Top New Home Marketing Tips for 2024

With 2023 wrapping up, what's in store for the new year? We asked some of the top industry experts for their thoughts and advice on how to tackle new home marketing in 2024. Navigating the world of AI and chatbots, new home marketing professionals have to figure out how to succeed in the always changing world of home building.

Jon Sherman, Video City Productions
Feed The Content Monster

The “content monster” exists because social media consumers crave content, and social media platforms do not create content. Brands that “feed the content monster” with video content will reach and connect with these audiences. To capitalize on this growth opportunity, companies need to focus on establishing a content creation process that is scalable and consistent.

We recently helped a real estate brand, The Bograd Experience, launch a video series and saw some exciting results. By posting two short videos a day and two longer videos every other week, they grew their audience to 12,000 subscribers in only seven months—and now enjoy faster closings, broader reach and reduced pay-to-play marketing costs

Posting short-form videos was the biggest driver for subscribers and the channel's success. While videos with better stories, titles and thumbnails outperformed other videos, none went viral and the channel grew rapidly. By building a system to post videos consistently, we “fed the content monster” and reached our goal.

Ben Keal, Private Communities
Shifts In The Lead To Sale Timeframe

As a real estate lead generation company, we often hear a common refrain from our clients: Marketing generates a lead that’s passed to the sales team to which the sales team replies, “This lead is already in our database.”

My response is always the same: "If they haven’t purchased yet, is that a bad thing?”

And I believe in 2024 and beyond, this sentiment will become even more important. Let’s face it, consumers rarely make a decision after the first conversion, especially when it comes to homes. Buyers also have many options and competitors to consider, so reengaging a previous lead is a good thing. Before the onset of COVID, it was estimated that relocation buyers that use platforms like privatecommunities.com took an average of 18 months to make a purchase. But now, with stories of three-week closings and cash buyers becoming a regular occurrence, the landscape has shifted a bit. The moral of the story is this: regardless of the market conditions, it's crucial that marketers encourage sales teams to revisit and reengage leads in their database as the lead to sale timeframe continues to shift.

Carol Morgan, Denim Marketing
Creating Engaging And AI-Friendly Blog Content: The Ultimate Balancing Act

As AI becomes more prevalent, writing blog content that appeals to humans, search engines and AI is essential. Here are some tips to simplify the process and amplify your content’s reach.

A human-first approach to writing blog content should be straightforward and conversational to foster a genuine connection with your audience. People are drawn to narratives and laughter, so infuse stories and humor when appropriate. Additionally, a well-placed call to action guides readers on their journey after they finish your post, keeping them engaged and moving to the next step.

From a search engine optimization (SEO) perspective, content needs to be discoverable. This starts with incorporating relevant keywords to enable search engines to categorize and rank blog posts effectively. Don’t overuse keywords or stuff them into content, as this creates friction for the reader. Search engines also like content that is interconnected through internal and external links, providing a broader context and indicating the reliability of your site. Maintaining a regular publishing schedule with quality content shows search engines that your site is up-to-date and relevant.

Regarding AI, the sophistication of today's algorithms means content must be more than just keyword rich. AI systems prioritize the comprehensiveness and structure of content. A well-organized post with clear headings and subheadings helps AI understand the hierarchy and relationship of the information presented -- include H2 tags, bullets, and numbers to help with this. Citing reputable sources also boosts the perceived credibility of the content.

In the dance of digital content creation, the choreography involves more than stringing together SEO-friendly sentences. It's about crafting an experience that resonates on a human level, ensures clarity and relevance for search engines, and aligns with the structured understanding of AI. Keeping content up to date is vital; outdated information can disengage readers and lead AI to devalue your posts.

By focusing on quality and structure in your writing, you can create blog posts that satisfy human curiosity, meet the criteria for SEO, and are easily navigable by AI – a trifecta that ensures your content performs optimally.

Bassam Salem, AtlasRTX, a NICE Company
Understand AI And Its Benefits: Don’t Fear Change

50 years ago, we didn’t have the PC.
40 years ago, we didn’t have the Mac.
30 years ago, we didn’t have the Web.
20 years ago, we didn’t have the iPhone.
10 years ago, we didn’t have Alexa.
One year ago, we didn’t have ChatGPT.

It’s easy to recognize that we’re expected to absorb more change in our lifetimes than many prior generations combined.

