Online Marketing 101

Written by Erin McFarlane | Mar 22, 2024 5:34:46 PM

“Ignoring online marketing is like opening a business but not telling anyone.” – KB Marketing Agency

This makes a lot of sense, given the fact that the average person spends nearly 7 hours online a day.

Within that, 2.5 hours are spent on social media – which ends up accounting for over a whopping 860 hours per year. The punchline? That’s 36 days!

And you can bet that modern advertising has evolved to meet consumers where they’re at most – sitting squarely in front of a screen.

That’s right. Billboards, radio blasts, and television spots are an archaic thing of the past.

Now, the best way to get a buyer’s attention is ensuring your targeted digital advertisement makes its way effectively in front of their eyeline…all while breaking through the pixelated noise that is a resounding 10,000 ads per day (the number an average person sees daily).

So, how do you do it?

The World Wide Web is a vast black hole of content upon content upon content.

Every minute, there are 10 million posts on Facebook, 300 hours of video uploaded to YouTube, over 3 million Google searches, and 500 new Instagram photos.

Throw in a post-pandemic world that’s used to overabsorption to the highest degree, connecting to millions of people and, places and products with the touch of a button or a swipe of an app.

And for a market of property professionals struggling to survive in an unpredictable (and quite frankly, chaotic) housing tide – every tool in the toolkit is needed in order to reach prospective new clients.

Sound like a lot? Well, the internet always is.

But we’re here to make it easier.

So, let’s break it down and help you harness the power of online advertising to make your real estate business a success this year.

In this complete guide, we'll cover:

What Is A Custom Audience?
Why Custom Audience Marketing Is So Powerful
How To Make Custom Audiences
How To Use Custom Audiences
Beyond Custom Audiences – You Still Have Options
Using Public Record Data To Get Targeted

What Is A Custom Audience?

A custom audience is a group of individuals who know about you or who have engaged with your business.

It’s an exceedingly powerful modern advertising technique, as you can choose to spend ad dollars against custom audiences, knowing your recipients may have a higher likelihood of engaging (or reengaging with you) given that they are already aware of who you are and what you can offer.

Gone are the days of attempting to spray your message haphazardly into crowds that may have little to no need of your services, equating to lost marketing dollars and a whole lot of wasted effort.

Now, you can be precise and targeted.

And we know that this kind of intentionally means big things for your business. Going out and finding new customers is all the rage – not to mention the most effective, most predictable, and most cost-effective marketing solution you have.

But you have to go out and find the right people and target them with the right message.

Custom audiences help you do that.

Why Custom Audience Marketing Is So Powerful

Custom audience marketing allows you to bring highly relevant advertising to the people specifically interested in your products, services, and business.

40% of consumers prefer targeted ads (over those that are irrelevant or more general), and targeted advertising in general can increase click-through rates by up to 670%.

That sounds like marketing money spent wisely if you ask us.

This kind of hyperfocused marketing serves multiple purposes.

Not only can you reach new prospective clients (who already have an interest in what you’re doing), but you can reengage past customers, raise your visibility, grow your following, up your engagement…and even create brand new lookalike audiences – a revolutionary approach that empowers you to create a list of prospects similar to those within your custom audience, opening up the door to find new leads based on those who are already engaging with you.

Smart, right? That’s the power of digital advertising at work.

Multiple social platforms allow you this capability, meaning you can target just who you want across multiple digital avenues, raising your chances of finding and marketing to just the right people.

Even better? Most platforms allow you hundreds (if not thousands) of custom audiences under your single account.

Translation? You can run multiple advertising campaigns simultaneously to differing groups of individuals.

Let’s consider an example.

Maybe you want to run a reengagement campaign for previous customers who have been idle for more than six months. Possible.

Maybe you want to run another campaign for those who’ve frequented your website. Absolutely.

Maybe you want a campaign for those who’ve downloaded your mobile app. Maybe another for highly specific, targeted leads you’ve found in your community (Potential downsizers, perhaps? First-time homebuyers? Those with over 30% equity who may be looking for an upgrade? Absentee owners who may want to sell their investment properties?) All possible.

Gone are the days of trying to rearrange your messaging to fit the masses.

Generic and inapplicable communication is ineffective and non-personal.

The more productive solution? Personalized and targeted messaging that is highly relevant to a specific audience of individuals, speaking to them and their problems directly.

Ready to dive in? Us too.

How To Make Custom Audiences

94% of social media marketers use Facebook Ads and Facebook Custom Audiences. That means if you’re not – you’re getting left behind…and fast.

Let’s break down the varying platforms you can tap into to leverage custom audiences, the different types of prospects you may want to consider, and step-by-step guidance to put it all together.

