USING LIVE VIDEO TO ENGAGE CUSTOMERS

If you’re looking for ways to boost engagement with customers, followers, and potential prospects in your community make sure you include live video as part of your marketing communications plan. Consumers are engaging more with live videos and are being significantly influenced by them. According to a Livestream survey, 80 percent of brand audiences would rather watch a brand’s live video than read their blog posts. Plus, 67 percent of live video viewers feel more compelled to come to visit a business or attend an event after they watch it on a live video.

These numbers only point to one thing – new home communities can effectively leverage live streaming videos to engage and influence their target audiences. The question is how? Take a look at some of these useful tips on how you can successfully use live streaming to promote your community.

1. Quality Video Creates Positive Engagement – The quality of live streaming that is so appealing to viewers is that it provides unfiltered access to your brand. All too often, social media content can come across as scripted and reads as a sales pitch rather than focusing on creating a meaningful conversation with the audience. Studies have shown that potential clients are more likely to spend money with brands they trust. While traditional social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook have helped to bridge that gap; live streaming provides an unscripted, un-edited glance into what your brand is all about.
2. Don’t go Live Without a Plan– Live streaming has a huge potential for new home community marketing, but it’s going to require some diligent planning to ensure your live stream is as flawless as possible. Remember that you’re broadcasting live, so there is little room for error. The best way to avoid any issues is to prepare. Create a video storyboard to help you create the broadcast to organize your thoughts and to create a sequence for your video. During your broadcast, you can follow along with your storyboard to stay on track.
3. Get to Know Your Platform– Also, it’s a good idea to get familiar with your video streaming platform, i.e. YouTube, Facebook LIVE, etc. before you press that record button. The process is slightly different on the mobile and desktop version of the various platforms so get comfortable with both. Facebook provides a preview of your video, so you can check how your lighting and framing looks before you broadcast to the public. Keep in mind the preview will not necessarily match the quality of the final broadcast so a solid work is creating a temporary (fake) Facebook page and broadcasting there to view how a final broadcast will look
4. Get Techy – Make sure you have the right tech for the job. This really depends on the complexity of your video. But for starters, your internet speed is key to your success. Since a live broadcast requires a lot of bandwidth, make sure to have a fast connection. If possible, try for a connection through an ethernet cable instead of WIFI for stability. Now if you’re simply shooting straight from your mobile phone, you can skip ahead to the next tip. But if you’re looking to ramp up your game, you can stream from a laptop and use software likeOBS or Wirecast that allow you to switch between multiple cameras, audio sources, overlay graphics, and much more.
5. Get Talking– Just like any online content, you need to spread the word to grow your audience. You should create a promotional strategy for every stage of the broadcast — before, during, and after. Use Facebook and other social media channels to promote the live broadcast two-to-three days before, one day before, and the day of the event for best results. You can post about your upcoming broadcast on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn or you can schedule the broadcast on Facebook to generate an announcement and allow people to sign up for a reminder.

During your broadcast, you can continue to promote your broadcast with social media. Encourage your team members to share with their networks as well. When the broadcast is finished, you can choose to save the video and create a post on your Facebook page or you can keep it private. Going live on Facebook is not as simple as posting an edited and polished video, but fortunately, Facebook has made it a pretty seamless process. If you needed another reason to go live, Facebook actually favors live video content on its platform, so you will get much more exposure on Facebook than other content like images or links. If you need assistance putting together a live video strategy and plan, we can help!

TIPS TO CAPTURE SUMMER SALES

It’s summer, school is out, families are going on vacations, and traffic to your model complex will begin to slow down. In order to continue a robust sales pace, you need to create excitement and engage your residents and prospective customers to come to the community and tour the models. Here are some tips to beat the summer blues and capture more sales!

