Spice up your print ads with a touch of Augmented Reality (no glasses required)

10 years ago the way to sell your property, be it a house in Milton Keynes or a villa in Spain, was by placing an advert in the newspaper.

Ad sales teams would rub their hands with glee as property companies spent millions on huge colour display ads running every day of the week in the national press. AB Property Marketing‘s MD, Charlotte Ashton, knows first-hand as this is where she started her career, but things have changed.

Exacerbated by the recession, companies have for a while now struggled to justify the ROI of their printed marketing especially in the fickle world of property. Should you really be spending all that money on print advertising when online marketing offers so much?

Well, something could change all of that and this something is called Augmented Reality (AR).

AR is the ability to make part of the real world, “Augmented” or put in simpler terms, imagine having the ability to have a property video shown directly from your print adverts or a 3D model of your development pop out of the floor.

This might sound like Tomorrow’s World but it is in fact already here today and all your clients need is a tablet or smartphone and suddenly printed media takes on a whole new dimension.

A colleague of AB Property Marketing who has years of experience in the property industry and now is Founder of The Digital Marketing Bureau, James Dearsley is helping clients fathom out how to get involved in AR.

A pioneer of AR within the property world, James can:

• Embed Videos into printed media (adverts, billboards, business cards etc)
• Embed Calls to Action into printed media (including Call, SMS and e-mail options)
• Build 3D models of developments with interactive walk throughs; putting the client in control of selecting the colour of the walls and which sofa to purchase.

The glory of this technology is that it can be applied to a range of sectors and printed materials and is exceedingly cost effective.

Charlotte Ashton comments, “The property world is notoriously slow at cottoning on to the latest technological advances. It took years to move away from print to online marketing, from signboards to QR codes but the world is changing and fast! Property buyers are tech savvy consumers and with AR poised to become an everyday feature of our lives, it is essential that property companies embrace this incredible technology and use it to their own advantage.”

For more information about AR and how you can spice up your printed ads in 2013, contact Charlotte at AB Property Marketing on 00 44 845 054 7524 or email charlotte@abpropertymarketing.co.uk.

The secret to a good property viewing

With over 10 million users visiting Lead Galaxy’s network of overseas property portals, we’re very good at turning browsers into leads. But once we’ve worked our lead generation magic, it’s down to you to convert those leads into buyers. If your enquiries are serious and things go well, the next big step is getting them to view one of your properties.

Here are some tips to make sure a viewing goes smoothly:

Clean outside

The outside of a property is the first thing a buyer will see – and just like property photos on a listing, the first impression is what counts. So make sure the outside is sparkling and new. If your property is an off-plan development, or a newly completed project, this will be less of a concern, but with an increasing number of bank-owned properties on the market, it is always worth hiring someone to keep the exterior as pristine as possible.

Tidy inside

Always bring in a company to make sure the interior of a property is as spotless as possible – especially if it is a bank-owned or existing home. If you already have hired a company, check to make sure they did the job properly. If a first viewing goes badly, there won’t be a second.

Turn the lights on

If it isn’t a sunny day, turn on the lights inside the property – anything to make it look more welcoming and warm. If it’s easy to imagine living there, that’s perfect. If your leads can’t see the house they’re viewing, how do you expect them to buy it?

Plan the tour

This is an essential part of preparing for a viewing: make sure you know where you are going inside the home, what you are saying and in what order it’s all happening. Try not to state the obvious: be interesting, informative and well-rehearsed. And, if you have multiple buyers flying out to view the property in a single day, be sure to plan the timing carefully.

Be professional

Desperate is never a good air to give off: be polite and professional when conducting a viewing. Keep an eye out for their behaviour and reactions: if they linger in a room, you can tell they’re interested. React accordingly. And if they start talking money, you can tell that a successful sale is close – but don’t get too excited.

Ask questions

Why should you be the one doing all the answering? Build a rapport your buyer by asking them about themselves. It’s good practice for earlier in the process as well; with the potential for scammers always present in overseas property, find out as much about your potential buyer as much as possible. If you can do that before the viewing, even better: then you can tailor everything to their needs.

Not got any viewings lined up? Find out more about Lead Galaxy’s real estate lead generation service at www.leadgalaxy.com

How to handle a real estate sales lead

So, you’re advertising your property with Lead Galaxy and have an active property listing. Your property photos are good, you have written an effective listing description and you are taking advantage of our video service. The enquiries will be rolling in any minute.

