Trying to predict the future is tough, especially in the real estate industry. Plus, if we’ve learned anything from the past few years, it’s that we should become friends with uncertainty, and, as the saying goes, expect the unexpected. One of the most common predictions for 2023 is that mortgage rates will eventually start to decline — slower than originally predicted — but eventually leading to a slight uptick in home sales toward the end of next year and into 2024. 

And, just as the real estate industry is experiencing significant shifts, many digital marketing strategies for real estate are, too. In 2022, we’ve seen some major Google Core updates (as per usual) –  the Page Experience Update and the Helpful Content Update are just a couple. This indicates that there are big shifts in how search engines are crawling and displaying content — they are prioritizing the user experience and focusing on displaying the most relevant content. 

Read on to learn more about what digital marketing trends for real estate we think will continue or ramp up in 2023. 

1. Highlighting Local Content
2. Increase Need for Automation Tools
3. Rise of Vertical Videos
4. Exploring Other Digital Channel Options
5. Quick Response Times

Highlighting Local Content

You might think that we sound like a broken record with this, but it’s a tune we won’t stop singing any time soon! More and more each year we see the need for hyperlocal content and how much real estate websites can benefit from creating and sharing that content. 

Potential buyers want to know all the details of what it’s like to live in a specific area (whether it’s a city, town, neighborhood, or even a street). Also, people are leveraging online tools to do more in-depth research into their potential homes, agents, and community to gather as much information as possible in order to make a well-informed decision if they want to live or work in a certain area. And, whether it’s in a photo or video format, potential buyers want to see high-quality visuals of not only the property but the community and surrounding area as well so they can truly feel immersed in it. Including photos or videos is an easy way to highlight a listing or community on several channels such as social media, emails, and on your website. 

One of the most popular ways to demonstrate your local expertise is through blogging. By blogging, you can get into all the details, and, by performing keyword research and optimizing your post, you can build your authority online. Implementing an interactive and robust map on your real estate website is also one of the best ways to demonstrate that you have in-depth hyperlocal knowledge. (Our new Map Search not only looks great but functions great as well!)

Increase Need for Automation Tools

Having a social media presence is pretty much a must-have in the real estate industry. By leveraging social media and automation tools, you can build your brand, attract leads, engage your audience, and more. Because there are so many platforms out there, streamlining your social media workflow is key to zeroing in on what’s working and what’s not working. With automation platforms, you can discover the optimal time to post, dive into engagement and traffic data, and more. And, you’ll be able to plan your social media content calendar in advance and leverage scheduling features so you can save time and still grow your business. 

Rise of Vertical Videos

Determining the right type of content is another key factor for an effective social media strategy for real estate and is something that we’ll continue to see in 2023. Specifically, vertical videos have increased in popularity over the past few years, as several platforms are built to only accommodate this format or are incorporating this format more. The three most popular platforms that leverage vertical videos are TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.TikTok is a video platform with over one billion active monthly users and is used by people, brands, and companies to grow their businesses. Users can apply filters, use trending audio, and show their take on popular trends. 

Though Instagram has been around for a little while now, it remains one of the most popular social media platforms. And, recently, it introduced a new feature called “Reels.” With Reels, users can post vertical videos, and incorporate tags, audio, and filter features. What makes Reels unique is that you can post them on a separate tab on your profile or add them to your regular feed, giving you the option to customize what kind of content shows up where. Another platform that’s been around for a while and is still extremely popular is YouTube. YouTube also recently rolled out its vertical video feature called “Shorts.” Similar to TikToks and Reels, users can leverage tags to get in front of more people and create digestible bits of content.

Exploring Other Digital Channel Options

More and more we’re seeing real estate companies shifting their strategies to incorporate multiple channels, or omnichannel marketing. By doing so, you’re extending your reach to get in front of more people on the channels where they’re the most engaged (or if you want to test out a new platform). Just because your audience is engaged on one channel doesn’t mean that’s the only channel – people have different preferences on how they want to view or interact with brands, companies, or people. On the other hand, you’ll also be able to measure what type of content on which channels are not working and adjust your strategy from there. 

Quick Response Times

Whether people are using social media, chat software, texting, calling, or emailing, one thing that’s remained consistent is that people are looking for quick response times so they’re not waiting hours or days for a response. They want to know you’re easy to reach and will help them with their needs easily, especially as the popularity of conversational marketing increases. In fact, many consumers expect brands to reply within the first hour of reaching out on social media. Therefore, developing an effective strategy that places importance on connecting with customers (in real-time or in a timely manner) is essential. 

What trends are you expecting to see next year? If you’re looking to stay on-trend in 2023 and stand out online, reach out!