Click here for Part 2 of 2 (Coming soon!)

The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected businesses and healthcare worldwide, and that includes the real estate industry. However, it cannot be denied that the pandemic has also helped to accelerate the use of technology, from e-commerce to online meetings and also contact tracing.

As we move forward to a more technology-driven era, it is becoming increasingly important to utilize technology to attract more leads from your property listings. Property agents used to depend on cold-calling, hanging up banners, or even advertising in newspapers and magazines to attract potential clients, gain leads, and close deals. Today, we are talking about the digital transformation for real estate agents which makes use of existing technology – or property technology (also known as ‘proptech‘) – to gain leads from their online property listings and advertisements.

Most real estate agents will be familiar with posting their property on property listing websites like Estate123.my, but over the years, some practices have become ingrained when properties are posted online. However, thanks to ever-changing SEO (search engine optimization) algorithms, some of these practices may do more harm than good when listing properties online.

Here are some examples of what NOT to do when advertising your properties:

Posting multiple duplicates

It is not uncommon for some agents to post the same property listing multiple times in a single website. Some use the wholesale ‘copy and paste’ method, while others might change the prices slightly to avoid being seen as too obvious duplicates. However, the fact remains that having multiple listings of the same property will not only confuse – and annoy – potential clients, but also reflect negatively on your reputation or ‘brand’ as a real estate agent.

Different accounts, same content

We’ve come across more than a few examples of this at Estate123.my, where some agents create multiple accounts to post their listings. Such a practice in not encouraged, as it not only creates a sense of false advertising, but could also cause confusion among potential clients who are searching for properties, only to discover that the listings from “different” agents are actually for the exact same unit.

And all three are selling the same “3-bedroom condominium in Location X”.
Title stuffing

Also known as keyword stuffing, this happens when the title or subject of a property listing is filled (or “stuffed”) with multiple words or phrases in the hopes of showing up more often in property search results. While you might think this will help with SEO, it could actually do more harm than help, as users may be overwhelmed by the amount of text. Just pick one or two keywords or phrases that is most closely related to the listing (e.g. project name, property location) and interested prospects will be attracted to view more details in the property listing itself.

Keep It Short & Simple (K-I-S-S)
SMS and WhatsApp spam

Everybody with a mobile phone has gotten them at some point: promotional texts offering discounts, promotions, or just plain spam in a WhatsApp message or SMS. Sure, sending a message via SMS or WhatsApp usually gets it noticed by the recipient, but unless they are actively looking to purchase property, such promotional messages can easily become annoying.

Alright, now that you know what NOT to do when using proptech tools to gain leads, check out Part 2 (coming soon) where we tell you what you CAN do to level up your real estate digital marketing game and increase the chances of closing a deal!

It’s now or never when it comes to digitalizing your brand and business. Check out our Estate123 YouTube channel for webinar sessions, podcasts, and more amazing content!