But what do you with them once they arrive? Lead Galaxy offers seven simple tips on how to handle a real estate sales lead.

Check your details…

This is a crucial first step: without the correct contact details in the system, you’ll never receive a lead at all. The easiest way to check? Send yourself a lead. Fill in the form and send a test enquiry – that way you know your information is correct and also what to expect when the emails start to arrive.

… and your emails

Your contact information may be correct, but are you contactable? Thanks to smart phones and tablets, you can now check your emails as regularly as possible – investors will appreciate a quick response, even if it is just to acknowledge their enquiry until you have the time to reply properly. Most important of all, if you are away on holiday, ask someone else to answer your emails for you.

Don’t let the lead get cold

This follows on from checking your emails: sales leads are great, but only if they’re kept warm. That way you are far more likely to be able to convert it into a sale – especially if you are competing with other agents in the same area of the market.

Always follow up

Contacting a lead once? Well done. Contacting a lead twice? That’s more like it. Don’t be afraid to follow up your original response to a lead, either by email or by phone. Establish a relationship so you can find out how to meet their needs.

Ask questions

Lead generation is about bringing the buyers to you, but you don’t have to let them ask all the questions. Find out what they’re after: Do they need your home to be furnished or unfurnished? Do they need to move in as soon as possible? This opportunity may not be suitable for them, but some of your future properties might be. Keep their information to hand just in case.

Report any dead leads

There’s always a chance that you have a dead lead: maybe the email address doesn’t work or the phone number is incorrect. Check each several times, but if you have a dead lead, make sure you report it to us. If one of the contact details are incorrect, we will give you a 50% refund. If both are incorrect, you can get all your money back.

Watch out for scams

Dead leads are one thing, scams are another altogether. If an enquiry comes through saying your lead can only invest in a property if you lend them cash for some complicated reason, don’t do it. It sounds simple, but property scammers are out there in all shapes and sizes. Always be vigilant.

Get them to see your property

If your lead is definitely interested in investing in your property (and it’s not off-plan), get them out there to see it.

How do you arrange a successful viewing of a property? That’s for next time…

For more information on real estate lead generation and advertising your property online, get in touch with Lead Galaxy: www.leadgalaxy.com

How online video content can build your property business

Online video content is quickly becoming a valuable asset to property companies. Quick and easy to digest, online video is a great way to engage with potential buyers and bring to life people, products and places and with Experian Hitwise reporting that visits to online video websites in the UK have increased by 36% year on year, it’s no wonder video has become a key element for today’s property marketing professionals.

Just to highlight how important video has become, YouTube recently reported that it now receives around 3 billion views per day while a report from comscore.com shows that there has been a 66% increase in the last year of end-consumers viewing video content on mobile platforms across the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

Charlotte Ashton, Managing Director of leading property PR agency AB Property Marketing comments,

“Online video content is being used more and more these days by PR professionals for the distribution of news. We have been actively encouraging our property clients to invest in online video whether that’s providing expert commentary or video tours of stunning homes.

Our client Taylor Wimpey España for example has embraced this concept, producing bespoke video content for each of its properties. When we conduct video news releases we notice a real spark in the number of “click throughs” from journalists. Video simply generates more interest.”

Overseas property portal, TheMoveChannel.com recently introduced online video content to its site and has seen impressive results. Director, Dan Johnson explains:

“The impact a video can have upon the marketing of a property is huge. TheMoveChannel.com introduced videos to its property listings and we were surprised to see the difference so quickly. Each video added to a property listing has now been watched by over half of the visitors to that page – buyers clearly enjoy the chance to take a closer look at their dream place in the sun.

“Because it generates their videos automatically without any extra hassle and is compatible with all internet browsers, agents and private sellers are equally keen to take advantage of the service. Only this week we added another 17,000 videos to the site!”

For more information on the importance of online video content, please contact AB Property on 0845 054 7542 or at www.abpropertymarketing.co.uk.

Seven simple steps to an effective property listing

Powering the property search on range of sites, including TheMoveChannel.com, Lead Galaxy’s real estate leads span the globe as well as the overseas real estate market.

But how exactly do you advertise your property across the largest network of international property portals?

Here are seven simple steps to an effective property listing with Lead Galaxy’s easy-to-use system:

1.       Name it

The name of your property listing is the first thing that people will see, so make sure it includes all the key details. If you are marketing apartments in a Spanish resort, say how many bedrooms they have. Where is it located? If you are selling tenanted flats or student accommodation, what returns can investors expect?

