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In today’s competitive real estate market, social media has become a vital tool for agents to connect with buyers and boost engagement, with one agent revealing her top strategies for effective marketing.
In today’s fast-paced digital world, real estate professionals are adopting creative techniques to stand out in an increasingly competitive market and effectively capture the attention of future buyers.
Among these trailblazers, REB has spoken with Top 100 Agent Lisa Novak from Novak Properties in Dee Why, NSW, who shared how her innovative pre-market strategy transforms how properties are marketed and sold online.
With a marketing background and six years of experience in real estate, Novak has transformed how agents connect with buyers by utilising social media to redefine traditional strategies and provide vendors with more flexible options.
Upon entering sales, Novak felt frustrated by the slow response times and outdated practices in the real estate industry, prompting her to quickly identify gaps in agent responsiveness and the rigidity of traditional marketing.
“When I came into real estate, no agents were utilising social media, which is our TV channels of today,” she said.
“I figured if I can build up an audience there across social media, then I could utilise that as another avenue to inform people about property.”
She noted that shortly after she started in sales, a vendor came to her with no money for marketing.
“So I thought I might just go and make a video and launch it on Facebook,” Novak said.
“I sold his property right off my Facebook page within 24 hours for a phenomenal amount.”
Instead of merely listing features, Novak leverages social media to create narratives about a property’s benefits, assisting potential buyers in visualising their future within the space.
The power of pre-market strategy
According to Novak, her innovative pre-market strategy allows vendors to test buyer interest through social media before committing to costly real estate portal advertising.
“It’s allowing a vendor to get their property out to social media before it even launches out to the real estate channels,” she said.
“So for a vendor, it’s ideal because they get the opportunity to dip their toes in, test the market, and potentially sell their property for a phenomenal result.”
She explained that vendors often find themselves trapped in a cycle where their only option is to spend thousands on advertising to get listed in real estate, frequently without a marketing strategy.
“Vendors wanted to test the market and do things a little bit quieter, but nothing facilitated that, so I came up with a pre-market strategy for the industry,” Novak said.
She said this approach appeals to sellers who aren’t quite ready to fully publicise their properties, allowing them to explore an alternative option where Novak covers initial marketing costs like photography and, if requested, signage.
Driving instant engagement
While not everyone understands the intricacies of social media, Novak said a phone with a good camera would do the initial trick.
She said that her strategy centres on filming short, authentic videos on her phone and sharing them on her Instagram platform, providing her followers early access to listings before they appear on real estate portals.
Novak then directly contacts her client database through calls, texts and emails, building a buzz before a listing goes live on the major portals.
“Buyers following me on my social media channel can see it first and potentially buy it before the property launches out to the real estate portals,” Novak said.
Novak added her pre-market strategy has sparked greater demand for buyer’s agents, as they can now tap into these properties before they launch publicly.
“I’ve sold an enormous amount of properties pre-market, with many sold directly from my social media,” Novak said.
She shared with REB a particular instance where she sold a property in just four hours after publishing a video on Instagram – her fastest sale.
“Social media is instant,” she said.
“I can be at a property, and I can send a video out to hundreds and thousands of eyeballs within seconds.”
She said that although her approach empowers vendors, it also gives buyers a favourable standing in a competitive market.
A game changer for buyers and sellers
According to Novak, having a pre-market strategy has been a game changer in reshaping how buyers and sellers interact in the property market.
She said that through a pre-market strategy, sellers enjoy a low-risk, high-reward model, while buyers value the chance to view properties first through a more personal and interactive approach.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive,” Novak said.
“The people vote at the end of the day, my organic following has grown and so have the results.”
Her innovative approach hasn’t gone unnoticed, earning recognition from industry leaders, with John McGrath inviting her to speak at AREC about the success of her strategies.
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