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A Complete Guide to Real Estate Lead Generation

Raja Antony
Written by Raja Antony
Published at Nov 10, 2023
A Complete Guide to Real Estate Lead Generation

With over 3 million active real estate licensees in the United States alone, standing out from the crowd can be daunting. Unsurprisingly, 87% of real estate agents fail in the first five years of their business.

To sustain your real estate business and edge over competitors, you need a steady flow of leads. It’s a critical revenue and growth driver for real estate companies, agents or brokers.

But, let's face it, real estate lead generation is no cakewalk. About 55% of marketers consider generating quality leads their biggest challenge. But don't worry—we've created a complete guide to real estate lead generation for agents and brokers.

In this guide, you’ll find proven real estate lead generation strategies to help you attract sales-qualified leads and increase your company’s bottom line.

 

Table of Contents

Quick Read

  • Lead generation in real estate is finding potential buyers or sellers interested in doing property transactions with you.
  • The five most popular real estate lead generation sources are MLS listings, social media, real estate portals, online paid advertising and email marketing.
  • Some of the most effective real estate lead generation strategies include hyper-local SEO, retargeted social media ads, content marketing for niche, virtual tours and email drip campaigns.
  • The five best real estate lead generation companies are Market Leader, Zillow Premier Agent, Propertybase, Realtor.com and Real Geeks.
  • Visme offers templates for all your lead generation content creation, including infographics, presentations, ebooks, social media graphics and more.
  • Sign up for Visme and create content for more effective real estate lead generation.

 

What Is Lead Generation in Real Estate?

Lead generation in real estate refers to attracting individuals interested in buying, selling, or renting properties and capturing their contact information. It involves strategies like social media marketing, email marketing, open houses, and referrals to draw in potential customers.

The goal is to nurture these leads into clients by establishing communication, building relationships, and addressing their real estate needs.

According to nationwide real estate lead generation statistics, 63.7% of real estate professionals spend less than $1,000 a month on lead generation, with 17.9% using direct mail as their most popular paid method.

 

Lead Generation Sources for Real Estate Agents

Here are five of the most popular sources for real estate lead generation:

  • MLS Listings: Maximize your exposure on Multiple Listing Service (MLS) databases, where potential buyers and sellers seek out properties and agents. Agents and brokers create this database to access and list property information to streamline the buying and selling.
  • Social Media: A recent survey revealed that 46% of agents find social media their top tech tool for lead generation. Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter can provide a platform for showcasing properties, interacting with potential leads and gaining referrals.
  • Real Estate Portals: Websites like Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com can help find leads as they attract potential buyers, sellers and renters worldwide.
  • Online Paid Advertising: Use Google Ads, Facebook Ads and LinkedIn Ads for targeted advertising to desired demographics, increasing lead generation chances.
  • Email Marketing: By establishing a robust email list, you can regularly send property updates, informative content and promotional campaigns to nurture leads and encourage engagement.

 

10 Real Estate Lead Generation Strategies

To help with lead generation for real estate agents, we’ll now discuss ten tried-and-tested lead generation strategies. These strategies will not only help you generate leads, but they’ll also improve your overall marketing efforts.

 

1. Create a Hyper-Local SEO Strategy

Do you want to be the go-to estate agent in a specific neighborhood? Create a hyper-local SEO strategy. In essence, this approach hones your focus to one area, making sure the leads you attract are the ones that matter. And let me tell you why this tactic packs a punch.

When someone in your area searches for real estate, they'll be more likely to stumble upon your website. You're not just competing nationally; you're dominating the local search results.

Here's how to do it:

First, identify the keywords people are using when they search for real estate in your area. Think "homes for sale in [your city]" or "best neighborhoods in [your town]." You can use tools like Surfer SEO, Keywords Everywhere and Frase for keyword research.

Then, optimize your website and content with these specific keywords. Make sure your Google My Business listing is updated with accurate information.

Regularly update your platform with blog posts about neighborhood goings-on, local market reports or reviews of favorite local brunch spots. Do the same for your web page metadata, and don't forget to ask for those all-important reviews.

 

2. Create Interactive Lead Generation Forms

Creating lead gen forms is another proven strategy for reeling in quality leads. And we're not just talking about forms that bore your prospects. Inject life into your form and get high-intent leads excited about connecting with you with Visme's Form Builder. Creating your lead generation form takes just a few minutes.

