Real estate markets are so dynamic that realtors need to continuously come up with new and innovative ways to generate leads and get in touch with homebuyers. In the past few years, you built a website and a blog, maybe even a Facebook page to boost sales, but these tools are no longer enough to ensure consistent business.

Sitting around and twiddling your fingers when nothing happens won’t make your phone call any time soon. You have to implement some new lead generation strategies to get new clients.

Here are six lead generation tips that can get you more contacts in 2020 and beyond.

1) Host a First-Time Buyers Event

About 30% of the people who buy a home in the US are first-timers. It usually means they need a realtor to go through the hassle of buying a property and moving in.

Today’s first-time homebuyers have different expectations from the previous generations. Millennials have revolutionized the home buying process: they make technology-driven decisions and expect more personalized services from their realtors.

A series of events for them can help you capture the attention of this new generation of buyers. It’s a great opportunity for new buyers to learn about what to expect when purchasing a home and your chance to guide them through the process.

A buyers event generates qualified leads and helps you build trust with your new audience. Plus, it prepares potential customers for searching for a home and handling mortgages, insurance, home inspections, and the moving process itself.

If you have any doubts that people will participate in an in-person event, you can move it online. Platforms like Zoom can help you host an interactive event with hundreds of participants interested in learning about the home buying process.

2) Organize an Open House

The open house continues to be one of the most effective real estate lead generation strategies. The trick is to promote the event way ahead to increase awareness and ensure a high number of participants. Use your website and social media accounts to let potential home buyers know that you have an open house coming up in your local area.

A powerful upgrade from a traditional open house is a 3D virtual real estate tour. It’s an innovative way to showcase the property to a broad audience without having too many people sharing the same space. Plus, potential buyers interested in the home can retake the tour several times before making a decision.

Virtual tours are comfortable for both the homeowner and the potential buyer. And you get all the credit for making it all possible. And the good news is that many participants at the virtual open house can become potential clients.

You can gate the video content to gather contact information from viewers. Also, you should make sure that the platform hosting your virtual event makes it easy for potential buyers to get in touch with you.

3) Use Social Media Advertising

Social media advertising is an excellent source of leads who can generate new business for realtors. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram enable you to create appealing ads and target specific audiences in your area, to maximize the profits without wasting resources.

Targeting can do miracles in this industry. Social media generates the highest quality leads compared to other marketing channels for 47% of real estate businesses.

You can use ads to build awareness, advertise an open house, or update your audience about other upcoming events. Having a Google My Business account besides a social media presence helps you build further trust with your audience. Plus, when listing your business on Google, people can find you quickly and refer to your website for more information.

4) Buy Lead Generation Services

When you’re out of lead generation strategies, you can use specialized platforms to find new potential clients. It’s a shortcut that can help you focus more on your business, as you don’t have to worry about your funnel anymore.

You’ll pay for the services, but the leads you get can be beneficial to you as a real estate agent. 

Zillow, BoldLeads, and Realtor.com are among the top platforms for getting new leads and generating new business. In exchange for a fee, these websites make it easy for agents to connect with local home buyers and generate new business.

5) Keep Your Website Relevant to Your Audience

A renewed website is more likely to rank high in search results than a page that hasn’t been updated for years. Publish consistently on your blog to educate home buyers and make sure you do some SEO work to increase online visibility.

You can get quick results by optimizing the metadata, improving site speed, publishing high-quality images, and making sure that Google has indexed pages correctly.

You should also experiment with landing pages and do A/B testing to see what design and copy perform better. Sometimes you only have to make a few changes to improve conversions on your website. Use Google Analytics or similar tools to understand where your traffic comes from and how visitors engage with your content.

6) Be Active in the Community

As a real estate agent, you should build solid relationships inside the local community. You could volunteer for local charities, host events, write for a local magazine or give a presentation where you can share your expertise. There are many different ways to become active in your community and spread the word about your services.