A former teacher turned full-time real estate agent, Joe Kennedy needed to rebrand himself. Residing in the same area he taught, he was already well known in his community, but had the unique challenge of wanting to be seen in a new way: as the go-to agent. He knew that joining Nextdoor could help him establish his brand credibility while also enabling him to leverage his existing relationships from his teaching days.
What did he do?
Joe started sharing tips and locally relevant content to his Business Posts to position himself as a credible real estate expert.
1. He first posted a poll to get seen by neighbors and spark dialogue around a common interest: their neighborhood.
2. Joe also incorporated video in his posts to share local market trends and showcase the value he could provide as a helpful resource. Videos typically get more engagement than a text post and 85% of home buyers and sellers want to work with an agent who uses video, according to Real Estate news outlet Inman.
Joe incorporated video to share local market trends in a way that was both educational and entertaining.
3. He leveraged his existing relationships in his community to gather recommendations, which helped build his agent reputation.
On Nextdoor, Joe was able to showcase the value he provided to the community as a helpful resource. He was also able to naturally transfer the same people skills and personal approach from teaching to real estate. He tells us, “I’m into relationship-based marketing. It boils down to good communication and finding common interests that people share. People in Portland like local and are community-minded; this is part of why Nextdoor works and is unique from other platforms.”
What were his results?
As Joe began posting, he saw more neighbors engage with his posts, which later turned into inbound customer leads.
“I posted my best video and later received a strong lead from someone who asked for a valuation of their condo. This was directly related to my video.”
When comparing Nextdoor to other local advertising channels, Joe tells us that postcards felt “random and shooting from the hip,” and social media ads were effective at reaching his social media fans, but did not necessarily translate to reaching the people in the neighborhood he would actually do business with.
He also looked to lead buying services. “Not only is it expensive, but I don’t get visibility into who the leads are or how qualified they are as a potential client. Furthermore, I have to answer the lead phone call right away or it gets passed to a competing agent. It feels reactive. Using Nextdoor, I can target people that reside in specific miles radius, and proactively start conversations with the people with whom I know and would potentially do business with for 75% less. I’ve seen Nextdoor work and will use it for a long time.”
How else does Joe know Nextdoor is driving impact? He knows he’s being seen and that the online interactions have paid off when he gets affirmation in-person.
“When people I run into say, ‘I keep seeing you on Nextdoor. I see you on Nextdoor all the time!” I respond, ‘Thanks for telling me, and I love hearing that!’ Because I pay for it. It means it’s working.”
Having found the right people on Nextdoor, Joe was able to stop spending more on finding customers and instead focus on cultivating relationships and delivering excellent service. Through his content, Joe was able to increase his brand exposure, establish himself as the go-to agent when someone may need to buy or sell a home, and grow customers organically.
He says, “I can say I got a direct sale from Nextdoor. A few months into running Nextdoor Ads, a neighbor reached out to me to help her daughter buy a home.
Nextdoor works because it’s local, relationship-based and affordable. My advice to other agents would be – use Nextdoor as an opportunity to connect with neighbors on a personal level. If you stay committed to helping your neighbors, you will be remembered when it comes time for someone to choose a real estate agent they want to do business with.”
Start connecting with local homeowners on Nextdoor by claiming your business page.