Property PR – how to get started

March 27, 2023

Charlie Webb

How to make technical stories work for less technical people

It’s simple: public relations is a highly effective way of working alongside your current teams to generate both sales and visibility for an individual property or brand. It’s about telling a thought provoking story – that will generate interest and enter into the consciousness of potential buyers. It’s about gaining recognition and mitigating negative attention. It’s about defining who you are and what your offer is, and delivering that message to the public, your customer. So where do you start?

Here are Ridgemount PR’s top tips on how to get your name out there!

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Taking national issues surrounding the property industry and making them both relevant and interesting to your potential customers is hugely important, as is being aware of the latest stats and trends relating to your local area. As a developer you have a key position within the industry to demonstrate your expertise to keep yourself ahead of the competition, showing your clients you’re on top of the key issues that are affecting them. Think about what would make an interesting topical release, what would grab your attention?

Say cheese

Kerb appeal will always be important, however, customers are busier than ever and will not always have the opportunity to do a ‘drive by’. Instead, the first opportunity buyers most often get of a home is in a magazine or newspaper. Therefore, when preparing photography to be sent to media, all images must be great quality and high resolution. It really is worth investing in a highly skilled photographer as print media often give preference to property stories with high quality imagery. A picture really does say 1000 words…

Get social

Social media allows instant engagement and communication, it offers you the opportunity to shout about the great product you offer and build a personality around your brand. If you have a visible online presence with regularly updated social media accounts such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest, then it’s inevitable your name will be seen more, planting your brand name into the minds of potential customers.

Don’t just say it, prove you’ve done it

New customers liked to be reassured by previous happy customers and the property media are always looking for case studies of first time buyers, baby boomers or second home purchases etc. This is the perfect opportunity to show your product and your customer’s happy journey from beginning to end, highlighting the customer service skills of your company. Make sure to get high resolution images to accompany your client’s wonderful story before pitching to the media. (Plus their consent!)

Be friendly

PR isn’t only about media relations and having an online presence: traditional ways of getting your name out into the local community should not be ignored. Getting to know people in your local community and engaging in various projects or well-respected groups such as sponsoring the local rugby team or the village fete can be a successful way of getting your brand both seen and heard. This gives you the chance to network and talk with people, particularly property buyers or investors, who may need to use your services!

Overall, all sectors, particularly the property industry, rely on good communication, trust and most of all, reputation. If you improve your relationship with the public (your customer!) not forgetting befriending the relevant media, the credibility of your brand will grow and grow!