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February 11, 2022Property Development Marketing: A Digital Toolset to Reach Potential Home Buyers
When it comes to marketing for real estate, property developers find themselves with an entirely different set of rules than traditional buy-and-sell agencies. This is because the property developers are selling homes that do not exist yet.
Traditional real estate agents have the advantage of bricks and mortar properties with existing home value and history of capital growth. They also have the ability to show buyers exactly what they are purchasing through open homes and inspections. Developers, on the other hand, are setting prices purely on forecasting what buyers will pay for the property in a chosen area. They must paint a picture of the potential for a vacant plot of land, and the developments are typically for townhouses, house and land packages, or brand new apartment buildings. Without tangible assets, developers are placing value on the brand reputation, trust, and quality work.
While there are clear differences in the approaches for traditional agencies and property developers, at the end of the day, real estate selling is all about selling homes – new or old. With buyers being able to search and find a dream home with the click of a button, developers can no longer rely on billboards and print to reach potential clients. Their planned developments and properties can be displayed to thousands of buyers – whether they are first home buyers, young couples, families, or investors – with the same set of tools as real estate agents.
Digital marketing for real estate developers Australia
Without actual properties, other than display units, developers must rely on experience-led marketing to help buyers visualise their new properties and future potential. Each facet of your property development marketing plan must be consistent and build trust in your brand and the quality of the constructions.
Property development marketing content
Before you can dive into your residential development marketing plan, start with your content and key information for buyers:
- Location & Surrounding Area. Location may be the most important factor for prospective buyers searching for brand new homes. Why should they choose this particular site and location? Your content should include items like a map of the region, information on local schools, shopping areas, and activities, as well as public transportation and infrastructure. Furthermore, market research that includes potential capital growth of the region will also be useful for buyers and investors.
- Concept & Interior Design. While some developers do allow for choices of carpets, colours, and paints, when buying off-the-plan, buyers understand that the design, concept, and layout of the property is decided by the developer. Any information on the designer, architects, and design concept that you can include in the brochures is helpful.
- Price. With typical real estate sales, the price is set by market demand. A property will have previous purchase price(s) with value-added for capital growth, as well as any upgrades. There is also an expected offer and negotiation period between buyer and seller. With property development, prices are set by the developers for what they perceive is the value of the land and home package. In most cases, the price cannot be negotiated, unless there are incentives for first home buyers, or government grants, or seasonal promotions. Stated price points help buyers to know what they can afford in a given market when applying for financing.
- Standard Inclusions & Upgrades. To prevent any confusion, be as detailed as possible for what is included in the home and land package – internal and external – for materials, finishings, appliances, costing and fees, regular maintenance, or services. Another option for choice that buyers may have is paying additional for upgrades, which could include higher-end materials and finishes, and additional appliances or property maintenance.
- Visuals. Without photos or videos of the actual property, buyers must rely on renderings of what their new home will look like. At the very least, property developers should include layout diagrams, and 3D renderings of the building, facade, and interiors, as well as maps of the local area. If possible, video renderings with walk-throughs of the home or property area provide an additional touch of professionalism, quality, and service.
Property development content examples that were developed by Geonet include the branding and designs for Signature Dream Homes and Australian Property & Finance Group.
Property development digital marketing services Australia
Once you have your tools assembled with your content needs, you can reach out to potential buyers to sell brand-new homes. In order to reach as many clients as possible and secure deposits for the new build, you will need a full-service, highly-targeted digital marketing strategy that includes the following:
- Location and interest-based targeting
- Omni-present marketing and branding
- Attention-grabbing ads
- A professional, effective, and attractive website
- Lead generation, database, and CRM
See more: Real Estate Leads: A Case Study on generating 17,000 leads in a 6 month period
Audience building with location and interest-based targeting
In today’s digital world, property agents don’t have to rely on the guesswork of billboards, TV ads, and newspapers, casting a wide net, hoping to catch the eyes of potential buyers. Ad dollars are best spent on smaller, highly-targeted audience
Geo-targeting. Location-based targeting is nothing new, helping advertisers reach social media users in their local markets. At Geonet, we use precise targeting to find the right audience at the right time in the buying cycle. With geo-targeting, we send ads directly to the mobile phones of the people entering a certain ‘geozone’ that we’ve created. For property developers, this could be display homes, open inspections, and promotional events. We know this audience is interested in buying a new home, which eliminates any guesswork for reaching the right demographics and potential customers.
Omni-present marketing & branding for real estate developers
The content mentioned above that you created for your brand and property development must be consistent and clear through all digital platforms. Further, for a digital marketing campaign to be successful, it must be omnipresent, covering all available tools where buyers are searching for new homes. This includes::
- Social media organic content
- Social media paid advertisements
- Google PPC ads & search text
- Company website
Attention-grabbing ads for property development advertising Australia
Consumers, including ourselves, are bombarded with advertisements on a daily, hourly, or even by-the-minute basis. Most of the ads we see are not relevant to us, at least not at that specific time, so many of us are used to scrolling through our feeds without stopping. However, some ads, especially if they are selling a product of particular interest, are able to catch the eyes of a keen, potential buyer. Video animation, clear messaging, innovative graphics, and stunning design help ads stand out in a crowd and generate leads of home buyers.
A professional, effective website for real estate developers in Australia
Your website may be the single most important marketing tool for your property development. It’s on an online billboard, but in this case, you can track how many people see it and take action. Not only must it provide useful information, but there are also a number of tools that should be incorporated for a website to be effective:
- Responsive design for mobile and desktop
- Simple navigation to find information easily
- Lead capture for potential clients
- High-quality images & video of your project
- Content on the team, your company, and other useful resources
Lead generation, database & CRM
One of the best marketing tools real estate agents and property developers have is their network and database. Collecting leads and contacts is the goal of almost all campaigns, to reach out to them and convert them into sales. Tracking lead progress, reporting data, and saving all necessary information will be useful for your team and to gauge the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. Investment into a sales-driven CRM that can be integrated with your lead sources will prove to save you time and money the longer you use it.
Property development marketing agency for all digital services
If you are looking for an agency to provide all of the services above, with an in-house design team, digital experts, media analysts, and call centre support, contact us today. We specialise in real estate marketing and have worked with property developers across Australia. We’d be happy to provide a quote for our full-service marketing efforts