Gaining recognition and raising brand awareness as a real estate company can be quite challenging. Not every brand can be the classic “little black dress” of the real estate industry, right?
After suffering from some serious Covid-related setbacks in 2020, the global real estate market is bouncing back and its growth will not be stopping anytime soon. In fact, this sector was valued at $6.1 trillion in 2020 in Canada alone.
With demand for commercial and residential real estate not showing any sign of slowing down, it’s vital that your brand stays on top of its game to make sure that you don’t fall behind the competition.
How can you do that? The answer is branding – and professional real estate marketing agencies. In this article, we will address why you need a real estate marketing agency and what to look out for when hiring one.
The power of real estate marketing and branding
Although real estate brands are putting increasingly more emphasis on visual identity, branding is not a new term in the industry.
You may want to look at this colour, first used on the cover of a particular brand book back in… 1845. Almost 200 years ago.
Looks familiar? It would be difficult to mistake it with anything else than Tiffany & Co. (to the point that it has been officially trademarked as Tiffany Blue)
We believe it speaks louder than a thousand words. In the case of Tiffany & Co., it’s not only about the colour, but what makes it so recognizable all over the world.
It works similarly with Burberry Check.
You can have check patterns in wallpaper, but ask 10 people on a street in Toronto or Seattle what brand they associate the above image with.
We bet you a good slice of pizza they would say Burberry.
The message is clear: it’s not just a pattern that makes a brand. It’s the whole branding and marketing strategy.
Why should I hire a real estate marketing agency for my company?
The real estate industry is one of the most competitive markets in the world.
It is important for companies to have a strong presence in this sector so that they can not just survive, but actually thrive among their competitors.
This can be achieved by hiring a professional real estate marketing agency with expertise in the field. Let’s briefly go through why you really need a real estate marketing agency for your business as soon as possible.
A real estate marketing agency can help you get a better understanding of your target audience and how to reach them. Agencies usually have access to professional tools to help with this, such as market research and analysis tools.
Moreover, an agency can guide you through developing a brand strategy that is unique to your company.
One size never fits all, so you need a branding strategy that will help you make a tremendous impact on the market.
Such agencies most likely have much more experience in real estate business branding than you do. For this reason, they will also be available to quickly transform your company to fit within the market and outperform your competitors.
What should I know before choosing a real estate marketing agency?
To gain an advantage from the aforementioned benefits, it’s vital that you pick the best available option out there. A simple Google search will almost certainly flood you with many options for real estate marketing agencies.
This means you will have to do some homework and research the agencies you find. What should you pay attention to when you’re on the hunt for a real estate marketing agency?
#1 Every branding agency has a different specialty
This is an important aspect, especially since it’s often ignored. When beginning your search, you can’t limit yourself to looking for “branding agencies” only.
Think about them like you would consider types of properties, for instance – there are single-family homes, apartment buildings, street-front retail spaces, shopping plazas, office buildings and so many other types of structures.
Imagine you’re viewing a commercial property recommended by your realtor. You told them you wanted a street-front property with access to foot traffic, and they show you some office space on a second floor. It’s a nice layout with great amenities, but not what you need for your type of business.
It’s exactly the same with branding agencies. You need to know what you want when looking for an agency and at the same time consider each one’s specialties. One agency might be experts in website design, while another may be thriving off of business branding. You’ll want to check that they can provide you with exactly what you want.
Branding has so many aspects and levels that it can be easy to forget about them when you’re searching for the best agency. Always, we repeat, always make sure that you a) have clear objectives in your mind and b) research a potential agency to get an idea of what they’re doing.
#2 Reliable branding agencies have professional procedures in place
Moving on, you should look elsewhere if an agency lacks a clear, documented process for their branding methodology or if it seems like they’re just making it up on the spot when talking to you. Also, don’t speak with an agency if they claim they don’t have a process at all because every client’s situation is different.
Of course, every project is different in terms of needs and objectives. However, some of the best real estate marketing agencies still have standard procedures that they follow to virtually guarantee success.
