In this article, nine industry leaders, including real estate company leaders and marketing execs, share their insights on how to balance traditional and digital marketing in the real estate business. They provide examples of successful campaigns, ranging from newspapers and social media as a dual approach to leveraging YouTube for real estate education. Dive in to discover their unique strategies and tips. How can real estate businesses balance traditional marketing and digital marketing?
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- Newspapers and Social Media: A Dual Approach
- Luxury Condo Campaign: Digital and Traditional Mix
- Signage and Social Media: A Successful Blend
- Local and Remote: Virtual Tour Meets Traditional Open House
- Scavenger Hunt: Traditional Event, Digital Twist
- Postcards and Online Strategies: A Lead Generation Tactic
- Solving a Debate: Balancing Tactics for Diverse Demographics
- Property-Listing Promotion: A Hybrid Approach
- Real Estate Education: Leveraging YouTube for Opportunities
Newspapers and Social Media: A Dual Approach
Striking a balance between traditional and digital marketing methods is vital, as both work in the real estate industry. I also utilize both approaches to reach the maximum number of target customers. For the traditional one, I prioritize promoting my business through newspapers the most. According to my analysis, over 40% of my target customers read newspapers.
Thus, it’s likely for them to see my company’s ads. For digital marketing, I promote my business on various social media platforms. Both techniques gave me a higher ROI, and I could expand my customer base. The traditional one was most successful in drawing Baby Boomers and Gen X, while the digital one attracted most Gen X and Gen Y.
Anthony Guerriero, Owner, Manhattan Miami Real Estate
Luxury Condo Campaign: Digital and Traditional Mix
Digital channels like social media and online listings are powerful, but there’s still a place for the tried-and-true methods like brochures, flyers, and local events. One campaign that worked exceptionally well for us was when we launched a new luxury condo project in Montreal.
We created a visually stunning digital brochure that highlighted the unique features of the condos and the lifestyle they offered. This was shared across our social media platforms and targeted local online communities. To complement this, we also organized an exclusive in-person event at the project site. Traditional invitations were sent out to potential buyers in the neighborhood and local businesses, creating a buzz around the development.
The digital aspect allowed us to reach a broader audience and generate interest, especially among the younger demographic who are more active online.
Samantha Odo, Real Estate Sales Representative and Montreal Division Manager, Precondo
Signage and Social Media: A Successful Blend
Balancing traditional and digital marketing in the real estate industry is essential for reaching a diverse audience. At UpperKey, we’ve found success in combining these approaches. When promoting our rental properties, we integrated traditional methods like high-quality signage and direct-mail campaigns with digital strategies such as targeted online listings and social media advertising.
One campaign that blended both approaches was the launch of a new luxury rental property. We placed eye-catching physical banners and signs around the property’s location, attracting immediate local attention. Simultaneously, we ran a digital marketing campaign featuring virtual tours, 3D property showcases, and social media promotions.
This mix attracted local prospects who saw the property in person and also engaged a broader online audience, resulting in swift rentals and high occupancy rates. Striking a balance between traditional and digital marketing has been instrumental in our success.
Johan Hajji, CEO and Founder, UpperKey
Local and Remote: Virtual Tour Meets Traditional Open House
Balancing traditional and digital marketing in real estate requires creativity. One successful campaign involved hosting a live virtual tour of a property on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Simultaneously, we placed “Open House” signs around the neighborhood and distributed traditional flyers. The digital aspect allowed us to reach a broader online audience, while the local signs and flyers generated immediate interest among nearby residents.
This combination resulted in a highly attended virtual open house with both local and remote potential buyers, showcasing the synergy of traditional and digital methods.
Ryan Hawker, Founder, H3 Home Buyers
Scavenger Hunt: Traditional Event, Digital Twist
In my real estate business, finding the right mix of traditional and digital marketing strategies is crucial. Here’s another example of a successful campaign: We organized a neighborhood scavenger hunt, a traditional community event.
However, we incorporated digital elements by creating a dedicated mobile app for the scavenger hunt. Participants used the app to navigate the neighborhood and collect clues, which led them to various properties we had for sale.
This interactive approach bridged the traditional and digital worlds, engaging the local community while promoting our listings. It sparked curiosity and conversations about the properties, resulting in increased inquiries and, eventually, successful sales.
Gagan Saini, CEO, JIT Home Buyers
Postcards and Online Strategies: A Lead Generation Tactic
One way I effectively balance traditional and digital marketing in my real estate business is by using the traditional methods to generate traffic and then driving that traffic to the digital marketing methods.
An example of how we do this in our business is by sending postcards to homeowners whom we believe may be a good fit for what we offer. Those homeowners see the postcard, look up our company online, see it ranking well in Google, and then they visit the website. When they visit the website, they’re able to see further credibility as well as videos to create a deeper connection to us. In this way, they’re able to experience both the traditional marketing piece in the postcard and then have legitimacy through the website.
Should they choose not to fill in one of our forms on our website, we then leverage Facebook ads to re-target them and use digital marketing to drive them back to the website and turn them into leads.
Sebastian Jania, CEO, Ontario Property Buyers
Solving a Debate: Balancing Tactics for Diverse Demographics
For marketing in the real estate industry, a common debate is whether to focus solely on traditional tactics or embrace digital strategies. However, striking a balance between the two can actually provide more effective results.
For example, a successful campaign could involve using traditional methods, such as direct mailers and networking events, to reach older demographics who may not be as active online.
At the same time, utilizing digital tactics like social media advertising and email campaigns can help reach younger generations who rely heavily on technology for their home-buying needs. By combining both approaches, real estate businesses can effectively target a wider audience and increase their chances of success.
Keith Sant, CMO, Eazy House Sale
Property-Listing Promotion: A Hybrid Approach
In my real estate business, striking a balance between traditional and digital marketing has been crucial for reaching a broader audience.
One successful campaign that exemplifies this approach was a property-listing promotion. We started with a traditional method by placing eye-catching “For Sale” signs outside the property, which attracted local buyers. Simultaneously, we leveraged digital marketing by creating a visually appealing online listing with professional photos and videos, which we promoted through social media and email marketing.
This combination allowed us to tap into both local and online audiences effectively. We received inquiries from neighbors who saw the sign and prospective buyers who discovered the property through our online listings. By blending traditional and digital marketing, we achieved higher visibility and, ultimately, a quicker sale.
Tony Mariotti, CEO, RubyHome
Real Estate Education: Leveraging YouTube for Opportunities
Content marketing plays a key role in digital marketing. We prefer to use YouTube for business because it provides us a lot of freedom to create opportunities to introduce what we do and how we conduct buying and selling houses. We can do house tours that quickly gain views, but we put more effort into creating content that teaches viewers about the processes of selling and/or buying houses.
We have our outputs as video content, and this is excellent in creating a digital footprint for the business, but our content still relies on what we actually do on the field. The work speaks for itself in traditional marketing, and we don’t shy away from that aspect as well.
Stephen Keighery, CEO and Founder, Home Buyer Louisiana
