If it hasn’t happened to you yet, it’s probably only a matter of time.
You put in a lot of effort into designing a perfect real estate ad by using attractive visuals and striking call-to-action phrases. You set a budget for your ads campaign and place the ads in the right channels hoping for the leads to flow right in.
Then the inevitable happens.
At the end of your marketing campaign, you notice the results are way far from what you had in mind. At this point, you can’t help but wonder, ‘what went wrong?’ Am I missing something? Keep reading to find out.
It’s estimated that the average person sees around 5,000 ads a day. Of course, there is no way our brain can process thousands of ads in 24 hours so most of these ads just end up as “noise” that hardly reaches our consciousness.
Still, there are a handful of ads that leave a lasting impression. So what do these ads have in common? Here’s what you can learn about ads that sell from real estate professionals.
1. Great Ads Tell a Story
According to Katie Russell, a marketing strategist at Fronetics Real Estate, a great real estate advert should emotionally connect with its target audience. In other words, it should convey your message in a story format.
Your goal is to present data in a way that sparks a feeling and elicits an emotional response from the buyer. If your ad’s design and communication are impactful, your audience will forge an emotional connection with your brand—a key step towards buying and becoming your brand advocates.
2. Great Ads Target Specific Audiences
According to Vlad Girboan, a senior marketer at Point2 Homes, the best real estate ads aren’t designed for the general public; they target a specific audience.
In other words, great ads know who they’re talking to.
When designing a real estate advertising campaign, always start with the picture of your ideal buyer. Think of the property you’re trying to sell and figure out who would be the ideal buyer. Who are they? What are they looking for? And most importantly, what are their expectations. For more information on this, check out this guide to real estate advertising.
3. A Great Ad Should Have an Alluring Headline
People scan things quickly. They encounter so many advertisements each day and it can be hard to possibly keep a tab of all of them.
So how do you ensure your ads grab the readers’ attention?
You do that with a catchy headline. The greatest marketer in history, David Ogilvy said, “five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy.” However, many realtors make the mistake of making the headline about them instead of about the consumers.
For example, a headline such as “Your city’s best realtor” doesn’t tell the consumer about the benefit they get from working with you. Instead, tell them what they get in return with headlines like “Get 20% discount on your new home.”
4. Great Ads Have Compelling Hi-Res Visuals
According to the Center for Realtor Development (CRD), houses with high-quality photography sell 32% faster than listings with poorly shot images.
Visuals are one of the first things people will look at when viewing your real estate ads. With that in mind, your ad copy and images should communicate a crystal clear message that potential buyers will grasp at a glance.
Summing Up
To succeed in real estate, your advertising needs to be strategic. From the incentives you offer to the way you communicate your value, the ads you create have to address your audiences’ specific needs and get them to take action.
