SUMMARY
Due to nationwide lockdown, property purchases have slowed down
As a calibrated response, realty platforms are aggressively building online platforms to market & sell properties
Realty portals play a very crucial role in the funnel as they enable buyers
Real Estate is not an impulse purchase rather a multi-layered decision. Even a serious buyer needs a TAT of 30-120 days to finally make the actual purchase. Likewise, many potential buyers would like to buy a home (or invest in realty) in the future but would start doing basic homework now.
In this digital native era, Real estate websites & portals are a common go-to platform for most of the potential buyers (or even general public) to learn more about the market & its offerings.
Hence, it is crucial to building engaging websites and portals that can offer practical insights, take care of the pain points, & nurture stronger bonds with the visitors.
The recent Covid-19 crisis has further reinforced the need for content-rich & value-driven portals, as the majority of property search, identification, & transactions are taking place over the web. Even post suspension of the lockdown, the digital medium will continue to drive a sizable part of the sales volume.
Content
Quality content is the cornerstone to build an engaging realty portal. Realtors & advisories need to focus on developing content-rich websites with the help of blogs, white papers, videos, thematic reports, etc. A good user interface backed by plenty of usable contents can go a long way towards fostering a deeper relationship between visitors & the portals. Besides, it can also help a lot in cultivating a stronger brand image for the company.
In these times, which are marked by incessant advertisements & promotions, quality content can be a very effective medium to reach out to a wider audience. Hubspot research has also suggested that currently, 70% of the online users will prefer to know more about a product by reading articles rather than clicking on advertisements.
Extensive content creation needs to be backed with an equally effective content marketing with the help of newsletters, mailers, digital digests, SEO, & social media promotions so that it can reach out to the target audience.
Thought Leadership
Thousands of people visit realty portals every day. Not everyone intends to buy homes instantly, but many would like to know more about the markets with a futuristic view. Likewise, some investors might consider Real Estate as an option in the times to come.
Hence, portals need to engage them appropriately with the help of data-backed, insightful yet user-friendly & forward-looking thought leadership pieces. A sizable part of the marketing and communication budget should be spent on establishing the brand as a thought leader. Insights driven pieces should be generated to cover the latest market trends, bright spots in the market, Do’s & Don’t of property purchasing & much more.
Threads
Most of the potential buyers & visitors have a host of queries related to locational analysis, developer credibility, legalities, taxation, etc. which needs to be systematically addressed. Running a Q/A thread could be a simple yet very effective way to help the website visitors with their doubts. In such threads, visitors can ask a range of questions, which then can be addressed.
Webinar
In these times, when most of us are working from home, a webinar can be a highly effective medium for knowledge dissemination. At a time, when distress & uncertainty are visible in the market, it is natural that potential buyers will have a host of concerns, doubts, & queries. An effective webinar can be a very effective platform to address such concerns, besides giving a general understanding of the market. Also while conducting a webinar; it is important to bring in industry experts from outside as well so that a more balanced viewpoint can be offered.
AR/VR
Augmented & Virtual Realities are becoming popular in Real Estate. They can help in visualizing how it feels in living in a particular project. They are also very engaging & builds emotional connect alongside saving a lot of time.
In the post-COVID scenario, realtors need to understand that across the entire value chain, there will be a spurt in digitization. Real estate will increasingly become an online game. To sustain & win in the game, realtors will have to rely heavily on powerful portals. Hence, it is essential to build engaging, value-driven, & user-friendly portals that integrate traditional digital & content marketing with the latest innovations.
