In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, the “attention economy” concept has taken centre stage. It’s a landscape where attention and online visibility are the most valuable commodities. With exposure to 6,000 – 10,000 ads a day, the average human cannot process this volume of information (Forbes, The Attention Economy, May 2022). The most significant scarcity in today’s digital economy is attention, so embracing the power of social media advertising is crucial to accessing this ‘attention economy’.
Stay afloat in the social media waters
With a staggering 2.91 billion users on Facebook and Instagram globally, these platforms have become the epicentre of the attention economy. Users spend an average of 3 hours daily on social media, and 70% of them visit it daily, most more than once, making it a pivotal space for property developers, agents, auto-dealers, and recruiters to showcase their offerings.
Despite the saturation of content, the reality is that social media is going nowhere. It’s where the majority of eyeballs are concentrated. Acknowledging this is essential for anyone wanting to make their mark in the attention economy. Social media provides a vast and dynamic marketplace, and the challenge lies in strategically positioning your content to a hyper-targeted audience to capture their attention. You need to consider who you want to reach and where you want to reach them, ultimately meaning an opportunity to offer your sellers the attention of potential high-intent buyers.
Understanding and capitalise the attention economy
The attention economy revolves around the idea that capturing and retaining people’s attention is the ultimate challenge in an era of information overload. As potential buyers scroll through their social media feeds, they are bombarded with content and advertisements. This constant stream makes it challenging for any single message to stand out. Being well-equipped with a simple solution that aids you in cutting through the noise and reaching your ideal target audience can set you ahead of your competition.
The rise of alternative advertising strategies
Marketplaces and portals that property developers, agents, auto-dealers, and recruiters make use of are witnessing a transformation in advertising strategies. As a prime example in the real estate sector, property portals are moving towards performance-based models, where agents become partners, sharing revenue and becoming integral to the transaction. Off-site ads, in particular, have emerged as a leading strategy, offering a powerful way to re-target high-intent buyers and guide them back to your marketplace. Off-site ads are targeted ads that reach the portal’s existing audience, where they spend most of their time…on social media. A listing’s position on the marketplace’s website becomes irrelevant. Whether on page 1 or buried on page 6457, the right buyer will see it at the right time.
In the quest for attention, portals are increasingly turning to off-site advertising. With users spending a significant portion of their day on social media platforms, off-site ads provide an avenue to reach potential buyers where they already are. This shift from exhausting on-site inventory to exploring off-site ads represents a strategic move to tap into social media platforms’ massive, untapped inventory.
In the dynamic landscape of the attention economy, technology is enabling change for portals to offer more visibility and hyper-targeted off-site ads to sellers as a value add. With multiple integration options, this transition is seamless, and we just make it Flow. As a tech-enabling platform, we do all the heavy lifting. As the digital landscape evolves, those who master the art of capturing attention on social media will undoubtedly emerge as leaders in the property technology space.
