You’ve put together a great listing with amazing photos (with our help, hopefully!). Now you’re ready to post the listing… but where are you likely to get the best response?
Obviously, you’ll upload your properties to your brokerage home site, which will enable you to include your listings in every digital marketing opportunity that coincides with it. You’re also likely taking full advantage of your agency’s MLS access and enjoying the way those listings automatically feed into key public sites like Realtor, Trulia, and Zillow. (We look forward to hearing Redfin has hit the Alaska market sooner rather than later, too!)
That’s a great start. But are there other websites out there that can help you get an edge over your competitors here in Alaska? If they’re pay sites, is it worth it?
From our experience, the answer is yes. But you don’t just have to take our word for it...
AK Real Estate Consumer Trends Say More Digital Presence Is Better
As you are likely well aware, Alaska’s real estate market is unique compared to the Lower 48. This is largely due to the greater likelihood of working with homebuyers who are willing to purchase sight unseen.
How do you get someone to buy homes without ever seeing them in person? Make sure they can find them online. About half of homebuyers now find the home they ultimately purchase on the internet, so you need to make sure that your listings are ubiquitous online.
It starts with the major players we mentioned above, obviously, but once you’ve got that covered, we believe there are three other “must-have” digital real estate listing locations for Alaskan realtors.
Here’s a little about each:
HomeFinder.com
Cost: Memberships start at $39/month
Features: Unlimited photos, direct client contact, easy social sharing, advertising options, mortgage calculator
DMD Opinion: This network seems to be a no-nonsense kind of listing tool. It appears you can list at no charge, but the paid memberships with HomeFinder.com include priority placement - something which can be key to getting noticed in a cluttered market.
We especially like the idea of being able to include as many photos as you need to tell the property’s story. Here in Alaska, it can often be a grand one!
Homes.com
Cost: Free to Claim Your Profile
Features: Unlimited photos, direct client contact, easy social sharing, advertising options, mortgage calculator
DMD Opinion: We look at including this site into your marketing mix as a matter of housekeeping. Some have compared the user experience to online dating. Buyers key in property criteria, and each search result listing is assigned a unique match rating.
There are currently close to 5,000 Alaska properties listed, and creating your professional profile allows you to claim both listings and consumer leads. It also provides its own conversion tools - which can possibly incorporate into your overall conversion calculations.
Facebook.com (and Instagram)
Cost: Free | Set Your Own Budget
Features: Unlimited albums, Built-in Personal Audience, Geo- and Demo-targeted ad placement, easy crossover between platforms.
DMD Opinion: For those Alaska realtors already utilizing Facebook and Instagram to enhance your real estate business, consider adding paid, targeted ad placement to drive more users (ahem, leads) to your broker site listings.
This kind of placement is great because you can invest as little - or as much - as you want, and you can double down and run multiple campaigns separately targeting local buyers’ agents and potential clients at the same time.
Even better? DMD can help you tailor your ad images and album galleries to appeal to the specific audience you are trying to reach for a given property!
In sum, we believe you can further increase your visibility by tapping into these three key online opportunities. Additionally, we suggest maximizing your exposure through photo add-on and enhanced placement packages for proven channels.
If you have questions about developing listings for your Alaska properties on these sites or are ready to work on some amazing expanded galleries together, we’re here for you. Call DMD Real Estate Photography anytime!