At this point in history, it is widely known that Austin’s housing market is extremely hot. This is still true after three years of being white hot. As a result, the real estate market has become hyper competitive.
And while it’s true that it’s not as hot as 2020-2021, it’s still a very active market, and real estate agents need to stand out.
Online listings have pretty much become the norm, which is exactly why maximizing your print and online marketing strategy is paramount for a successful marketing campaign.
We’re going to dive into leveraging print marketing to elevate your listings to capture buyers in Austin’s ever growing real estate market.
There is no doubt that the market has become fully digitized– literally everything is digital in the life cycle of a consumer.
And I mean quite literally – you can start with an online lead, nurture it all the way through closing, and after everything is signed, you get digital copies of the executed documents.
That’s why print marketing still has a strong hold in the market.
There is something inherently impactful about holding printed marketing materials. High quality brochures, flyers, and postcards, for example, offer a tactile experience that you’d never get online. The physical connection naturally creates a connection between the buyer and the property being viewed. In short, it’s just more memorable – the more senses involved, the better off your marketing gets remembered.
Marketers are everywhere.
They ruin literally everything.
With every new medium that allows for ads, mentions, or some method for drawing attention, marketers creep their way in to share their messages.
Queue the consumer who hates advertising.
So, you just got your mail and there’s twenty pieces of mail.
How do I stand out in the mailbox?
Here you go in one simple word: personalization.
Don’t make your customer or prospect feel like a fish.
Make them feel human. And let them know you care. You cared enough to look into your CRM to come up with a meaningful message.
You listened to their pain points. And this is the solution you’re sending via snail mail.
It’s their birthday and you want to wish them well.
This direct approach will make your listings stand out the next time you send mail to your customer. It’s not just an ad this time; it’s a recommendation personalized just for them.
One critical piece of making your materials stand out is not sending junk.
Poor card stock – straight to the trash.
Envelope that looks like another bill – straight to the trash.
Most mailers go to the trash because they don’t engage the audience, and frankly the audience is exhausted with advertisements all day long.
So how do you get acknowledged?
Well, start off with using a quality product.
Was it designed well? Some key concepts include using contrasting colors, contrasting type face, engaging headline, etc.
Did you include high resolution images that showcase the very best features?
Combine the two with clear and concise listing information, paired with an attractive layout, and you’re well ahead of your competition.
Can't figure it out? We can help - check it out.
Yep, we hit this point already, but it’s probably the most important point to be made.
Customizing print materials for each listing adds a personal touch that appeal to your potential buyers.
Why?
Because people don’t want to be sold. They want to be helped.
Tailoring content that matches the unique characteristics of your prospect along with listing details that appeal to the needs of the prospect you’re trying to reach.
And it’s not complicated.
During your conversation(s) with your prospect, hopefully a few of them, you’ve discovered all their wants (keyword here) and needs.
Everyone will have a set of basic needs. It’s a given. The bare minimums. Cool, so make sure you hit all these points. And the best partis most properties should.
Then there are wants. And that’s the keyword.
People LIKE TO BUY THINGS THEY WANT. People would prefer to skimp on things they need.
It’s human nature. I didn’t make it up.
Do you prefer the Ferrari or Toyota corolla? Get it?
So, you take as many of the wants – those things that add cost to the house – and maximize them as the highlights on your campaign.
Said again, your primary focal point for your ad is not your prospects needs.
It’s their wants.
Because that’s what they want to buy. And you want engagement to generate an ROI.
To maximize the effectiveness of your marketing don’t give up on digital.
Digital isn’t going anywhere. In fact, digital can enhance the effectiveness of your print marketing campaign.
Think about it like this.
Do you want to give a virtual tour?
Send out your marketing with a QR code that lands at a virtual tour landing page. Provide your contact information.
Do you have some drone footage of the 100 acre lot?
Take out your NFC card and let your prospect scan their phone to land on a video page, so you can talk them through the experience.
Or get their contact information.
If you can't figure out NFC cards, check some of these out and let us know... we're experts at this :).
Differentiating yourself in Austin’s hyper competitive real estate is important to your success. Integrating strategies for both online and offline marketing makes a lot of sense for realtors. Having conversations and using the tools that allow maximum engagement allows you to stand out amongst the competitors. By focusing on quality, customization, and integrating with digital platforms, you can leverage your print marketing offline to increase your prospect (or customer) engagement.
