Partnering with Your Agent's Marketing Efforts
- Adam Garrett
- Aug 5, 2023
- 1 min read
Updated: Nov 11, 2023
Most sellers I work with don't opt to engage with my marketing efforts. That said, I should mention that the 1 time a seller actually took my advice so far to a high degree, which was in the past month, using the resources I provided and amplifying my own efforts by doing so, it led to the highest volume of engagement I've ever had on social media with a listing (results above). The number one source of buyers in that 1st open house was Facebook due to that exposure & our combined efforts.
Some agents make the claim that open houses don't work, but this listing was sold to a buyer who originally saw the home at an open house in Hayes (Gloucester County) and then saw it later with their agent who is based maybe an hour or 2 (depending on traffic) away in Virginia Beach.
Example Post Insight Details
The above metrics occurred with no advertising fees, just a bit of time from me and from the seller.
As you can see above, the same original post was used for 2 separate open houses. 0% of that reach is from paid ads, but it achieved the kinds of results that would typically take a high volume of ad spend to reach.
Shares are the easy part, and the part that the seller can partner with their agent in.
The main thing that I ask sellers to partner me with if desired is to assist with shares of the content that I create.
Most of the time I take creating the Facebook reach & in the listing itself is in the actual listing and in the time I take to create the initial post on Facebook.
That wouldn't be true of most agents on Facebook, but I put a lot into that content, i.e. tons of pictures, pictures captions, location tag(s), etc. That said, if all that was done was the creation of an awesome piece of content, with no shares & no ad spend, the post wouldn't get very far at all. Without shares or ad spend, it would be mostly a waste of time. The shares and/or ad spend on a solid piece of content mean that those shares are going to be much more effective to increase engagement. As engagement increases, the reach increases, and further engagement occurs.
Resources for Sellers for Facebook Shares
To assist the sellers that I work with in sharing the listing via Facebook, I have a spreadsheet that I've spent hours on of locations to consider sharing in if shares in those locations isn't already present on the listing. In addition, some sellers may share on completely different locations than on my list, and the more targeted those locations are, the more effective they'll be. Also, on my list of locations I include those places where business shares aren't allowed. Those are primarily in red on my spreadsheet along with rules on the spreadsheet. On those locations, be sure to make it clear within the share that you are the seller that are posting your own home for sale.
Social Media Template to post on main profile if not planning to share it on groups:
We listed our home for sale today!
If you know of anyone looking for a home and considering (_____INSERT CITY/COUNTY NAME HERE___), or if you’d be willing to spread the word with a like & share, we’d sincerely appreciate it!
Here is a link to the listing: (______INSERT LISTING LINK HERE____)
If anyone you share it with has questions about it or would like to see it, please have them reach out to our agent on here (____INSERT ADAM’S UNIQUE SOCIAL MEDIA TAG HERE_____) or by call or text any time at 757 879 9651 or agarrett@ggrva.com
Thank you!
Social Media Template to post on main profile if planning to share it on groups you don’t manage:
We listed our home for sale today!
If you know of anyone looking for a home and considering (_____INSERT CITY/COUNTY NAME HERE___), or if you’d be willing to spread the word with a like & share, we’d sincerely appreciate it!
If anyone you share it with has questions about it or would like to see it, please have them reach out to our agent on here (____INSERT ADAM’S UNIQUE SOCIAL MEDIA TAG HERE_____) or by call or text any time at 757 879 9651 or agarrett@ggrva.com I’ll add a link in the comments.
Thank you!
(Add in comment)
Here is a link to the listing: (______INSERT LISTING LINK HERE____)
To insert a tag if you’re unfamiliar, you typically type an @ and then slowly type the name of the profile, then click on the profile once you see it visible, i.e.
You can also typically tag (& it is good to do so) city names and neighborhoods, especially if you are in a desirable neighborhood. To do that on FB, you select the option to “check in” under “Add to your post”. It’s also a good idea to make sure that there is at least 1 photo (& ideally 10+) in your post, especially if no photos are populating from the link. Here’s an example:
Resources for Sellers for Email Shares
To assist the sellers that I work with in sharing the listing via email and on Facebook, I have an email template:
Hi (______INSERT FRIEND NAME HERE____),
I hope that you are doing well. I wanted to let you know that we listed our home for sale today! If you know of anyone looking for a home and considering (_____INSERT CITY/COUNTY NAME HERE___), or if you’d be willing to spread the word on social media, we’d sincerely appreciate it if you could share it!
Here is a link to the listing: (______INSERT LISTING LINK HERE____)
If anyone you share it with has questions about it or would like to see it, please have them reach out to our agent, Adam Garrett with Garrett Realty Partners, by call or text any time at 757 879 9651 or agarrett@ggrva.com
Thank you!
