If you need to drum up business quickly, sending text messages is the way to go.
No other channel generates the high engagement rates that text marketing for real estate does. Text messages, otherwise known as Short Message Service (SMS) messages, are opened and read almost five times more than email (98% to 20%). Real estate agents have been particularly impressed with the effectiveness of bulk texts.
We see a higher attendance at events and more responses than emails, calls, or voicemails.
One of the reasons texts are more effective than other channels is that consumers have grown used to ignoring marketing emails that flood their inbox.
We've helped more than 210,000 customers send over 5.5 billion texts, and many of those customers have been real estate agents. We'll show you five of the most effective real estate SMS messages to send to get business moving plus reveal how to access more campaign ideas.
5 Quick Business-Boosting Real Estate SMS Messages
If you're looking for some innovative and effective SMS messages that will bring in more prospects and close more houses, you're in the right place. Check out these five proven messages to send for real estate text marketing.
It's a great way to keep in touch with clients since everybody seems to take text marketing more seriously than email marketing.
#1
Provide a Sneak Peek
How often do home shoppers warily sneak up to the windows of a home for sale to try to get a glimpse inside? Pretty often. You can save them the hassle and possible embarrassment (if the owners are home) by providing instant access to images of the interior of the property by sending Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) texts.
Reserve a keyword for each of your properties and add a call to action to your yard signs like "Text '100MAIN' to 858585 to get interior images instantly." When home shoppers send the text, they'll receive several interior images in less time than they would have spent getting out of the car and looking in the windows!
#2
Promote Open Houses
Real estate agents have been hosting open houses for a long time. They work wonders, but only if shoppers show up. If you've struggled to get good attendance at open houses, try using text messages to promote the event in addition to or in place of your current marketing efforts.
"I love promoting Open Houses to the neighborhood using EZ Texting! Although I send print invitations to the neighborhood prior to the Open House, I've found that a mass text the night before or the day of really increases traffic!" - G2 Crowd Reviewer
Related Reading: Text Messaging for Real Estate Agent Marketing
#3
Appointment Reminders
SMS appointment reminders work well in a variety of industries, and real estate is no exception. Using SMS messages to remind clients and prospects of house showings or other meetings is a great way to decrease no-shows and make sure that everyone is prepared. Some agencies also use bulk texts to remind staff of company-wide meetings or to deliver other important and time-sensitive messages.
#4
New Listing Alerts
Speed is critical when it comes to real estate marketing. Shoppers know that the best properties go fast, so they want to know as soon as new homes hit the market. Many real estate agents use new listing alerts to entice prospects to join their text marketing lists. Mass SMS marketing is a permission-based activity. You have to have permission to send contacts bulk marketing texts. So, you can advertise "Text 'NEWLISTINGS' to 858585 to be the first to know when new properties hit the market."
It's a good idea to segment your contacts for new listing alerts so that you don't send alerts for million-dollar properties to young couples looking for a starter home. You can keep separate groups of contacts based on their preferences like number of beds/baths, price, location, etc. One of the most important text marketing best practices is ensuring the messages you send are relevant to your contacts. The best bulk messaging services offer unlimited segmenting groups, making personalization easy.
#5
Re-Engaging Cold Contacts
How long is your list of cold contacts? Let's make it shorter. Successful agents are using text campaigns to re-establish connections with prospects who haven't interacted with them in a while and are seeing fantastic results. Don't be shy about checking in to see if cold contacts are still thinking of buying or selling. They'll appreciate the outreach, and some of them will be interested in talking again.
Related Reading: How Real Estate Agents Can Use MMS for Marketing
Get the Full Real Estate SMS Message Playbook
As you begin to market your agency through text messages, you'll want to try out some different types of campaigns to see what works well for you and your contacts. The five real estate SMS messages above are just a few of the options you have at your disposal as you grow your business with effective marketing.
We want to make sure you get off to a fast start, so we've compiled 15 of the best real estate text message campaigns in a free resource which you can access right now. In The Real Estate Text Message Marketing Playbook, you'll get advice and templates for some great messages including:
- Home Maintenance Tips
- Home Sale Anniversaries
- Agency Coordination
- Review Requests
- And More!
