In this article, Nelly Berova from Art Division discusses how agents should approach their marketing after Lockdown.
It’s been a long, dark winter. But as millions more people receive their Covid-19 vaccine, children return to school and the prime minister’s roadmap out of lockdown gets underway - it’s time to think about how your estate agency business will operate in a post-covid world.
A year ago, agents across the UK were about to go into hibernation with premises shut and trading pretty much ceased. Things changed in a big way during the summer, as the chancellor’s stamp duty holiday brought the buyers out in droves.
With that holiday now extended, and the new low-deposit mortgage guarantee scheme announced in the spring budget, it’s likely you’re going to be busy over the coming months - half an hour after the budget speech, property portal Rightmove said use of its mortgage calculator jumped by 85%, with overall traffic to its website up by 16%.
While you might see a flurry of post-budget activity, don’t get carried away. As the country emerges from lockdown, it’s important to take stock of the marketing tactics you’re using and weigh up whether they’re still right for 2021 - the post-covid world is going to be a very different place from the one you operated in all those months ago.
These are some of the areas you might like to consider:
Hone your online presence
The pandemic has revolutionised the way we work, shop, spend our time - and buy, sell and rent houses. Covid-19 will have pushed many of your routine tasks online, and you need to maximise that. Look at what you did well - from virtual tours to relationship building over Zoom - and think about how you can improve too. There are always more things you can do online to give your clients a better experience. As virtual meetings are such a part of life now, capitalise on this with webinars on buying, selling or letting homes to really build customer trust, for example.
Reality check your channels
Look at all the channels you are using and think whether you are getting the most from them. Aside from your website, is your customer relationship management system up to scratch? What about your email newsletter? If you’re churning it out in much the same way as ever, consider whether the tone is right given the changes people have experienced over the past year.
It’s likely most of your customers will be on Facebook, Instagram or both, so check how you are using these platforms. Are you getting maximum engagement by setting up a conversation, not just broadcasting lists of houses for sale?
How is your presence on Google? Can people find your content when they search? Is your advertising strategy right and are you making the most of video with a good presence on YouTube?
Don’t ignore the easily-forgotten Google My Business pages. As people get back to their high street, a polished and up-to-date presence on this channel is vital for connecting with local audiences.
Reboot your digital advertising
With so much time spent online during lockdowns, the return on investment from digital advertising sky-rocketed - again, there’s no reason why this won’t continue. So, make sure your paid channels are working at optimum levels. Facebook adverting remains an affordable way of targeting very precise audiences with your content. Retargeting - bringing back people who’ve already visited your website or social posts - is essential for nurturing those fledgling relationships with new customers.
Give your marketing strategy an overhaul
This is a perfect time to get back to basics, looking at everything from your key audiences to your content calendar. If you believe these should change, do some research - a simple online survey is a good place to start.
If you have a regular blog – and you definitely should - revising your list of topics to take lockdown into account is definitely worth a look.
Your evergreen content; how to buy, sell, become a landlord, look after tenants will always be relevant to someone. But look at these topics in the context of now and blend in some more relevant posts too. The mortgage guarantee scheme is a great opportunity for some in-depth discussion about how it works and what else you can do to get on the housing ladder. Advice on buying in an age of stamp duty deadlines is very timely too. And for landlords, making sure tenants pay their rent will always be a big consideration, but be mindful of ongoing eviction bans and changing notice periods.
Gather up reviews
Finally, now is a good time to encourage reviews and customer feedback. If you’ve helped customers buy and sell during this frantic and uncertain stamp duty holiday period, ask them to share their opinions, on Google My Business, social media and whatever review tools you use. People have always trusted other customers’ opinions above anything you tell them - and this hasn’t changed.
Got a question? Ask Art Division. Register your interest via their page and take advantage of their exclusive Kerfuffle deal.
With thanks to Nelly Berova from Art Division for this blog contribution.
