Digital marketing (like all marketing) is part “art” and part “science”. And everyone has an opinion on marketing because everyone is a consumer.

Justin Hodgson, the “real-estatey” Co-Founder of Real Estate Ai said, “It’s tough being a marketer. Not technically tough like being a doctor or an engineer but tough because everyone has an opinion on whether a tagline, an image or some copy is any good and what would make it better. Nobody goes to the software developer and says you coded that wrong”.

In this article we’re going to focus on what really works with Vendor Paid Digital Marketing. This article will be part of a larger series of articles that will cover what REALLY works when promoting agents, generating leads, promoting Property Management, and building brand awareness.

The recommendations here are based on evidence we have gathered from running digital marketing campaigns over 12 years. Blair Robinson, the “tech-nerdy” Co-Founder of Real Estate Ai said, “there’s so many factors that impact the performance of a Vendor Paid digital marketing campaign but over the last dozen years or so we’ve consistent seen that a small number of key decisions have the biggest impact on performance.”

Targeting

Creating a well targeted social media campaign is the most important driver of ROI. A well targeted paid social media ad with poor creative can still perform well. However, a poorly targeted paid social media ad with good creative is unlikely to perform well.

This is because who sees the ad is more important than what they see. This is called product market fit. Marc Randolph, Co-Founder of Netflix says it best, “When you have product market fit, people love it, and they can’t get enough of it”.

This is the same when you are advertising houses. When you show someone an ad for a house in their social media feed that they are not interested in, they hate it. When you show someone just the right house at the time they are looking to move, they love it, and they can’t get enough of it. This is the back bone of SocialMAX. The SocialMAX Ai proprietary targeting technology puts the right house in front of the right people at the right time. Choosing the right technology to run your digital marketing campaigns has the biggest impact on your results.

Imagery

Selecting an image that stops people scrolling, “a scroll stopper” is the second most important decision you will make. A poor image on a well targeted campaign will result in a lower ROI than a good image on a well targeted campaign.

What do we mean by a scroll stopping image? When people see a real estate ad in their social media feed they may be looking for a property to buy or rent but they did not go to the social media platform with that specific intention. They most likely went there for entertainment. So, you need to get them to stop scrolling and click on your ad.

What makes an image a “scroll stopper?
In our experience, good exterior shots win over good interior shots every time. A good shot of the front of the property invites people to come in and to see what it’s like inside. The same goes for apartment buildings. Façade shots are important as the “hero” image in the real estate portals, but they are even more so in social media ads.

If you don’t have a good exterior shot of the front of the property we recommend you choose good shots of outdoor entertaining areas or swimming pools if you have them. Lastly, choose good shots of lounge rooms if they lead out onto entertaining areas. Never use shots of bedrooms, bathrooms or internal shots that make rooms look small and poorly lit, aerial shots (unless they show the property is close to something really significant like the beach or the CBD).

Imagery vs video

The next decision is should you use static images or video. This one will be controversial for some, but we recommend static imagery over video. We find that video gives too much of the home away. Remember, you want to make the person stop scrolling for entertainment and start researching property (on your website). A video shows too much of the property, which means the person doesn’t need to click through to your website and that makes it too easy to go back to scrolling.

Headlines & Calls to Action

The last decision is what copy to use as the headline and call to action in your ad. You want your headline and call to Action to relate to the best key feature of the property and grab attention. Remember, it’s about being a “scroll stopper”.

Your headline and call to action has less impact than the images your select for your ad. This is because social media is primarily a visual medium (Instagram even more so than Facebook), but they are important to get people to take the next step and visit your website.

SocialMAX uses Ai technology to help you craft headlines and calls to action from the copy of your property description. Creating the perfect headline and call to action can be difficult (even for the most creative person). With SocialMAX you can keep regenerating lists of 10 at a time until you get it just right.

So, there you go. Your guide to designing high performing social media ads.