In Part 1 of this three-part article, we talked about how you can develop a winning PR strategy for your real estate business.
We learned that listening to your market, having a compelling story, identifying key PR tactics, thinking beyond the campaign launch, and teaming up with a good public relations agency are vital for crafting a plan that delivers the right results.
So now that you have a plan in place, how do you make it come to life?
We’ll show you how you can effectively execute a PR plan to maximize your visibility and build a reputation that inspires your market’s trust.
Techniques for Executing a Solid PR Plan
When implementing a real estate PR plan, there are two main things to aim for: expanding your reach and building your market’s trust. Without these, it’s almost impossible to break through the real estate market.
That’s largely because real estate is always highly saturated, and competition is rife. In order for a firm to stand out, it has to succeed at reminding consumers that not only do they exist, but that they’re worthy of people’s time and trust.
Part 1 of the PR for Real Estate Series: Public Relations for Real Estate Firms
Part 3 of the PR for Real Estate Series: Crisis Management for Real Estate Firms
Utilize PR Strategies for Maximum Visibility
Visibility is the gateway to a broader reach and growing brand awareness, which also creates more business opportunities and helps grow a company’s influence.
Let’s take a look at some of the most effective real estate PR visibility strategies that your firm can adopt:
Regularly Improve Your Website
Your website is the first thing that people, especially customers who are ready to engage with your business, will want to check out. Think of it as your store front. You want it in tip-top shape and improving all the time.
But can you also use it to draw people in, even those that haven’t made up their mind about you just yet? Absolutely!
You can do so by regularly optimizing your website so it draws more traffic, encourages conversion from casual visits to engagement, and allows people to discover your services.
Improving your website means:
- Optimizing it for SEO. This allows your website to appear in top search results for keywords related to your business.
- Keeping it local. Use language that allows people to find you when looking for services nearby. Using local SEO or mentioning your location generates more quality leads because people who search for services in a specific area are more ready to engage than those who don’t.
- Improving the user experience. Did you know that businesses lose customers just because their websites are clunky? People typically only wait three seconds for a website to load. Beyond that, they’re on to a better website.
Find the Right Seeding Platforms
Establish thought leadership in your industry by writing useful articles, blog posts, and even reviews that customers need. You can also use these resources to enhance your visibility by seeding to the right platforms.
Just as you would only list properties on platforms that are credible and trustworthy, you should also only seed to sites that are guaranteed to benefit you.
These platforms:
- Are relevant in the industry. These are publications and websites that have influence in real estate.
- Are managed by trustworthy institutions or personalities. Choose a platform that people trust. Major publications are a great choice because they’re well-established as credible sources of information. Sites managed by industry experts are also a good option.
- Have a significant following. You’ll want to tap into the influence that a platform already has, so choose the ones that have a considerable following.
Get Creative with Content Marketing
Don’t be afraid to jump onto a trend or, better yet, start one yourself. Trends are great opportunities for drawing attention to your content and, ultimately, your brand.
There are many content types to use throughout a campaign, such as:
- Blog posts and articles
- Videos
- Interactive content
- Podcasts
In planning your content, however, it’s not enough to be catchy. You’ll want to keep your audience’s attention by providing real value and interest.
Repurpose Your Content
One piece of content can be utilized in several different ways by cross-posting it to other platforms, like social media pages and affiliated sites. Doing this maximizes every piece of content you put out, squeezing it for every bit of potential for both organic and paid reach.
Ways to do this include:
- Turning snippets from live videos into short videos
- Reposting quotes from long-form articles into catchy tweets
- Posting blog posts in community forums and groups
- Mentioning content on online shows and broadcasts
- Turning quotes from podcasts into graphic art
An example of how effective repurposing content can be is Aboitiz Land’s execution of a PR plan that aimed at increasing awareness and talkability of its The Villages at Lipa project.
They achieved their goal by repurposing their brand message across relevant communities and social media platforms, like the Hello Lipa Facebook page.
In doing so, they used content that was bite-sized yet informative, eye-catching, and developed from various existing materials, maximizing the impact of each piece of content and enlarging reach.
Moreover, their strategy did not just end with repurposing content. They also focused on putting out quality content that was relevant and useful to their target audience, creating real interest in their posts and racking up engagement. Talk about getting creative!
Strategies for Building Trust and Credibility
Building trust in real estate is a long process that needs a sustained campaign to create long-term results.
This involves the following strategies:
Showing Off Your Achievements
Received awards lately? Don’t keep them to yourself. They are a great asset that can “sell” your brand to your market. They’re also highly effective at gaining trust because they’re objective and tell of your merits according to a standard that’s respected in your industry.
You should also talk about notable achievements, such as a breakthrough in the number of properties you’ve successfully sold or attaining industry certifications that establish your expertise and legitimacy as a firm.
Sending Out Newsletters
Building and nurturing relationships with your audience is critical in gaining trust. The more your market knows about you, the more they’re likely to trust you.
A great way to do this is by using email marketing to regularly publish updates, promotions, and developments that your audience wants to know and can benefit from.
Make sure to segment and personalize your newsletters to avoid sounding spammy and keep your readers’ attention.
Writing Impactful Press Releases
Leverage your connections with the media by writing convincing press releases. Press releases published by reputable media outlets boost a brand’s credibility, help convey brand messaging, and demonstrate thought leadership.
Identifying What Sets You Apart
To stand out in a competitive industry, you have to determine what it is about your company that sets you apart. This means not only monitoring your competitors and knowing where you stand in regards to them, but also finding a feature about your company that makes you different–the choice for people who want what only you have.
This is where you truly need a PR agency in your team. A good PR agency can effectively cull from your history, background, accomplishments, and even current challenges to craft a story that’s unique to you and attracts your specific target market.
This is not only beneficial but crucial if you want a foot in the door or are flanked by larger, long-established firms.
Check out how we’ve done just that for businesses over the years. We’d love to do the same for you too. Talk to us to get started on your winning PR strategy!
Jossaine Nunez is a freelance article writer, blogger, and SEO-driven maven. While her true passion lies in writing fiction, her love for storytelling extends to helping brands convey their message in ways that are both engaging and helpful for attaining their business goals.
Jossaine’s interests in writing particularly about people, for people – which translates to brand audience engagement – stems from her experience as the Editor-In-Chief of Siliman University’s The Weekly Silimanian, which published slices of life and educational pieces surrounding university life. Her piece, A Review of Leoncio Deriada’s People on Guerrero Street, published in the Silliman Journal on discussions and investigations in the humanities and sciences, earmarks her foray into the world of writing about, and writing for, humans that make the world go round.
