketing solution that will take your campaign execution to the next level? Look no further than Rex Grow Suite! With our comprehensive solution, you'll get access to both a real estate website and advertising products that are tailored to your specific real estate needs. Whether you're looking to build your brand and attract new listings or generate more leads and close more deals, Rex Grow Suite has you covered. Request a demo of Rex Grow Suite today and see the growth possibilities for yourself.