• Increase your Social Media Image– Since school’s out and everyone has more free time on their hands, they will be spending more time on social media. It’s a great time to increase your activity on social media with engaging and shareable content that will engage, inspire and motivate your residents and potential customers to become loyal fans. Since summer is usually a very active time for cities to host outdoor events, make sure you are sharing local and regional content on all your social media pages. With the longer days, it’s the perfect time to take more photos and create more videos of your community, the models, amenities, and fun things that are going on in your neighborhoods and the city. Since more families are at home and creating their own memories in your community, make sure you include them in your social media with testimonials, videos and blog articles. People love to see themselves online, and they’ll be happy to share these memories with their social networks.
• Host Kid-Friendly Events – Families who are looking for a new home would love to include their children in the search process. A great way to get the family out to your community is to host a series of kid-friendly events that will allow the kids to come out and discover all the great things your community offers, leaving the parents free to tour the model homes and learn more about the community. Summer is a great time to host some signature events that become a summer tradition for the community. Some great ideas for getting families out include:
  • Summer movie nights
  • Summer carnivals
  • 4^thof July celebrations
  • Concerts under the stars
  • Arts & Crafts Fairs
  • Weekly Farmer’s Markets
  • Bikes & Hikes
• Make A Splash! – If you have a community pool and clubhouse, or community gardens, make sure that you activate them for the summer season. Whether it’s a low-key, wine and cheese party for active adults or an outdoor fun in the sun event for families, your pool, clubhouse and community garden is an integral component of your summer celebrations. If your community hosts poolside events for your residents, make sure you are inviting your best prospects to join in the fun!
• Keep Your Realtors Happy – During the summer, your local Realtor community can be a big asset in keeping traffic coming to your community. Since most corporate relocations take place during the summer, Realtors are usually very busy trying to assist relocating employees. One way to encourage loyalty and ensure that your community is on their short list of communities to show their prospects is to host summer Happy Hours to showcase your community to Realtors. Realtors love gathering, eating good food and drinking adult beverages! Another way to keep them engaged is to sponsor a Summer Sales Contest and give high-quality prizes to the Realtors who sell the most homes during the summer. Whatever you do, make sure your Realtors are happy and they will help you make summer sales sizzle!

TIPS FOR SELLING ZERO NET ENERGY NEW HOMES

California’s recent adoption of the 2019 update of Title 24 Part 6, Building Energy Efficiency Standards has moved the state further towards its goal that all new homes will be constructed Zero Net Energy (ZNE) by 2020. With the recent approval of the mandate for solar panels for all new homes constructed in the state beginning January 1, 2020, California will once again be leading the way for energy efficiency, sustainability and the mainstream adoption of zero net energy homes.

As a homebuilder marketing and selling new homes in California, you’re probably asking yourself a lot of questions about how you can market and sell the benefits of these changes to your customers without creating confusion. We understand your concern, so our team of marketing, sustainability and green building experts have put together some tips for you consider when talking to your customers about zero net energy homes.

 1. Buyers are Looking for Energy Efficient Homes– The idea of living in a sustainable or Zero Net Energy home is becoming more mainstream every year. So, the fact you’re offering energy savings and sustainable features in your new homes make it very attractive to your prospective customer. According to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 61% of agents reported that buyers are interested in sustainability. “Consumers continue to make it clear that environmentally friendly features and neighborhoods are an important factor in deciding where and what home to buy,” said Elizabeth Mendenhall, president of NAR and CEO of RE/MAX Boone Realty in Columbia, Missouri, according to Realtor Magazine. Forty percent of respondents to NAR’s survey reported that their Multiple Listing Service (MLS) has green data fields, compared to only 15% that don’t. With a typical American household spending more than $2,000 a year on energy bills, that savings makes ZNE very attractive.

2. Focus on the Savings & Future Value – Although they certainly save on energy costs over time, building a ZNE home is going to cost more to build than a conventional home. The Energy Commission estimates that adding solar to new homes in California will add between $8,000 to $12,000 to the cost of a home. However, after weighing the data, the CEC determined homeowners would ultimately save money on their energy bills to the tune of $40 per month (CEC calculations found the standards will add about $40 to an average monthly payment, but save consumers $80 on monthly heating, cooling and lighting bills).

For many borrowers, though, paying a little more is worth the savings they’ll net in the future. They may pay more money upfront to have an energy-efficient home, but the value of that home increases each year as they save more and more on utilities. Also, they’ll be able to sell for more. Because of the savings in energy costs over the life of the home, Zero Net Energy homes are typically valued 10% — 15% higher than same-size traditionally built homes (reference?).  The real estate industry is working right now on incorporating green features into their MLS listings – so by the time you go to sell your home, buyers will be able to factor these features into their offer price

