ShareBy Kelsey R. Croston, director of brand experience, Richmond Association of REALTORS®, Va.
When I polled a room of Virginia’s local AEs in July, only a couple said they have run consumer campaigns. Yet the majority raised their hands when asked, “Would you start one if there was a realistic way to fit it into your organization’s strategy?”
So here’s how we did it at the Richmond Association of REALTORS® and MLS.
“We Are The R” is our public awareness campaign to promote using a REALTOR®. The campaign launched in 2012 and, every year since, we’ve added new commercials and social media material, all directing consumers back to WeAreTheR.com.
The original idea came from our leadership, and because the campaign is producing results, subsequent leaders have embraced the program.
Public outreach like this is not for every association because it eats up resources, both financial and staff, and the results are difficult to quantify. We knew we could afford it only if we got members to back the content and drive the campaign to consumers. If your campaign is a top-down, all staff-driven effort, it will cost much more and be far less effective. But if you can rally member support and get their buy-in, which isn’t easy, you can build greater momentum because members will feel they are an essential part of the campaign to promote themselves. We’ve found it’s both more economical and effective if we empower members to promote the consumer materials we create. Without member excitement, we would be solely at the mercy of social media algorithms and paid advertising.
If step one is to design the campaign around member buy-in, step two is to include member “influencers” in the brainstorming process for the creative.
The concepts for our campaigns come from merging the talent and instincts of our board, communications committee, CEO, and communications staff. That sounds like a lot of cooks in the kitchen, but after all ideas are gathered and vetted, our CEO makes the final decision on concept and gives communications staff full ownership over how the ideas are implemented.
Each campaign we’ve had focuses on where we think the market will be and incorporates the current market conditions. Do we need to encourage people to buy or list? Do we need inventory or do we need buyers? For example, our 2014 campaign focused on attracting buyers by promoting the low interest rates and rising rents. This year’s low inventory inspired our “Leave it to the REALTORS®” campaign, aimed at owners and focused on the ease of using a REALTOR® to manage everything related to selling a home.
We don’t stray from content that can be mostly conceptualized and produced in house. But when we do hire vendors, we make sure that they understand that consumer campaign materials are created with consumer considerations taking distant second to membership considerations. Even though the campaign is for consumers, the members are the ones using the materials—and they won’t use them if they don’t like them.
Video has yielded our highest engagement rates with members. They’re aware it catches the consumer’s eye, and it’s so easy for them to show their personal brand by tacking on an often pithy comment when they share.
To save money, we use services like Biteable and GoAnimate to create animated videos in house. Live action is created through a hodgepodge of resources. We write scripts, host casting calls, and direct on set, but often outsource the videography and post editing.
Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram are the social platforms that now complement the WeAreTheR.com campaign site. We are continuously evaluating the decision to house this content on a separate domain from our member site. At this point, the divide is still working for us because it helps members understand what’s for their eyes and what we are putting out there for them to share with consumers.
Material on social platforms suggests that we want members to share it, but that message isn’t always understood, so we give members express permission and encouragement to share via text, mass email, and briefly speaking at classes, WCR meetings, and sales meetings.
The real ROI of consumer campaigns
Unfortunately, there is no way for us to know if members are getting more clients because of the work we’re putting out there to consumers. What we can do is gauge the overall feedback from members on the campaigns and how excited they get for the materials. For example, we made promotional posters, which members hang on their office walls and give as closing gifts.
You can look at the clicks and engagement metrics on social media and see what content is popular, but at the end of the day, you don’t know if it’s members or consumers looking at it.
The real payoff is intangible. Members get a sense that the association is doing something for them and their business. They are interacting more often with association materials, and the association is more present in their daily business.
For those venturing into a local campaign initiative for the first time, my advice is to not be overly concerned with what you or your board defines as success. The long-term understanding about the needs of the members is well worth any potential failures when creating consumer material.