Builders: Add Drone Photography to Your Social Media

Saw an interesting statistic today:

Drone listings receive 60% more leads than traditional photographer listings!

The stat was accompanied by this thought:

The most important element is to capture the energy!

SalesTouch: capturing the energy generated with drone imagery!

Wouldn't you agree the same thought applies to a new home community, master plan development or multifamily property?  Your marketing collateral needs to speak to your buyer's emotions and there's no better way to encourage a home shopper to start considering how your community meets their needs than visual stimulation.

Home building is a natural for visuals -- telling a story inside and out.  Most builders utilize still photography in brochures and on their website. Have you considered upping your WOW! factor and adding drone photography?

Take a look at the downtown Richmond image used in the John Marshall interactive touchscreen system -- add in a "Try it!" highlighting specialties -- and who wouldn't want to start exploring how to be a part of this energy?

A recent article notes there's a fundamental shift happening in the real estate industry -- just as videos changed the music industry, professional video is transforming the internet and real estate industry. Consider that thought: there's a profound change and corresponding consumer expectation underway. We all need to include, at the minimum, an analysis of how drone photography might improve current visuals.

And, if you'd like to consider adding drone imagery to a SalesTouch interactive touchscreen presentation highlighting your community, any of us at CPS can assist.  Or, expand the use with our Social Media Wall combining traditional marketing copy/images with shared social media content.  We're able to capture the energy initiated by drone imagery and translate it into an engaging, interactive exploration of your community!

Builders: How are you taking the Connected Customer into consideration?

A recent article by Brian Solis, Meet Generation C: The Connected Customer, makes a startling point: "the gap between how Gen Y communicates and connects and how businesses, educators, governments, et al. approach them is only widening."  You can read this very intriguing article here.

Connecting to today's "new" Customer: Different Strategies Needed

Solis goes on to say, "I often wonder whether or not we are simply trying to talk to ourselves in our approach to Millennials."

Should you examine this gap or worry about it?  Here are a few numbers that suggest anyone selling anything needs to care:

 --- Millennials trust strangers over friends and family; they lean on UGC for purchases (that's user-generated content)
--- They are 3X as likely to follow a brand over a family member in social networks
--- 66% will look up a store if they see a friend check-in.

But, Solis suggests, this techno-focus isn't just about age.  There is now a "class of consumer" that can be referred to as "the Connected Customer" and their behavior and habits mimic those associated with Millennials in that traditional marketing efforts aren't very influential in their decision-making process.

At a minimum, it appears the traditional marketing "funnels" are no longer appropriate; we need to consider multiple engagement strategies.  Do you have ways for prospects to "check-in" at your sales offices; do you have at least one "non-traditional and/or experiential" display as compared to the traditional wall images (think: touchscreen, iPad), are you building your brand using technology?

Did you know women rule the Connected Customer world?  As builders, it might make sense to review thoughts about women-centric design and marketing.  Check out our blog on March 2!