Commercial Property Marketing: How To Win CRE Marketing

While the rise of eCommerce might seem like the death of brick-and-mortar stores, many feel that is just an exaggeration. While there may be many who are still unwilling to visit physical stores, go out dining, or return to the office, most are open to the idea.

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The CRE industry is waiting to see how other sectors will balance various workers’ demands — to continue working from home, go back to the office, or introduce a hybrid concept. No matter which way the wind blows, real estate marketers should take advantage of all developments.

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And creating a CRE marketing (commercial real estate or commercial property marketing) strategy is the foundation of their success.

What Is CRE (Commercial Real Estate) Marketing?

CRE is any real property meant for commercial and business purposes. These include workplaces, such as offices, boutiques, shops, restaurants, and other properties leased to companies to generate income. Health care facilities, hotels and resorts, and shopping malls also fall under this umbrella.

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‍A commercial real estate business focuses on advertising and promoting commercial properties for sale or lease using readily available strategies and marketing tools for real estate brokers and agents. These include traditional and digital marketing approaches that help them reach their target markets.

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‍Marketing commercial real estate properties can be tricky, given the wide target audience and different property types. So, marketers need to create strategies that suit each client’s target markets and property categories if they are to succeed.

9 Steps to Creating CRE Marketing Strategies

1. Identify Your Target Market

Since CRE properties are varied, their target markets are also diverse. So make your profile specific to your target market. For example, consider whether you are looking for tenants or prospective property owners.

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Review the properties you are promoting. Specify if they are retail, industrial, or office workspaces.

2. Create a Website Dedicated to CRE Marketing

Create a functional commercial real estate industry website dedicated to your market’s needs—one based on a CRE marketing strategy that will serve as an online marketing CRE leads pipeline, filled with useful marketing materials. Create detailed property listings of properties for sale or lease, including their locations and prices. Categorize them according to the same characteristics for searchability.

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Use the latest artificial intelligence (AI) solutions available on your CRE website. For example, during your website development, you can integrate chatbot and customer tracking functionality to manage customer journeys better by making their experience seamless.

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‍Think again if you believe a commercial website is just an ad for your company. Your site is not just a way to promote your business but also a web development tool to help you target the right audiences and give them solutions.

3. Add a Blog to Your CRE Marketing Website

Adding a blog to your site allows you to provide your target market with insights into the industry. It can also serve as a means for your company to sell specific property types in selected locations. In addition, you can share your knowledge and expertise with readers in a blog post which allows you to be seen as an expert in the field.

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Regularly posting new information can distinguish you from the competition and make your company appear tech-savvy.

4. Create a CRE Email Marketing Plan

Adding an email marketing strategy to your overall CRE approach is the best way to connect with leads who may have initially made contact through your website, a blog subscription, or an inquiry over the phone or with your chatbot.

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Creating a list of your contacts allows you to segment the target market of commercial real estate brokers and nurture leads more efficiently. Regular CRE email blasts will remind them of your presence and inform them of the most up-to-date info.

5. Use Social Media

In most cases, social media is the fastest way to reach specific market segments and niches. And since many prospective clients have accounts, you should, too.

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YouTube, for example, is an excellent venue to showcase some of your properties, while you can use Instagram to spark interest each time you post pictures and ads for your commercial properties that are up for sale or lease.

Facebook, especially Marketplace, and Twitter are also fantastic platforms to find leads. Meanwhile, LinkedIn is the best way to connect with industry leaders and CRE marketing experts, making prospects see you as one of the best in the field.

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These are just a few examples of social media platforms that you can leverage for your CRE marketing strategy.

6. Use AI Solutions to Track Your Marketing Efforts

We recommend using a customer relationship management (CRM) system to manage client interactions and organize marketing efforts. To analyze which strategies work for which locations and properties add AI to the mix. This will help you drive focus and grow. A CRM system will also help you identify those strategies needing improvement.

7. Use CRE Software

Using CRE software for marketing provides additional insights as it helps you manage finances linked to your portfolio. In addition, it collates all your leased properties and tracks workplace utilization for field agents to assess which strategies suit specific locations best.

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CRE software also makes it easy for landlords, tenants, real estate agents and brokers, commercial property managers, and real estate teams to manage properties, finances, mortgages, and marketing plans on a single platform.

8. Explore Outsourcing

You do not have to build a team of designers, marketers, and content creators for CRE marketing. Instead, you can outsource the work to expert graphic designers and content creators.

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You can also hire real estate marketing consultants or firms to redesign your brand and develop marketing strategies to attract your target audience. In addition, real estate outsourcing is another way of reducing costs and expenses.

9. Create a Brand With an Image That Stands Out

What image and voice are you projecting? Your brokers should be approachable and knowledgeable about the properties on your list and the needs of your prospects. While building your brand, don’t forget to create a commercial real estate marketing logo for your website.

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If your brand intends to focus on CRE, make that clear in your corporate branding, including your CRE logo and site design. Some real estate firms focus on hotels and resorts, and their approach and image distinctly set them apart from residential real estate companies.

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‍You can talk to real estate branding agencies about appropriate design and imagery and choose one that best suits your business requirements.

