marketing remarks Archives - Rector Hayden REALTORS®

In our social media classes we talk all the time about how strong content will increase website traffic and generate leads. But, what if you aren’t sure what to talk about? Maybe you don’t want to just re-post what other agents are saying – you want to get personal!

Well here are some awesome ideas for quick easy AND ENGAGING content for your social networks, blogs, or even mailings and e-mail newsletters!

1. Local Market Updates

Every month Rector Hayden sends out detailed market reports that contain all sorts of statistics for the past month to your list you provide. But – this data could be useful for a targeted post also. Did you know, your RHR website allows you to create custom market updates based on neighborhoods or zip codes? Or, you can even show custom market data for a specific listing! “Give your local audience a reason to click. What better reason to visit your real estate blog than to see if their home prices are increasing or decreasing? It’s one of the best ways to attract locals. It’s also a great way build your blog subscribers,” says FlyerCO Real Estate Blog

The following link goes to a random listing I pulled in the 40513 area code: http://www.junelaves.rhr.com/Home/1502196/XTN/3240-Linville-Ln-Lexington-KY-40513/

On this page, if you scroll down, our data is presented in a clean format that you can use for quick comparison or information for a post!

Or by using the new market watch tool from your RHR website – you can view statistics by areas like the screenshot below:

2. Neighborhood Updates

Many agents tend to specialize or gravitate to an area of town that they are most familiar with. If you “farm” a specific area, become that neighborhood’s expert! Is there a block party happening soon? A new playground being built at the nearby park? Hidden retail or restaurant gems in that area? Blogging and posting about this kind of geographic content actually can help your google pull! This helps you stay current, relevant, and increases your ability to show up as a result when someone is interested in that neighborhood.

3. Your Listings & Open Houses

This may seem like a no-brainer, but sharing your own listings is a great form of self-promotion and advertising. This a great way to share those lovingly crafted marketing remarks and awesome professional photos of the home! Tell a story about the home or the neighborhood – create emotional attraction to your listing!

4. & 5. Buyer Questions & Seller Questions

Anytime you have a unique question with your client – write about it! Chances are there are other people out there trying to google the same question! Invite your client to comment on the content and share it with their networks too! No clients right now? Post every week with tips and info about general real estate questions: “How to get started?” “Renting vs. Buying” “Loan options?” “Buyer’s Agents” etc!

Have you been posting content that engages your clients? Tag Rector Hayden in your next post and we’ll be happy to share it, too!

Words that could add value to your listings:

Statistics reviewed in a new report book from Zillow (The New Rules of Real Estate) show that spot-on and specific marketing remarks can add a couple grand to the final sale price of your listing! See the excerpt below!

“Bottom-tier homes described as luxurious tend to beat their expected sale price by a whopping 8.2 percent,” write co-authors Spencer Rascoff and Stan Humphries (of “Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate”). “Top-tier homes described as captivating tend to beat theirs by 6.5 percent. That means, if your home’s estimated home value is $110,000, but your listing includes the key word ‘luxurious,’ you could pocket an extra $8,965.”

Words like “landscaped”, “upgraded”, and “stainless” add supreme over-all value no matter the price tier your listings is in! But remember, you have to deliver on what your promise. If your listing isn’t upgraded, stainless (or have stainless appliances), or landscaped – you’re more likely to completely turn-off potential buyers.

Words that can be detrimental to your listing:

Some words are great – but some can cost you!

“If you’re not careful, picking the wrong adjective could cost you time, money, and in some cases, lots of both,” Rascoff & Humphries explain.

The image to the left shows words that caused mid-tier and top-tier homes to sell for less than expected. The 9 Top perpetrators are as follows:

FIXER – TLC – COSMETIC – INVESTMENT – INVESTOR – POTENTIAL – BARGAIN – OPPORTUNITY – NICE

These words all seem pretty typical for marketing remarks, yeah? It’s that over-use that has caused these words to now negatively impact listings. Buyers have come to associate these common words with negative connotations. ( AND you should never use the word investor as an adjective or potential candidate – that violates EHO agreements. ) “Nice” can have so many meanings, and is usually just a filler word that conveys no real meaning. If it’s a gorgeous view or a sturdy deck – those are much more qualifying than “nice”.

Sometimes just using an uncommon adjective can boost your listing better than others! Consider writing out your marketing remarks and then “upgrading” them with some synonyms from a thesaurus. Potential buyers will enjoy words like “captivating, inviting, chic, or durable” more than “improved, nice, big, etc.”