The form builder has been tested on the Visme website for lead generation. We've discovered a significant 207% increase in conversion, a 205% lift in form engagement and a 60% reduction in form abandonment. Read the full case study here.

Visme form styles
Create beautiful lead forms that drive conversions in minutes!Sign up. It’s free

 

3. Run Retargeting Ads on Social Media

Retargeting ads are a powerful tool for reminding potential buyers of the property they are interested in. A study shows that a single retargeting campaign can increase conversion rate by up to 161%.

With a well-placed, attractive ad, you can nudge them gently towards scheduling that viewing, filling out that contact form or making that call.

These ads follow your website visitors around on social media and give them a gentle nudge.

Let's break this down a bit. When a potential buyer visits a property's page on your website but doesn't complete the desired action, like scheduling a property viewing or contacting you, it's not the end; it's an opportunity.

How? They've signaled intent and showed interest, and that's where retargeting comes into play.

You can set up retargeting campaigns on popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. These platforms use cookies to track visitors to your website and serve your ads to the same visitors while they browse their social feeds.

Here’s an infographic that explains how retargeting or remarketing works:

What Is Remarketing And Why Do You Need It?
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

So they'll see your listings and services pop up in their social feeds, reminding them of your offerings. Brilliant right? It's like a second chance at making a first impression.

Visme offers user-friendly social media graphic templates, including Facebook ads, Instagram stories and LinkedIn sponsored content for creating eye-catching retargeting ads.

Our Facebook Ads template lets you craft engaging ad creatives with ease. It's perfect for targeting potential buyers and reminding them of your listings.

Co-Working Space Facebook Ad
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Share property highlights behind-the-scenes glimpses, and capture your audience's attention in seconds with our Instagram story templates.

Architecture Instagram Stories
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Visme's LinkedIn post templates empower you to share industry insights and property features and connect with a network of potential buyers and investors on this business-focused platform.

Real Estate Partnership LinkedIn Post
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Additionally, Visme comes with a social media scheduler that you can use to plan your social media content in advance. So, you can design, schedule and post your content from a single platform. It's the ultimate tool for planning and managing your social media presence.

 

4. Use Content Marketing for Niche Segments

Content marketing is all about providing valuable and relevant information to your target audience to build trust and establish your expertise. But there's one approach that is often overlooked, and that's targeting niche segments.

Carving out a niche in the real estate industry can differentiate you from the competition and help you connect with highly qualified leads.

Here's a step-by-step approach to do this:

Step 1: Identify a Niche

First, find out which niche would benefit most from your expertise or interests. Are you passionate about green living? Do you have experience selling luxury homes or vacation properties? Or are you targeting first-time homebuyers, downsizers or investors?

In this step, you'll also need to understand your target audience to better identify which niche you should choose.

For example, suppose you're a real estate agent specializing in luxury homes. In that case, your target audience will likely be high-earning professionals interested in living in the finest properties available.

Creating a buyer persona is one of the best ways to identify and understand your target customers. Use customer persona templates to visualize customer information like age, profession, income, interests, pain points and more.

Real Estate App Customer Persona
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Step 2: Create Relevant Content

Now that you've found your niche, create engaging content that speaks to their specific needs and pain points. This can be in blog articles, infographics, ebooks, videos, podcasts, or any other relevant format.

Topics may include:

  • Expert advice on buying or selling a niche property type
  • Market analysis within your niche segment
  • The latest trends or innovations within your niche market
  • Success stories, testimonials or case studies

Crafting a wide variety of engaging content can be challenging, especially if you don’t have any design experience.

Use Visme for all your content creation needs. It’s an all-in-one graphic design tool that can help you design anything from infographics to ebooks, case studies and blog graphics using templates and a drag-and-drop editor.

Here are some templates to help supercharge your real estate content marketing strategy.

Infographic

Use this template to create a compelling infographic to present interesting facts about the real estate industry.

10 Essential Real Estate Facts Infographic
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download
Ebook

Share this ebook with your clients to help them understand how to increase their real estate investment.

