Share
Consumers are bombarded with marketing messages from different businesses on a daily basis. If you’re trying to get your message across to your clients, it may feel impossible to cut through the clutter. “Think about how many messages you got on your phone apps just today that you've been exposed to,” Albert Opraseuth, strategy director at Uncommon Creative Studio, said Wednesday during a session at NAR NXT, The REALTOR® Experience, in Boston.
Opraseuth and Ronnie Beltran, senior vice president of communications strategy at Havas Media, spoke about ad trends and social media marketing best practices at the session, emphasizing the importance of understanding and engaging with different fan communities, the effectiveness and reach of social media platforms, and the influence of women’s buying power.
The Age of Fandoms
Building basic engagement with a brand or message comes down to asking the audience: “What are you into? What do you like?” Opraseuth said. In marketing communications, you need to focus on a segmented demographic. But in real life, making connections is more nuanced. “I would never introduce myself as, ‘I am 39 years old and I make X amount of money.’ That's just not how people meet other people. So, that's not how brands should communicate to other people. [They should] treat them like people.”
One key to engaging with your audience is to understand that everyone is a fan of something, and there’s a convention or an online community for everything. Consider that 62% of fans feel positively toward brands that have been involved with their fandoms for extended periods of time, Opraseuth said. Examples include “Swifties,” as fans of Taylor Swift are called; Comic Con loyalists; and even NAR NXT repeat attendees.
Takeaways:
- Data is your friend: Use data and analytics to identify the fandoms that are most relevant to your audience.
- Find authentic connections: Fans will be quick to call you out if they think you’re trying to leverage their fandom in self-serving ways. Brands must be authentic to the fandom and create mutual relationships with fans.
- Creativity is critical: Fandoms are some of the most creative communities in the world. If you want to join them, you need to give them something that can get them excited.
Engage Locally
“Even though consumers are deeply connected to the national and global digital world, they still find comfort in physical proximity and community,” Beltran said. Especially for real estate professionals, local advertising helps bridge the gap.
Takeaways:
- 84% of marketers report higher engagement when using location-based marketing.
- 25% of marketers increase conversion rates when they focus on localization.
- 72% more consumers respond to a call to action with a geographically targeted ad.
Your Audience is on Social Media—a Lot
If you thought people spent too much time on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, you might be surprised to learn that as an aggregate, various demographics are spending even more time engaging with Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, Beltran said.
In 2020, consumers spent an average of one hour and 11 minutes on social media, 28 minutes of which were spent watching videos. In 2024, that number has risen to an hour and 23 minutes of total time, with more than half of that time, 49 minutes, being on video.
“The algorithms are getting better, and the content is getting better,” Beltran said, especially in terms of the availability of technology to edit and post fast and fun videos.
In fact, short videos are 2.5 times more engaging than longer videos. “The social media companies have discovered recently that, with the emergence of Instagram stories and YouTube shorts, short-form videos must engage you within the first seven seconds. That’s the window of [algorithm] ranking science,” Beltran said.
“This is an opportunity for all of us to think about—depending on who we’re communicating to, and then looking at our social channels—where we are and where we need to be,” Opraseuth said.
Despite the power of quick videos, it’s still important for professionals, especially in the real estate industry, to get across a deeper message through single-topic “verticals” once you’ve built curiosity and earned your audience’s trust.
Beltran said 44% of consumers prefer longer videos once they lean in to learn more, and for real estate professionals, a key tool will be customer testimonial videos. Half of real estate professionals are likely not posting consistently or keeping their audiences engaged.
Takeaways:
- Engage with your audience: 73% of consumers are more likely to do business with brands that are responsive on social media. Respond promptly to comments and messages.
- Leverage social proof: 72% of customers say positive reviews and testimonials increase their trust in a business.
- Post consistently: only 57% of NAR members use social media daily to maintain a consistent presence.
Your Primary Audience: Women
Young women are the fastest growing demographic in the consumer space. “Beyonce famously sang in 2011: ‘Who runs the world? Girls,’” Beltran said. “That was very true back then, and it is even more true today. Women are thriving, and they have made pronounced strides in culture, in politics, in sports.”
In the real estate space, 65% of NAR members are women. And according to the 2024 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 24% of first-time buyers are women compared to just 11% in 1985. In addition, 65% of current college entrants are women, setting the stage for a significant cultural and economic impact in the near future.
The best way to engage with a female audience, authentically, is to show up “with them, not for them,” Beltran said, with women leading the brand partnerships and messaging.
Takeaways:
- Show solidarity through actions: Brands need to resonate and show up for women beyond the stereotypes.
- Use research and insights: Brands that address these nuances stand out in a sea of oversimplification.
- Put your money where your mouth is: Brands that invest in women are the ones that drive real change.