Real estate agents: diversify your digital strategy to gain independence

The real estate industry is undergoing a profound transformation. For years, agents focused their marketing investments on real estate portals, an obvious solution for reaching a wide audience. Today, this reliance is revealing its limitations: rising costs, increased head-to-head competition, and difficulty calculating true ROI.

How can you continue to stand out and control your future in a hyper-competitive market? The answer lies in diversifying your digital strategy.

The limits of exclusive investment on real estate portals

92% of home buyers begin their search online. But 46% of Google searches are for local businesses. In other words, investing in your local presence is a strategy not to be taken lightly if you want to stand out from the crowd.

By investing solely, or primarily, in portals, you create a price dependency and fail to meet the demand of Internet users, which is to find a local agency. Indeed, you are primarily investing in the visibility of your ads, which are in direct competition with those of your peers. Differentiation is difficult; you cannot offer your own digital services and you cannot promote your agency's image.

Diversify to perform better

Faced with these findings, an alternative is emerging: diversifying marketing investments to develop your own digital presence. Not to completely replace portals, but to create a complementary and balanced ecosystem.

Beyond the reduction in acquisition costs, the strategic value is major: the construction of a sustainable digital heritage, capitalizable year after year, which enhances your local expertise and reduces dependence on portals.

Accessible and effective digital solutions

PropTech continues to grow, and technologies continue to develop. Once more easily accessible to large networks, these new digital solutions are now within reach of local agencies, allowing them to develop their digital marketing and, thus, their local visibility.

While portals remain essential for mass visibility, investing in the visibility of your Google listing, your organic and paid SEO, your website, the creation of content specific to your sector, etc., will allow you to significantly increase your local reputation and reach the right people. This complementarity between your presence on renowned sites and the development of your own marketing actions offers you a more effective strategy while limiting your dependence on real estate portals.

A gradual and measurable transition

Diversification shouldn't be done abruptly. Gradually increase the budget for your own initiatives, such as advertising campaigns, and then analyze the results: traffic, lead generation, contact quality, conversion rate. Gradually adjust the mix to optimize return on investment and reduce reliance on a single channel.

Independence as a strategic issue

Diversifying your digital strategy is no longer an optional choice; it's a must for remaining competitive and independent. Agents who adopt this intelligent approach are better able to withstand market changes, pricing changes, and changes to portal algorithms. In a context where 27% of transactions are now carried out by agents already experienced in digital technology, the question is no longer whether to evolve, but how quickly to initiate this transition to get the most out of your market.

Ultimately, the future of local real estate is being built today, with discernment, innovation, and expertise. Those who can combine portals and their own marketing efforts to develop their local visibility will have a decisive advantage over their competitors and lay the foundations for lasting independence.

Tribune by Vincent Victor, Sales Transaction Director at Orisha Real Estate (LinkedIn).