How important is Digital PR for Real Estate in 2024?

Why Digital PR For Real Estate?

#1 Building Trust and Credibility 

In a market where trust is paramount, digital PR plays a crucial role in establishing credibility. Through well-crafted content, strategic partnerships, and thought leadership initiatives, real estate firms can position themselves as authorities in the industry, earning the trust of potential clients and investors.

By demonstrating in-depth knowledge about the real estate industry through expert articles, speaking engagements, and industry awards, you can attract potential buyers who value your insights. This increases your visibility among your target markets while building relationships with media outlets that can further broadcast your message.

#2  Expanding Reach and Visibility

Gone are the days of relying solely on traditional media, such as newspapers and adverts to reach audiences. Digital PR offers a myriad of channels to amplify brand messages and reach a wider audience. From social media platforms to online publications and influencer collaborations, the digital sphere offers limitless opportunities to increase brand visibility and attract potential buyers and tenants.

#3 Driving Traffic and Generating Leads

An effective digital PR strategy not only boosts brand awareness but also drives targeted traffic to real estate websites and listings. By optimising content for search engines, leveraging social media advertising, and engaging in online community forums, real estate professionals can attract qualified leads and convert them into clients.

Search engines such as Google consider third-party links to your website as an endorsement, understanding that mentions from external sources indicate valuable content. This acknowledgement is why websites frequently cited by authoritative publications tend to rank higher in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

The benefits of digital PR extend beyond enhanced search engine optimisation (SEO) to include increased website traffic stemming from online media coverage. This influx of visitors, who may not have otherwise discovered your site, presents an opportunity to monitor site activity and implement strategies for retargeting in future campaigns.

To secure links from esteemed websites, national/international press, and niche publications it's imperative to craft content that captivates journalists and prompts them to cover it, thereby generating valuable backlinks.

#4 Adapting to Changing Consumer Behaviour

With more consumers turning to the internet for their property search, digital PR enables real estate firms to meet them where they are. By crafting compelling narratives, producing engaging multimedia content, and leveraging data-driven insights, brands can tailor their messaging to resonate with evolving consumer preferences and behaviours.

Captivating Content 

Real estate professionals must invest in creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content that resonates with their target audience. This could include blog posts, articles, videos and more. By providing valuable insights into market trends, home buying/selling guides, and interior design tips for example real estate brands can position themselves as trusted authorities and capture the attention of potential clients.

Sending out press releases without site links or pitching stories without linking to on-site content is a missed opportunity to leverage the full potential of digital PR efforts. On-site campaign assets play a pivotal role in increasing the likelihood of publications providing backlinks. This is because they:

• Provide journalists with a dedicated page to reference and link to, thereby crediting the study or story.
• Deliver added value to website readers by serving as a comprehensive resource where they can access further information related to the content they are consuming.
• Can be strategically optimised to organically appear in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) for specific search terms, ensuring their relevance and usefulness as a reference for years to come, be it statistics, tips, or commentary.

Data-Driven Campaigns 

Data continues to be a powerful tool for digital PR in 2024. For our most recent property client, we compiled data from the Office of National Statistics to reveal the huge increase in property prices in Kent and across the UK over 20 years.

This campaign was featured in many publications from the likes of KentOnline, Kent Live, KMTV, Meridian and Heart Kent Radio. The perfect target audience for our client. 

This topic was exceptionally pertinent to our client and the broader real estate market, enabling us to precisely target their desired audience and introduce new customers to their brand. It was also about making them part of an important conversation, leading the way above their competitors and increasing brand visibility. 

Reactive PR 

The dynamic landscape of the property market, particularly evident in recent times, has led to a surge in sector-related coverage in the media. 

Quickly reacting to breaking news stories by providing insightful comments or quotes can help property sector businesses establish themselves as prominent commentators in the media, addressing crucial issues and proving to be an effective strategy for securing top-tier press coverage. 

Exclusive Expert Comments 

Forging strong relationships with journalists, bloggers, and influencers in the real estate space is key to digital PR and the best way to do this is by offering exclusive insights, access to experts, and compelling story angles especially those centred around key industry issues ie: interest/mortgage rate updates, the Government’s annual budget etc) in order to secure media coverage and enhance your brand's credibility. 

You then become part of a relevant trending conversation and most importantly your audience will see that you are a trusted source. Of course any exclusive must be tailored to the journalist you are targeting and the audience they write for, they are essentially your audience too. 

Fostering relationships

As mentioned above it’s important to cultivate long-term relationships with relevant media contacts.  

Engage with them regularly, providing updates about your real estate projects and sharing valuable insights or newsworthy events in the industry. This approach can help foster trust and secure future coverage. 

Creative Campaigns 

Many marketing campaigns in the property sector are traditional therefore creative thinking can be a huge asset in helping brands stand out from the competition and stay in front of mind of your key audiences. 

Creative campaigns can involve anything from PR stunts,  interactive tools and calculators to maps, brainteasers, and infographics. 

Creative campaigns can also involve jumping on TikTok, Pinterest, Instagram or online search trends. 

There are now dedicated journalists who pick up on stories that are going viral on the likes of TikTok, Pinterest or Instagram. So be creative! Below are some of the most popular trending real estate hashtags on TikTok right now that could be a good hook for a potential story. 

• #realestateinvesting
• #realestateagent
• #realtorlife
• #apartmenthunt
• #apartmentview
• #forsale
• #luxuryhomes 
• #realestatetips

If you spot a relevant trending hashtag such as any of the above can you utilise an ‘expert’ within your business as a way to ‘react’ to what is going viral? Or offer exclusive tips especially if it’s a trending hashtag. If so then you are creating a story in itself. 

Remember that these trending real estate hashtags may change in popularity over time and may not all be relevant to your specific real estate business. Therefore it’s best to do your research before using them in your content so they are still relevant and popular with your target audience.

Remember The Basics! 

As we always say in digital PR though, you need to remember the basics. Is what you are saying ‘new’ and does it have a strong hook? If you have both of these then your pitch or press release is more likely to be picked up by journalists.

It’s also crucial that you take time to put together a content calendar that aligns with the business's overall goals and KPIs and that your content will convey the right messages to the right audience at the right time. A content calendar will help keep you on track with this, knowing what’s coming up and being able to pitch to a journalist or publish a press release at the right time. This will ultimately set you apart from your competitors.

Key Takeaways 

In conclusion, digital PR has become an indispensable tool for real estate professionals looking to stay competitive in today's digital landscape. 

By leveraging the power of digital platforms, creating compelling content, and fostering meaningful relationships with journalists and key stakeholders, real estate firms can enhance their brand presence, drive business growth, and thrive in an ever-evolving market.

Now that you have a better understanding of the impact of effective public relations in real estate campaigns, it's time to put these insights into action.  If you're looking to create a buzz around your upcoming real estate project, we’d love to hear from you. We can help you develop a tailored PR campaign that delivers results and sets your project apart from the competition.