Digital marketing has really come into its own with the increasing development of the internet, world wide web and digital technologies generally. So how does digital marketing actually help estate agents.

Firstly, what is marketing?

As defined by CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing);

“Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably”.

And what is digital marketing?

Digital marketing is achieving marketing objectives through applying digital technologies and media (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick, 2016)

So what does this mean for you as an estate agent?

It means: don’t assume you can put your properties on Facebook and Twitter and this you’ll get viewings and land a sale or tenant! Digital marketing is wider than putting your properties on social media. It is also about how you engage your customers on social media. Perhaps you book viewings through Facebook Messenger, or direct message on Twitter. Perhaps you demonstrate your specialist expertise in the letting market on LinkedIn groups. Maybe you engage in community and business roundups in your email newsletter to your database (link to GDPR blog). And perhaps you do a ‘How to spring clean your home on You Tube’. Maybe you have a banner advert on the renowned property portals such as Rightmove or Zoopla, or a paid advert on the major search engines such as Google or Bing.

The use of the internet by customers has increased in the UK, with 89% using the internet.This means that as an estate agency, traditional methods (such as print or broadcast mediums for publicity) still apply, but having an online presence is becoming more vital. Michael Porter in 2001 said:

The key question is not whether to deploy internet technology - companies have no choice if they want to stay competitive - but how to deploy it (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick, 2016).

The technology we have at our fingertips is astounding. A 360 degree camera can prove immensely beneficial as does videography of a property, providing a virtual viewing. Sending PDF property details via email instead of through the post can save paper and time. Zoom or Skype meetings instead of trying to factor in travel time to an agency which is a distance from your workplace for instance. Some property photography is stunning it’s hard to tell if it was taken with an iPhone X or a Nikon DSLR.

In our modern society, we are moving at microwave speed, but your digital marketing strategy needs to be executed with much thought. Again, we don’t want you to think it’s all about social, because there are other avenues to explore digitally. It’s much more holistic than that, don’t forget your website needs to be responsive, compatible on mobile and desktop. Combining digital and traditional means of marketing ensures all bases are covered to ensure you’re creating a brand awareness of your estate agency, interacting with your audience, converting them as a lead or sale and equally engaging and building your customer relationship in order to retain them.

If you would like a consultation on your digital marketing please do get in touch.