Combine them into one snappy headline, e.g. “2 bed tenanted condo 13% returns” (and not “Steve” or “Mary”), and you’re good to go.

2.       Add a reference

This part is for you, not your buyers, so don’t worry about how snappy it is. If you have more than one development on the go, or you have separate listings for different-sized units within the same resort, enter something memorable so you can tell the difference when looking at the “Manage My Listings” page. Perhaps “Steve”  or Mary”.

3.       Put it on the map

No one will invest in a property if they do not know where it is. Lead Galaxy includes maps as a key part of its listings – to make the most of them, use our location finder to quickly pinpoint your property’s exact position. Or, if it’s easier, use a maps service, such as Google Maps, and copy the coordinates into your listing.

4.      Describe it (briefly)

This is the section where you reel in the reader: expand upon your listing’s name, include all the vital statistics and any unique selling points. Just enough to capture their attention and get them curious; if it’s written succinctly and accurately enough, you can generate a lead from this section alone.

5.       Take a picture

If pictures are worth a thousand words, make sure you take one. In fact, take several: you can add as many as you like. Make sure you use an exterior photo as your main image, then include any relevant interiors or shots of the surrounding area. Floor plans are also a good idea.

(Click here for more detailed tips on how to take a good property listing photo.)

6.       Describe it in full

This is it. Your chance to sell your property in all its detail. Dimensions of rooms, tourist numbers, occupancy rates; anything you think is relevant, include it. To add it to your listing, click on the “Further Information” tab and enter your text there.

(Head this way for more detailed tips on how to write a listing description)

7.       Tag it with keywords

Keywords are what help people to find your property when searching on a portal. “Swimming pool”, “Spain,” “Murcia”. Those are the kind of words to tag your listing with, but if your description is written well, you work here is already done. Simply click on the “Autocomplete” button and we’ll generate the keywords for you.

And it’s as easy as that. Follow all seven simply steps and you have an effective property listing on the largest network of overseas property portals.

How to generate leads with just a property description

Powering the property search on the largest network of overseas property portals, including TheMoveChannel.com, Lead Galaxy’s lead generation service makes it easy to advertise real estate in all countries.

But properties are only as good as their listing. Want to maximise the number of leads your development generates? Try these simple steps to writing an effective property listing description:

1.       Tell the truth

This sounds obvious, but that’s because it’s important. If your development is located in Brighton, UK and you put “Brighton, Michigan”, your real estate leads will be worthless. If your price is wrong, or you list the wrong number of bedrooms, buyers will be disappointed or may not enquire at all. Incorrect or misleading details not only lead to cancelled transactions and wasted time – they can also lead to lawsuits.

Be honest and you will attract buyers. Most important of all, they will be the right buyers.

2.       Be upbeat

Being accurate is important, but so is being positive. Don’t be afraid to sing your property’s praises; the aim is to generate leads, after all.

3.       Don’t waffle

We take it for granted, but online property marketing has changed the real estate industry. Print adverts are a thing of the past; on the internet, your descriptions – both on listings and landing pages – can be as long as you like. But take care not to get carried away; if your description is too long, people will stop paying attention. Remember: pictures are worth a thousand words. Upload an extra picture and save yourself a paragraph.

4.       Think outside the box

Warning: Those afraid of beaches should not apply

While there are certain guidelines you should always try to follow, there is nothing wrong with bending the rules. A creative email campaign or landing page can make a stronger impression than an ordinary description. Don’t forget that your real estate is a unique opportunity for buyers. Show them that with an equally unique listing.

5.       Highlight the key features

This one is essential, even in the most creative of descriptions. Bullet points of key selling points are standard in property listings and there’s a good reason for it: they work. Location, number of bedrooms, facilities, features, other interesting/unique details. All are essential information you need to include. If you’re selling a tenanted condo in the USA, highlight the returns investors can make. If it’s a lifestyle apartment in a brand new resort, put the facilities and location front and centre.

6.       Proofread, proofread, proofread

No one wants to buy an aparmtent in Spain. They do, however, want to buy an apartment. Once you have written your property listing description, always proofread it for potential errors; appearing professional creates a better impression for buyers, especially in countries that may have a reputation for unreliable developers.

And that’s all there is to it. Be honest, upbeat, concise and creative and watch the enquiries come rolling in…

For more information on real estate lead generation, click here.