Transform Your Instagram into a Home Seller Magnet: Are You a "Secret Agent"?

Are you inadvertently keeping your status as a listing agent a secret from potential home sellers on social media? In the world of real estate, where social media algorithms actively suggest content to users, it's essential to ensure that your online presence clearly communicates your role in serving sellers.

I once heard an agent recount how a buyer to whom he'd sold a house a few years earlier didn't use him to list and sell the house because he thought he was only a buyer's agent. Never assume anything and make it crystal clear to prospective clients exactly how you can meet their real estate needs.

So, how can you ensure that sellers recognize you as their ideal listing agent? Here's a strategic approach to optimize your Instagram profile for attracting home sellers:

1. Pin Your Listing Strategy: Start by pinning a post that outlines your approach to listings. This serves as a beacon, signaling your expertise and setting expectations for potential clients.

2. Highlight Your Successes: Utilize story highlights to showcase your achievements as a listing agent. By curating a collection of successful sales and happy clients, you reinforce your credibility in the eyes of potential sellers.

3. Craft a Compelling Bio: Your Instagram bio is prime real estate for a concise yet persuasive message. Incorporate a compelling call to action that encourages sellers to connect with you and learn more about your services.

4. Curate Seller-Centric Content: Regularly share content tailored to sellers' interests and needs. This could include local market insights, seller tips, or success stories. Each post contributes to shaping your brand identity and attracting the right audience.

Remember, every piece of content you share on Instagram is a building block in constructing your online presence. By strategically shaping your profile to cater to sellers, you can transform your Instagram into a powerful magnet for attracting prospective clients.

Leveraging the Domino Effect: How to Use Other Listings to Attract More Listing Opportunities

When one property goes on the market, others often follow suit – a domino effect of “For Sale” signs that can trigger a sense of urgency among homeowners.

And the effect can extend beyond just nearby neighbors noticing yard-signs; it can be amplified through various channels, such as social media, postcards, emails, and other means, reaching a wider audience and potentially attracting more listings. That’s the game! Simply seeing other properties for sale can serve as a catalyst for hesitant homeowners, nudging them to take the leap and list their own homes.

In today's highly competitive real estate market, listing inventory is extraordinarily scarce. As a result, it's critical to promote your listings in a way that sparks interest and generates buzz, thereby leveraging each listing to attract even more opportunities.

Here are 4 channels you can use to market your listings that’ll attract more listing opportunities:

1. VIDEO:
   Video is a powerful tool for real estate agents to showcase their listings and their skills in showing and selling properties. To position yourself as a listing agent, consider creating a variety of videos, such as selfie-style property tours, short clips highlighting distinctive features, and/or pro-quality listing films. Share your videos across various online platforms, including your website, social media channels, and paid media, to reach both potential buyers and sellers. Videos can be a great way to make your listings stand out in a crowded market and generate interest in your services as a listing agent.

2. POSTAGE:
Direct mail is another effective channel for promoting your listings and attracting more opportunities. Consider using a mix of postcards, flyers, door hangers, and/or pamphlets to target neighbors and other potential sellers through multiple touch points. Depending on your budget, you may want to promote your listing with every change of status - active, pending, closed - to increase visibility and generate buzz. Mix up your postage and time your touch points strategically to garner the consideration of prospective sellers in your target market. Direct mail can be a great way to make a memorable connection with potential clients and demonstrate your expertise in the hyperlocal area.

3. SOCIAL:
Social media is a crucial channel for real estate agents to reach potential buyers and sellers. However, it's important to stand out in a sea of "coming-soon," "just-listed," "under-contract," and "just-sold" posts. To make your social media efforts more effective, liven up your posts with case-study commentary in the caption text, run ads targeting locals, share in relevant Facebook Groups, and even post in Facebook Marketplace to increase your exposure to actively-searching buyers and prospective sellers. The game is to up your exposure to potential clients and showcase yourself as a busy and successful listing agent.

