As a real estate agent, marketing yourself is half the battle. Putting a little more time and consideration into your marketing efforts might sound difficult, but it doesn’t have to be!

Our brilliant friends over at Inman posted four secrets to effective marketing for real estate agents. Have you given these a try before? Do you find that they work for you?

1. Remember, it’s about you, not them.
Real estate is your livelihood, so it may be difficult to keep the focus off of yourself and what’s best for you. But, remember, without the buyer you don’t have a livelihood! Just remind yourself daily that it’s not about you. Your buyer wants to hear you express interest in their desires, not your own.

2. Talk that talk.
Thinking it’s all about the real estate agent is one thing, but actually acting the part is where you’ll truly succeed. Frame your dialogue around the buyer and his or her wants and needs. For example: instead of asking, “When can I sit down with you to go over some things?” say, “When is a good time for you to get together?” Make each comment and gesture buyer-focused.

3. Utilize inbound marketing.
If you aren’t familiar with the term “inbound marketing,” it’s just simply a fancy way of saying “marketing by word of mouth”. As useful and effective as outbound marketing (advertising) is, it’s possible that inbound marketing brings with it a bigger heap of credibility and trust. When you see an advertisement for a restaurant boasting it has the best burger in town, you’re probably skeptical, right? Conversely, if your friend calls you up to tell you about this place that has the best burger in town, you’re more likely to believe it, correct? That’s how inbound marketing works. A happy client is likely to pass your name on to a friend when he or she decides to buy a house. On top of that, having clients write short testimonials that you can put on your website will increase your inbound marketing efforts even further!

4. Get recommended on LinkedIn.
If you haven’t added LinkedIn to the numerous social media sites you’re using for marketing, I’d like to encourage you to do so. LinkedIn has this great feature where people can write recommendations for other LinkedIn users that are displayed prominently on their profiles. Even if the connections you have on LinkedIn aren’t professional, a personal recommendation speaks as a testimony to your character and may be the thing that sells you to a prospect over another agent.

What are your favorite real estate marketing secrets?