Whether you are a property seeker or seller, commercial real estate marketing plays a large role in the process. Here are five commercial real estate tips to embrace in 2015.
Searching for that perfect office space or lot? Perhaps 2015 is the year you decide to list your space with a Frederick commercial real estate broker. Sale, lease, list or buy – commercial real estate marketing affects not only those who seek the prefect property but also sellers who are concerned with how that perfect property is found. By following the following five commercial real estate marketing tips your search will feel a little less like a game of marco polo and more like “you sunk my battleship”.
Digital Property Hunt
If you are searching… chances are you are looking to the Internet. This isn’t news.
It is no secret that digital media is a major player in the hunt for commercial real estate. In fact, did you know that real estate related searches on Google have grown 253% over the past 4 years? According to Google, prospects will perform an average of 11 searches prior to taking action on a real estate site and 52% of action on a real estate brand site comes directly from a local search on a search engine. If you are in the market for commercial real estate chances are good you are searching online. If you are looking to list property not only do the old rules apply to the “sticks and bricks”, but new rules concerning “clicks”. Ensuring your property photographs well for all types of digital media, has a keyword friendly description and possibly even a video tour are all new considerations when listing a property for sale or lease.
Search Happens on the Go
We call it the “ah ha” moment. It is that point in time when you are waiting for something to happen and reach for the nearest mobile device to fill the audible silence. The silence can strike waiting in line at the bank, in between baseball innings or during a TV commercial break. Regardless the cue, the response is the same – we reach for the closest digital device to keep us company. While 77% of real estate searches happen at home and 31% at work – a remarkable number of real estate searches happen on the go: 28% happen while waiting in line, 27% at a restaurant and 26% at other peoples’ homes (family gatherings perhaps?). Mobile has new meaning for both the real estate seeker and seller. Seekers are checking listings in the moment, sometimes prompted by traditional signs or advertising. QR codes, landing page urls and social media mentions such as #hashtags are making a mark on traditional real estate advertising vehicles. Real estate listings need to be mobile friendly now more than ever. In January of 2014 mobile Internet usage officially took over desktop usage.
Real Local
Did you know that 69% of real estate searchers who take action on a real estate website begin by typing a local term into a search engine? 52% of actions on a real estate brand site come directly from a local search on a search engine. A digital movement to “shop local” means that seekers are using local terms to define search results. Real estate sellers need to make sure that their property is properly listed with a local address that is consistent with Internet map apps. Additionally, the property listing can take advantage of other local search tools such as Google places and online reviews.
The Hare Wins the Real Estate Race
Instant in the age of the Internet means that real estate sellers and seekers both expect faster service. Brochures are digital, pricing shouldn’t be hidden and long gone are the days of “call for details”. In fact, 77% of sellers expect a response from their agent within 30 minutes and 88% of buyers expect a response from their agent within 1 hour. While these statistics reflect both the residential and commercial real estate market, the take-away is the same. Digital communications enable a faster response time. Clearly this is expected by sellers and seekers alike.
When in Doubt, Stand Out
The marketing world calls the phenomena “content shock”. Basically the increased accessibility to sharing and publishing information has created an expediential explosion of content that is growing at an accelerating rate. The rate of growth has out-paced the average Internet media consumer’s available time to read all the information available to them. With so many messages bombarding us from our favorite digital devices, the natural reaction has been to silence message notifications and mass delete as many emails as possible. How to break through the rest of the commercial real estate clutter to find the perfect listing? Take a page from a more traditional playbook – stand out. Look for those unique attributes that make the real estate you are seeking or searching different from the rest. Identify unique uses or features you desire in a property. Think about the industry or vertical the property is best suited for. In the world of content shock unique property attributes make commercial real estate cut above the clutter.
Whether you are seeking property or looking to list in 2015 follow these commercial real estate marketing tips and you will not be disappointed.
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About the Author, Christina May: Christina is managing partner and CMO at Illumine8 Marketing & PR, an integrated inbound marketing agency located in Frederick, Maryland. A recent GALA award winner with 15 years experience in integrated marketing strategy; she is a popular speaker on topics that include real estate marketing, integrated marketing communications, inbound marketing and digital conversion strategies.“