In what’s slated to be another competitive year in real estate, there is little room for error when it comes to properly marketing your real estate listing. Real estate agents know that by securing a listing, you are also securing a seller’s trust to get their property under contract with no hiccups. Taking the extra time and care prior to listing a property on the MLS can ensure that your properties stand out amongst the noise is crucial in 2022’s rapidly changing real estate market. Below are the most common real estate marketing mistakes and how to fix them.

Not Staging Your Listing

Staging a property prior to listing it for sale is deemed essential in some competitive real estate markets, such as Denver and Austin. However, time and budget constraints are the number one reason most real estate agents choose to not stage their listing — but that doesn’t mean that a home should ever be photographed “as-is.” Instead, working with a seller to edit a home is a cost-effective way to forgo staging while the seller still resides in the property. Easily edit a home by stashing away the following prior to your property photoshoot: personal photographs that include family and friends, excessive decor, animal crates and feeding bowls, kitchen countertop appliances, laundry hampers, and open attire storage like shoe racks.

Pro tip: If the home is empty and there is no budget to stage the home, engage with a local florist to add trendy dried florals to kitchen and bathroom countertops. That way, there’s a splash of color in photographs and a pleasant surprise for walk-through buyers.

Not Offering a Marketing Plan

Most real estate brokerages provide agents with a listing timeline to set expectations with their sellers, but few provide a marketing plan that allows agents to stand out amongst others in their industry. A marketing plan for a listing does not have to be a 360-degree approach that engages an outside agency. Instead, real estate agents can put together a simple timeline for marketing the property that includes social media, blog posts, and potential press pitches that spotlight a home’s incredible features.

Pro tip: Creating a blog post for a new listing is as easy as creating an MLS entry. Use only the best photographs, add a few more sentences about the home’s location and unique features, and post.

Interested in a bespoke real estate marketing plan for your sellers? Submit your email below for a complimentary real estate marketing plan template.

Not elevating Your MLS Entry

MLS entries that are syndicated across popular platforms such as Zillow and Realtor.com are often the first introduction a buyer has to a newly listed home. For this reason, creating an impactful MLS entry through thoughtful copywriting is absolutely essential. Most real estate agents and brokers will create a standard MLS entry, noting the bed/bath count, parking options, and a few unique features about the home. Rather than risking spelling errors and sub-par descriptions, real estate agents should engage with a freelance copywriter to craft compelling stories about the home that gives potential buyers a beautiful introduction to the property.

Pro tip: Finding local and remote real estate copywriting services is simple with Linkedin’s built-in Job Post tool.

Not Using Showstopping Photography

Nearly every major market has a variety of skilled photographers to capture the essence of a property, but smaller, rural markets may not be afforded the same luxury. Instead, real estate agents are left to use the cameras that are built into their phones, risking a less-than-stellar first impression when a buyer comes across the listing in the MLS. If a professional photographer is not available, iPhone photography can still achieve some beautiful results with the right techniques. Find a cheap (or free!) class through Udemy to learn the basics of photo composition using an iPhone or other smartphone device.

Pro tip: Purchase a 360-degree camera kit for your phone to add an element of 3D to your MLS tours.

Not Pushing Your Listing to Local Publications

Does your listing have exceptional features that make it a compelling story just waiting to be told? Although some real estate agents opt to purchase ad space in printed and digital publications, there is always the possibility of having your listing featured for free. To start, real estate agents should research editorial contacts for their local publications, specifically authors in the real estate sections. Once a relationship is established, you can reach out (or “pitch”) your listing to your contacts for the opportunity to be featured in an article. Most publications do not require a full press release in order to create a feature, but be prepared with the property’s final list price, the elevated MLS remarks, and a quote from either yourself or the seller.

Pro tip: Your brokerage’s marketing team may already have an established list of editorial contacts. Work with your marketing team to configure a process for pitching properties prior to listing as “Active” in the MLS. Publications are more likely to feature a property if the pitch is exclusive to them.

Not Creating Printed Collateral

In case you missed it: print isn’t dead, especially when it comes to making a memorable impact on a potential buyer. In a world where digital feeds and pop-up notifications drive attention elsewhere at any given moment, real estate agents should consider adding a physical relic of a listing to their marketing plan. Printed brochure cards, postcards, and even high-end lookbooks give buyers a tangible piece of a property’s story — something that cannot be archived with a click of a button.

Pro tip: Easily design a high-impact printed marketing piece using online design tools such as Canva. With a Canva Pro account, real estate agents can upload their branded fonts, logos, and colors to create a cohesive brand story.

Ready to elevate your real estate marketing game? Check out this list of Real Estate Social Media Content Ideas for 2022.