Real Estate – Marketing is a creative process and, in an industry where competition is hot, like the property market, then thinking outside the box is a must to get ahead. When you are busy running your day-to-day business and meeting clients’ needs, how much real time and effort can you put into thinking up new and creative ways to market property that will hopefully stand out from the crowd?
Traditional property marketing ideas have their place, but in the digital era where just about everyone has a smart phone or tablet, having a strong online presence could be the difference between success and failure. Indeed, according to one study, nearly half of all homebuyers and virtually all Millennials will first resort to online searching to find properties for sale that might be of interest to them. Bottom line: If you want to see long-term growth in your real estate business, you’ll need a well-designed website.
For your site visitors, a strong brand establishes a clear picture of who you are, what you specialise in, and how you can assist them. A responsive property website makes sure that your pages look great on any device your customers use to see them.
Having an excellent website, while essential, is not enough. This must be combined with creative and innovative marketing ideas to generate new leads, which are then translated into sales. With that in mind, let’s look at some creative ideas for you to consider.
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Make a quiz available on your website
You may have noticed on various social media platforms that people just love to take quizzes; it gives them a chance to show off their knowledge and provides a morale booster, too. The subject matter is not necessarily that important; it’s the participation that counts.
Why not take advantage of this desire to participate in quizzes and invite participants to participate and test their knowledge of specific topics, while also learning a few things along the way? For example, quiz them on their knowledge of the history of the UK housing and rental market in the past two decades. Alternatively, why not try a quiz on a topic related to a certain area, such as population growth, employment, or wage statistics? You could even include “fun facts” and popular culture questions.
Real estate marketing suggestions like this one can be used every so often, possibly as a part of an email campaign. Consider holding a contest in conjunction with the quiz. Fill out a lead-capture form at the conclusion and award the winner with a gift card to a restaurant or movie tickets.
Offer a free home valuation tool to obtain leads
A simple home valuation tool will be of great interest to both potential home buyers and sellers, as well as buy-to-let property investors. If you want to get seller leads and build up your lead database, you can easily put one on your site.
The home valuation tool could work by requesting email contact details from the user to access the valuation data, or perhaps by having it emailed to them after they have inputted their address. Of course, some users will not want to provide their email addresses, but you will still have their physical addresses, which could be used in a follow-up by making contact via mail.
Make an explainer video outlining who you are and what you can provide
Stand out from the competition and produce high-quality explainer videos. Get suited and booted and show the world who you are and what you have to offer property buyers, sellers, and developers. Provide statistics to demonstrate that you have a proven track record. Explain how you operate and, for example, how you would go about selling their home or sourcing an off-plan buy-to-let property investment. Talk about past investment opportunities and projects that are now successfully completed.
You don’t have to stick to the traditional way of presenting yourself in an overly formal manner. You can still present yourself as being serious by also injecting a little humour and light-heartedness into your videos. For example, you could introduce other members of the team and let them say a few words about what it’s like to work for your company and how much they enjoy working with their clients. People like to hear useful information, but they also tend to be personality driven; so, let the characters of your team shine through.
Provide a free moving service
How many property agents have you heard of that offer a free moving vehicle to help their clients move? With relatively little expense, you could invest in a removal van emblazoned with your company logo and contact details on the side. Entice prospective clients with the fact that you will take away the hassle of looking for a moving firm and how much they will save by using your vehicle. And every time your vehicle is out on the road driving around, people will see your brand.
As well as having your brand driven around for all to see when helping clients move, you could also take it to shows and exhibitions.
Communicate the benefits of the area to your target audience
When producing blog posts or video presentations, if you are selling properties or buy-to-let investments in a certain area, help potential buyers see why it’s a great place to buy there. Sure, the property itself will be the focal point, such as the size and style, but interested parties will also want to be persuaded that it is the right area to buy, like what eateries and theatres are located nearby.
While it is true that sites like TripAdvisor can offer a lot of useful information via reviews and other details about local amenities and businesses, they can be very cumbersome in searching through them to find what you are looking for. This is where you get to shine as a property professional.
You can produce informative blog posts and videos on a regular basis that give homebuyers and investors a good insight into what’s happening in the local area where you are selling properties. Show them why buying in that location makes perfect sense as a place to live or invest for the future. Take a camera to the area and film the local restaurants, bars, parks, and other attractions. Pop inside these establishments and interview the owner or staff. Provide interested parties with a taste of what it might be like to live there.
Use business cards that people won’t forget
Using business cards is something that will always be in vogue with any type of business. Meetings with buyers, sellers, and other industry experts will almost always take place face-to-face, so it’s imperative that you have all your pertinent information on hand to give out. If you want your business card to be memorable, don’t just include your name and phone number in the tiniest, plainest font possible.
Be innovative and creative, even artistic! For example, why not get a business card produced that is shaped like a detached house, or the apartment block that you are currently selling properties in? What about a card that can be folded into a 3D house? Why not even have a card designed as a plastic keyring, shaped like a house, that contains all the relevant info?
The point is to be creative and stand out from the rest, becoming memorable. Property professionals’ marketing is always evolving and becoming more competitive, so even seemingly simple touches like these may keep you at the forefront of your clients’ minds.