Zillow was founded in 2005 – a time when real estate was doing great before the big crisis. It brought with it all the power of the internet by allowing users to see how much homes were sold for.
In essence, this could have been tremendous. If buyers could just see the home value posted online, this could have changed the industry forever. This way, there would be no need for appraisers, lending standards would become less aggressive, and fees would just go down.
However, that clearly isn’t the case today.
The thought of having one platform show property listings to millions of people worldwide is both exciting and terrifying for real estate professionals.
The exciting part? Real estate agents can advertise their skills and listings to millions of potential buyers. Agents can even opt for premium accounts for additional listing exposure.
The terrifying part?
- It is too common to see homes on Zillow overpriced. In some cases, homes don’t get Zestimates at all.
- The leads Zillow generates are of low quality. Users pay high fees for uninterested or non-responsive leads.
Alright, so we see both pros and cons to Zillow. What now?
That is now entirely up to you.
The company is one of the biggest names in real estate, and maybe it can get you the exposure you needed. A word of advice though – be prudent with your spending.
It may be normal for the zestimates to be wrong since these aren’t strictly following best practices in appraising residential properties. But, being a huge brand and not being able to provide value for money leads is a big red flag.
If not Zillow, where else can you go for leads?
You have probably heard it before, but didn’t believe it for one reason or another – Facebook.
Yes, it is true that there is a lot of noise on the world’s biggest social network. But, it is equally true that there are effective ways to advertise to potential clients to rake in those leads.
Before this becomes really long, let me just summarize the point by saying that I’ve seen how Facebook works and doesn’t work for real estate. When you use the formats everyone uses or if you use very ‘salesy’ content for your ads, you just become part of the noise.
On the other hand, focusing the attention on the customer by giving them everything they need gets it done. There’s just nothing more fulfilling for either the buyer or seller than doing something because of trust, and relationships build that.
Yes, sure, it may take money to earn more, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
In this day and age, leaders in digital marketing know that the trend leans towards giving value first – no if’s and but’s.
In the end, the platform’s business model dictates whether you can thrive in it or not.
Does it offer decent ROI in a short span of time?
Does it allow potential clients to build trust in your brand?
Does it help gather leads who are already interested in a specific product or service?
If the answer to all three is a Yes, then you know you’re in good hands.
Conclusion
Typical outbound marketing efforts include having costly kiosks in big networking events. Even in the rise of the digital age, the internet was used for something similar – setup a loud and costly advertisement that reaches many people and expect sales.
In the world of real estate, Zillow can be that big and loud platform.
There may have been a time that these methods worked perfectly, but today is certainly different as people now look for something more intimate.
The difference would be like having a busy public speaker or this quiet yet knowledgeable friend waiting for your call. Who would you rather turn to for help?
