Revitalizing Real Estate: Innovating Lead Generation Strategies with CBRE
Goals
- Refresh campaigns to prevent audience fatigue.
- Expand the audience base by identifying potential real estate buyers.
- Increase lead generation through innovative strategies.
- Simplify communication channels for user interaction.
Challenge:
CBRE approached us with the persistent challenge of effectively targeting their business audience for real estate investments. After two years of working with this audience, initial strategies focused on business language and financial success imagery. However, over time, audience burnout became evident, necessitating constant strategy adjustments and a more flexible approach.
Approach
Transitioning to a Two-Stage Lead Generation Model:
During the initial phase
We identified potential buyers on social media, leveraging their interests to encourage visits to our website.
Subsequently, we employed pixel tracking to monitor user behavior. Alongside targeted ads, website traffic was driven by contextual ads, search engines, and recommendation systems—all while tracking visitor engagement. The website acted as a sieve, identifying individuals with a genuine interest in real estate investment.
Moving to the second phase:
We targeted an audience similar to website visitors, inviting them to complete a lead form for further details.
As the campaign progressed, we introduced a third stage. We amassed a pool of users who opened but didn't fill out the form. Recognizing potential barriers, we speculated that the form might deter some customers. To address this, we experimented with offering an alternative communication channel—live chat—for the first time. Additionally, we expanded this audience through Lookalike mechanics, targeting individuals who exhibited a strong interest in our offering. This new audience emerged as our most fruitful source of leads.
Strategy Shift: Making Investments More Accessible:
In this project, our goal was to engage a business audience interested in real estate investments. Initially, our messages had a sales-oriented tone and used investment jargon. However, over time, we noticed a decline in audience engagement: the cost per click went up, and the number of clicks decreased.
To address this, we proposed broadening our audience and targeting potential real estate buyers who hadn't considered purchasing apartments before.
Our approach included:
- Focusing mainly on Facebook and Instagram. Using simpler language and more understandable messaging, catering to both experienced investors and newcomers.
- Explaining the benefits and profitability of investing in apartments, as well as the potential for additional income.
- Providing information about apartment-hotels: how they operate, where guests come from, and the role of management companies.
Before:
Are you following the real estate market? Want to earn passive income?
CBRE Apartments – a ready-made rental business with high profitability. Become an owner of a unit and earn income from renting it out. Let the professionals take care of the rest.
Fill out the application, and we will call you back and tell you everything!
An apartment-hotel is one of the best options for long-term real estate investment.
CBRE Apartments — a ready-made rental business with high profitability. Become an owner of a unit and earn income from renting it out. Let the professionals take care of the rest.
Fill out the application, and we will call you back and tell you everything!
Now:
Earning rental income is convenient with CBRE. We take care of all the hassle, and the owner receives monthly income. Acquire apartments with designer finishes, kitchen, and appliances — become part of the investors’ club.
Leave an application to receive an offer.
You own it. We manage it. You earn.
CBRE — a modern apartment-hotel for investment and living. Become an owner of a unit, live, and enjoy hotel services. Or entrust management to professionals and earn income from renting out.
Fill out the application, we will call you back and tell you everything.
Execution
Optimization and Testing:
In the fall, we fine-tuned our new strategy and experimented with different combinations of advertising platforms and tools. Here’s what we did:
- Focusing mainly on Facebook and Instagram.
- For Facebook, we shifted our campaigns to focus on driving traffic, targeting audiences based on their interests and inviting them to visit our website.
- On Instagram, we used it for lead generation, offering interested users the chance to fill out a lead form collected on Facebook.
- Later, we moved the lead generation function back to Facebook to increase the number of leads.
At the same time, we improved our settings by:
- Testing different pricing strategies, including minimum costs, maximum bids, and prices, across various display modes.
- By this point, we had a good idea of what formats worked best and were preferred by users. So, we suggested to the client using interior photos in carousel galleries and animated stories.
Transition to Messenger Engagement:
Our aim was to boost the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. However, in the CBRE project, we’d already tried many tools and tactics, and our target audiences were already engaged. So, we needed a fresh approach, which led us to rethink how we interacted with customers.
Our goals were simple:
- Make user interaction simpler and faster.
- Communicate clearly and plainly.
- Reach people who prefer not to call or fill out forms.
- Address concerns about privacy and inconvenient timing for calls.
We decided to introduce messenger communication because it met all our criteria. WhatsApp’s integration with Facebook’s advertising tools made it an obvious choice, allowing us to quickly engage with highly interested leads.
Implementing this within the Facebook Business Manager was straightforward: users clicked on the ad, opening a chat in the WhatsApp app with a manager. Then, either the user or manager initiated dialogue to clarify details.
The client agreed to give it a try, and together we challenged the idea that using a messenger for real estate inquiries is unprofessional. It paid off: chats became a familiar and trusted channel, making conversations easy and sparing users the discomfort of phone calls or form submissions.
In November, thanks to WhatsApp integration, we saw a 40% increase in applications, and CBRE managers enjoyed responding to users via chat.
Final Campaign Setup:
At the time of writing this case, the CBRE advertising project had undergone several changes and had reached its current (though not final) setup:
- Facebook is used to find audiences based on interests and direct them to the website.
- We engage not only with businessmen and investors but also with individuals interested in real estate who might be potential apartment buyers if properly informed.
- Using website pixels, we track visitors and identify similar audiences on social networks.
- Our ads on Facebook and Instagram give users the option to fill out a lead form or communicate via WhatsApp.
Throughout this process, the design of our creatives has evolved, with CBRE designers experimenting with various ad formats and incorporating numerous photos and 3D materials.
Results:
Conclusion:
Our collaboration with CBRE resulted in a successful campaign that significantly enhanced lead generation and streamlined user interaction through innovative strategies and communication channels. Continued optimization and adaptation ensure CBRE remains at the forefront of real estate advertising effectiveness.
Ready to experience the same success?
