Marketing by county is common in our area. Montgomery County, Maryland has about a million residents and is an outstanding real estate market. 

How I market depends solely on each individual property.  Some properties are known for their subdivision, others by the city name, and others by zip code only.  Interesting read hearing how others around tbe country are doing it.

I work in (9) cities so it would be impossible and very expensive to do neighborhood targeted marketing in our area. I think PRICING the property realistically and using the Internet for Maximum exposer is the best way to market your sellers properties. Most of the neighborhoods in the area I work in are GATED and do not allow door knocking. Most of my clients are snowbirds and only reside here in the winter. This is a very unique area, so I feel you have to FIT your MARKETING to meet the situation you are working in. In other words, one size does NOT fit all in all cities.

I have used neighborhoods, generally several hundred homes or a single condominium complex. I can then address my communications as "your neighborhood realtor."

My most successful neighborhood (before I moved), was my own personal neighborhood of 170 homes. Besides delivering calendars in person and sending regular updates of sales and listings, I walked the neighborhood for my exercise. I received lots of hellos and was often stopped for real estate questions. I was top of mind in my neighborhood and I held an 80% market share which gave me at least 4 sales every year for 14 years.

I believe it is not possible to "warmly" farm a larger area, let alone a whole zip code.

It really depends on the property. Primarily by city, but there are a few neighborhoods that get a lot of specific searching that I market.  Also one post can really market to all.  Hyperlocal blogging would dictate to advertise more specific neighborhoods, but keep the city info as a catch all. 

Zip codes all the way down here Daddio!

All of the above.  St Lucie County Florida has 3 interesting areas - "historic" Fort Pierce, Newest area of Port St. Lucie and also Hutchinson Island where boating and beaches are king.  We work them all for focus indivisually in blogs and marketing because of specific interests.  We work in the entire county and specialize in a few communities as target markets for listings.

We are large here so it's city & subdivision. Better yet do what google wants you to do.

When I was a broker we marketed to "East Bonner County," simply because our area has such low population density. With an average of 25 people per square mile, we wouldn't have had much business if we tried to go smaller. Our listings were often 40 miles either North or South from the office. 

If I lived in an area with a large population, I would concentrate on becoming the expert in an area of just a few square miles. 

And now, as a real estate copywriter, my "territory" is generally the U.S. - but with a few clients in Canada and other countries. 

Hi Gary mellott.... typically by zip and neighborhood because our area is so large.... 

It depends on the property and the client as to how far I'll extend myself to service an opportinity. I usually market by zip + 4 unless it's commercial.

By city, nearest to where I live or want to travel to. I do include zip codes in some of my posts, in case people want to search in that fashion.

Great article and thank you

Hi Gary Mellott  I'm with you, I  market to neighbourhoods in Victoria, BC

Cheers, have a fun and successful day!

Gary Mellott Geographic area - Northern Virginia.

I use my town and specific neighborhoods, and school zones. That seems to be how people are searching in my area.

We do a development a day.

I key in on Sedona and the surrounding area within 30-40 minutes of my office and home.  But, I look at all of the Verde Valley.  I have found that some  agents are starting to team up with agents in Flagstaff and Phoenix and pushing hard for one MLS.  This is now on my radar...

Personally, I do use the counties for locals but folks that are relocating may not know the cities/towns that the are in specific counties. It's important to know your audience and adapt as needed.