The Future Of CRE Marketing

Despite a bumpy start, the CRE industry is poised to recover and grow as companies balance their need for on-site personnel and work-from-home staff. As remote work and outsourcing become the norms, employees and workers are also considering migration opportunities to less expensive cities and towns.

Optimism Prevails

Investors and real estate firms remain optimistic about 2022, even if some marketing firms continue to focus on retrofitting properties and repurposing workspaces to maximize their value, instead of exploring the use of new technologies and CRE software.

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Many CRE marketing companies are also considering environmental and sustainability demands and other social issues, such as diversity and inclusion, in their targeting strategies.

Technology at The Forefront

CRE software and CRM systems will make the CRE industry more efficient and dependable. In addition, analytics and ML (machine learning) will contribute to the efficiency of agents and brokers, while qualitative analysis will make trend and property value forecasting more reliable.

Optimizing Your Website With Commercial Real Estate SEO

One common question that commercial real estate agents have is how they can improve their website's search engine optimization (SEO)? To better understand this process, it is first important to understand how SEO works.

What Is SEO in Real Estate?

‍SEO for real estate can help commercial real estate (CRE) businesses by driving more traffic to their websites. Optimized content is more likely to attract people who are genuinely interested in what a business has to offer as opposed to people who are only looking for information about a specific product or service. This can result in more leads and conversions from website visitors.

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‍SEO can also help increase the visibility of a website in search engine results pages (SERPs) which can lead to more visitors. It can improve visibility and ranking when people search for terms related to commercial real estate.

Real Estate SEO Tips for On-page Optimization

1. Use Keywords in Titles, Content, & Meta Descriptions

When you’re creating social media content, it’s important to make sure that you use keyword-rich titles and descriptions. This will help you rank higher on search engine results pages, and it will also help people find your content more easily.

2. Use Keywords & Phrases Related to Your Niche Market

When you’re creating content, it’s important to use keywords and phrases related to your niche market. This will help you rank higher on search engine results pages, and it will make it easier for people to find your content.

3. Make Sure Your Website Is Organized & Easy to Navigate

When people visit your website, the first thing they should notice is a clear and concise message about what your company does and how you keep up with market trends. If they can’t find what they’re looking for right away, they’ll most likely abandon your page in favor of a competitor’s.4. Optimize Website Images With Keywords & Descriptions

4. Optimize Website Images With Keywords & Descriptions

To get the most out of your website images, optimize them with keywords and descriptions. This will help your images show up in search engine results and will also help people understand what the image is about when they see it on your website.

SERPS: More Ways to Reach the Top

There are other steps you can take to optimize your website and improve your search rankings:

1. Use Keywords & Phrases Throughout Your Site (But Don’t Overdo It)

One of the most important methods for reaching the top of SERPs is using real estate SEO keywords throughout your content. This helps commercial real estate search engines and search engines, in general, understand what your page is about so it can rank it higher in Google search results.

2. Include Links to Other Relevant Websites on Your Site

A great way to improve your website’s SEO ranking on commercial search engines and help your site visitors find more information about topics that interest them is to include links to other relevant websites on your site.

3. Update Your Website Regularly With Fresh Content

This is true for everyone who uses websites and is essential when you’re doing commercial real estate SEO. Keep updating your site with fresh, new, and relevant content. This can include blog posts, articles, news stories, images, videos, product updates, or anything else that would be of interest to your target audience.

4. Provide Good Customer Service

Good customer service may not be the first thing you think about when you want to create viral content but it can certainly help. When you respond to comments and queries promptly, it shows that you care about your customers and their experience with your company. This builds trust and loyalty which can lead to more customers and, eventually, viral content.

5. Get Involved in Online Forums

Forums are a great way to connect with potential customers and get feedback on products or services. They also present opportunities to learn about what people are talking about in your industry, especially trending commercial property searches.

6. Use Online Ads

Make use of Pay-Per-Click Ads (PPC) on Google because they’re relatively cheaper and put you on top of SERPs when someone performs a search that’s related to your brand or service. PPC for real estate investors is a good way to find new leads.

The Benefits of SEO to Commercial Real Estate Companies

1. Increased Website Traffic

Website traffic is the lifeblood of any online business. It’s what allows you to attract new customers, sell products and services, and generate leads.

2. Increased Leads & Conversions

Generating leads and converting them into customers are the goals of any business. As mentioned, SEO helps generate more traffic which in turn provides you with more leads and conversions.

3. Greater Brand Visibility

Since SEO optimization makes your website more accessible through search engine results, more people will see your brand and your content, and have opportunities to engage with your company.

4. Improved Customer Engagement

Improved customer engagement is a natural offshoot of posting relevant content, using effective layouts, and encouraging a responsive dialogue with your audience.

5. Greater ROI

The greater the engagement, the better your ROI. For many CRE companies, nurturing the relationships between client and broker is very important since it always translates to better ROI.

SEO Matters to the Commercial Real Estate Industry

Search engine optimization is an important part of any online marketing strategy, including companies within CRE. SEO optimization can help attract more leads and traffic to your website.

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If you're interested in learning more about SEO services and how to market commercial real estate online, Contact Us at elk marketing. They are an experienced marketing commercial real estate agency that can help create the real estate SEO strategy you need.