Gone are the days when a newspaper ad would bring in plenty of leads and not break your bank.  Now-a-days, we have to think about different ways to get in front of our potential clients without going over budget.  Here are seven ideas on how you can advertise your commercial real estate business without spending a lot of money.

 

  1. Local Searches. Did you notice that Google shows you the 3–5 businesses closest to you when you search for a business? Google pulls this information from Google My Business. Don’t miss out on search traffic happening near your location by signing up for this. While you’re at it, put your business on Yelp and Bing Places.

 

  1. Press releases. Spend a day Google searching for your local magazines, newspapers and business gazettes. Most editorials will have a list of contacts. With this information you’ll be able to email your press releases. Send these contacts a simple email containing property details, how much it sold/leased, property photo and information on seller, buyer or leasing business. Some press releases will be picked up while others won’t. The likelihood of your stories being printed will depend on the news flow for that week.

 

  1. Joining organizations. Because commercial real estate is so specialized, I never recommend that you sponsor, attend, or join generic organizations for the “you never know” value. However, well-known organizations like the Better Business Bureau and your local Chamber of Commerce can be great resources. If nothing else, showing that you’re a member of either organization gives clients a feeling that you’re more established than a non-member. Sponsoring webpages and events may be an inexpensive way to bring in new clientele, especially for tenant representation.

 

  1. Sponsoring a charity. Volunteering and sponsoring under your company name can be a good way to bring in tenant representation clients. Donating t-shirts with the event name on the front and your company logo on the back can be great for long-term advertising. The average shelf-life for promo items like shirts and coffee mugs is approximately 3 years. Consider donating high quality promo items that people will keep. Sorry but, low-cost notepads, stickers, mini calendars and low quality giveaways have the lifespan of a fruit fly.

 

  1. Pay-per-click advertising. If your website is new or struggling for high rankings on Google, Bing or Yahoo, you may want to consider pay-per-click advertising. It’s not easy, so be sure to test out ads and measure your funnel’s conversions rates before increasing your ad spend.

 

  1. Blogging / content creation. Easier said than done. Only start a blog if you plan on providing quality content on a regular basis. One paragraph entries or generic content won’t help your cause. Another idea is to hire a freelance writer to do 12 -or- 26 -or- 52 blog posts. Set up your blog to post once a month, bi-weekly, or weekly for the whole year.

 

  1. Targeted mailers. With services like Reonomy and CoStar tenant, gathering mailing information on potential clients has never been easier. Gathering a mailing list and sending them a series of sales letters and postcards with a clear call to action can be an easy way to gather leads.

 

If you’re looking for more ways to advertise your business, check out our website design package.  With an amazing website, you’ll be able to pull in leads quickly and hands-free.  Check out the websites we’ve done and download the pricing!

Giving you ways to advertise your commercial real estate business without breaking the bank is just another way, I’m taking the “broke” out of commercial real estate brokerage.

 

~ Brandy