Creative Real Estate Marketing Ideas to Sell a Listing (2023)

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You’re familiar with the definition of insanity, right?

We’re not calling you insane, but if you’re still marketing your real estate business and your clients’ properties the same ways as every other agent and expecting better or different results, then….well, you know the rest.

In this article, we’re going to give you some creative real estate marketing ideas to sell a listing. Most of you won’t try them, but those of you that do will see results that you’ve never experienced before.

Are you ready to try something new?

Real Estate Marketing Ideas that Every Realtor Uses

Many Realtors, like most companies,continue to market their businesses the same way that they have been for a long time. Possibly worse, many Realtors justmarket their business and their clients’ listings the same ways that their competitorsdo – and expect different or better results.

If you’re guilty of either of these, then we’re willing to bet your marketing strategy goes a little something like this…

1. Put properties on the MLS
2. Buy ad spots in magazines and newspapers
3. Spend weekends holding open houses
4. Call brokers and past clients for referrals
5. Spam purchased email lists
6. Add properties to website(s) and social media channels

Now, don’t get us wrong here. Some of these tactics are still necessary, but if they aren’t coupled with creative, effective twists, then why would a seller ever want to list with you or a buyer ever wantto work with you?

Stop relying on the same tired marketing strategies as everyone else. Take some time toknow your businessso that you can then market itcreatively and effectively.

We’re even going to give you some uniqueideas that you’re most likely not using yet so you have no excuse to keep using the same ineffective, status quo marketing strategies.

Creative Ideasto Marketa Listing Online

There are two primary things you are responsible for marketing…(1) your clients’ listingsand (2) yourself.

A great agent needs to be able to do both and do them exceptionally well. Any type of mediocrity or lack of results will make it far too easy for buyers, sellers, renters and investors to simply move on to another agent.

Since propertiesare whatgive you a career we’re going to focus onsharing some unique real estate marketing strategies to effectively promote and sell a listing.

These “outside of the box” ideas may be what you need to move that stubborn listing and make your business a lead magnet for new sellers.

DISCLAIMER: We are simply providing creative alternatives – as ideas – to market a listing. In no way are we confirming that these ideas are 100% approved for your area. It’s important that you consult a lawyer on any of the ideas we recommend below before you move forward with them.

Idea #1: Let Them Try Before TheyBuy

Does anyone else find it strange that the largest financial transaction we make in our lives is often times done blindly?

What we mean by that is this…

Before you spend tens of thousands of dollars on a car, thousands of dollars on home appliances or hundreds of dollars on electronics you have the opportunity to try them first. You can touch and feel them. Play with them. And visualize them in your home or in your hands.

Why is this not entirely possible with something we’re going to spend hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars on?

Yes, you canattend open houses, walk through a home (usually as much as you’d like), take pictures, etc. None of this really provides the full experience of actually living in the home though.

So here’s the idea…

Use a service likeAirbnbto let prospective, qualified buyers stay in the home for a couple nights.

How would this work?

Logistically, the current home owner would need to make the home available through their own Airbnb account, but this is certainly something you could help them do or have someone do for them. It’s as simple as adding a listing to a real estate portal –even easier in most cases.

Why would this be effective?

Buying a home is largely an emotional decision. What better way to tap into someone’s emotions than to let them physically experience and envision what their life would be like with them in the home before they buy it? This would also be a great way to prevent buyers from wasting your time as this will weed out anyone not seriously interested in living there.

What is the marketing angle?

This type of offer / opportunity will really market itself – at least until everyone starts doing it. Not only does this show that you’re a cutting-edge agent staying at the forefront of leveraging new technology, but it proves that you and your seller care more about just getting the most money for their home. It shows that you / they want to find the perfect person or family for their home.

Idea #2:Havethe Neighborhood Sell the Home

How often does a client really get to immerse themselves in a new areabefore moving in?

Sometimes the amenities and attributes of an area can sell a home better than anything else. The problem is that most buyers that aren’t already familiar with a neighborhood can have a difficult time picturing what their life would be like in this new place.

Similar to our first idea above, leveraging new technologies allows you to offer a truly unique and immersive service for serious buyers. And the best part for you is that you can quickly set yourself apart from other agents by using this idea before they do.

So here’s the idea…

Use services like Uber and OpenTable to give prospective, qualified buyers an unforgettable experience in their soon-to-be new neighborhood of residence.

How would this work?

Thanks to the simplicity of the services recommended this is actually much simpler than using Airbnb as recommended in our first idea. All you would need to do is to use the OpenTable app or website to book a lunch and/or dinner for your buyers. And thanks to Uber’s open APIyou can actually order an Uber right from your reservation. The driver will already know where to pick up and drop off your clients.

Why would this be effective?

Very few buyers, specifically ones moving from out of town, take the time to explore an area as if they lived there already before purchasing or renting their new home. There’s no better way to do just that than by going out for a nice dinner without having to worry about driving aroundonly to get frustrated from getting lost because they don’t know the area. The car ride also allows them to notice parts of the area that they wouldn’t otherwise recognizefrom driving around themselves.

What is the marketing angle?

Similar to our Airbnb idea, utilizing new technology like this not only shows that you know how to leverage technology to help your clients, but it also shows your seller that you’re willing to go outside of the box to sell their home. In addition, it shows your buyers that you care more about them finding the right neighborhood, not just the right home.

