Real Estate Texting Service Guide for Agents and Brokers
Realtor or broker? Learn more about business text messaging for broker-agent communications and SMS marketing for real estate agents.
What is a Real Estate Texting Service?
How Brokers and Agents Can Use a Real Estate Texting Service
Brokers and agents use real estate texting services to efficiently manage their internal and external communications. We touch on this in one of our blog posts, “5 Ways Brokerages Can Improve Agent Communications With A Real Estate Texting Service.” Real estate texting is helpful with everything from training realtors to letting agents know about home closing updates that they, in turn, can relay to their homebuyers. In fact, there are many use cases for real estate texting services:
Schedule, remind, and confirm events such as meetings and showings
Coordinate with brokers, realtors, contractors, and other business partners
Inform realtors about new listings, recently lowered home prices, or other deals
Send document notifications and homebuyer updates
Answer homebuyer queries, coordinate deals, and gather homebuyer feedback
Facilitate realtor training and host an open Q&A line for questions from realtors in the field
What's Real Estate SMS Marketing?
Real estate SMS marketing differs from general real estate texting in that it can be used to facilitate a real estate text lead capture, reinvigorate homebuyers, or close deals. For example, while setting up a meeting with a homebuyer via text would be considered real estate business texting, sending a lukewarm lead the link to a brand-new listing would be considered real estate SMS marketing. Because they are more often customer-facing, real estate agents are more likely than brokers to use SMS marketing.
Real Estate SMS Marketing for Agents
While realtors use real estate texting to conduct day-to-day tasks, like scheduling showings and answering homebuyer queries, they use SMS marketing to excite lukewarm or cold leads.
Announce open houses and showings, and send event reminders or confirmations
Announce new listings, lower home prices, and reinvigorate homebuyer interest
What are Real Estate Text Message Scripts?
Real estate text message scripts or templates are frequently used messages that real estate professionals can save within their business texting platforms and reuse later. Templates can be used by agents for homebuyer communications, like appointment reminders or new listing announcements, or by brokers, for internal announcements or scheduling coordination. Merge tokens, features of the most advanced platforms, enable teams to send personalized templated messages to lists of recipients by automatically filling in templates with custom field information for each recipient. These templates empower teams to send personalized messages at a fast pace.
- Hi {{first name}}, Janet from Superior Real Estate here. We’ve got an exciting open house coming up on {{date}} at {{address}}. Are you interested in coming?
- Hi {{first name}}, don’t forget about your house showing at {{listing address}} on {{date}} at {{time}}! Text R to reschedule.
- Hey {{agent name}}! We’ve got a new listing at {{listing address}} if you have any interested homebuyers.
Real Estate SMS Samples
Ultimately, your SMS real estate templates will reflect the messages that your teams send the most. Take a look at each real estate SMS sample to see fully optimized templates, including custom fields information.
As you see in each individual real estate SMS sample, there are multiple opportunities for customizing your messages.
Recommended Real Estate SMS Posts
5 Ways Brokerages Can Improve Agent Communications With A Real Estate Texting Service
April 22, 2019
An astonishing 90% of agents use real estate texting services, and it’s no wonder. Business SMS is fast, reliable, and…
The ABCs of Business Text Messaging
February 13, 2019
We’ve compiled a list of all the terms you need to know to successfully navigate the fast-paced world of business text messaging.
6 Industries That Have Been Revolutionized with Business SMS
March 25, 2019
In today’s always-on environment, business SMS is becoming a must-have channel for leading companies. With impressive reach (97% of Americans text at least one a day), stunning…
Text Marketing for Real Estate Agents: Tips for Messaging Etiquette
March 7, 2019
For real estate professionals, texting (SMS) is the best way to communicate with homebuyers. In fact, a whopping 90% of agents prefer to communicate through text message.
Customer Success Stories
"Since using Heymarket, 80% of my clients respond to my short, weekly housing market update."
Tristan Ahumada
Keller Williams
"The key to being successful is improving the customer experience. Heymarket has helped us become the easiest and quickest home inspection company to work with."
Lorri Ratliff
Owner, Pillar to Post of SW Washington
Best Practices for Real Estate SMS Marketing
As with any communications channel, text marketing for real estate agents has established best practices and text message etiquette. First and foremost, remember that homebuyers must opt in before you text them. Other than that, a great rule of thumb is that your business texts should adhere to the general best practices of business emails: use professional language, communicate during business hours, and do not barrage homebuyers with too many messages.
Benefits of Using a Platform for Real Estate Text Leads
Using real estate texting services to contact leads has a variety of benefits, most of them concerning speed and convenience. Text marketing for real estate agents, particularly via a business texting platform, is the fastest way to attract homebuyers’ attention.
SMS can be sent quickly, which is important, as realtors are often on the move between showings, inspections, and client meetings
Client data and messages can be tracked within texting platforms and third-party business apps through SMS integrations
Messages are archived for later reference or review, if real estate agents use advanced texting platforms
Texts receive more replies from clients, and clients send responses faster, too
Best Practices for Texting Real Estate Leads
Professionality is vital in text marketing for real estate agents. You’ll want to follow the following best practices when sending real estate SMS messages:
- 1 Ensure homebuyers opt in before you text them, and always offer them a way to opt out.
- 2 Only use texts for short, positive chats; use phone calls or emails for long conversations.
- 3 Insert extra positivity in your texts to avoid misinterpretation from homebuyers.
- 4 Use proper grammar and syntax, and avoid abbreviations or acronyms to avoid confusion.
- 5 Proofread before you press “send”—and remember that texts last forever.
Is a Text Message Legally Binding in Real Estate?
Real estate SMS messages may feel as casual as spoken conversations, but they can still be considered legally binding. They are, technically, written, and written statements are sometimes ruled contracts in courts. In other words, you need to be very careful about the messages you text homebuyers, especially regarding any promises or guarantees. Otherwise, you may find yourself in a surprising bind later.
