When you’re looking for advice on how to market luxury real estate, chances are you already know the types of properties you’re dealing with. Experts list them in the top 5% of whatever market you’re selling in.

But even in the top 5% of high-end homes, there’s competition. So how do you succeed?

To activate successful luxury real estate advertising that not only works, but makes your offerings feel like the deluxe, best, most exclusive homes around, you need your team (or your agency) to understand marketing to high net worth individuals and how to execute a luxury branding strategy that’s digital-first, human centered, and built for them to show off.

1. Build Branding That Creates a Real Estate Legacy

Assuming you understand what kind of buyers your luxury audiences are (if you don’t that’s okay, you can learn here), let’s skip to making your brand stand out with an effective luxury branding strategy. This is where your team’s or agency’s brand development chops and ability to give audiences reasons to believe in your team and product are key (as Coldwell Banker’s COO Liz Gehringer said in one of the company’s luxury home marketing reports, buyers need the “emotional confidence to do the deal”).

For a good luxury branding strategy, we recommend brand storytelling that builds a legacy, which can mean a few things, including:

• History: What is the heritage of your brand? Has your firm had long-lasting, exclusive access to top-notch listings that no other broker could dream of for 100 years? Are you a luxury apartment building that’s been home to cultural icons for decades? Those are value props you can use.
• Quality: Are you a luxury developer whose properties are built with such high-quality materials that they will withstand the ages? Are your spaces custom-designed to a resident’s tastes with handcrafted, artisan made furnishings from a village in the Andes? Those are the seeds of stories.
• Longevity: Could the luxury real estate you’re selling become a cherished heirloom for your audiences?  This could be an emotionally resonant entry point into your brand for audiences.

Keller Williams Luxury is a great example of a luxury branding strategy using quality of service as a core message.

There’s also a human-centered take on the idea that makes your audience question what they want their legacy to be.

When marketing to high net worth individuals, make them ask what kind of life do they want to be known for living? One filled with exclusive experiences no one else on Earth could dream of? A life steeped in history, or one that’s sophisticated with hints of glamour? Tapping into your audience’s desired and perceived lifestyles can create advertising opportunities that touch on other luxurious qualities like exclusivity, elegance, and being state-of-the-art.

2. Create Designer Digital Experiences

Research shows digital makes up at least 45% of all luxury sales. In addition, 47% of all buyers’ first step in the home buying process is to search online.

Long story short: a great digital experience is key to luxury real estate advertising.

But how to incorporate it into a luxury branding strategy that wants to attract a much smaller, niche market? (Not to mention one that, lately, lives the lifestyle of quiet luxury, where how they show off is much more toned down than reality television might have you believe).

When You Can’t Show Off

If you want to appeal to audiences that like to keep their affluence under the radar, try more subtle methods for your luxury real estate advertising, including:

• Robust Search: Good SEO and SEM can draw potential buyers to your site without being too flashy. Note, however, that your team or agency needs to consistently monitor your keywords’ success and optimize for continued success. It’s also good to remember that while SEM can broaden your audience and increase your site traffic, only a small percentage may be ready to buy at any given time.
• Stylish, Functional Web Design: If you’re not spending huge sums on visual advertising, make sure you wow your audience when they arrive at your webpage. A breathtaking site, however, doesn’t mean you should ignore fast-as-possible load times for your pages or intuitive UX design. Prioritizing looks over function could make your site difficult or confusing to use, and any good impressions of your properties (photos, videos, etc.) could be overshadowed by feelings of frustration. For a great example, look to the adjacent luxury hospitality market, where theWit provides exquisite UX and UI designs.

theWit, a Hilton Hotel, is a good example of a luxury brand employing striking, cinematic visuals while also making the desired user experience clear (and providing accessibility options, too).

When You Have Room to Play

By contrast, if your brand has a little more room to flaunt, paid and organic social media can be ideal for your content. As you develop your content, consider the following:

• Short form video (reels, Tiktoks, or Shorts) that highlight specific amenities that matter to your audience
• Long form videos (YouTube or Vimeo) that tour an entire residence, taking time with each room in the residence to highlight craftsmanship, custom design elements, or to use voiceover narration to help viewers imagine themselves living in the property
• Still images that hook the viewer, with captions linking to virtual tours

A bonus for this style of luxury real estate advertising is that it allows your audience to both enjoy the highly visible nature of your brand while showcasing their status more indirectly. Sharing a post of your reel doesn’t mean they own a space like the one you’re highlighting. To outsiders, it could just mean that the property you’re selling reflects their tastes (even if they are scheduling a tour right after they post your video to their Story).

3. Make Advertising Aspirational

Finally, remember that so much of how to market luxury real estate is about potential—how someone can live, what they experience, the comforts they could enjoy if only they lived in your property. When you’re developing luxury real estate advertising, tap into your audience’s aspirations and show how your property can fit their lives. For instance, consider staging photos in your property that shows how a family could interact in the space, or how organic the flow of conversation and entertainment would be at parties. A great example outside the real estate industry is 77 Diamonds, whose Pinterest account strikes an elegant and aesthetic balance between isolated product shots and imagery demonstrating the types of events and communities their jewelry can be part of.

77 Diamonds is an excellent example of how a luxury branding strategy can result in aspirational creative showing how the brand can fit and enhance its audience’s lifestyle.

Discover an Agency That Does It All

Clearly, how to market luxury real estate has many moving pieces, but the right marketing agency partner can help you navigate these processes with ease.

We know because we speak from experience. At Mascola Group, we have ideated and implemented successful luxury branding strategy for some of the most exclusive adventure-travel brands on Earth that have led to both site traffic and qualified lead increases of 20-30% year over year. Our marketing for high net worth individuals has also helped raise occupancy in high-end apartments by 70%.

To learn more about what we can do for your team, contact us, and discover the partnership you deserve at the agency that is Marketing with Integrity.