Idea #3:Make Them Feel Like a Part of the Community Already

Is there anyone better at selling a community than the people who live in it already and love it?

One of the emotional barriers of buying a new home is the worry of feeling accepted and welcomed in a new community.

An effective wayto help prospective home buyers feel like they can seamlessly become part of their new community / neighborhood is to facilitate as many introductions to future neighbors as possible.

So here’s the idea…

Host a neighborhood Meetup in the property you’re listing that allows current community members to share their suggestions to improve the neighborhood.

How would this work?

Assuming that you’renot already leveraging an online group(e.g.Facebook Groups, Google+ Communities or LinkedIn Groups), then you’re going to use one of our favorite tools for many different purposes – Meetup. Once you’ve joined the site, then all you need to do is create your “meetup”, invite people and then make sure that neighbors and prominent community members are notified as well. If you fail to lock in at least 10 people for the event, then you can resort to a simple email thread asking current neighbors for improvement recommendations – of course, making sure that your prospective home buyer(s) are included in the discussion.

Why would this be effective?

Even with all of the different ways to meet and connect with people now it has seemingly become more difficult for some people to establish new relationships, especially when relocating to an unfamiliar place. Not only does a hosted Meetup allow your buyer(s) to quickly get to know their potential neighbors, but it also allowsthem to gain an innate knowledge of the highlights of the neighborhood and the people in it. These things could sell the home for you.

What is the marketing angle?

Since we’ve already established that an effective marketing angle here is your ability to show your technical prowess let’s focus on one other primary angle / benefit here. Since there’s always the chance of even the most qualified buyer not going through with a purchase you want to make sure that you always have a good network of prospective clients in your pocket. By holding a Meetup in one of your listings, not only will you be able to show off how you represent a listing, but you may also generate somereferrals from attendees. Who knows, one of the neighbors may have been waiting for this home to come on the market to move and they could be your buyer.

Idea #4:Give Them a Different Perspective

Have you ever felt like your verbal explanation came up short in showcasing aproperty to a remote buyer?

Even the most seasoned and experienced agents can undersell a property when they’re forced to simply use words.

Hands down, the best way to showcase a property is with high quality photos and videos. No secret there. To take these effective mediums to the next level though requires some creativity and help from some new technology.

Sohere’s the idea…

Use Goforto provide drone footage of your listing and the surrounding area.

How would this work?

Technically, at the time of this post, on-demand drone technology like Gofor is not widespread yet. However, assuming it will be soon the logistics are actually quite simple. Either have your client create their Gofor account or use your own to task a drone for aerial footage of your listing as well as the surrounding neighborhood. The simple alternative would be to hire an experienced drone videographer.

Why would this be effective?

Think of drones like mini-helicopters – they can providevantage points and footage that few other video or photo technologies can match. These unique, breathtaking shots can give buyers a real experience of a property and its surroundings without having to actually be there. At the end of the day, ahigh quality drone video of a property would impress your remote buyers better than your shaky iPad video or boring photo slideshow.

What is the marketing angle?

There are few, if any agents, using drones properly to market their listings – especially not like this. As drones become more popular, and allowed in more places, you will start to see more drone footage. If you’re one of the first to really use drones effectively in your marketing, then you can quickly set yourself apart from every other Realtor in your area.

Idea #5:Maximize theOpportunity

Have you ever wasted an entire weekend holding an open house only to have a poor turnout?

No matter how good your marketing is, this has probably happened to you at least a few times in your real estate career. And even if it hasn’t then we would bet that holding open houses is one of your least favorite things to do as a Realtor.

Fortunately, there are some creative ways to maximize the available listing that can generate revenue, buzz and more importantly interested prospects.

Sohere’s the idea…

Use services like EventUp and StoreFront to fill the listing with prospective buyers – or people who can refer buyers.

How would this work?

People are always looking for space to hold events and even to sell their items via trendy pop-up shops. There are few open locations that meet the space demands of these people better than residential listings forsale or lease. Through these services you would listthe property, set a price, set your guidelines and then let people inquire about the space for their event or pop-up shop. You can filter through the leads to handpick the ones that you think willbring the most buzz and prospects to your listing.

Why would this be effective?

Outside of the secondary advantage of being able to actually generate revenue from renting the space out, you are essentially letting the person or business renting your listing to do the marketing for you. It’s in their best interest to fill the event and all of these attendees now become possible prospects and word of mouth marketers for your available listing.

What is the marketing angle?

Simple – someone else is bringing people to the listing for you. Your main task, once the space is rented out, is to make sure every person attending that event gets some type of information and takeaway about the property. Not only will you probably get some good PR, but the word of mouth marketing this can generate will amplify your prospect database and heighten your reputation as a creative listing agent.

What Are You Doing Differently?

Hopefully the ideas above sparked some creativity and forced you out of your comfort zone when it comes to marketing a new listing.

We know that only a small percentage of youwill actually change how you do things by trying one of our ideas. For those that do, we would love to hear your experience on how things went – good or bad. If your story is compelling enough we’ll even do a follow up feature on this post highlighting you and your real estate business.

We challenge you to take some risks and do something different.

Are you up for the challenge?

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