Such a set of procedures can include:
- Onboarding checklists
- Social media management processes
- Brand DNA research – step by step
- UX/UI audit guidelines
- SEO recommendations
- Branding workshops
Remember that a process does not mean copying and pasting a project from one client to another, nor should it limit ideas and creativity. It’s all about a detailed plan of action with steps that are customized to each individual business.
#3 Experience and reviews matter a lot
Another factor to consider is experience and reviews.
When it comes to branding, every company comes with its own, unique list of challenges and goals. It’s therefore also reasonable to assume that their particular needs will differ.
These differences in needs suggest the necessity for an individualized approach. They shouldn’t, however, lead you into thinking that checking out a company’s reviews and asking about their experience wouldn’t be a good idea. The truth is that these are great metrics when it comes to evaluating your choices.
While there are many industries that adopt similar branding strategies for various reasons, the real estate sector has its own rules. The more you learn to stand out from the crowd in this sphere, the better.
To be able to do this, you will need a branding agency that is experienced. That experience should also be backed up with evidence – you can’t just let any agency handle your branding and hope for the best.
What do we mean by an agency’s “experience” and “evidence”? They should:
- Have worked for a real estate brand before (for example, designing its website)
- Keep an up to date portfolio, available for potential clients to view
- Be aware of and know how to use the latest real estate trends
For example, you can see that we have worked for a real estate brand before (we have both evidence and experience). Our work and experience are also proved by positive reviews on Google.
#4 The Real estate industry requires an innovative approach
In many ways, real estate has different – and high – requirements.
We’ve mentioned it a few times before, but you really need to take that into consideration when starting to work with a Real estate marketing agency.
Your business partner has to understand:
- Who your business competitors are and what their soft spots are
- How to incorporate trends into your branding and strategy
- What marketing activities should go in line with your new branding
- That thinking outside the box, in this case, is a necessity, not a choice
Here at SociallyInfused Media, we ask ourselves (and you):
How do we innovate if we follow the same old ‘marketing recipes’?
We don’t know, because we don’t follow the old recipes. We create our own ones.
Get a taste of how we can turn your real estate business branding into something that wows.
In case you’re not convinced… yet
We are a dynamic group of marketers who rely on creativity, determination, and a dash of oomph rather than a large marketing budget. Our campaigns aim to generate maximum results with minimal resources by being unique, engaging, and always thought-provoking – something that any Real estate brand should be looking into.
What can we offer your real estate brand?
#1 Boosting social media marketing
With our “Smart Social” methodology, we achieve a business-practical compromise between two extremes.
Our approach to social media strategy is based on an analysis of your market, products, and customers to prioritize what works for your real estate brand and ignore what doesn’t.
And creating a powerful social media presence for your business on the most effective networks is our goal.
#2 Designing a fully functional website
Customized and mobile-friendly sites help you achieve your real estate business goals and improve your digital marketing efforts.
Our portfolio speaks for itself (remember that experience and evidence discussion?). We’re actually the highest-rated, award-winning website design company in Hamilton, Ontario – but we work with clients outside of this area too.
#3 Improving SEO and Google ranking
We know that real estate marketing and branding is not only about nice design or a website project, but goes way beyond that. That is why we look at this holistically, and we won’t leave your business with branding only (unless you want us to).
Since saying that the competition in the industry is fierce is like saying nothing, we also help your real estate marketing and branding be seen. This means that we not only work on how you look but also on making sure people know about you.
To do so, we can conduct a set of activities to improve your visibility online – from SEO audits through keyword analysis to successful execution, all to boost Google search results in your favour.
#4 Developing business branding
Let us highlight it once again.
We commit time, effort, and expertise to spark a branding process that will provide your real estate company with a unique brand strategy and visual identity – and we’re all here for it.
We could talk for hours about the things we can do for your real estate brand, but actions speak louder than words, so how about connecting?
Give your real estate company the best branding experience ever
Ok, maybe life is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get.
That doesn’t have to be the case with your real estate marketing agency, though. If you choose a reliable partner after conducting your own research, you can start a relationship for life. That would result not only in a new branding project but also collaboration on other marketing or business activities.
Good luck!
