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It’s nearly 2014 and print is officially dead – isn’t it?

Hardly. Print still has a significant role to play when it comes to marketing real estate, and the most successful property campaigns are those that combine print and internet strategies. 

Numbers that speak for themselves:

• Attendance at Open For Inspections triples when a marketing campaign combines print and online. 
• Property campaigns that use a combination of online and print get 84 per cent more traffic than online-only campaigns. 
• Homes that are advertised on the internet and in print command a higher price. For example, if home worth is $500,000 the actual sale price can be $15,500 higher than if it was advertised online only.

Reach the widest possible audience

It’s undeniable that significant interest – about 40 per cent – in many properties is driven by listings on sites like Domain and realestate.com.au. But it’s a mistake to assume that it’s the only method of reaching out to buyers. What about older people who aren’t tech savvy? Those without a reliable internet connection? Or the segment of your audience – and yes, they do exist –  who actually prefer having something to hold, pages to flip, and paper to write on (you can’t scribble notes on a screen, after all). These people buy houses too, and print is the way to get their attention. This is a group of consumers who’ll appreciate the effort put into a polished piece of printed material and who will take the time to seriously engage with it. Print consumers are a loyal breed, so making them loyal to your brand is worth the effort. 

Internet advertising and online advertising work best at different times, too. The internet is used most heavily at the beginning of the week, while print gets more attention on Fridays and over the weekend. An effective marketing strategy is one that uses both methods to reach people wherever and whenever they are likely to be available and ready to engage with your message. 

Print adds value

Clever print advertising will seriously boost a consumer’s perception of a property’s value. Like we pointed out above, a property that’s advertised both online and in print can command a higher price. But the way a home is advertised in print also affects how much people will assume it’s worth. A property recently sold by one agent we worked with was perceived by potential buyers to be worth around $476,000 when they saw it advertised in a quarter page newspaper ad. When the same property was advertised via a full page ad, its perceived value shot up to $698,000. The difference is drastic – a whopping 46 per cent increase.

The competition have gone missing

Some of your competitors are probably neglecting print in favour of pushing all their advertising online. Their mistake opens up a perfect opportunity for you. There’s a lot more noise to compete with online, while your print advertising has a bit more breathing room so that it can stand out and really capture attention. Advertising in print is an opportunity for you to dominate a space that your competitors are overlooking. 

So there you have it – the most effective way to market a property is to utilise as many channels as possible to reach out to every corner of your target demographic. 

What’s your opinion? Share your experience of selling properties using print and/or online advertising in the comments below.