Need organic real estate leads? Find them next door

There aren’t a whole lot of ways to generate organic real estate leads that won’t have you busting out the credit card. Which is probably why social media sites are so popular with agents; unless you buy ads, exposure for your business is free.

Sure, Facebook is king of the social media realm, but there are other platforms that agents should consider. One of these is Nextdoor.com.

If you call yourself the ‘neighborhood expert’ you can prove it on Nextdoor

Nextdoor.com is a social media platform that operates on the neighborhood level, connecting neighbors who want advice, help finding their lost pets, who want to warn their neighbors about dangerous people in the area, folks who are selling household items and those just socializing.

Simply put, you can’t get more hyper-local in your marketing efforts than by using nextdoor.com.

Why use it?

It works.

No, it won’t have leads flocking to you – at least not in the beginning. But, what if you could close 6 to 10 additional deals each year just by socializing on nextdoor.com?

Liz Abrams, co-owner of Abrams Realty in Virginia Beach does just that. She tells Lori Ballen, Las Vegas agent and marketing wiz, the story of how she got involved on nextdoor.com and how she’s successfully generated leads on the platform.

By building an affinity with members of the local community, you establish your brand and reputation over time, making you the natural choice when someone needs an agent. It also forces you to get more involved in the neighborhood by looking for interesting things to post about.

How to do it right

Nextdoor.com has strict terms of service when it comes to the outright promotion of businesses and services in the online community. It’s frowned upon. They do provide an area where businesses can publish a profile, so you’ll want to do that.

The only time you can promote yourself as an agent in community threads is in response to a post about needing a referral to an agent. In my neighborhood, at least, those posts receive numerous replies from agents, most of which contain the same, tired rhetoric that too many agents are known for.

“I can give you a free home valuation, share my marketing plan to get homes sold for the least amount of hassle and put the most money in your pocket.”

That’s an actual response from an agent. Not too original, right? Here’s another:

“I can also offer you a complimentary estimate of seller closing costs, list price and estimated market value.”

Gee, nobody else offers that, right?

So, if you want to earn those organic real estate leads, you’ll need to be different. In fact, don’t respond at all. Have someone else respond, recommending your services. This method offers a bonus.

Your business profile will be displayed in all the neighborhoods in which you have received recommendations.

Look for organic real estate leads

Hanging around waiting for someone to ask about real estate agents is like watching paint dry. So, be proactive and check the site regularly for other hints from neighbors that they might need your services.

Look for mentions of divorce, death, retirement or relocation out of the area.

Be sociable

Nextdoor offers ways for you to invite your neighbors to the platform. The more people who use the service, the more exposure you’ll have and the more opportunities to generate leads.

Then, ask your clients in the area to recommend you on Nextdoor.

“Start a conversation about a real estate topic, such as changing home costs, the school district, and taking care of neighborhood amenities like a park or pool,” Gene Montemore, Phoenix agent and Nextdoor member suggests among his Nextdoor best practices.

Comment often, “even if you don’t have much to say,” Abrams said. “That’s your face showing up over and over.”

What to share? Abrams gives an example of seeing an unaccompanied dog in her neighborhood park. She posted about it, hoping to find the owner. “Even though that’s not getting me business directly, I’m becoming that expert of that neighborhood and that go-to person.”

What not to do

Various online forums have posts from agents blasting Nextdoor for kicking them off the platform because, as is typical of too many agents, they joined and immediately started that awful, heavy-handed self-promotion thing they do.

But, it’s precisely because Nextdoor doesn’t allow advertising in the neighborhood feed that members love the site. Not only will posting listings there and tooting your own horn get you kicked off the site, but you’ll also tarnish your own brand while promoting the stereotype of the agent as a slimy salesperson.

Nextdoor isn’t a marketing tool, per se. It’s a place to get brand exposure, organic real estate leads, and establish yourself as the area’s go-to agent when someone needs to buy or sell a home. It deserves consideration in a multi-platform social media marketing campaign to generate organic real estate leads.

Need more lead generation strategies?

Looking for lead gen strategies specific to buyers agents? Check out the video below: