Paid lead generation means taking advantage of direct online advertising. You can do this through paid Facebook, Instagram, Google, or LinkedIn ads to pay for leads. You can also pay for online leads through real estate websites like Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, and others.
The upside to paid advertising? If you do it correctly and have a big enough budget, you’ll be able to start generating leads fairly quickly.
If you’re running a paid lead generation campaign outside of paid real estate search portals, you’ll typically offer a free valuable resource called a “lead magnet” in exchange for your prospect’s email address. Lead magnets can be anything from a local real estate market report to a free home valuation tool.
Since you likely won’t close a client the minute they opt into your lead magnet, you’ll need to also invest in email marketing to nurture the leads you bring in to learn more about them and let them learn more about you and what you can offer.
You can choose to outsource this if it’s okay with your brokerage, or you can automate most of these emails so you can “set and forget” your nurture campaigns.
How to Use LinkedIn to Generate Real Estate Leads
LinkedIn is quickly becoming a great source of leads for real estate agents. LinkedIn users are typically employed or looking for even better work, which means they have a steady stream of income and may be in a good position to buy or sell their home.
Getting leads for new real estate agents on LinkedIn can work two ways: you can either pay for ads directly, or you can create valuable LinkedIn articles and connect with people organically (meaning, without paying to interact with them). If you choose the latter, it’s great to show up regularly on the platform with articles that speak directly to your dream prospects and clients. Articles offer a platform to answer “frequently asked questions” you get out in the field, or share local market reports and your professional opinions on them.
If you do go this route, remember that people are on LinkedIn (and any platform, for that matter) to share information and connect with people, and they don’t necessarily want to be “sold” anything. So, if you do decide to showcase what you can offer people with your services, make sure you tie it to valuable information and relate it back to their needs so you have a better chance of earning their trust.
How to Get Real Estate Leads on Facebook
Facebook lead generation campaigns for real estate agents are probably the most common paid advertising strategy. The reason is because Facebook’s ad targeting allows you to target prospects in certain states and even narrow your audience down to their age, education, and income.
Facebook lead generation campaigns can involve offering a free lead magnet in exchange for a prospect’s email address, or they can be as direct as sharing your listings and offering applications to learn more about those listings.
If you want to get creative, some real estate agents even offer resources like monthly webinars and Facebook groups to get prospects’ information so they can demonstrate their expertise up front, and continue to nurture those leads until they’re ready to buy, sell, or invest.
Is Social Media a Must To Be a Successful Realtor?
Whether you’re a realtor or a non-associated real estate agent, it’s smart to already have a polished website and an active social media presence before you start relying on paid ads.
Most likely, people will see your ads and head over to your social media accounts and website to learn more about you before they reach out and give you a call or opt in to whichever helpful free resource you may be offering in exchange for their email address.
Just remember that social media can take time to gain momentum and attract attention from your dream clients.
