It’s easy to sit here and list off the many known reasons why digital has become the preferred marketing channel for promoting your real estate business [see our recent comparison of digital v. print]. However, when it comes to marketing, many believe that their strategy is only as strong as their overall budget.

The beauty of digital is that there are more ways than ever to make the most out of even the smallest marketing budgets. While we highly recommend making a solid investment in digital marketing, our experts came up with a couple of cheap [if not free] ways to maximize your budget.

1. Facebook for Business – The Cheapest Way To Target Pre-Built Audiences

The best part of creating a Facebook Business page is that it’s free. There are no start up or hosting fees and it’s as easy to manage as the personal pages are. When you’ve created a page, there are many ways to promote it and it’s content for as little as $1 a day. One of the biggest benefits of Facebook is endless supply of user data. This data allows you to build audiences based on demographics, interests, behaviors, etc.

For example: you know most of your prospective buyers are relocating from a nearby town and are between the agents of 27-39… you can set up an audience that not only targets that town but you can also narrow it down to the exact age and demographic that you want to reach.

You can also easily create custom audiences by simply uploading email addresses. How easy is that?

2. Email Marketing – The Most Effective Way To Reach Your Leads 1:1

When it comes to building more intimate connections with your leads, email marketing is the way to go. Through this channel, you can more easily customize your messaging and really speak to specific clients directly. That is a why email marketing has shown – and continues to show – high engagement and results. Since the popularity of email has grown as a marketing tool, inexpensive platforms have popped up to help you implement and maintain campaigns. Cost effective tools such a MailChimp (a platform) and free applications such as MixMax (a Gmail add-on) are both great examples.

Not sure where to start with your email marketing? Some quick campaign ideas include sharing open house notifications, sending new listing promotions and information, or creating educational content about the home buying process. Ask yourself “what would my prospective buyers and sellers be interested in learning from me?” and use that answer as your jumping off point.

3. Instagram Stories – The Easiest Way To Create Relevant Content

Recently we’ve been discussing the power of “instant stories” quite a bit. Our most recent post about the release of Instagram’s new story feature explains how it’s made creating content that is simple yet powerful easier than ever. Signing up for Instagram is free and with it you gain access to millions of people that are searching for and engaging with brands all over the world. With such a popular social platform, it’s easy to discover and reach the audience that’s right for your business…. And then creating different types of marketing material for them that is simple to produce and free to distribute.

Examples of good story content includes: quick videos promoting things such as your listings, tours of the neighborhood, reviews of local attractions such as restaurants and parks, etc. Have an open house coming up? Creating a quick teaser video that encourages people to come by and check it out.

These are just a few of the many ways that you can make the most out of a tiny marketing budget. The power of the digital age is that it’s built a place where building and maintaining relationships with clients more reasonable than ever. By getting creative with the help of the tools mentioned above, you could start reaching more prospective buyers and sellers than ever before…. Without having to break the bank.