3. Millennials Want Sustainable Homes– As millennials (born between the early 1980s to early 2000s) continue to enter the market, there will be an upswing in the number of buyers looking for green and NZE homes. This is great news for you! These buyers are looking to lower their carbon footprint and live in communities that support a conservational lifestyle. They want to harvest rainwater to reduce reliance on a municipal supply and use recycled shower water to flush toilets. They want to treat sewage onsite with botanical cells and use it to nourish landscaping. They want to grow fresh vegetables and fruits and compost table scraps or use them to feed chickens or other livestock. Millennials care about the planet, and they do their research.  They want to live in a way that’s more environmentally friendly. For this generation, the financial payback of these homes is enticing but it’s not going to be the deciding factor

4.  What Inspires Your Customer– When selling a ZNE home, it is important to recognize what inspires your client.  Home buying is a big decision that can be personal and emotional at times. People see their homes as part of their value system and identity, so it is important to identify individual motivators when marketing zero energy homes. Begin by paying close attention to your customer and asking them open-ended questions about their wants, needs, and preferences in order to determine what is most important to them. Are they value, and emotion-driven or more technologically oriented? Is the environment their primary concern or is it a combination of all three?

After you’ve discovered what inspires your customer, here are some ways to motivate them to purchase a home from you:

Motivating the Value and Emotion-Oriented Buyer

The green building features in a ZNE home are inherently scientific and technical and can be overwhelming to less technically savvy buyers and selling based on them may be counter-productive.  Value and emotion-oriented buyers are usually more interested in how the home can benefit them and their family, rather than on the technical features of the home.

• Take the time to discuss how quiet, comfortable and healthy an NZE home is to live in, as well as how easy it is to maintain.
• Focus on the emotional benefits and value of the home, rather than talking high-tech gadgets, high R-value insulation, or heat recovery HVAC systems.
• Ask them to imagine a home where advanced building technologies provide a blanket of comfort like none they have experienced before.” Then let them know that home is available right here and now.
• Instead of “return on investment” use “provides economic stability.”

Motivating the Technologically-Oriented Buyer

Some potential zero energy home buyers are technologically oriented, and many are “early adopters.” Now is your chance to share your NZE technical knowledge to communicate the science involved in a ZNE home. Be prepared to know your terminology and explain how things work. It is important that you mirror the same excitement that trendsetters often feel regarding technological innovations and emphasize that they will be buying the home of the future right now. You can provide them with detailed information such as:

• Actual energy savings data, compared to a traditionally built home.
• Specific technological features of the home and how they work.
• Information on how to actively monitor energy use in the home.
• How many tons of carbon they are keeping out of the atmosphere.
• How the home was built to the highest quality standards with detailed checklists and independent verification.
• How the home protects each family’s investment well into the future by meeting and exceeding future code requirements and performance expectations. Living in the “home of the future” – a home that leads the way in performance, comfort, and technology can be yours today
• “Don’t settle for an outdated home.” Another way to connect with innovators is to ask them, “Why would you buy a resale home that is outdated when you can buy a new home with the latest advanced building, mechanical and appliance technologies?” This approach provides an opportunity to describe the many inadequacies of a standard home in comparison to the advanced technologies in a ZNE home.
• “Be a pioneer.” Zero energy homes are a growing movement. Feel good that you are challenging the status quo and making a statement that you are on the cutting edge of housing technology, energy efficiency, and environmental protection.

Motivating the Environmentally-Minded Buyer

Some home buyers are very concerned about the environment, so it is important for builders and real estate agents to have a good understanding of how ZNE homes help reduce carbon emissions. You may need to communicate how their future home will be carbon neutral over the lifetime of the home. Many environmentally concerned buyers are equally concerned with the internal environment of the home.

• It is important to share with them that zero energy homes are built with non-toxic finishes, are very tightly air-sealed and have fresh-filtered air systems, so that they will be exposed to a minimum of dust, molds, allergens, and pollutants.  In other words, ZNE homes promote a healthy environment, inside and out.
• You can also appeal to an environmentally concerned buyer by encouraging them to be a leader in protecting the environment for future generations.

When it comes down to it, many people are a combination of these three types of buyers. It is important to be able to switch easily from the emotional value benefits to the technical features to the environmental benefits. Use the “power of zero” to appeal to all three types of buyers, by reminding them that ZNE homes are powerful because they “live better, work better, last better, and protect the environment better.”

If you need assistance to develop a ZNE marketing and sales platform for your company, we can help! Our team has over 20 years of experience in new home marketing, master planned development, sustainability, energy efficiency, green building, and Title 24 permitting. Contact us at www.engagemarketing.biz.