How to Maximize Investment in Real Estate Ebook
How to Maximize Investment in Real Estate Ebook
How to Maximize Investment in Real Estate Ebook
How to Maximize Investment in Real Estate Ebook
How to Maximize Investment in Real Estate Ebook
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download
Case Study

Share an in-depth industry analysis and demonstrate your expertise in the market using this case study template.

Real Estate Case Study
Real Estate Case Study
Real Estate Case Study
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Visme also features extensive libraries of vector icons, stock images, 3D animated illustrations, shapes and more. Use these stunning visuals in your designs to make them more visually appealing.

This way, you can focus on crafting your message while Visme ensures it looks aesthetically pleasing.

Step 3: Promote Through Targeted Channels

To ensure your niche audience finds your content, strategically use social media, email marketing and guest posting.

Share your content in niche-specific online forums or social media groups, or collaborate with influencers with an established reach within your niche segment.

Step 4: Build Relationships and Authority

As you consistently provide valuable content tailored to your niche, you'll get more leads and build strong relationships with your target audience.

You'll also establish yourself as an authority in your niche, which will not only establish your credibility but will also likely lead to word-of-mouth referrals and repeat business.

Create authoritative content using Visme's whitepaper templates, press release templates and case study templates to boost your credibility, attract leads and earn referrals. Establish your expertise and foster lasting relationships with your niche audience.

Here is a whitepaper template example for you from Visme’s library:

Real Estate White Paper
Real Estate White Paper
Real Estate White Paper
Real Estate White Paper
Real Estate White Paper
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Use Visme's AI text generator as your content assistant. It can help you generate first drafts, prepare outlines and refine content. It also provides editing and proofreading, making document creation easier and more efficient.

 

5. Offer Interactive Virtual Tours

Bring the home buying experience right to your potential leads' screens by providing interactive virtual tours as part of your lead generation activities.

Virtual tours bridge the gap between the physical and the digital, giving buyers a real-life feel of the property without the hustle of scheduling an actual visit. This feature becomes even more priceless if they're located out of town or lead a busy lifestyle!

Here's an example of a 3D virtual property tour:

Creating a virtual tour isn't rocket science. You just need a good quality 360-degree camera or a smartphone with the right photography app.

There are also plenty of user-friendly tools like Matterport, Zillow 3D Home and EyeSpy360 to join the images together, making your tour seamless and high quality.

You can watch the video below to learn how to create a virtual tour in just five simple steps:

Remember to display your virtual tour everywhere: your website, email outreach and especially on your social media channels. And guess what? These tours are also an unassuming lead-capturing tool.

Ask potential viewers to enter their email addresses or a quick form to access the tour. That way, you've got a new lead ready to be showered with your attention!

 

6. Deploy Chatbots and AI Assistants

In this digital era, consumers want information at their fingertips, any time of day or night. And that's where chatbots enter the picture. They're like your website's front office team, handling visitors' inquiries instantly and effectively.

Integrate chatbots or AI assistants on your website. These intelligent tools can answer common questions, schedule showings and even collect lead data. You can program them to guide visitors through your listings and services seamlessly.

Setting up a chatbot on your real estate website or Facebook page is easier than it sounds. Platforms like Intercom, MobileMonkey and Chatfuel can help you whip up an intelligent little assistant in no time.

Set it up to answer common questions, like property price, location details or booking viewings.

To make your interactions feel more personal and engaging, make your chatbot more human-like by giving it a name and a friendly personality.

Here's how Visme uses chatbots to solve customer queries instantly:

 

7. Utilize Agent-to-agent Referrals

Real estate professionals have a powerful network that often goes untapped. When it comes to generating leads, agent-to-agent referrals can be a goldmine. Studies show referrals are the highest source of real estate lead generation.

Establish connections with other agents in different geographic areas or specializing in various aspects of real estate. When you come across potential clients looking to buy or sell outside your expertise, refer them to your trusted colleagues. In return, they may refer clients back to you when the opportunity arises.

Agent-to-agent referrals leverage the expertise and build trust within the real estate community. It expands your reach, opening up new lead sources and increasing your credibility in the eyes of potential clients.

Get out there, be social, attend industry events, join online forums and get active on platforms like LinkedIn. Casting a wide net within the agent community can connect you with exclusive real estate leads.

