With so many avenues and platforms, real estate marketing today is a complex machine. Traditional marketing techniques are no longer enough. Instead, agencies need to focus on effective marketing – creating a campaign that has maximum reach within a scalable model. Here we look at the types of skills you need in your team: internal, external and your own.
THE INTERNAL TEAM
The internal marketing team needs to be leading the way for digital marketing success. Essential skills today include:
- Impeccable communication skills: Cutting through the noise on digital platforms is not easy. Today’s marketers need to be able to tell a story, grabbing a customer’s attention and emotionally connecting them with the property and the brand. And this all needs to be written for both humans and bots – something that is far harder than it sounds.
- Technological awareness: Taking advantage of new technologies and how they can streamline marketing and sales processes is critical if an agency is to be scalable. Using these digital tools will significantly improve efficiencies and build a future-proof agency.
- Relationship building: Real estate marketing is no longer simply about one-way letterbox drops. A good marketer will be a consumer behaviourist, able to quickly and confidently build online relationships, nurture leads and connect one-on-one with a broad customer base.
As real estate agencies jump on board the digital transformation train, we’ll see a lot of upskilling and training in these areas in the coming years. Astute agencies are also looking beyond real estate, hiring digital marketers from other industries who can bring their cutting-edge digital skills into the property sector.
By understanding your customer’s digital behaviour you can craft targeted, more strategic and ultimately more successful campaigns.
THE EXTERNAL TEAM
Today, the new breed of creatives that support a real estate agency need to be experts in both traditional and new media, including:
- Savvy website developers: A good website developer will constantly be looking to enhance your website to ensure the best possible user experience.
- Digital analysts: More than ever, real estate agencies need the expertise of analysts who can track marketing campaigns and proficiently analyse the data.By understanding your customer’s digital behaviour you can craft targeted, more strategic and ultimately more successful campaigns.
- SEO experts: SEO is the most valued skill a marketer can have. External suppliers need to be able to competently advise internal teams and adjust content to maximise search visibility.
- Visual content: Professional photographs are essential to any property campaign. But also critical is video content – something that is leading the way in content marketing. If you struggle with presenting, get a professional to help!
THE AGENT’S SKILLS
Responsible for marketing your client listings, yourself and the agency brand, modern agents need to be multi-skilled communicators with a strong understanding of the many marketing platforms available. Must-have skills today include:
- Social media guru: Intrinsic to any marketing activity, a successful agent needs to be a social media gun – able to promote themselves and the business, build engagement and understand how best to engage on each platform.
- Understand the digital landscape: With so many digital advertising choices available, a savvy real estate agent knows every avenue available and which option will best suit each campaign.
- Local expertise: Consumers today are community-focused; they opt for personalised service and localised brands over cookie-cutter businesses. As the face of the agency, you need to be present in the local community (online and actual), always being front-of-mind.
- Building an experience: Marketing today is all about experience. Open houses are not simply buyers viewing a property. Rather, it is a social gathering for people to experience living in a well-staged home.
Digital transformation is unavoidable. But by understanding how you can harness digital technologies to work for you, agents are free to do what they do best – relationship building and face-to-face marketing. Dealing with people during the biggest financial transaction of their lives requires a unique ability to connect with customers’ emotions. And with the right support, that ability should ultimately close the sale.