Social Platforms To Key Into For Your Custom Audience Marketing

The cornerstone of the social media market – Meta – allows you to tap into apps such as Facebook and Instagram with your targeted messaging. With over 3 billion active users and 2 billion, respectively, this may be the most popular approach. However, we can’t forget some of the newer apps on the market, as well as the traffic they boast that you may not want to miss.

Gen Z favorite – TikTok – also features custom audience capabilities. Similar to Meta, you can create custom audiences in a variety of ways, ranging from those based on engagement to app activity, to website traffic, and more. You do need a minimum audience size of 1,000 on TikTok – however, if you’re looking to target a younger market, this may be your best bet.

Not to be forgotten, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and X (formally Twitter) can also utilize custom audiences.

Feel overwhelmed with your options? Don’t be.

It’s all about understanding your targeted prospects and meeting them on the platform they leverage most. If you ever feel unsure, we suggest starting with Facebook Ads Manager, which allows you to advertise across their Facebook and Instagram applications.

Now that you know where to advertise, let’s look into the varying types of custom audiences you can leverage for your marketing.

Different Types of Custom Audiences

Website Custom Audience: Targets those who have visited or taken certain actions across your website.

App Custom Audience: Targets those who have taken specific action across your app. You can select relevant and available events to help you narrow down what individuals you wish to target. For example, you may elect to target individuals who have started a trial, completed registration, successfully subscribed, generated a lead, or received a loan approval.

Customer Custom Audience: Targets an existing list of customers you bring to the platform. You may retrieve this list on your own based on external lead generation efforts, sign-ups, or any other method of research. Social platforms then take this upload and aim to pair the information you provide with active users across their apps.

Engagement Custom Audience: Targets those who have engaged with your marketing, content, or page in varying ways. Perhaps they’ve watched a video of yours on TikTok or visited your Facebook page. They may have engaged with your advertising previously or spent a certain amount of time viewing your content.

Lookalike Audience: As previously mentioned, lookalike audiences allow you to expand your reach and market to new individuals (vs. existing audiences) who may have a higher likelihood of being interested in you, your business, your products, or your services based on the similarities they share with those in your previous custom audiences. Social platforms, like Facebook and TikTok, look for overlapping similarities and interests to create effective targeting.

TikTok hosts a few additional forms of custom audiences, which we’ve outlined below:

Lead Generation Audience: Targets those who have engaged with your Lead Generation ads on the platform (viewing or submitting a form).

Business Account Custom Audience: A new addition, this is only available for TikTok Business Accounts. It targets individuals who have taken very specific actions against your organic business profile:

Followed your account
Watched a video from your account for a period of 2 seconds or longer
Watched a video from your account for a period of 6 seconds or longer
Watched a video from your account for its entire duration
Engaged with your account through a like, share, or comment
Visited your profile

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Custom Audience

Because you have multiple custom audiences to choose from, steps to take your custom audience from conception to completion will differ depending on who you want to target (and what you want that targeting based off on).

Create Custom Audiences on Facebook:

Open Facebook Ads Manager and click on Audiences.
If you’ve already created audiences, you’ll spot a dropdown – select Custom Audience from here. If this is your first audience, you’ll see multiple buttons for varying types of audiences you can create. Click Create Custom Audience.
Next, select the type of Custom Audience you wish to create (review our breakdowns above and compare against the options you see to choose what works best for you).
Add your rules (aka the parameters for your custom audience). For example, for website custom audiences, you can select all website visitors or target visitors who have spent a certain amount of time on your website.
Don’t forget to name your audience for easy tracking within your account later.
Hit Create Audience!

Create Custom Audiences on TikTok:

Scroll to Assets within your TikTok account and click Audience.
From here, click Create Audience, then select Custom Audience.
Select the type of Custom Audience you’re looking to create under Include (remember to reference our breakdowns above.)
Similar to the Facebook setup, you’ll now be tasked with setting up your rules. Click Add More Rules, where you can also elect to Broaden Audience or Narrow Audience.
Make sure to name your audience.
Select Confirm to finish the process!

For more detailed walkthroughs, visit the step-by-step instructions for each audience type for TikTok and Facebook. Simply click on the specific custom audience type you are trying to create and go from there.

How To Use Custom Audiences In Your Ad Campaigns

Now that you have custom audiences created within your account, you can target each specifically with different, relevant messaging.

We’ve found that social platforms make it easy to launch ads and spend marketing dollars. But just in case you need a quick refresher, we’ve laid out the step-by-step for Meta below:

Once logged into your Facebook account, review the banner at the bottom of your screen. Click Ads. From the corresponding menu, click Create a new ad.
You’ll be asked to choose a goal for your marketing. Options range from Get more website visitors to Get more leads. Choose your own or select Automatic and let Facebook do the heavy lifting for you.
Upload your ad. There will be separate areas for your visuals (make it pop!), your text, and your action button (think of this as a call to action, a directive for what you want your prospective customers to do next).
Choose your audience by selecting Custom Audiences. You should see the groups you proactively created following the steps above.
Choose where your ad will appear. With Meta, you can decide if Facebook, Instagram – or both – are the right platforms for potential clients to see your messaging.
Confirm your ad spend and the duration of your campaign.
You’re all set! Click publish on your digital ads.