(______INSERT YOUR NAME(S) HERE____)
(Attach 5-10 of the best & most representative photos, i.e. front picture aerial, back picture, kitchen picture, living room picture, & master bedroom picture)
Adam's Social Media Locations You Can Tag
Whether you're sharing my content or creating original content and using the listing link, there are a number of places where you can tag me if you are publicly or privately sharing your listing over social media.
Adam’s social media tags:
(FB link to business page (>500 followers) & personal page (>3k friends +>500 followers)
Linkedin (>2k connections),
Twitter (>350 followers), etc.)
Physical Marketing Assistance to Your Agent in Your Neighborhood
Did you know that your neighbors are more likely to say yes to a neighbor about directional sign placement in their yard than to a real estate agent? One of the ways that you can assist the physical marketing efforts of your agent is by knocking on the door of neighbors, especially those on corners of your street and those streets that lead to busy streets, in order to have a path of directional signs telling people about your listing. Garrett Realty Partners has the directional signs, but it's often hard to get sellers to agree to long-term sign placement. With open houses, that's typically easier than getting sellers to agree long-term (& I've been much more successful with that accordingly), but if you are able to help with long-term sign placement, that's ideal, and you can ask at the same time of additional signs can be added in preparation for open houses when applicable.
Here's a script for what you might say if the corner of their yard is a nice spot for visibility without obstructions & when the median market time is less than a month (Hampton Roads Market Time; Richmond Market Time):
Hi,
I'm your neighbor at (insert address here) and we're about to list our house for sale. My agent asked if I could ask you about the prospect of putting a directional sign in your yard to help people to know about the sale, and then an open house sign before and during open houses that they do. The median market time at the moment in Hampton Roads is less than a month & my agent does some fantastic marketing so it shouldn't take long to sell. Would you mind if we did that on the corner of your yard by the street?
Physical Marketing Assistance to Your Agent to Businesses
In certain price thresholds and commission thresholds I offer business-to-business open house flyer distribution. For those outside of those price and commission points, and even those within it who want to divide and conquer for a higher volume of businesses than those I've shared I'll do, one option is to assist in these efforts with flyers that I can provide to owners. To assist, you go to local businesses that you know or that you don't know, especially those in close proximity to your home that would get a lot of foot traffic.
Focus on places where you can go to multiple businesses at once, the more the better
Skip very large locations with multiple registers (i.e. grocery stores)
Focus more on non-chains than national chains, though local chains are more likely (i.e. American Classic Self Storage)
Please don’t go in businesses where Adam wouldn’t support the business, i.e. strip clubs, strictly tobacco stores, and stores that would be in opposition with Adam's Christian faith.
Be sure to hit hotels even if many deny you.
Adam has a list of dozens of past local businesses where he has been successful. Ask him for his list if you'd like to contribute to these marketing efforts. It's a small subset of businesses, but it can give you an idea of what's possible.
RE Website Saves & Shares
Go on the top real estate websites and save/like/share to your heart's content. Saves, likes, and shares in some cases will boost a property's algorithm to appear higher in search results. If your agent tried this trick every time, the websites could catch on & it could actually backfire, but that's unlikely coming from you as long as you don't try to use more than 1 account. The places to go currently are:
Zillow.com (save by clicking the heart)
Homes.com (add to favorites by clicking the heart; share by clicking the icon next to it)
Realtor.com (save by clicking the heart; share by clicking "share this home")
Redfin.com (add to favorites by clicking the heart; share by clicking the icon next to it)
Trulia.com (save by clicking the heart; share by clicking the icon next to it)
Physically Enhancing Marketing at Your Home
There are a number of "finishing touches" that many sellers don't do that primarily merely cost sellers time if they occupy a property or if they go to a property prior to it going on the market. In some cases, with tenant occupied properties, one can even solicit your tenant to assist in these matters.
One of the best ways that you can physically enhance the marketing at your home for practically no cost effectively is with proper labeling. This labeling can include using small post-it notes (i.e. 2"x2") or otherwise in some cases & labeling options from Adam (who has an extensive collection of labeling options) to label things like:
1. light switches
2. circuit breaker panel (if unlabeled or if poorly labeled)
3. soft close cabinets
4. Plants, especially those that are not in their aesthetic prime (i.e. flowering ornamental plants) or functional prime (i.e. fruit-bearing edible plants) with room for labels for identification and pictures in their prime, suited for the outdoors if exterior plants
Whenever labeling, be sure to not create a fire hazard, especially in sensitive places like fuse boxes or on top of a gas water heater.
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