As interest rates ease and purchaser demand returns, real estate agents face a vital second to reestablish visibility and belief earlier than shoppers are able to transact. Successful listings in a rebounding market requires brokers to indicate up with objective, be constant, and be the place shoppers are on the lookout for details about shopping for. Chris Mumford, VP and CMO of Marketplaces at CoStar Group explains why fashionable digital advertising is centered on constructing long-term model presence throughout your complete purchaser journey. Drawing on his profession main challenger-brand advertising and iconic promoting Mumford shares how brokers can construct memorable private manufacturers, use paid media extra successfully, keep away from frequent advertising pitfalls, and leverage platforms like Houses.com to remain prime of thoughts.
HousingWire: As curiosity rates start to fall and purchaser demand will increase, what digital advertising methods ought to brokers prioritize now to remain top-of-mind when shoppers re-enter the market?
Chris Mumford: Right this moment’s buyers interact with real estate lengthy earlier than they ever attain out, and 100% of house consumers start their search on-line. Meaning brokers want to fulfill consumers the place they’re and construct belief early.
Houses.com’s Your Itemizing, Your LeadTM mannequin is constructed round that concept. We give brokers constant visibility throughout channels — from our platform to conventional promoting and social media, together with TikTok — with out promoting their leads or hiding data behind paywalls. The main focus is on transparency, training, and staying prime of thoughts all through a protracted determination cycle. Consumers join with brokers who really feel like guides, not salespeople. By conserving an agent’s model current at each stage of the journey, we assist them construct that belief naturally. The technique is easy: be the place the viewers is, inform tales that matter, and let your genuine model shine earlier than the primary dialog occurs.
HW: What differentiates a high-performing private model from a forgettable one? How can brokers begin constructing that model at present?
CM: Excessive-performing private manufacturers present up with objective and consistency.
Actual property isn’t any completely different. The strongest brokers lead with worth quite than simply self-promotion. Take Matterport, for instance, this characteristic offers consumers a best-in-class 3D tour of the house, with automated measurements and digitally defurnishing rooms. Member Brokers can leverage Matterport in itemizing shows to showcase their potential to ship cutting-edge digital experiences that increase purchaser curiosity and set them aside from the competitors.
Consistency builds belief. When consumers see your title all through the customer’s journey, it already feels acquainted when it’s time to behave. Homes.com is constructed to amplify an agent’s model, not compete with them: no lead diversion, simply visibility the place consumers are looking. Member Brokers type to the highest of outcomes, reaching tons of of 1000’s of extra consumers, and on common, our Member Brokers win 60% extra listings. The takeaway is easy: begin the place consumers search, lead together with your distinctive worth and let constant publicity do the heavy lifting.
HW: What position does paid promoting (like social or PPC) play in a contemporary actual property advertising technique? What’s the neatest manner for brokers and groups to take a position when the market turns round?
CM: Paid promoting ought to empower brokers, not compete with them. At Homes.com, we use digital promoting to drive actual consumers to a consumer-first platform the place brokers are prominently featured and credited.
As an alternative of promoting leads, we make investments closely in social, search, and efficiency advertising to extend the site visitors and engagement on Houses.com. This retains Member Brokers seen all through that journey, not simply on the transaction level. When the market turns, the neatest transfer for brokers isn’t to outspend everybody else; it’s to align with a platform that’s already investing at scale, driving momentum, and amplifying their model long-term. That’s what a Houses.com Membership delivers: built-in digital promoting energy that retains brokers top-of-mind as demand returns.
HW: What are the commonest digital advertising errors you see brokers or brokerages make?
CM: Most errors come right down to inconsistency, inefficiency, and unclear impression. Earlier in my profession, working with world manufacturers like GEICO, UPS, and Walmart taught me that manufacturers don’t fail as a result of they lack creativity; they fail as a result of they disappear, changing into irrelevant within the moments that matter most.
Brokers make the identical mistake once they present up in brief bursts as a substitute of constantly. If consumers don’t see you repeatedly, they gained’t bear in mind you when it issues. One other challenge is spending with out measurement. Too many brokers put money into digital ways however can’t clarify what’s working or the way it drives outcomes. Houses.com addresses that by investing in data-driven digital advertising that brings engaged consumers to a consumer-first platform, the place brokers are clearly featured, measured, and stored seen all through the journey. It simply is likely to be the one media funding an agent wants.
HW: How ought to workforce leaders or brokerage house owners assume otherwise about branding and content material?
CM: Leaders want to consider branding at a unique altitude than particular person brokers. The largest breakthroughs occur when a model feels cohesive as a substitute of fragmented. Meaning shared values, constant messaging, and a recognizable visible id—quite than a group of disconnected private manufacturers. That’s the place expertise turns into a drive multiplier.
Houses.com helps prolong that unified model throughout the customer journey by using subtle retargeting and offering instruments akin to Itemizing Efficiency Stories, enabling leaders to plan content material, measure efficiency, and constantly optimize at scale for your complete group.
HW: What’s one easy however underrated tactic brokers can implement this week to draw extra certified consumers or sellers on-line?
CM: Lean totally into being positioned as an area professional on-line. Consumers aren’t simply searching for a house; they’re selecting neighborhoods, faculties, and existence. That’s the place confidence is constructed. Houses.com is unmatched in supporting this by showcasing brokers alongside their listings on neighborhood and faculty pages the place consumers are already researching. When consumers repeatedly see you related to the areas they care about, you grow to be the plain selection. It’s a small shift that results in extra certified conversations and stronger belief.