We can fear it, disparage it, and shun it. And we’ll be the last to benefit.

Or we can embrace it, appreciate it, and harness it. And we’ll be the first to benefit.

In 2024, it’s time we:

• Make time to educate ourselves on what AI is, its potential, and why it arguably marks a milestone moment for humanity.
• Benefit from its use in our personal lives; e.g., integrating our home with voice assistants, leveraging AI voice assistants to execute common tasks on our mobile phones, enhancing our Web search and browsing using AI-powered browser plugins, adopting newly released AI features within our favorite office application suites, and more.
• Benefits from business use; e.g., integrating AI-based experiences in our marketing, sales, operations, and service teams to augment our human teams’ productivity.
• Help those around us who may still be just a little scared or just a little lost.

Marisa Kennerson, Realtor.com
Evolve With The Buyer: Give Them The Transparency They Want

The buyer journey has evolved, and builders must evolve with it. Consumers want to do their own research and come to their own conclusions before contact. Gatekeeping no longer brings in phone calls and visits; instead, it ensures that the consumer moves on to the next builder who provides the information they're seeking. Provide pricing. Explain options. Emphasize photography. Offer interactive floor plans and video tours such as Matterports so the consumer can experience and/or customize the home, when applicable. Follow up by video. Proactively answer the questions you know your buyers are asking. Have a firm presence in the places where they're searching for homes (like Realtor.com!). Don't make it hard for a buyer to find you and be sure to provide enough information so they don't move on to the next builder. Help buyers pick you!

Haley Naebig, NoviHome
Intentional Alignment Is Crucial For 2024, At Every Level Of Sales And Marketing

Alignment with your vendors. Make sure the vendors you're working with and that have made it into your (dramatically reduced?) 2024 budget are truly in your corner and working with you for shared success. We're talking partnerships versus transactions. When times get more challenging, a partner goes the extra mile and gets creative to see you win.

Alignment between company goals and sales team. If you still can't get your sales team to prospect or use a CRM, they need to go. It might sound harsh, but that's not the 2024 market and it shouldn't be the 2024 sales team.

Alignment between what you're selling and the services you're providing. "Buyer experience" has been a buzzword for the last two years, and if you're selling your buyer on a superior experience than what they get with the builder down the street, are you providing that? If the answer is no, is your team equipped with the tools they need to provide that to your buyers?

Greg Bray, Blue Tangerine
Make It Crystal Clear Where You Build

In our recent research study, Blue Tangerine asked home buyers about their most important considerations when selecting a home. It wasn’t really a surprise when the top response was the home’s location. Yet too often I see home builder websites where it is difficult to quickly and clearly understand where the homes they build are located.

Compounding this issue, we learned that 40% of those buyers are moving more than 50 miles from their current home. This group of buyers may not know the area or local terminology references as well as you do. Promoting and selling the home design, floor plan layout, community amenities, and creating a vision of the buyers' future lifestyle are all important.

But don’t forget to also make it easy to figure out where the home is located. No matter how much that buyer might love the home, if it isn’t located where they want to live, they aren’t going to buy. And remember, if they can’t quickly figure that out, they are likely moving on to the next builder’s website to see what they have to offer instead of engaging with you.

Kody Smith, NoviHome
Comfort And Confidence

Today’s home buyer receives a constant barrage of negative information such as high interest rates, home prices, international conflicts, a weakening economy, etc. Today’s buyers are extremely cautious in making any decisions, and we see many buyers sitting on the sideline even though they can purchase. As builders engage potential buyers, they need to find ways to comfort themselves and create confidence. This can be done with traditional methods, by using technology, or even a mixture of both. One thing is certain, the builders that find ways to engage today's buyers are the ones that will see success in this market and future markets.

Justin Doornbos, BombBomb
Personalization vs. Automation? Or Both (And I’m Not Talking AI)

The key theme at IBS 2023 was ‘Personalization’. It was clear that every consumer wanted a personalized buying experience. Especially in a market where consumers were unsure if building a brand-new home was the right choice for them given the market conditions. We’ve preached for years that personal videos are the clear way to build trust and create customers. But in this past year's market, we found that putting automated videos that felt personalized (not a deep fake, or AI video) proved to convert 64% more than previous automation put in place through a team of 300 reps directly through their CRM.

