Where to Spend Your Marketing Dollars
Success isn't just about closing a deal, it can also mean learning what messaging resonates, understanding why homeowners hesitate, or figuring out which platforms actually drive engagement.
It's no secret: marketing is expensive! Every company, big or small, faces the question of where to spend their marketing dollars. Marketing is dynamic, not a vending-machine where you insert money and instantly get leads. No matter what kind of marketing you do, there is no magic wand or quick hacks that will make your marketing work overnight. Good marketing takes time and hard work.
Did you know most "overnight successes" take 10 years to build? Think of a musician grinding it out for years - weekend gigs, side jobs, and constant hustle - only to have someone claim their rise to popularity was because of an "instant hit." That's marketing, too: long-term effort behind a quick spotlight moment.
With that in mind, let's examine some common marketing strategies:
Search Engine Optimization (or SEO)
This can get conflated with analytics, online ads, or general online marketing, but real SEO marketing is about making your website appealing and trustworthy to both potential clients and to the search engines that help people find you. SEO has been around since the earliest days of search engines (nearly three decades)! SEO helps people find you and your services when they're actively looking for them.
Strategy: SEO marketing is a slow and long-term marketing strategy that is best served with consistent and organic interactions. Overloading your website with trendy search terms won't boost your rankings significantly and with today's smarter search engines it could even hurt your visibility.
Expected Return: Low to none. Don't expect instant leads from someone Googling "real estate agent near me." SEO builds trust over time. Think months or even years. Keeping your site fresh and relevant is the long game.
What about analytics?
Website analytics (e.g. Google Analytics) are not marketing-they're feedback. They show you where your visitors come from, what they do on your site, and where you might be losing them. For example, if your QR code sends people to a landing page, analytics can tell you how many showed up, but didn't take action. From there, it's detective work: Is your content engaging enough? Is the page broken? Are there patterns in who's bouncing? Analytics help you spot weak spots so you can adjust your strategy-but only if you're paying attention.
Social Media Content Marketing
It's important to distinguish between two marketing strategies here: Ads and Content. We'll address content here.
Content is the stuff you post on your social media page. It can be anything from market updates to listing announcements to funny memes to home tour videos to podcasts and more. Content is time-consuming to make, which is exactly why it's valuable. Good content takes a lot of work. Content creation can be a full-time job. Make sure the content you create doesn't interfere with your current job as a real estate agent.
Strategy: If frequency is king, scheduling is the queen. Determine what content you like creating, are capable of producing frequently, and brings value to anyone seeing it on your social media. Pick a few types to experiment with and time yourself on how long it takes to produce. Find a balance between fun, informative, and compatible with the platform of choice.
Expected Return: Moderate, but what you get out of it is proportional to what you put into it.
Engagement goes beyond posting. Engagement means responding to comments, answering questions, and participating in relevant conversations. While it's powerful, it can also eat up time fast. Balance is key.
Online Ads & Social Media Ads
Get your info on real estate pages across the internet with online ad services. Your ads might appear as banners on the page or sponsored posts in a media feed. You can also pay for your website to be featured in a search engine's top results, ahead of where it would normally be with SEO. You have some control over where your ads are shown and what target audience you want to reach, but your ads may also end up in weird places or just get blocked by ad-blockers.
Strategy: This differs by platform, but a general strategy is to create ads that look authentic and interesting. Avoid generic ads. They tend to get lost in the crowd. Stand out by speaking directly to your audience's needs. Research your target demographic, figure out their concerns and pain-points, and then create ads that directly address your potential clients' pain.
Expected Returns: Low to moderate. Millennials and younger generations are really good at ignoring ads. It can be a low-risk way to broadcast your message, but keep a close eye on how much you spend. It is easy to overdo it and burn through your budget without much return.
Print Marketing
Print marketing is tangible and rooted in the real world. It's a valuable way to find audiences in places that digital doesn't always reach. Old-fashioned marketing like this is still very relevant. There are lots of ways you can get creative and find unique access to your target markets.
