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What is marketing, especially when it comes to real estate investing?

What is marketing? The definition as stated in the Business Dictionary is “The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. It includes the coordination of four elements called the 4 P’s of marketing:

(1) identification, selection and development of a product,
(2) determination of its price,
(3) selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer’s place, and
(4) development and implementation of a promotional strategy.”

When it comes to real estate investing, the question of “what is marketing” takes up also another dimension – suddenly you are dealing with marketing in the business sense, but also psychology (dealing with emotional buying or selling of one of the most fundamental basic human needs – a house,) and knowing how to skillfully negotiate (salesmanship.)

What is marketing?

Successful marketing for real estate investing implies implementing strategic and innovative real estate marketing ideas to gain an advantage over the competition, generate leads, and make it much easier to convert those leads into prospects (buyers or sellers.) As an investor, you have to know how to position your brand on the map and develop exceptional extras and niches within the market that can make you a competitive investor in your geographic area.

There are so many real estate marketing ideas, but for the sake of simplifying them and explain in a few paragraph what is marketing for real estate investing, I would categorize them in 3 different areas:

• Fundamentals: For the new investor who is just getting started. This category includes:
  1. Create or develop your social media profiles, especially in Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter;
  2. Create a lead magnet or page to build your buyers’ list;
  3. Create business cards and flyers will all your contact information, including your social media channels and what you specialize in as far as real estate investing;
  4. Prepare a 30-seconds pitch (or elevator speech) when talking to new leads.

• Advanced:For investors with experience in marketing who want to take things to the next level:
  1. Attend local events and join local meetup groups and associations;
  2. Get marketing material printed with your brand (logo and name) to pass them out to prospects or local events;
  3. Gather reviews and testimonials to post online (social media and website) to build trust and brand awareness.

• Innovative: For the savvy investor who wants to break the mold with something new:
  1. Create multiple websites – for buyers’ lead generation, for sellers’ leads and for branding;
  2. Start a blog and discuss real estate developments in your area and of course post your properties for sale;
  3. Develop a referral system for prospects (buyers and sellers) who bring you more prospects;
  4. Follow up with your leads – develop a “preferred list” of the most assertive buyers and call them personally when you have a deal ready to sell;
  5. Host live seminars and webinars to teach others how to become real estate investors and build your buyers’ list at the same time.

I suggest to lay out the “fundamentals” first and then add 1 or 2 items at a time from the advanced category. Remember that marketing is most effective when you can focus and measure the results before adding or making changes to the process.

Want more great real estate investing marketing ideas?
What is marketing when it comes to real estate investing?

Check out this Webinar, where I will go into detail about different strategies that you can apply today.
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