6th July 2022 / Sarah Lowry: Using Marketing Strategies to Achieve a Great Sale Price

As the market mood changes, sellers will be well-served by paying additional attention to the quality of the marketing campaign for their property.

A campaign targeted to prospective buyers for your area can earn you tens of thousands of dollars more for your property than a half-hearted or cut-price effort that fails to capture the imagination of the potential new owner.

We encourage sellers to invest where buyers are looking and biting – predominantly online with the established real estate sites and social media channels.

In our experience, sellers who do not appreciate the power of marketing in their own work or personal lives can be concerned about the expense – seeing it not as an investment, but as an unnecessary cost.

While every property needs to be treated slightly differently, depending on its style, size, location, and potential buyer segment, it's not unusual to spend between $4,000 and $9,000 on a property marketing campaign. Marketing funding agency, CampaignAgent, says the average spend nationally by sellers in January this year was $5,100.

Interestingly, clients were willing to spend at the top end of this estimate during COVID, and that level is being maintained even as the heady market exuberance of the past two years dissipates.

When planning a marketing campaign, there are a number of essential elements that will help to maximise the value of your property:

VIDEO

Outside of the luxury home sector, video has largely replaced print advertising and is relatively much cheaper. Including a property video on your marketing schedule can help potential buyers to better-visualise the space on offer, and how rooms link in the home, as well as showcasing less obvious features. Adding drone footage can effectively illustrate where the property sits in proximity to local amenities and having your agent present can help buyers connect more quickly with the representative selling your home.

PHOTOGRAPHY

You cannot beat great photography. It's essential for property much every media channel you decide to use. Don't skimp on this; an experienced real estate photographer is worth every cent.

SOCIAL MEDIA/DIGITAL MARKETING

Facebook and Instagram are two great platforms to attract buyers, with both photographs and videos working well. It's not just a matter of posting some photos or video and hoping to find a buyer – it's much more and to reach the largest audience, you need a multi-channel approach with Google Display Ads, Facebook, and Instagram Ads. Digital marketing is an essential investment for every property seller, casting a wider net that reaches both active and passive buyers beyond the traditional property listing sites. Don't feel like you understand it? You don't need to – we do – but if you want to consider the impact of digital marketing in your own life, consider how you are served with ads that are tailored to you when you're scrolling through your socials or perhaps when reading your daily news – it's not by accident!

PROPERTY PORTALS

Domain and Realestate.com.au are the obvious choice for most sellers. Talk to your agent about what it costs to get on the first page of the search results – it's where you want to be and be aware that prices relate to where you property is located.

SIGNBOARDS

Serious buyers who want to live in your area will be cruising the streets to get a feel of the neighbourhood, so invest in a great signboard. Consider an illuminated board (especially in winter), and at least a 6x8 if possible. If you're on a main road or high-traffic street, consider bigger!

STAGING

Staging your home is a great investment, whether you're selling a two-bedroom apartment or a large luxury home. We'll help you hire a professional to style your home, renting appropriate furnishings and pieces of art to showcase your property in the best possible light. Your end of the deal is to place your belongings in storage.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to your agent to discussing your marketing options in further detail. Remember, you want to reach the largest pool of potential buyers from which the eventual purchaser of your home will be found!