Strategy: Brand yourself with a consistent style, color palette, and iconography. Then find the hyper-local venues where you can stand out. We're talking newspapers, magazines, community bulletins, signs, posters, bus benches, billboards, and more.
Expected Return: Low to moderate. Print marketing is less track-able than online marketing, which is why doing your homework is critical for getting a laser-focused ad in the right place at the right time.
Mail Marketing
Sending someone "junk mail" might seem like an antiquated marketing strategy, but it's actually really effective if you target it right. You want to target a neighborhood with good turnover and with people willing to move. Some neighborhoods have long-term residents who stay in their homes for decades, while others see frequent turnover. Focus your efforts where moves happen more often.
Strategy: Offer value consistently and become an authority on local real estate information. That means real market statistics, local developments and events (where you can hopefully meet the neighbors), and solid on-topic real estate content. Avoid filler like cheesecake recipes or outdated sales maps. Instead, focus on high-value, relevant info.
Expected Return: Moderate, but slow. It can take over a year to get the first call, and leads may trickle in one or two at a time, but a single listing could snowball into referrals. It's also not unheard of for homeowners to share interesting mailers with friends and family.
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Cold Calling/Door Knocking
Don't. Seriously. These methods have been useful in the past, but in today's environment, they're not nearly as effective and can feel invasive for the homeowners. If you are being encouraged to go "old school," consider safer, more modern alternatives like door hangers, attending community events, or sending handwritten notecards.
Events & Sponsorships
Getting in front of people makes you real and jumpstarts your relationship. When the event aligns with your interests, your genuine enthusiasm can help you connect with attendees and make a lasting impression.
Strategy: Find an event that aligns with your values and your desired potential clients. Some events include 5K runs, food/petfood drives, local festivals or street fairs, home shows, and even school or after-school-club sponsorship. You can also create a client or community appreciation event on your own.
Expected Return: Moderate, as long as you layer up your communications before and after. Add people to your mailing lists, email them about the market, invite them to your next event, and generally offer value consistently.
Overall Marketing Advice
You might have noticed that none of the marketing strategies covered here promised sky-high returns. That's not an accident. Good marketing takes time to work, and no single marketing strategy is the panacea to sustain your whole business. As you build out your marketing plan, keep these things in mind:
- Be Deliberate: Every piece of marketing needs a clearly defined goal, a time-frame, and metrics for success or revisions.
- Be Specific: In your content, specifically target the city or neighborhood you are marketing to. Mention it by name. Mention dates. Yes, this narrows your target audience. That's the point. You want your audience to feel special and unique.
- Layer Your Strategies: The more ways a potential client can see you, the more likely they are to remember you. Think of your marketing like a cake. A single-layer cake is unimpressive. Two-layer cakes are okay. A 3-tier wedding cake or 7-layer death-by-chocolate cake? Now we're talking!
- Analyze & Adjust but Never Quit: What's worse than a single strategy that doesn't work? Constantly switching strategies every few weeks without giving any of them time to succeed.
"Success" isn't just about closing a deal, it can also mean learning what messaging resonates, understanding why homeowners hesitate, or figuring out which platforms actually drive engagement. Every effort gives you data. Use it, refine your approach, and keep going.
Hopefully this helps you spend your marketing dollars wisely. If you've made it this far, you're clearly serious about leveling up your marketing. Our team can help you create smart, great-looking content that connects with your audience and drives results. No fluff. No pressure. Just solid support.
When you're ready to stop guessing and start growing, book a consultation call with our team!
By Denise Lones CSP, CMP, M.I.R.M.
The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones has over three decades of experience in the real estate industry. With agent/broker coaching, expertise in branding, lead generation, strategic marketing, business analysis, new home project planning, product development and more, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things real estate. With a passion for improvement, Denise has helped thousands of real estate agents, brokers, and managers build their business to unprecedented levels of success, while helping them maintain balance and quality of life.