By Sarah Smith

As mobile technology continues to integrate into the lives of consumers, technology itself is used to support a number of social online interactions, including shopping. In the real estate industry, many real estate agents don’t truly understand the overall affect that their online marketing strategies have on their own success in terms of gaining clients and expanding their business.

Today, more consumers shop online vs physically shopping at brick-and-mortar businesses than ever before. Even in terms of research, people search online first before buying a specific product or service. This means real estate marketers have to present a strong online presence in order to increase their business as well. Obviously, a potential home buyer wants to see the home in person, but first they will look at it and read about it online first. This gives them a much greater opportunity to see more homes at once and to also make a more informed buying decision in the end.

In order to achieve a high level of success, savvy real estate agents must know how to build trust with their potential buyers first.

How Real Estate Marketers Grab the Attention of Consumers

In order to attract a wide audience, real estate agents need to offer a unique combination of practical and emotional marketing. Purchasing a home isn’t just a financial investment, it’s a highly emotional one as well.

One key way that real estate agents appeal to a wide range of consumers is through their emotions. Families who want to experience a healthy, safe environment will respond to marketing ideas that include nostalgia, commitment, humour, and happiness. Many times, agents will use commercials that portray a family eating dinner in a gorgeous home, or depict a significant moment in an individual’s life like graduating from college or getting engaged. Virtually everyone can relate to or desire these special experiences in life.

Research reveals that 65 percent of all consumers regarding the real estate industry are actually married.

Considering this fact, advertisements are specifically designed to connect to a buyer on a psychological level by showing a happy, healthy family that’s living the quintessential American dream. In general, most people desire what a home represents, such as security, health, and general well-being.

But, many potential home buyers are more focused on the practical features of a home. They generally want to save both time and money along with having easy commutes as well as buying an energy efficient home and living in a highly-desirable neighbourhood. When developing advertisements for people in general, real estate agents have to present efficiency and minimalism in order to be effective.

The Psychology of Marketing Online

Real estate marketers must project a sense of trustworthy and confidence to their potential buyers primarily because their business revolves around word-of-mouth advertising and referrals. In order to persuade consumers that they’re the real estate agent to trust, they tend to advertise their brand through key Internet marketing strategies or commercials that create familiar and recognizable brands in the minds of their potential buyers.

This marketing approach is often used to elicit an emotional response from the buyer as well as inspire them to engage in the online buying process. This often requires a great deal of comprehensive knowledge of how psychology is used in the real estate market overall.

Aspiring real estate agents need to enrol in a reputable real estate licence course and then work on improving their real estate marketing skills in order to increase their client database and expand their brand.