As a home builder, your day is full of so many decisions that pertain to the details and logistics of building homes. You’re answering to your subcontractors, your clients, architects, and designers. You rarely have time to sit down—let alone time to focus on your marketing.
You may consider hiring a freelancer, a family member, or even an agency to help you out. But when they ask about your goals, intentions and plans for marketing, you look at them like a deer in headlights. Where are you even supposed to start?
Well, here are a few tips to get even the most exhausted home builder started with a digital marketing plan:
1. Your website is home base
It’s easy to get distracted by the eye candy of Instagram and Pinterest. Sure, these are very visual platforms, however you don’t own them. Not only that, you don’t have full control over how your audience experiences your brand on those platforms.
Your website should be your first focus for your digital marketing. Unlike social media, you fully own and control your business website. It’s the hub of all your other marketing efforts.
Your social media should send people back to your website.
Your email marketing should send people back to your website.
Heck, your business card should send people back to your website.
So make sure your website beautifully portrays your work, your brand, and your story. Your other marketing will naturally build from that foundation.
2. Testimonials matter
Home building is very personal. Your relationship with your clients is one of the reasons they hired you. So when you can showcase testimonials and client stories on your website alongside pictures of their home, it establishes even more credibility.
There are opportunities to collect testimonials beyond your website, such as in the form of reviews on your Google Business Profile. Make sure you claim your Google Business account and ask your clients to post their feedback there as well. This will show up front and center for new clients who are Googling for you.
3. Leverage beautiful photography
This should go without saying, but every home builder should find a home photographer you love, and find them quickly. The success of your website and your social media depend on it.
You don’t have much time to capture that glamor shot of your home between construction and your clients wanting to settle in, so get your photographer on the calendar for each home you build well in advance.
Side note: if you offer interior decorating, it’s worth considering offering staging services for your client. It will make for much better photos. Plus, you can give them a list of items in the home along with prices. Staging a home is a great way to get your client to commit to additional furnishings and accessories.
4. Don’t forget social media
With the foundation of a solid website, beautiful photography, and happy clients, you have all the ingredients you need to create a strong social media presence.
Be sure you use every opportunity you have to link back to your website. Like the author of a book, home builders want people to know the creator of the beautiful homes they see in pictures. Photos of people can be just as important as the homes themselves.
Always give credit to your partners and vendors. Give them a shoutout on social and tag their accounts in your posts. They’ll appreciate the link, and users appreciate the additional details.
Hashtags also matter, especially on Instagram and other social platforms. Define the hashtags that are used most frequently in your industry (including local hashtags if relevant, see #AtlantaHomes) and use them liberally in your posts.
Looking for an expert?
It may be overwhelming to hear that this is just a starting point. We could go on and on about branding, content calendars, SEO, video, and ad campaigns; but as a home builder we know you are busy.
We hope this gives you some direction for where to start in your digital marketing journey. If you’re still overwhelmed, the GreenMellen team is always here to help if you have questions!
