by Open Home Properties 
Professional Website
Whether a real estate agent, broker or investor, the importance of having a professional real estate website is unsurpassed.
This all-important asset, which is essentially the virtual face of your business, will not only help to establish credibility as an investor online, but enhance the overall presence of your business
— whether online or off. Along with helping to strengthen online visibility, a real estate website acts as a central location for customers to visit, browse, shop and gather information.
Done right, a real estate website will have a polished appearance with easy navigation and functions, quality content and an overall experience that impresses users.
For investors looking to take their brand visibility to the next level, a real estate website will be imperative to your success. The difficulty, however, is developing and designing a website is no easy task.
For many. it will include the assistance of a website development service, although it will come at a cost which could range in size.
And though a website may not sound like one of the most unique real estate marketing ideas conceived, it can still provide quite a benefit.
Email Marketing Software (EMS)
Email marketing continues to prove itself as an invaluable resource for real estate investors.
This digital marketing tool offers tremendous power when it comes to generating attention, including the ability to reach hundreds of thousands of potential customers.
By targeting fans of your brand, which have ultimately provided you with their email address, investors can focus on pursuing leads from sent emails, with hopes of converting those into sales.
Investors looking to get a jumpstart on email marketing should consider digital tools such as MailChimp.
This uniquely simple email marketing software (EMS) is utilized by more than 12 million people and businesses, sending more than a billion emails every day.
Features include automation, A/B testing, segmentation, advanced analytics and triggered emails.
Did I mention it’s also very affordable? MailChimp offers three pricing packages: New Business (Free), Growing Business ($10 per month) and Pro Marketer ($199 per month).
Social Media Apps
In today’s competitive marketing climate, real estate investors are advised to not just sign up for social media, but use it thoroughly and regularly.
The importance of social media for marketing in real estate is second to none, as it has the power to promote brand awareness, build credibility as an investor, and generate a slew of new business.
With roughly 2.3 billion people worldwide having some type of social media account, it’s critical real estate investors take full advantage of social media.
For those looking to get started, the following sites offer the best bang for your buck:
Facebook: In terms of digital real estate marketing tools, Facebook is the centerpiece of online marketing, as this crowning jewel attracts 1.71 billion users every month.
YouTube: With one billion active users each month, the video-sharing website YouTube has become an integral component in today’s online marketing landscape. In real estate, popularity of video marketing is running on all cylinders, and the trend should continue for quite some time.
Instagram: For those seeking digital real estate marketing tools that emphasize imagery, Instagram is the go-to app. The mobile app offers investors unique ways to promote their brand with images, whether through filters, hashtags or direct message.
Instagram provides real estate investors with an array of ways to not only build brand awareness, but drive engagement.
Pinterest: This content sharing service offers various marketing purposes but the two biggest advantages are the ability to generate residual traffic from pins, and getting picked up by Google Search. Both are beneficial for real estate investors.
Hootsuite: Hootsuite specializes in social media management for businesses. This digital real estate marketing tool offers investors an innovative, and time-saving way to schedule and organize social media activity.
Outsourcing Tools
Sites like Fiverr and Upwork (previously oDesk) continue to serve as an irreplaceable tool for real estate investors, especially for those with little-to-no experience in web marketing.
These outsourcing resources have become go-to digital real estate marketing tools for investors thanks, in part, to their capability of boosting productivity.
Adobe Photoshop Express
It’s no secret that first impressions play a huge role in real estate investing. The same can be said for online marketing, as web users can be very quick to highlight errors, mistakes and unsatisfactory results. However, a photo editing app can work wonders for investors, as photos remain a key component to real estate.
That said, one of the more powerful apps is Adobe Photoshop Express.
Basic features include rotating, cropping, red eye and blemish removal, while others include adjustments to correct contrast, exposure and white balance. In addition, photos can be saved to your phone’s camera roll or used directly via social media.