4. EMAIL:
Email marketing is a powerful tool for real estate agents to stay top-of-mind with potential clients and promote their listings. However, it's important to provide value to your existing contact list rather than just "blasting" them with listing updates. To make your email marketing efforts more effective, send value-packed emails to your database and sprinkle in your listings to showcase yourself as an active, working listing agent. This could include market updates, local news, home-buying and selling tips, and more. The goal is to build trust and credibility with your contacts and stay top-of-mind when they're ready to buy or sell.

Custom Door Hangers (to Attract Listings)

Custom Door🚪Hangers (to 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬)

Want more listings⁉️ (Of course you do 😜)

In this video, you’ll hear (and see 👀) about 2️⃣ (two) different tactics Sean Ryan (@buyinwithryan) is deploying with his team in the Sarnia/Lambton, Ontario market to generate new listings.

🚨𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗧🚨

He’s printed custom door-hangers that he and his team are door-dropping whenever listings sell in his Geographic Farm — regardless of whether or not it was his sale 😲. 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚛: he’s in no way, shape, or form insinuating that it was his sale or taking credit for someone else’s production. He’s just reporting the news.

Also in this video, Sean talks about a concept called 𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒔,” whereby he coordinates w/ local short-term rental properties to put his sellers up for a night (or three) when their home first hits the market and is experiencing nonstop showings.

What’s working in your market to generate listing opportunities? Please comment below and/or tag your peers to get their input.

Off-Market Listing Attraction Database Email Script (for Real Estate Agents)

We’re facing an epic listing 🏘 shortage in real estate markets across the US, Canada, and around the world 🌎 It’s causing intense bidding wars and rapidly increasing purchase prices.

During a recent mastermind session I listened to numerous top agents who, one after the next, explained how they’d been procuring listings lately. Remarkably, every tactic they shared involved straight-up hustle. I suppose that figures. After all, there’s no such thing as a 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚-𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩-𝙢𝙚 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹. In other words, acquiring listings isn’t 𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒎; it’s 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒅. So, if you’re willing to give it some elbow grease (so to speak), here’s an idea for you to consider!

Send a plain-text email (meaning, it should simple and unadorned—no HTML fancy stuff, etc.) to your database:  friends, family, acquaintances, past clients, old/new leads, et al.

🚨🚨I’ve linked to a sample email script at the bottom of this post. 🚨🚨

Part 1:

Begin by acknowledging the inherent challenges of this market. Once again:  multiple offers, escalating price points, limited inventory, etc.

Part 2: (Optional)

Share some market context. After all, only a limited set of events historically shift real estate markets:  foreclosures, new construction, interest rates, and so forth. Give a snapshot overview of what’s happening at large because would-be sellers may be waiting for purchase conditions to change in the short-term, when, realistically, it could take longer than anticipated.

Part 3:

State the point that there are likely myriad sellers who would list their homes IF the ideal purchase opportunity were to present itself. If that describes anyone receiving 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 email, ask if there’s a type of home they’d like for you to seek out on their behalf. Then, proceed to circle-prospect, door-knock, and/or bulk mail off-market homes, subject to all applicable rules/regulations, with the intention of scheduling “one-time showings.” (Oh yes, you knew we’d eventually hit the “hustle” part, LOL.)

Collect their wish-list criteria via a Google Form. In that same Form, ask if they have a property to sell and gather data about it. Basically, by the way, you’re amassing a registry of pocket listings.

Pro Tip:  when contacting off-market homeowners, if you hear, “Well sure I’d be open to selling my home to one of your buyers—only, where am I supposed to go once it’s sold?” Say, “Tell me about the type of home you’re looking for. It may already be in my off-market registry [i.e., your Google Form] and, if not, I’d be happy to add you to my list of buyers for whom I’m actively seeking out suitable purchase opportunities.”

Remember:  𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕.

I’ve composed a sample email script. Feel free to use it, edit it, turn it into a video, or whatever -- at your own discretion, of course. Just complete the form below.