New Construction Marketing for Realtors

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Are you looking to show up on social, brand yourself in your local community, attract new customers, and consistently market yourself online?

What if I told you that there was one form of marketing you could focus on that would check all of those boxes? The answer isn't too good to be true - the answer is marketing new construction homes! I'm obsessed with new construction because it can be a goldmine for your real estate marketing. And I'm not talking about just attracting buyers. New construction marketing can form the basis of your strategy or be an easy content opportunity.

In this episode, we will cover why to invest time in it, how to get started with it, and some creative ideas for marketing.

So, let's steal that model home magic for your marketing in this week's episode!

Why New Construction for Your Real Estate Marketing? 

Focusing on marketing new construction homes has a variety of benefits and can be surprisingly easy to do! Let's dive into some of the top reasons to implement this strategy: 

• Content. If you've ever found yourself unsure of where to begin with marketing, start right here. You can create content in the form of social media posts, videos, blogs, website content, and more all about new construction. From the neighborhoods to the models, to the builders and the process, you won't run out of topics to talk about any time soon.

• Social Media: It's no secret, sharing beautiful homes on social media does well. People love to double-tap a sparkling kitchen or comment on the decor of a thoughtfully designed home. Sharing new construction homes is an easy way to post engaging content that homebuyers and even past customers are attracted to. Learn more about my 4 Pillars of Social Media Content for Real Estate Agents or download my 30-day social calendar.

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• Niche Marketing. Ever heard the phrase, "the riches are in the niches?" By narrowing your focus, you'll be better able to connect with more people. And if you're working on building your real estate brand, this can help you establish your local authority as well. The more you talk about a specific topic, the more you will become known for it.

• Incentives. Many builders offer agent incentives, so this could be a lucrative opportunity for you. Just be sure to speak with the builders in each community to see what they're offering and for how long.

• Easy To Start. No matter your experience, you can start marketing new construction homes right away! Go out to a community, speak with the sales reps, and take photos and videos. Now, you'll have what you need to get started during a couple of hours of touring beautiful homes.

If you want to specialize in new construction, you need to learn it.

Becoming an Expert with New Homes 

Whether you want your entire marketing strategy to focus on marketing new construction or you want to share on social about it occasionally, it's essential that you're knowledgeable. 

To take your expertise to the next level, start online as a homebuyer would. Head over to Google and see what comes up when you search for new homes or neighborhoods in your market. Even if you are incredibly familiar with communities in your area, I want you to do this step to see if there are any opportunities from an SEO or content perspective. 

If it's frustrating or difficult to find information, you could provide the content people need! 

After you've done some online research, make a list of potential builders or communities that you want to visit in person. Once there, make sure you ask as many questions as possible and make notes of all you learn. You can use this knowledge when working with home buyers or in your online marketing. 

After you've researched online and in-person, you might consider specializing in it further. There are classes you can take to learn more about the home building process. First, try your brokerage or local board to see if they teach on this topic. Next, head over to your local Home Builders Association or visit the National Home Builders Association. The NHBA even offers a designation you can get, the Certified New Home Sales Professional. 

Investing in education further builds your authority as a real estate agent for new homes. 

After you've done your research, then we can start marketing the homes!

Marketing New Construction Homes 

Even though it's specific, the beauty of new construction marketing is the variety of content you can create! Of course, you have the show-stopping homes. But you also have communities to explore, builders to feature, countless models to tour, and the process to talk about. 

These topics lend well to all forms of content. You can create videos, simply take photos, or even write posts to share with your ideal buyer everything they need to know. 

I want you to have a library of creative assets that you can choose from to share on social or use on your website. So, to begin, we'll focus on your visual content. 

Get Your Visual Marketing Elements

Visual marketing elements sound fancy. They're not! Taking videos and photos is all you need. So, get out to those models, take your phone or camera, and start taking photos and videos for your collection!  

While you're there, you can take photos of the homes, neighborhood, and amenities. You might take it one step further and create a video tour of the home featuring you as the guide! This is an excellent strategy for YouTube and a way to gain traction as a new construction real estate agent. 

And while you're at the homes, you can also take photos of yourself for your personal branding. I highly recommend taking the time to do this! I have been known to stop by a model home to snap some photos to use for Instagram. It's an easy way to show up online and demonstrate your personality. Learn more about taking branding photos of yourself for free and download my worksheet. 

