7 Essential Real Estate Marketing Strategies to Drive Leads and Boost Occupancy
I’m Caitlin Krumm, Director of Marketing, Real Estate and Development, with over 20 years of experience in the industry. Over time, I’ve learned that mastering a few key basics can truly move the needle in real estate marketing. If you focus on the right strategies, you can build an efficient, repeatable system that works for you for years to come.
Here are 7 essential strategies proven to attract quality leads and help your properties stand out in a crowded market—plus my pro tips to help you get the most out of each:
1. Drive Traffic to Your OWN Site
Your website is your digital storefront and foundational lead tool.
Pro Tip: Customers who land on your site learn more about your unique expertise and brand personality. For example, if you’re reading this blog, you’re discovering not only my lead gen insights but also my passion for art—connection matters!
2. Leverage Zillow Wisely
Zillow continues to dominate home and rental searches. Use their tools strategically.
Pro Tip: Watch what Zillow is doing and take useful ideas like adding maps to your own site. At my company, we launched this feature here: Ellicott Development Apartments. Side note: if you own a building with fewer than 20 units, you can list each unit individually on Zillow without a multifamily contract—a major advantage!
3. Showcase 360° Virtual Tours
Immersive visuals help prospects save time and engage deeper with your listings.
Pro Tip: Capture 360 tours of every unit you have. At my company, we’ve had over 1.7 million views in the last 5 years—that’s a massive engagement metric!
From Real Estate Tours 2020 on:
From Hotel & Airbnb Tours 2023 on:
"I’m still amazed when I see these numbers, and here’s a fun fact: I personally use this tool to take every single tour myself."
4. Invest in a Dedicated Marketing Professional
Strategy and execution require consistent expertise to succeed.
Pro Tip: Find someone who can manage your marketing providers, maintain your blog, list properties, manage Google profiles, create 360 content, and run ads. I handle residential, commercial, and hotel marketing—and focusing a dedicated person on this will drive real growth fast then you think. Bonus this team members! Recognition matters and goes a long way.
5. Blog Regularly
Consistent blogging builds SEO, establishes expertise, and drives organic traffic.
Pro Tip: Get the free YOAST plug-in to maximize your blog posts’ SEO value—the basics make a big difference!
6. Introduce Your Team
Putting faces to your brand builds trust and humanizes your company.
Pro Tip: Everything I do performs better when there’s a leasing agent face attached. Develop a “Meet the Team” page or series.
"I’m fortunate to work with a fantastic team of leasing agents, so putting faces to the brand is easy for me. As a marketing professional, I focus on creating the graphics, ads, and blog content that bring our properties to life online. For a great example of this synergy in action, check out our engaging team blog here: Apartment Hunting in Buffalo."
7. Implement Forms & Tracking
Capture leads accurately and track performance for continuous optimization.
Pro Tip: Once tracking is in place, add a second follow-up step. If an email goes unanswered, call the lead! My sales team generates over 4,000 leads yearly, but only closes 250-350. Managing those “lost” leads better could be a game-changer.
Master these fundamentals and you’ll create a lead generation engine that consistently fills your vacancies and grows your brand. Stay tuned for more tips and deep dives in my full course!