Occasionally a highly sought-after property is snapped up as soon as it is listed on the real estate market. This is often a win-win scenario for both the buyer and the seller. Be that as it may, the time scale for selling a property is anything but lightning fast.
According to a 2018 survey by Zillow.com: ‘the average listing on Zillow sold in 68 days, from listing to close. That means that a home with a typical 30-day close was on the market for roughly a month before accepting an offer.’
‘One interesting point to note is that over the past eight years, as the housing market has recovered from the recession, there has been a dramatic drop in the length of time houses are on the market — the average number of days on the market was 140 days in 2010.’
Part of being a real estate marketer is understanding what your target audience are looking for, and how to market the material to them in a way that will be relevant and interesting to maximize sales.
To optimize your real estate marketing campaigns here are Ben Givon’s 5 strategies that are proven to boost customer engagement and relevance.
Know your target audience
To maximize the effectiveness of your real estate marketing campaigns it is vital that you have a clear understanding of who your target audience is.
Your target audience will depend on the type and category of the real estate property that you are advertising. For instance, your target audience for commercial real estate is most likely to be businesses and freelancers, whereas residential real estate is more likely to appeal to independent home hunters.
Here are a few ways you can collect valuable data that will give you a clear outline of who your target audience is:
- Through polls on social media platforms
- Send surveys via SMS and email to potential clients and subscribers
- Offer rewards for completing questionnaires and surveys
- Collate and analyze the responses you get from the surveys
An additional way of understanding who your target audience are could be done by using tools such as Spacio.
What is Spacio? Spacio is a real estate software that gives real estate agents and companies the ability to gather information on potential clients at the time of open house events. The software also checks the authenticity of the clients’ contact details which elicits a much more accurate and valuable set of leads for the real estate broker.
The Spacio software can also be customized, making for a tailored survey that will gather quality leads. As well as the basic contact information, the app can also gather data on what categories and details visitors and potential clients bear in mind when hunting for real estate, and what elements and qualities they are actively looking for.
By taking the data you gather from the real estate software you can start to map the needs and demands of your target audience, which will then lead to much more relevant real estate marketing campaigns and greater customer engagement.
For instance, you could advertise real estate properties that include swimming pools to potential customers who enjoy swimming as a hobby.
Making sure that you market to the likes and demands of your target audience is important when optimizing your real estate marketing campaigns for higher levels of engagement, ROI, leads, impressions, social shares, and comments.
Focus on the bigger picture
When potential real estate buyers are on the hunt for a property, the overall experience is what truly matters when it comes to real estate marketing.
A great way to boost lead engagements and increase sales, is by marketing the general experience that comes with the property.
Rather than focusing on the property itself you should paint a picture of what it would be like to live there in the long term. While information such as how many bedrooms and kitchens the property has is fundamental and goes without saying, you should be trying to sell the experience and features that will affect the buyer’s life.
For instance, you could draw attention to a nearby museum and aquarium in an advert for a residential real estate listing ideal for families.
According to a report by PWC.com good customer experiences have a direct impact on the buying process:
‘73% of all people point to customer experience as an important factor in their purchasing decisions. Yet only 49% of U.S. consumers say companies provide a good customer experience today.’
‘43% of all consumers would pay more for greater convenience; 42% would pay more for a friendly, welcoming experience. And, among U.S. customers, 65% find a positive experience with a brand to be more influential than great advertising.’
To create a lasting impression on your target audience and potential clients your real estate marketing campaigns need to project what their lives will be like if they go ahead and purchase the listed property. This will entice them into taking the first steps of inquiry thus maximizing engagement.
