How To Establish Trust In Real Estate Marketing

Advertising has long been thought of as something to be wary of. “Don’t trust what you see in an ad” and “you can’t believe the claims from a commercial” were seen as sage advice. Selling, sales, and advertising could be seen as dirty words meant to manipulate you into a decision you didn’t want to make.

Yet over time, advertising and marketing have evolved, and this is especially true in real estate. It’s possible to build a successful business without annoying sales strategies that push people away. Instead, let’s flip the script on your marketing and use it as an opportunity to create and build trust.

Promote Strategically

Just because we’re working on building trust through your marketing doesn’t mean that you can’t be promotional – when it makes sense.

If every single day you share on social, “Work with me. I’m a Realtor. Buy or sell with me…” people are going to start to tune you out. There needs to be a balance between when you are being actively promotional and asking for business and when you’re not.

If you’re not sure about creating a balance, consider this podcast. I created the Ideas for Real Estate podcast to share my passion for real estate marketing, but it’s also a form of marketing for my business. So the vast majority of content on the show is content that will help you with your real estate business, but there are also a few episodes that are meant to highlight a promotion that I’m having or a product or service I’m launching.

The entire podcast can’t be a commercial, or you wouldn’t be listening to it now, but it’s ok if I mention related services when it makes sense. That’s what I mean by balance. So, when you’re not directly “asking for business” as frequently, you need to be more strategic. I use a technique I like to call “the logical next step.” If your services are the “logical next step” for the person interacting with your marketing, then include a clear call-to-action to work with you.

For example, if you’re sharing your latest listing, the logical next step might be for somebody to schedule a showing with you. However, if you’re sharing content about getting started on buying your first home, the logical next step might not be to reach out to you. The buyers might not be that far in the process, so contacting you directly could be a turn-off. Instead, the logical next step might be to attend your first-time buyer seminar or download your first-time buyer’s guide.

When you ask for business when it makes sense AND provides a logical next step, both of these strategies work toward building trust. The first strategy works because you’re not overwhelming people by constantly selling. The second strategy works because you’re not just selling to them – you’re continuing to provide value in a way that further empowers the customer on their journey.

Promotion can be part of a marketing strategy that builds trust when you do it right!

You can also show off who you are through personal branding images. These are purposeful photos of you taken to be used in your marketing. And once you have high-quality images of yourself, you can interject who you are easily into your social media and across your real estate marketing. Because the more people see you, the more they’ll get to know you.

But your personality doesn’t have to be in photos or videos alone. A lot of marketing is written. From social media captions to content on your website to your email marketing, your written words are another opportunity for connection.

Be Genuine in Your Marketing

Lastly, the foundation to creating trust with your marketing is to be genuine.

People know when you’re being fake and don’t care about them. That’s why traditional advertising is such a turn-off for most people. Homebuyers and sellers want you to truly care about them, their challenges, and their real estate goals.

You’re not there to trick people into working with you. You’re not there to take advantage of them. You’re there to help them.

So, if you come from a place of service with your marketing, people will be able to tell how genuine you are. The reputation you create for yourself in your business and your marketing can serve you for years to come.

Take the passion you have for helping others and realize that this is an asset in your marketing. Because when you focus on building trust with your marketing, you’re also focused on growing lasting relationships, building a brand that people enjoy working with and creating a business you can be proud of.

If you do all of those things, you won’t have to worry about being seen as trustworthy. You’ll already be demonstrating just how much people can trust in you for their real estate needs.