Here’s how digital tactics help you use your budget wisely and reach your audience.
The exclusive new luxury community you’ve been working on is finally pre-leasing, and it’s time to find residents to fill available units. You hope that people have driven by and seen the impressive construction for the last few months and that news has spread through word-of-mouth. But it’s 2023, and word-of-mouth isn’t what it used to be. Instead, you need a real estate marketing plan that will produce signed leases—without overspending before your property can turn a profit. Yes, this kind of marketing campaign exists, and it gets your apartment homes, condos, or other investment property in front of the right potential residents at the right time, without putting your finances in the red.
It’s time to go digital with your marketing tactics. Here’s how.
Hyper-Target Your Demographic.
Consider how traditional media works. You advertise your properties or investment opportunities in a print publication or on network TV. Both types of outlets can vaguely describe who consumes their media based on household demographics, Nielsen studies, and other methods. But you can’t further drill down to audience segments by personal interests, income, location, employment, and more. In fact, there’s little guarantee that your ad will be served to your audience. Digital marketing, however, allows you to put your ads in front of your target audience with greater precision than ever before. You can drill down by ZIP code, household size, income, and other factors to home in on exactly who you want to see your ads.
Reach Out to Your Audience on Their Preferred Devices
According to the Pew Research Center, just 23% of Americans report reading a print newspaper. Similarly, surveys show that the percentage of Americans who watch cable or satellite TV has dropped to about 56%, meaning your audience is less likely to even see a traditional ad. So where do people consume their media? Online, of course! And they’re using a multitude of devices to do it: smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, and computers. Your ads can appear on these devices in a variety of ways, including:
- As display ads (sometimes called “banner ads”), alongside content on the websites your audience visits.
- In search engine results at the top of the results page or ranked on the first page of search results due to search engine optimization.
- As over-the-top (OTT) video ads on streaming services, like YouTube TV, Hulu, etc.
- In smartphone apps.
- In retargeted ads, after a potential customer has already visited your site or shown an interest in similar properties.
- On social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, even if users don’t follow your page or like your business profile.
- In podcasts and other audio programming (e.g., Spotify or Pandora).
Show Where Your Leads Come From
Before the rise of digital marketing, businesses had to ask prospects directly how they heard about them. It was the only surefire way of finding out which types of marketing were most effective, but it is an ineffective way of tracking leads. With digital advertising, however, you gain an impressive amount of data to analyze, not only the number of times your ad was displayed but also whether anyone clicked on your ad or took an action because of it. You can even determine which ads garnered your leads. This information allows marketers to use only the channels most effective for connecting with your target audience, so no money is wasted on ineffective tactics. With all available data in hand, you can compare the total money you spent to your return on investment.
Save Big with Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
One of the unique features of digital marketing is that, depending on the tactic you choose, you will only pay an agreed-upon fee each time your ad is shown to someone (called an “impression”) or when a user clicks on it (called “pay-per-click”). These ads cost little to produce, because you don’t need to pay for filming budgets or for printing press charges. In fact, setting up paid media campaigns includes determining how much you’re willing to pay over the course of your entire campaign, choosing keywords or phrases that offer the most possible impressions for the lowest cost. This helps you manage your budget and track where every cent goes. And with the average cost per lead for the real estate industry sitting at about $45, your profit margin grows when you incorporate PPC ads into your marketing strategy.
Employ a Human Touch
Although machine learning and artificial intelligence can help you master your digital marketing strategy, computers can’t do everything for you. In fact, it takes a human touch to understand the nuances of your business goals so your digital campaigns deliver the best possible results. It’s important to partner with a digital marketing agency to ensure your campaigns are as cost-effective and functional as possible. You’ll want to work with one with experience in the real estate or property management industries for the best results.
