How digital marketing helped real estate companies deal with Covid-19?
The Coronavirus pandemic resulted in an unprecedented crisis for the real estate sector. However, it also provided an opportunity to adopt a new and technology-driven business model. Digital marketing and virtual site tours have helped the real estate businesses in increasing sales and retaining customers.
It is no secret the real estate market had to bear the brunt of the Coronavirus pandemic to a severe extent. From the very first month of the virus’s outbreak, construction activities across the country came to a halt and hurled the real estate market and potential buyers into a spell of uncertainty. Despite the aggressive preventative measures taken to get control of the pandemic, including a nation-wide lockdown for what seemed like an eternity, it took more time than predicted to develop the vaccine and embrace the new normal in all spheres of life.
The nation-wide lockdown that lasted for more than two months brought a paradigm shift in the way of doing business. As staying home became imperative to stay healthy, visiting sites for property viewing was no more an option which prompted an unprecedented dip in the sales for real estate companies.
This led to a change where all the crucial players from the real estate industry came forward, from real estate brokers to property owners, and started relying on technology to lift the sales numbers. The need of the hour was to become technology-smart and shifting business from offline to online, which also introduced virtual house viewings and prompted a step-change.
During the last few months, digital marketing has become one of the strongest pillars for real estate companies to educate, inform, spread awareness among the masses and, in turn, haul up sales and compensate for the losses incurred due to the stillness brought by the pandemic.
Real estate companies have been counting on social media engagement to stay afloat and keep sales numbers from going down through virtual meetups, live streaming sessions and webinars across digital platforms.
Bridging the gap virtually
Organisations worldwide are moving to an online business model to reach, engage and communicate with their target audience. Social media platforms are the best place to reach the target group through informative content that not only engages but also adds value to one’s business. Site visits may never be the same, but it will be easier than ever for a potential customer to reach their brand and ask questions. VR has made its place in the market by making virtual site tours a trend. Several real estate companies have begun embracing these technologies to aid better support to their customers.
Using an effective content strategy
Every brand needs a customized content strategy that appeals to its customers through content that informs and engages. Real estate companies have been leveraging different social media platforms to spread the word, aligned with both organic and inorganic means to generate lead. Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing play a great role in directing traffic to a real estate brand’s website.
Virtual tours and video content
Virtual tours are becoming commonplace since lockdown restricted site visits and hampered interested buyers from visiting properties. With just a click of a finger, customers can enjoy easy and safe access to virtual site visits. Video content has emerged as another key digital asset in generating clicks for real estate companies because of their high engagement rate and flexibility to be supported on various devices.
A majority of studies show that videos have garnered more leads and generate better ROI as compared to other methods. This has to primarily do with the capability of videos to showcase properties in an efficient way.
Going forward, the real estate sector will witness increased use and adoption of digital marketing tools, and related technologies.
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