The Complete Guide to Creating CRE Listings That Convert Leads

How can you leverage videos and newer technologies for property showcases?

While classic photography is still the bread and butter of listing visuals, videos as well as other new presentation tools can give your listings an edge above the competition.

1. Video walkthroughs are engaging and make it easier to visualize a complete space compared to photos, enabling you to showcase a location more realistically, dynamically and in the order you want.

You can guide the prospects through the most impressive features of the property from a distance and craft a narrative you want prospects to remember. Remember to keep videos short and to the point.

Consider investing in a phone stabilizer, or gimbal, to ensure your videos are smooth and professional.

2. 3D virtual tours are also a growing trend in real estate, allowing prospects to see the space for themselves.

You won’t have as much control over how the viewing experience, but this powerful tool will enable people to explore spaces at their leisure and control what they focus on. Prospects will be more likely to book a tour if they’ve already seen a property’s best features through an immersive experience.

Since virtual tours require professional-grade, 360° cameras and software to splice the panoramic photos together, you’ll likely have to rely on a professional to put one together. But, your investment is likely to pay off given how appreciated commercial space 3D tours are among business owners.

3. Drones can elevate your outdoor photography and videography alike. The benefits are clear: dynamic content, more details, a broader location context and a wealth of opportunities for flattering angles.

Should you include floor plans and location maps in a listing?

While you may consider floor plans and area maps to be too technical for a property listing, they provide essential information for tenants that want to make an informed decision.

• Floor plans help prospects visualize the space differently from videos or photos. Floor plans allow prospects to see how the space flows, how they can repurpose it to their own needs and how it can grow.
• Interactive local maps offer the same benefits on a neighborhood level, highlighting value-add venues and amenities nearby. CommercialCafe offers an in-built local map that pinpoints surrounding businesses, amenities and neighborhood landmarks. If you don’t already have this feature on your website as well, consider implementing it to showcase the location.

Do Property Descriptions Still Matter in CRE Listings?

While it’s true that time-pressed prospects often skim read property listings looking for the key features, a high-performing listing also needs a compelling description for a complete value proposition.

Prospects that reach the point where they include your property on their shortlist already know that it includes their core criteria, so the property description is the perfect opportunity to turn their interest into leads.

How can you find a unique value proposition for your listing?

Listing benefits is vital, but a memorable listing also needs a main selling point that ties everything together.

The first step in writing a great description is finding an angle that generates interest and tells a compelling story about the space. This unique value proposition should act as a building block for the rest of the description, so consider any outstanding features, including:

• Does the building have a captivating history or unique architecture?
• Are there any well-known tenants in the building?
• Did any success stories start out within the space or building?
• Are there premium or uncommon amenities available?
• Is there something special, memorable or historic about the location or layout?

Essentially, it’s about making a property listing stand out by drawing attention to its best, most unique features while being genuine and realistic.

Of course, for a unique selling proposition to work, it needs to be tailored to an audience. Identify an ideal client segment and research their traits and preferences. Consider the types of properties they choose and their needs and nice-to-haves. For example, a property’s unique architecture is probably fairly low in the list of priorities for a tenant looking for functional, affordable space.

At the same time, learn from your competition. Find similar spaces listed by firms and brokers you know are successful and see how they position listings for the same audience.

Should you include basic facts and features in the description?

The primary purpose of a property description is to convince and sell, rather than describe. That’s because all listing sites include one or several dedicated info boxes for property details, space information and amenities.

So, while information such as the property’s square footage, availability and contact information are all critical to include, you should leave them in their dedicated areas and stick to differentiating factors in your description.

How Can CRE Brokers Leverage SEO and Distribution Channels for Listing Success?

Once you have gathered all the elements of an exceptional listing, it’s time to tie it all together and spread the message through search engine optimization (SEO) and multiple distribution channels.

Besides the paid advertisements managed by marketers, you can have a direct impact on lead generation through two simple strategies.

Optimize listings for search engines

SEO makes it easier for leads to find your spaces by placing your listings higher in search results. In other words, your finely-tuned listing that offers a full picture of the space you want to lease may not get the online traction it deserves if you don’t focus on optimizing it for search engines.

You can achieve this through four steps:

1. Perform keyword research to identify important terms for the headline.

For example, if you are listing an office space in Phoenix, you would research the terms that people looking for office space in Phoenix use on search engines and the associated search volumes for each term.

Then, use a tool such as SEMRush or Ahrefs to search for related keywords and target those as well.

2. Ensure on-page optimization

Make sure that your listing organically includes your primary keyword as well as any secondary keywords that you’re targeting. This includes the copy as well as title tags, subtitles and other elements.

3. Make a technical SEO audit

If you list your properties on your own website, consider hiring a professional SEO consultant that can highlight pain points which may reduce your web search performance, such as errors, slow load speed and internal linking architecture.

4. Measure and adjust

Optimization isn’t a one-and-done task, but an ongoing process. Use tools such as Google Search Console to track high-performance listings and adjust the others based on your findings.

How can centralizing and syndicating your listings help you reach a wider audience?

Commercial real estate marketplaces and listing services can offer your listings a considerable boost of visibility by automating the listing process and distributing your properties across a wide network.

With CommercialCafe’s listing service, you can leverage an expansive listing network and centralize your listed properties in one place. Our CRE marketing platform empowers you to:

• List spaces individually and in bulk with just a few clicks, saving you time for client calls or other hands-on tasks.
• Publish spaces automatically to the entire CommercialCafe Listing Network that also encompasses CommercialSearch and PropertyShark with the push of a button.
• Ensure that your listings in any major market rank on the first page of Google and reach more than 2 million monthly visitors.
• Syndicate to the largest commercial marketplaces and your own website with ease. There is no need to duplicate listings if you want to extend your presence to third-party listing sites — you can manage all your listings from a single platform.

Conclusions

To sum up our findings, remarkable commercial real estate listings rely on quality information, professional photography and consistent promotion efforts. To convert more quality prospects, you should:

• Provide detailed property specs, services and amenities.
• Present spaces with comprehensive, high-quality photography, videos and virtual tours.
• Write purposeful descriptions that present unique value propositions and weave compelling narratives.
• Leverage SEO and listing networks to enhance exposure and boost lead generation.