If as an agent, you try to cater to everyone, you cater to no one. One of the cornerstones of your success in real estate (as in any business for that matter) is an ability to find your niche and then laser-focus your marketing efforts on it. But what meaning is there behind ‘a real estate niche’ for you? And does your website feature the right offering to your niche? Careful here – if you think your niche narrows down to the location, you’ve just fallen into a common real estate marketing trap.
When talking about a real estate niche, plenty of agents refer to a community, neighborhood or town. Well, this is not niche marketing, this is farming. For example, focusing on the Austin real estate market and trying to grow your SOI by any means (both online and offline like postcards, door knocking, direct mail, etc.) is farming.
If the geographic focus is not a real niche, then what is?
To make a long story short, let’s take a look at the definition of ‘niche’ in the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
Niche is “the situation in which a business’s products or services can succeed by being sold to a particular kind or group of people”.
In other words, a niche is a specialized, narrow fraction of the market which closely matches the profile of your ideal customer and will be the most profitable one for you to focus on.
Here are some examples of what you can call a real estate niche:
- first-time homebuyers;
- luxury homebuyers;
- sellers;
- retirees;
- vacation-home sellers;
- investors. etc.
Once you’ve carved out your real estate niche, you need to make sure your marketing and sales tools help you reach these people effectively. And given that 90 percent of people start their home search online, you’d want your real estate website to do the job.
Let’s see how to make your website actually talk to your niche as well as what kind information is the most valuable to these people. Covering all of the real estate niches is enough for a dozen posts, so we’ll only take a closer look at a few of the most widespread ones.
[Related post: Real Estate Marketing 101 for Aspiring Agents: What Works Today].
Targeting your real estate niche via your website
First-time homebuyers
Typically (although not always) first-time homebuyers fall into the category of millennials aged between 24 – 40. These are people who are willing to take an advanced quest for the home-buying information and they will be very thorough in their research.
You’d want to remember a few things when marketing to this real estate niche:
- your website should have up-to-date and eye-catching design. Websites from the 1990s are of no interest;
- your site needs to be mobile-friendly as 4 in 5 customers use mobile devices to search for locally relevant information;
- you should feature lots of locally relevant content as well as home-buying guides which visitors can download and join your sphere of influence.
[Related post: How to Write Compelling Real Estate Listings That Evoke Trust].
Luxury homebuyers
While affluent homebuyers look for luxury and class, they expect your website to look just like that. It’s best that you:
- focus on a simple, elegant design;
- power your listings with beautiful hi-res photos;
- publish your own online real estate magazine;
- consider adding videos and 3D property tours.
Vacation-home buyers
They are typically affluent families or individuals interested in travelling abroad. You can focus on a few things here:
- provide a great overview of your area – what makes vacations so nice here? Mention all the nature spots, hidden gems, tourist attractions, etc. to make your area look appealing;
- compile a list of services vacation-home buyers typically need – taxi services, local hospitals, restaurants, sport facilities, etc. so they can find all this info in one place – your website.
[Related post: 7 Types of Real Estate SEO Content That Make an Exceptional Blog].
Retirees
Retirees are usually interested in quiet, friendly communities with affordable cost of living while having all amenities nearby. The best information to feature on your site is:
- explain why it’s so beneficial to invest in real estate in your area and how well the market has been performing recently;
- showcase what the average cost of living is in your area;
- if your area is a notable destination for medical tourism, make sure to emphasize on this fact too.
[Related post: How to Write a Perfect Neighborhood Page in 5 Easy Steps].
Investors
Typically, it’s better to create a whole new page (or pages) for this real estate niche. Investors usually look for different information than the one first-time homebuyers or retirees are interested in. For example, they might want to see your portfolio and track record of past deals to make sure you’re credible and knowledgeable.
You will do yourself a service if you separate investors’ information into a standalone page. Simply link it in your main menu and help people navigate through your site with clarity and ease.
Sellers
If you market specifically to sellers, the first thing you should focus on is how successful you are in closing deals:
- feature plenty of client testimonials;
- offer downloadable seller guides, home improvement guides;
- create a gallery of the homes you have sold.
Wrapping up your real estate niche marketing efforts
Regardless of what real estate niche you cater for, there are a few things you can always keep in mind to make niche marketing easier and more efficient;
- do research first. Your real estate niche’s language, demographics, lifestyle, income, property features they’re looking for first and foremost, as well as how your competitors market to them;
- create the right content. Try to make your site a comprehensive guide to living in your area so people can easily find the most important information here;
- try to make your site look nice but clean and simple to use. Navigation, social sharing buttons, signup forms – place everything in the right places for better effect.
There you are – these simple tips help you reach your real estate niche easier and make your lead generation efforts much more fruitful.
