As you are reading this, we bet your mobile will be lying somewhere very near to you! That’s the reason why SMS marketing (works even without the internet) is a hit and almost all big industries are using it.
When we talk about these big industries, real estate comes at first as 73% of real estate businesses use SMS to contact their clients.
In this blog, learn more about SMS marketing for real estate, why it is so effective and the types of campaigns these 73% of businesses must be using.
What is SMS marketing for real estate?
SMS marketing for real estate allows agents to send automated and personalized messages to their customers. These messages can be about property listings, open-house invitations, exclusive offers, market updates, and confirmation of appointments.
For real estate SMS marketing to achieve maximum impact, make sure to:
- Have a purpose and include value in your SMS.
- Receive customers’ opt-in before starting to send SMS promotions.
- Include a strong and relevant CTA at the bottom of the message.
- Perform A/B testing about the timing and frequency for optimal results.
- Not including spammy language.
Why use SMS marketing for real estate?
Here are some significant reasons why real-estate businesses should start using SMS marketing.
1. High open rates
SMS has a higher open rate of 98% which is way too promising in comparison to email with a 20% open rate. It gives you confidence in using SMS for promotions and also allows you to less stress about the introductory hook. All you have to worry about is providing value in the message for greater impact.
2. Instant delivery
SMS messages are one of the quickest communication tools. It instantly gets shared and allows real estate companies to reach their target audience in no time. SMS marketing for real estate helps in situations where realtors have time-sensitive information such as new listings, open house invitations, or price drops.
3. Direct communication
SMS enables direct communication with your target audience and SMS shortcodes and two-way communication also allow recipients to instantly reply. It not only allows businesses to offer personalized communication but also helps in situations where customers want to clear some doubts to speed up the process of their decision-making.
4. Increased engagement
90% of recipients open SMS marketing messages within 3 minutes and have a 10.66% click-through rate. It draws a substantial amount of engagement from your target audience. It is very important for businesses such as real estate where being the first to act can lead to significant profits, unlike retail situations where multiple products are available.
5. Cost-effectiveness
The cost of sending a single message is comparatively low against email marketing as SMS marketing requires way fewer resources. SMS marketing for real estate becomes more cost-effective when businesses use bulk messaging, as the cost of sending SMS comes down more.
6. Targeted messaging
SMS segmentation in SMS marketing allows real estate businesses to categorize target audiences into smaller groups based on common factors such as age, gender, location & purchase history. It allows realtors to create & send hyper-targeted messages based on different group requirements for greater relevance.
7. Automation and integration
With the right SMS marketing automation tool, you can easily create and launch SMS marketing campaigns with minimal effort. It will also provide real estate businesses with additional advanced technologies such as SMS segmentation, metrics monitoring, CRM integration, and templates.
8. Higher conversion rates
SMS marketing conversion rate falls between 21-30% which is way higher in comparison to the email conversation rate, i.e., 2-5%. With a strong call-to-action and targeted messaging, you can enhance the likelihood of converting your message recipients.
9. Compliance and Opt-InT
SMS marketing requires recipients to permit real-estate businesses to receive marketing messages. Sending opt-in messages is important for Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) standards compliance. It contributes to a positive brand image and better engagement.
5. Versatility and creativity
SMS marketing offers a wide range of creative possibilities such as sending multimedia, interactive, or personalized content. It helps real-estate businesses drive strong engagement from their target audience and stand out from their competitors.
Recommended read: Should You Use Emojis In SMS Marketing?
Types of SMS marketing campaigns for real estate
Here is a list of 11 key campaigns to use in SMS marketing for real estate.
1. New listing alerts
This type includes messages about newly listed properties. Businesses must send these messages based on SMS segmentation, to match preferences and criteria. This allows potential buyers or renters timely information about the latest available properties without actively searching.
2. Open house invitations
You can use SMS to invite potential buyers to attend an upcoming open house event for a property. Send out details such as date, time, and location in SMS. To gauge attendance for further planning you can leverage two-way SMS to confirm their attendance with a particular keyword.
3. Price drop notifications
These notifications help subscribers to know instantly if there is a price deduction or special offer on their interested property. These messages help potential buyers to reconsider their decision to buy and in most cases, the results from these messages turn out to be positive. An SMS marketing automation tool that offers CRM integration will keep track of preferences and send targeted price-drop messages with minimal effort.
4. Virtual tour reminders
These messages in SMS marketing for real estate are to remind potential buyers to view properties up close virtually. These reminders are sent to the subscribers who have previously expressed their interest in virtual tours. Virtual tours act as a gentle nudge and encourage subscribers to take the next step and reminders SMS ensures that your buyers do not miss it.
5. Market updates and trends
These notifications help subscribers to know about any ongoing changes, market trends, developments, etc that help them access the current state of the market to make informed decisions.
6. Referral requests
Referral request messages allow real-estate businesses to ask their satisfied clients to leave testimonials. With an SMS series, you can ensure you do not leave out any positive recommendations that will help build credibility for your business. You can take this campaign a note by giving incentives to the clients who do leave recommendations.
7. Local area information
One of the most underrated SMS series is sending local area information. Real estate businesses can create messages about local amenities, schools, hospitals, neighborhoods, and community events to help potential buyers make an informed decision. These messages create a good bond with your client and bring better engagement.
8. Exclusive offers and deals
These messages in SMS marketing for real estate give out information quickly about any special promotions, discounts, or incentives that are made available to a select group of customers or individuals. These messages help businesses push potential buyers to make a purchase.
9. Customer feedback surveys
These messages help businesses collect all important information about customer experience. It not only helps businesses redeem the areas they lack but also allows them to leverage the information to make data-driven decisions.
10. Holiday greetings and seasonal messages
Send holiday greetings, seasonal messages, or special event announcements via SMS to stay connected with clients and foster positive relationships.
11. Follow-up
Follow-up SMS allows real estate businesses to push and reinforce the action they are desiring with their previous campaigns. These messages aim to maintain communication, nurture leads, provide updates on property listings, address any questions or concerns, and ultimately, encourage further engagement or action.
Automate SMS marketing with TxtCart
With TxtCart Automation, SMS marketing for real estate can be done with menial efforts. It helps you automatically send the right message based on predefined trigger events. It also allows you to create action-based welcome series, post-purchase follow-up, and more.
TxtCart also gives you an easy-to-use reporting dashboard. You can view the current status of the campaign(s), the number of recipients it sent to as well as campaign-specific reply rate, CTR (click-through rate), revenue generated as well as approx ROI (Return on Investment).
Install the TxtCart app today and reach out to our team of experts for better results.
