Whether you’re marketing yourself, your agency or a property, knowing what works and what doesn’t can be the difference between reeling in a client or falling to the bottom of the pack.
That’s why one digital marketing guru wants to help property managers learn the basics of building a successful online presence.
Valentina Borbone, owner of Bowral-based marketing agency Banter Group, talked about the art of positioning yourself online to optimise exposure, reaching key customer groups and standing out from the crowd in a recent REINSW Webinar.
The key lessons include:
- How social media has changed and what this means for you
- Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn – why they’re different for your customers
- Why business pages are integral for success
- Positioning yourself for all touch points of the customer journey (Google search, Google My Business, aggregators e.g. Hootsuite and Buffer, and personal brand)
Customer journey
With years of experience to call on, Borbone recognises that understanding the customer journey is the first critical step in achieving your business goals through digital activities.
“As vendors we go through this cycle of looking for information to help us make up our mind and this decision making process takes between six and 12 months before we actually get to the point where we pick up the phone and call an agent,” she says.
“Now from a digital perspective, all of those things mean that the individual – the vendor themselves – is very well informed before they pick up the phone and contact you to actually get on the market. That’s the last 30 per cent; so 70 per cent of the decision making is already done,” she adds.
“People buy from people that they like. All of this informed research has led them to the point of making this call. So you’re actually talking to a very warm lead.”
Digital marketing landscape
Borbone outlined the three main categories of media for a property manager or any brand to be aware of:
Paid media – where you pay to place an ad or content in front of an audience e.g. print and digital advertising, sponsorships, etc.
Owned media – a channel directly owned or controlled by your brand e.g. website, email database, social media profiles.
Earned media – communication about a brand that is not managed by the brand e.g. word of mouth, social media engagement and sharing, review sites, referrals and recommendations.
“The responsibility of your paid media is to drive traffic, brand awareness and reach to your owned channels,” she says. “Its purpose is to tell everyone that you’re existing and that this is what you offer, and your owned media’s job is to convert that customer. Your earned media, that loyalty, should also point pack to your owned media.”
As Borbone pointed out, the value of search should not be underestimated.
“The very first behaviour that starts when people have a need, be it a vendor or a buyer, is search. When people search, what do they find?”
Social master
Anyone can be a social master, Borbone says. “But you have to be prepared to put in the effort as a marketer to learn how the various platforms operate.”
To be a social master you need to:
- Be the real, authentic you
- Post a minimum of 3-4 times a week
- Sponsor your most important messages
- Use stories
- Respond and engage
- Tag and mention
- Show consistency
- Realise it’s not about you, it’s about your audience
If you want to discover what different platforms offer and what your customers are expecting from you, Borbone recommends the following steps: be brave, try, review, learn, listen, watch and read.
To learn more about getting the most from your digital marketing efforts, watch the Webinar: Optimise your online exposure.
Valentina Borbone is travelling with REINSW as part of our 2020 Roadshow. To see her in person, buy your tickets today.
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