Digital vs. Traditional: How to Balance a Luxury Home Marketing Plan

It isn't easy marketing a luxury home or community, even when the place is so exemplary that it could surely sell itself. This is because consumers expect a more personal connection and trust with every brand they work with before completing a purchase, especially on such a high investment as choosing the place you will call home.

According to Sprout Social, 64% of consumers want brands to connect with them, and when customers feel connected to brands, more than half of consumers (57%) will increase their spending with that brand, and 76% will buy from them over a competitor. This is the same for all brands, including real estate. In fact, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that at least 30% of their members get their business from social media — a marketing channel known for building and maintaining brand and consumer relationships to make a sale.

However, that doesn’t mean that digital marketing is the only way to reach your target audience. Traditional marketing tactics continue to hold some relevance, especially as we continue distancing ourselves from the pandemic.

Here's what you need to know about digital and traditional for improving the presentation of your community and balancing a successful luxury home marketing plan.

Digital's Rise to Prominence

As soon as technology started making its way towards a more renowned digital experience, marketers began noticing its potential and easy accessibility. Today, it's the first place anyone goes before making any kind of purchasing decision — particularly ones of high risks like homes and communities. PYMNTS reports that as much as 88% of consumers turn to digital methods and research before considering your company as a viable option and meeting in person to close the deal. 

The truth is, as more and more people continue to rely on the internet for their luxury home search, the need to prioritize digital is growing seemingly every day. After all, luxury and exclusivity are better showcased when using the most up-to-date and innovative means of technology to do it.

Digital Elements to Master in a Luxury Home Marketing Plan

1. Website Optimization — Aside from the obvious importance of website design, website optimization primarily refers to SEO tactics that drive traffic to your site. After all, if the engine doesn't favor your site, chances are buyers won't either (if they even get a chance to see it when you're ranking on page 3 or lower). Taking advantage of the opportunity to implement beautiful creative elements, photography, content-rich blogs, and more is crucial to website optimization. 
2. Email & Social Media Marketing — Two ways to directly reach and interact with your audience. Not only did NARS report that social media was the tool cited as the best source for generating high-quality leads among REALTORS®, but research also shows that real estate emails had an average open rate of 19.24% (compared to minimum averages of 15%). 
3. Paid Media — For quick wins, paid media can put your homes and communities in front of the right luxury buyer right away. Some luxury homebuyers are ready to make a purchase now, and reaching them before your competitors is crucial and time-sensitive. With more than 4.54 billion internet users and more than 3.8 billion active social media users, there's no denying what paid media can do for you in terms of quicker sales.

Traditional Marketing Isn't Gone

Even though many people may begin their search online, few will only rely on digital marketing pieces to purchase. Targeted traditional marketing tactics can still be incredibly useful, especially in the luxury space.

Brochures

Beautiful brochures will stick with people — they remember the effort and are easy to collect when comparing homes. Whether it be home-by-home brochures or complete communities, take the time to design and prioritize it because there is no better reminder that your brand is the right choice than a physical copy in your buyer's hand.

According to Flipsnack, your real estate brochure content should cover property detail, features, and inclusions. It should also include floor plans (2D or 3D), professional photos, compelling descriptions, contact details (with a solid CTA), a map, and more.

Traditional Mail

While email is a great way to interact with potential buyers and nurture them through the funnel, direct mail can be useful in getting in front of new audiences. In fact, this is a great way to distribute the brochures you already spent so much time designing, and it has a track record of being more successful than you may think.

According to Real Estate Kills, the average response rate for real estate direct mail marketing is 2-4%. Brands that utilize proper planning and following ideal budgets prove to be the most successful in this area. 

To give you a bit more of an idea for inspiration, their reported research also shows that oversized envelope is the best performing direct mail marketing format for real estate and other industries, with an average response rate of 5%, and postcard is another successful format, with an average response rate of 4.25%.

Events

In-person marketing events are slowly but surely making their return, and luxury builders can take advantage of that by hosting prestigious events at their properties. Social homebuyers are ready to get back to normal and gather around for more exclusive events — your brand must be there to make the right impression on these buyers.

This is especially important in an age where 65% of buyers consider a positive experience with your brand as more influential than your brand's advertising. Getting these early impressions and positive experiences with luxury buyers at events immediately gives you an edge over the competition more than most of your other advertising efforts. 

Find the Right Balance

Traditional and digital strategies can, without a doubt, stand alone and be successful. However, they're nothing individually compared to the potential your brand reaches when they're together. Balancing traditional and digital tactics makes the best and most consistent impression, and there's nothing more important than those first 90 seconds of coming in contact with the right buyers. 

To avoid the biggest mistakes when selling high-end homes, working with a team of marketing experts is the route to go — they already know the ins and outs of both marketing methods and have an extensive amount of experience balancing the two for success. Here at Milesbrand, we specialize in helping you maximize your luxury home marketing plan and efficiently communicate its value to your audience.