Lee Davenport

By Lee Davenport

Approximately 65 percent of REALTORS® report having a website for at least five years but only 2 percent of their business come from those sites, according to the National Association of REALTORS® 2015 Member Profile. Yet more than 90 percent of home buyers start their search online. Does anyone else see the problem with these numbers? They do not add up.

I am all for referrals and repeat business, but what if you could connect with home buyers more frequently and in better ways? The numbers don’t lie: Home buyers and sellers are online, and it may be easier to get them on your website than you think.

I coach agents, and one of my favorite ways to get real estate buyers and sellers to visit an agent’s websites is by using Facebook ads. Why?

Image courtesy of Lee Davenport.

Since more than 70 percent of adults online use Facebook, and Facebook ads can target whomever you want for as little as $1 a day, it would be a flagrant foul not to use Facebook ads to drive traffic to your website.

You can target Facebook ads based on a person’s hobbies, alma mater, city, career, or employer. You can even target Facebook users searching about home remodeling (because they may want to sell), and anything else that suits your fancy. More importantly, ads are not limited to your friends list. You can connect with people across the world who use Facebook; people who may be moving to your town in the near future.

If you have ever been on Facebook, then you know that most people over-share about their lives. Facebook tracks that information and makes it available for marketers to sort through (I know, this is too much like Samaritan in Person of Interest). It’s there and someone will use this data, even if it’s not you. Why not use it while Facebook is selling it so cheaply – at a minimum of $1 a day? This really is a no-brainer! Watch how easy it is:

Not sure what your Facebook ad should feature? Click here to request complimentary access to our idea guide.

If you have traffic flowing to your site but you’re still only getting about 2 percent of your business from online leads, then there may be a secondary problem with your website. It might be ineffective on a usability level. Does it have outdated listings? Does it look like a site that was created when the internet first became a thing? Your website may not offer engaging reasons for people to contact you or leave their information. And your site must be mobile-friendly, bottom line.

This brings us to my next tip: Get website visitors to leave their contact information by creating a fun and compelling offer that is tied to a prominent data-collection form. Why? This will help convert site surfers into actual leads.

None of us like spam, and most home buyers and sellers are savvy enough to know if they complete your contact form, then they may never get off your e-mail list. As shocked as we may be when it comes to prospects’ reluctance to sign up on our business’ lists, we know this is the very reason why we do not sign-up on most retail websites (mmmm hmmm, you know I am telling the truth). Unless, of course, the website offers us something we want. This is intuitive when we visit various retail sites, so why do we expect our real estate site visitors to think or act any differently?

Hopefully it is now settled that you need to have compelling offers on your website. Create offers that you think will resonate with your ideal clients. The key is to connect the offer to a contact form (such as one that can be made in MailChimp).

Need ideas to give your site visitors an offer they can’t refuse? Click here to request complimentary access to our exclusive infographic to help you get started creating your own attention-grabbing offers.

Have more questions about real estate technology? Ask away by following me on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google+, or by visiting LearnWithLee.REALTOR. And if you sell real estate, get a copy of the five-star rated workbook, Plan to Win, to transform your real estate sales game plan. Here’s to your success!

Lee Davenport is an Atlanta-based real estate broker and business doctoral candidate who trains agents and brokerages on how to use today’s technology to work smarter. Join Lee’s free RE Tech Insider’s Club by visiting www.LearnWithLee.REALTOR.