In 2024’s economy, with all the inflation rate challenges and post-COVID drama situations, the real estate sector faces the challenge of adapting to changing buyer habits and demands.
For many, purchasing property is a significant, often once-in-a-lifetime investment, which places immense pressure on realtors to implement effective marketing strategies to meet sales targets.
My name is Savvas, and I am a marketing professional who has consulted and optimized more than 350 advertising accounts. Today, we will explore together that missing piece of communication where realtors lose their potential buyers.
Enough with introductions; let’s get down to business.
Social Capital (Digital)
As numerous studies suggest, we dedicate more than one-fifth of our daily activities to online engagement, whether it be scrolling through social media feeds, consuming informational content, or participating in other online activities.
According to a study conducted by Harvard, 8 out of 10 people decide to engage with something that feels familiar to them, whether that’s buying from that company or even recommending it to a friend.
That is why Social Capital is very important for companies. Real Estate buyers are seeking trusted companies to park their hard-earned money in order to buy a once-in-a-lifetime asset or investment. They need to feel secure and trust the communication messages from the developer or the agent before they even consider buying.
Seven out of ten users (50% more than last year) are seeking a trusted review from an authoritative source before they decide to buy something worth more than what they earn in a year. This study is done by the Marketing Training Club while researching more than 2,000 companies. Yet, only 5% of companies are optimized for searchers like ‘’ Is X company good to buy from?’’.
Search engines have shown a significant trend in company reviews. According to Google trends, an increase of 44% YoY (year after year) has been shown in Google searches, hence the new algorithm update with EEAT (but that’s another topic for another day).
We implemented such a strategy with one of our real estate clients by using this very publication you are reading. They gave us the opportunity to rank a snippet (on top of results) when someone was not sure if our client was a good real estate provider to buy from. As a result, we saw a 60% increase in website traffic and a 30% increase in sales, just with this little action we took with The Luxury Playbook.
Define your audience correctly
Gaining insights into the target audience is pivotal for the success of any marketing campaign, particularly in the real estate industry. Understanding the unique preferences, aspirations, and pain points of potential buyers or renters allows marketers to tailor their messaging and channels effectively.
A simple way to start is by outlining the common 10 simple yet critical questions regarding demographics and desires (every marketer should know). Once that is done, you move on to defining the digital ecosystem your audience is in. Then, you can really kick-start defining them through analytics, CRM data, and DSP audiences.
Optimal digital experience
I usually see outstanding campaigns on a no-converter website. Campaigns are only the beginning of the buyer’s journey. This lack of conversion should lead us to something called CRO (conversion rate optimization).
Often, marketing teams should check via analytics what the conversion rate is, why we don’t have enough leads, what the bounce rate and retention time are, and so on. According to the Marketing Training Club, this task should account for 60% of marketing efforts.
In order for your marketing team to perform the CRO analysis, they need to:
Define Goals: Determine what actions you want visitors to take on your website, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a contact form. These goals will serve as the basis for your optimization efforts.
Understand the Audience: Conduct research to understand your target audience, including their demographics, preferences, behavior, and pain points. Use tools like Google Analytics, surveys, and customer feedback to gather insights.
Identify Conversion Barriers: Analyze your website to identify any obstacles or friction points that may prevent visitors from completing the desired actions. This could include confusing navigation, slow loading times, or unclear calls-to-action (CTAs).
Create Hypotheses: Based on your research and analysis, develop hypotheses about what changes or improvements could lead to increased conversions. These hypotheses should be specific, testable, and focused on addressing identified barriers.
A/B Testing: Implement A/B tests to compare different versions of your website or landing page and determine which variations perform better in terms of conversion rates. Test elements such as headlines, CTAs, images, layout, and form fields.
Multivariate Testing: In addition to A/B testing, consider conducting multivariate tests to analyze the impact of multiple changes simultaneously. This can help you understand how different elements interact with each other and affect overall conversion rates.
Implement Changes: Based on the results of your tests, implement the changes that have been proven to be effective in improving conversion rates. This may involve updating website content, design elements, or functionality.
Monitor and iterate: Continuously monitor your website’s performance and iterate on your optimization efforts based on ongoing data analysis. CRO is an iterative process, and there is always room for further improvement.
Optimize for Mobile: Given the increasing prevalence of mobile devices, ensure that your website is optimized for mobile users. This includes responsive design, fast loading times, and streamlined user experience across different devices.
Focus on User Experience: Prioritize user experience throughout the optimization process. Make sure your website is easy to navigate, visually appealing, and provides clear guidance on how to take the desired actions.
Simple steps to improve the company’s positioning in the real estate market
These simple yet effective steps can significantly improve a company’s positioning in the real estate market.
- Open social accounts that are suited for the clientele they want to go after. If seeking a younger audience, a TikTok account is vital.
- Employ an Employer branding specialist with marketing knowledge. This person will be able to give you guidance and do the marketing research on the social capital level.
- Train your marketing team on how to handle ORM (online reputation management), which is one of the most important things nowadays.
- Revise all your marketing communication pieces and make sure they target the correct audience with the correct message at the right time.
- Don’t make bold, fluff statements that you cannot fulfill.
- Ask the marketing team for a trend analysis report. Understand which trend (or wave) you are strong enough to compete, and don’t waste money on advertising before that.
- Craft the advertising campaigns in the correct engineering manner. Search engines are mathematical equations with a lot of AI analysis of behavioral patterns.
- Once you understand how your audience is served by all the ads running at the specific vertical (you can easily do that by checking the libraries), craft your competitive campaign based on the niche.
- Once your niche campaign is well crafted and pushed live, optimize it with browser- and product-specific campaigns. Remember, audience (ing) is the key here.
- Find a trusted publication in your niche to host a few content pieces guided by content experts to make sure you get the results you want. It is important here to choose a publication that is search engine friendly and can help you score a snippet.
Real Estate Marketing Agencies, is it a good idea?
Engaging with real estate marketing agencies can be a savvy move, especially when scaling up your operations. However, it’s essential to recognize that while these agencies can assist in expansion, they might not provide the level of hands-on involvement you desire, particularly if you’re starting from scratch.
These agencies juggle multiple clients and prioritize based on their fee structure, much like any business. Therefore, if you’re a novice in real estate marketing, investing in a marketing course or seeking guidance from experts could be a prudent first step. Understanding the fundamentals or receiving initial coaching can help kick-start your marketing strategy effectively.
For mid-sized realtors with some existing marketing activities and a semblance of a strategy, consulting with a marketing agency could be timely. Nonetheless, it’s crucial to acknowledge that agencies often require more direction than anticipated. Optimal scenarios involve having a dedicated marketing specialist within your team to manage operations or enlisting the support of an external marketing consultant to navigate the process.
Think of this consultant as akin to a quantity surveyor for your buildings. Their presence can lead to cost savings by ensuring your direction is sound and your goals are translated into actionable strategies.
In conclusion, buyers are becoming more and more picky every day. Your goal is to communicate the right message to the right buyer at the right time. We often embrace the power of social media and forget the rest of the marketing mix.
However, our experience with over 350 accounts has shown the social media audience is not always in the mood for every product; that is what we mean when we say ‘’ understand the digital ecosystem you are about to enter’’. Pick wisely.