Remember, custom audiences can serve multiple purposes for different, diverse custom audiences. From retargeting past customers to engaging current customers – your messaging can be as specific as the individuals it's intended for.

Just remember to use custom audiences as the superhero it is. This is not the space to send one-size-fits-all communication or branding. Get specific and get targeted.

Need additional messaging tips? Read all about our T.O.R.N. approach to effective marketing and hyperlocal lead generation.

Beyond Custom Audiences, You Still Have Options For Your Marketing Efforts

While custom audiences may be a superpower in the online marketing world, there are other ways to leverage both social media platforms and digital advertising that are not exclusive to this tactic.

Become A Frequent Social Media Poster – With Intention

With billions of users across popular platforms, it’s a gigantic missed opportunity if you’re neglecting your social media presence. Social media is an extension of yourself, your business, and your mission. Make sure your visuals and messaging reflect this.

Curate the experience prospective clients receive when visiting your page. Make it stand out with clear communication, directive messaging, and callouts as to how you can help those across your community.

Add testimonials and success stories, and don’t forget to share wins and highlights – the social proof your next customers may be looking for before picking up the phone.

Not only will these frequent posts boost your visibility and showcase your digital prowess, but they offer a complimentary way to advertise your services and experience, all without spending a dime.

Join Local Facebook Groups For Higher Visibility Within Your Hyperlocal Community

Beyond your own page, make sure to join those with higher follower counts in your neighborhood (and nearby neighborhoods you’re looking to service).

You’ll quickly understand pain points in your community that you can call out in your personalized marketing and look to solve with your own custom offers, and you’ll be able to cement yourself as a face in the immediate market.

Solidify Yourself As A Community Expert

There are many platforms looking for user-generated content and freelance editorial work. Medium, Forbes, and Entrepreneur are great outlets for think pieces on trends and market conditions. Reddit and Quora are full of potential customer questions, waiting on experts to jump in and provide real answers and guidance.

Take every opportunity you can to leave a helpful digital footprint, and make sure to always note your expertise in your community.

Read about more ways to market yourself in our How-To Guide For Marketing In Real Estate Business.

Using PropertyRadar To Get Targeted With Your Digital Marketing

Over 78% of U.S. companies leverage targeted advertising to reach customers.

But for targeted marketing to be effective, you have to be laser-focused on who exactly you’re trying to reach.

The best way to do this? With hyperlocal lead generation.

This practice outlines the approach of doing things differently – playing a different game against big businesses looking to overbid your marketing dollars and using the same old regurgitated methods of intrusive lead generation as everyone else. Their generic approaches, inbound tactics, and outdated lead lists are a dime a dozen and do little to break through the noise in a difficult market.

Simply put, we’re not into it.

So, we went and built something better.

PropertyRadar taps into the expansive power of public records, boasting over 150 million properties, 250 million people, and over 1 billion phone numbers and emails in a robust database, intricate and innovative – and yet accessible enough to access via desktop and mobile applications.

PropertyRadar also delivers the most extensive filtering criteria of its kind, allowing each user to layer complex search possibilities, targeting filters, and specific parameters in order to reach the exact people and properties they need.

With this magnitude of targeting power, it’s no wonder PropertyRadar is the world’s most powerful property and property owner platform. We help you find segments of unique specific prospects in order to truly let your targeted marketing shine.

We know big businesses often ignore personalization. But here at PropertyRadar? We’re here to help make it your secret weapon.

The right message doesn’t mean a thing if it doesn’t find the right people.

And once we help you find the people you’re looking for, we help you effortlessly take that next step, opening the door to various forms of outreach that will ensure your digital communications lands exactly where it needs to.

What’s better than that?

Want to learn more? Read on for the 10 Reasons Why PropertyRadar Needs To Be Your Next Real Estate Lead Gen Tool.

Get started now with a free PropertyRadar trial, and launch your next online marketing campaign today.

References:

TikTok, About Custom Audiences

Meta, About Custom Audiences

Hootsuite, How to Use Facebook Custom Audiences

LinkedIn, Unlocking the Power of Custom Audiences in Advertising

LeadEnforce, Custom Audience – Why Should You Use It?

Gitnux, Targeted Advertising Statistics

GCFGlobal, What is Targeted Advertising?

HubSpot, Targeted Advertising, A Simple Guide To Reaching Your Customers