Let's walk through an example of collecting visual content to use. The next time you're in a new neighborhood, be sure to do the following:

• Get photos of the exterior of the home and all interior rooms

• Take photos of the community itself and amenities so you can show off the lifestyle

• Take photos of yourself or enlist a friend to help

• Get video content of the homes, either a whole tour or small mini-videos of specific rooms or features. If you're getting video, consider grabbing horizontal and vertical shots. Horizontal is best for YouTube, email marketing, and your website. Vertical works great for social media include Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, and Tik Tok.

After you've taken your photos and videos, next we need to edit and organize them! 

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Edit and Organize Your Content

Taking time to edit your photos makes them pop in your marketing and better aline with your branding. I prefer to use Adobe's Lightroom for editing, and you can download the free app version to your phone. After your content has been edited, be sure to take time to organize it!

It's difficult to remember every model you've toured, and neighborhoods can start to blend together in your mind. Make a folder on your computer, or using Google Drive, for each builder or community. Within that folder, make more folders for each model type and store all of your marketing collateral in the appropriate category. Tip - while you're at the communities, be sure to take a photo of the neighborhood sign and model signs for each home, that way, you know where all your content came from! 

Creating Content!

Now, you can get to the part that will help you attract more customers and make a difference in your business goals. 

Content is a magnet for your ideal customer. If you have the information they are searching for, it's a natural fit to work with you as their real estate agent! But first, you need to decide how you want to present all of this information. 

You can take a comprehensive approach by editing longer videos to be shown on YouTube, or you can share posts occasionally on social media. How often and how you focus on this type of marketing should align with your overall marketing plan. Learn how to create your marketing plan here.

An easy way to way to start is to choose a community to promote. I'd recommend basing this off the availability of lots or inventory homes, the agent incentives, and if it aligns with your farming area. 

After you've visited the community and taken photos and videos, you could try a real estate marketing strategy like this:

• 1) Write a quick overview of the community and include the information you would tell a buyer you were actively working with, such as pricing, location, amenities, and lifestyle. Why do you like the community?

• 2) If you have a website, create a blog or a website page using this writeup to create a community profile. Don't forget to include a call to action or lead capture here! Learn more about creating lead captures.

• 3) Take this description and share the entire thing (if it's shorter) or parts of it on social media accompanied by a photo or video you've taken. For example, if your description of the community was three paragraphs, you can use each paragraph for a separate social media post!

• 4) Send out this information in an email newsletter. This is excellent for engaging active customers and even your sphere! While many past customers or friends won't be interested in your latest listing, they might be invested in learning about a new construction community in their area or are curious about the HGTV style content you're sharing.

• 5) Bonus - reuse the photos and videos you took for other marketing pieces. You can use those captivating photos for your next print marketing piece or even your website.

As you can see, you can do a lot with a couple of paragraphs and a few photos! You can be incredibly efficient with your marketing by repurposing content to get the most bang for your buck. Learn more about repurposing content here. 

But your content doesn't have to stop just at promoting the homes and communities! You can continue the conversation by providing tips on building a new home, FAQs, benefits to working with a real estate agent or covering the process in-depth. There's much to share and exciting topics to cover! 

But don't ever forget how this strategy can help you as well. 

Use New Construction to Build Your Brand

The more content you produce and the more you share, the more you look like the expert! This strategy can play an integral role in your brand as a local real estate expert or even a new construction specialist. 

However, it doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing approach. You can invest your time heavily into marketing or incorporate it every once in a while. Either scenario can build or complement a real estate marketing strategy. 

My goal with this blog and podcast episode is to inspire you to implement more new construction into your marketing. Because the builders have a lot going for them right now, demand is high for homes! But the one thing that they don't have is you. 

So, take advantage of new construction to meet new people, build your brand, engage your sphere, and help people on their dream of building or buying a new home. Your expertise and guidance can make all the difference. 

P.S. Want to see how I use new construction marketing for my Instagram? Be sure to follow @IdeasForRealEstate

And if you’re looking for done-for-you social content, get my Business Boosting Social Kit for Realtors! Complete with video content for Reels Stories & posts, photos posts, reusable templates, engaging captions, and more the kit is expertly curated to bring my strategies to your social media marketing!

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I’m Heather Colby, host of the “Ideas for Real Estate Podcast.”

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