Personalized but automated. It was a win/win

Angela McKay, ONeil Interactive
Achieving Sales Targets In 2024 Requires A Sales And Marketing Enablement Strategy

We know that sales and marketing alignment is key for a builder to succeed. When sales and marketing align, sales increase, the sales cycle gets shorter, and conversion rates improve. I suggest we go one step further and create a sales and marketing enablement strategy. Marketing plays a key role in developing this strategy.

Sales enablement is the process of equipping your sales group with the resources they need to close more homes. These resources include:

• Content and tools
• Knowledge and information
• Onboarding and continuous training initiatives

Sales enablement helps you sell more, provide a better buyer experience, and empowers sales to be more efficient and productive. READ MORE

Meredith Oliver, Meredith Communications
Get Ready for Rapid And Constant Transformation

The year 2024 promises to be an exhilarating period for marketers, offering a wealth of opportunities to explore and experiment with innovative strategies. With the pandemic's conclusion, the dynamics of markets have entered an era of rapid and constant transformation, akin to what I call "micro markets." In this fast-paced landscape, the true mark of a remarkable marketer lies in their ability to adeptly analyze, formulate strategies, and swiftly implement changes within marketing campaigns. Long gone are the days of relying on rigid, long-term marketing plans; instead, brace yourself for a thrilling multi-level rollercoaster ride that demands nothing less than excellence and keen insight.

Dennis O’Neil, ONeil Interactive
Buckle Up

If recent times have taught me anything, it’s that change can happen faster, and more frequently than I ever thought possible. In related news, lots of people hate change. They really hate it. Or fear it. But they definitely hate it.

Considering we’re all in the business of creating change, that might explain why I and so many other sales and marketing professionals tend to be attracted to change. We see opportunities amongst the chaos and become intoxicated by those possibilities.

My fellow chaos addicts, we have reason to be excited. Why? It’s game time for artificial intelligence. I cannot identify a suitable adjective to describe the scale and the pace of change AI will bring to the world.

Yes, be excited. Ride the chaos. Lean into the unknown. But be certain to step back onto solid ground and do it often. A permanent residency inside the chaos results in a terminal condition known as “believing your own hype.” Besides, you’ll need both perspectives in the days ahead. How else will you be able to map a path for the others? This is our time.

Qadra Evans, Zillow
Master Your Market With Data

As mortgage rates remain high, driving up the cost of a mortgage beyond what many households are able to afford, new construction remains a fan favorite among buyers. This is likely due largely to the incentives many builders can offer. While the cost of a new construction home typically exceeds the cost of an existing home for sale, the ability of builders to offer things like rate buydowns and closing cost credits can tip the scales of affordability in favor of buyers. As such, with high mortgage rates and low inventory rocking the existing home market, buyers are turning to new construction for opportunities – driving up new home sales.

Today’s builders have to deal with moving business targets and severe financial swings. Data is the number one way in which you can become the master of your own market.

Melissa Galland, Do&Be Agency
Brand Experience is NOT Just A Buzzword

It's not just a matter of working harder or throwing more money at new marketing tactics to solve the problem - something deeper has shifted. Human expectations have changed, and we need to adapt our strategies accordingly. While we are all familiar with the idea of evolving customer expectations, the reality is that we are experiencing a collective shift in expectations.

We need a fresh perspective on culture to keep hitting our profitability goals. I've always believed that getting the culture right is critical and that everything else falls into place when it is. However, our challenge is that the traditional view of culture needs to be revised.

It's not just about HR and motivational speeches anymore. It's bigger and broader than that, and that's where marketing comes in. Brand Experience is not just a buzzword - it's a purpose-driven strategy that shapes every interaction with your brand and delivers meaningful results.

To help illustrate this point, imagine your brand as a burger (yes, I went there). From the bottom bun to the toothpick flag, every layer needs to align with one cohesive strategy that drives consistent profit margins.

Here are my seven essential elements for a killer brand experience strategy:

1. Have a visionary plan.
2. Audit your brand identity.
3. Craft a strategy for internal culture.
4. Ensure cross-department alignment.
5. Put your customer at the core.
6. Be intentional about innovation.
7. Deliver quality.

If you enjoyed reading this article, check out these other blogs featuring tips for new home builders:

• Top New Home Sales Tips for 2024
• Top New Home Operations Tips for 2024