 

8. Use Video Marketing with Live Q&A

According to a recent study, 91% of consumers want to watch more online video content from brands. This makes video marketing a game-changer, and when you combine it with live Q&A sessions, it becomes a lead generation powerhouse.

Start by creating informative and engaging real estate videos. You can showcase property walkthroughs, provide market insights or offer tips for buyers and sellers. Promote these videos on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram.

Video content is highly shareable and engages your audience on a personal level. Live Q&A sessions provide an interactive experience that builds trust and positions you as a knowledgeable real estate expert.

It also encourages viewers to ask questions and engage, increasing your chances of capturing leads.

Visme's video maker can help you create captivating property tours and marketing videos. Easy to use, it lets you combine images, text and music to showcase properties in an engaging way.

It offers customizable templates for many types of videos, like explainer videos, Facebook video ads, video testimonials and more. It's a game-changer for real estate video marketing.

Customize this template and make it your own!Edit and Download

 

9. Leverage Predictive Analytics

Utilize predictive analytics tools and software to analyze data and predict future trends in the real estate market. These tools can help identify potential buyers or sellers based on their online behavior, search history and other factors.

Use tools like Livv.ai, TopHap or SmartZip to analyze the data, identify patterns and generate predictions. The result will give you a probable list of homeowners who might be ready to sell and buyers in the market for new homes.

See the advantage here? Focusing your efforts on a targeted audience with a higher likelihood of converting saves you endless hours and resources chasing after cold leads.

You can tailor your email marketing, social media ads or even your cold-calling pitch to this select group, making your outreach more strategic and efficient.

 

10. Execute Email Drip Campaigns with Personalization

Sending out random emails and hoping for the best is like playing darts in the dark. You might hit the target, or you might not. Instead, why not create an organized, thoughtful email drip campaign that reaches your prospects precisely?

An email drip campaign involves a series of automated emails that are sent out on a schedule or triggered by specific user actions. And when you combine it with personalization, it becomes more effective in converting leads.

They'll show consumers you know them, understand their needs, and can provide the right solutions.

So, how do you execute a successful drip campaign?

  • Segment Your List: Not all buyers are the same. Segment your email list based on criteria like property type, price range or location preferences.
  • Create Engaging Content: Whether it's tips about local markets, insider advice on house hunting, or details about new properties, make sure your emails carry content that adds value and is relevant to the recipient.
  • Personalize: Use what you know about individual leads to create personalized messaging. You can address them by their first name, reference their recent property searches, show properties in their budget and more.
  • Automate the Journey: Once you've designed the path, it's time to automate. You can use tools like MailChimp, Constant Contact or SendinBlue to make automation a breeze. Read this article about the 15 best email marketing tools and choose one that fits your needs.
  • Monitor and Adjust: Launching a campaign is just the first step. Monitor your analytics, see how your emails are performing and tweak your strategy to maximize your return.

Where do you start?

Visme can help you design emails that attract and engage your recipients to increase open and click-through rates. It offers email templates, email header templates and branded newsletter templates that you can easily customize using the drag-and-drop editor.

Watch the video below to learn more about designing email in Visme.

Create eye-catching newsletters for your drip campaign using Visme's customizable newsletter templates. They adhere to all the email marketing best practices and are perfect for nurturing leads over time with visually appealing, informative content.

Rent or Buy Real Estate Newsletter
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Always include your brand assets in the newsletters for a consistent brand image. Visme's brand design tool lets you create and save your branding elements, such as brand colors, brand fonts and company logo. This ensures that your newsletters always reflect your brand personality, maintaining consistency and professionalism.

Copy and paste your website URL, and the tool will automatically pull the brand elements and save them in your brand area.

a GIF of Visme's brand wizard

 

10. Host Collaborative Workshops and Seminars

Host workshops and webinars to share your real estate expertise, build credibility and attract leads all at the same time.

Collaborate with other experts or businesses in your area, such as mortgage brokers, home inspectors or financial advisors, to multiply the benefits.

The key is to focus on topics that interest your target audience.

Here are a few ideas:

  • First-time home-buying tips
  • Home staging techniques
  • Insights into the local property market
  • A walkthrough of the home buying or selling process
  • How to secure a mortgage

Where do you start?

Creating an engaging webinar presentation can help you go a long way toward engaging your audience and converting them into leads. Customize Visme's webinar presentation templates to create eye-catching webinars in minutes.

Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Also, Visme's free online presentation maker comes with various features like presenter notes, asynchronous presentation and more. You can use our tool to give your presentations on your live webinars or workshops directly.

Use Visme charts, graphs and 30+ other data visualization tools to present your real estate data in an appealing and easy-to-understand way. Create line graphs, bar graphs, pie charts and even maps.

And the best part? You can connect all your data visualizations to live data by seamlessly integrating Visme with Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Google Analytics and SurveyMonkey.

Experience the transformative power of Visme's presentation software through this compelling testimonial.

I absolutely recommend Visme due to its dynamic functionality and ability to integrate everchanging media and digital technologies. That combined with a collaborative environment which empowers our team to be more efficient with time has been a huge plus.
Jaime Kelm

Director of Business and Data Strategy at LAFC

Read the full case study here.

 

5 Best Real Estate Lead Generation Companies

Do you need additional help with your real estate lead generation?

Here are some of the best websites to help you generate and attract qualified leads.

 

1. Market Leader

Market Leader

Known for pioneering the concept of online lead generation in real estate, Market Leader offers a comprehensive set of tools that automate the process of finding and nurturing leads. Their tools include customizable websites, contact management, consulting, training and a healthy pool of resources.

Moreover, their unique Network Boost feature gives you 40+ monthly leads for just $350. And those leads will be exclusive to you, meaning they won't share the leads with your competitors.

If you are looking for an all-in-one solution to generate, manage and convert leads, this company could be your top pick.

 

2. Zillow Premier Agent

Zillow Premier Agent

Zillow, the largest online real estate marketplace, connects agents with buyers, sellers and renters via its Premier Agent program. Zillow is the number-one most visited real estate website, with 306 million monthly visits. Substantial website traffic means potential high-quality leads.

Their CRM system also allows agents to track and nurture their leads. Real estate professionals often favor it for its extensive reach and clout in the property market.

 

3. Propertybase

Propertybase

Propertybase is more than just a real estate lead generation software. They offer real estate-specific CRM, marketing and real estate websites with IDX (Internet Data Exchange) and MLS integration.

Hence, you not only find leads but also organize, nurture and close them. The seamless integration of CRM, marketing and real estate websites for nurturing leads from inception to conversion is a unique offering that streamlines your workflow.

 

4. Realtor.com

Realtor.com

Realtor.com is another famous lead generation company in the online real estate space. They offer lead generation solutions along with advertising services.

Their lead generation solution offers features like Local Expert and Connections Plus that help agents and brokers enhance their local reach and effectively connect with potential buyers or sellers.

 

5. Real Geeks

Real Geeks

Primarily a real estate website and marketing solution, Real Geeks also offers Facebook ad marketing to generate and capture leads. It utilizes social media platforms to access a wider audience, making it an excellent tool for agents and brokers who want to fully use the power of the world's most popular social network.

Furthermore, they help you create a free Property Valuation Tool that your website visitors can use in exchange for their contact information.

 

Generate More Real Estate Leads with Visme

Use the ten real estate lead generation strategies we discussed to keep your pipeline always filled with quality leads. You can also reach out to the real estate lead generation companies for additional sources.

Quality lead generation often goes hand in hand with creating content. To drive your real estate business to new heights, you'll need to produce plenty of engaging content. You also need memorable forms to attract high-quality leads that convert.

Guess what? Visme can supercharge your content creation process, making it faster and easier than ever imagined. With Visme, you can craft eye-catching infographics, compelling presentations, informative ebooks and insightful reports in just a few clicks. Visme's no code form builder makes it super easy for anyone to build stunning lead generation forms in minutes.

Ready to level up your real estate business? Sign up for Visme and start producing content that attracts high-quality leads.

Raja Antony
Written by Raja Antony

Raja Antony Mandal is a content writer at Visme with 5+ years of experience in the B2B SaaS space. With a background in English Literature, he is passionate about using storytelling techniques to inform and engage readers. Raja writes about visual content creation, design tips and marketing strategies, and his specialty is making complex topics easy to understand.

He also knows the fundamentals of on-page and off-page SEO, which helps him rank his articles high in search engine results. In his free time, he enjoys playing guitar and tabla. You can connect with Raja on LinkedIn.

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