Social media more powerful than portals, says agent

Online estate agency Hatched says its social and digital marketing package offered to clients is generating 350 per cent more visits than Rightmove and Zoopla combined.

Last October Hatched launched a £99 Google Adwords and Facebook pay per click  package for clients. The technique targets buyers searching for specific property features as well as reaching targeted Facebook users based on demographic and location.

Throughout March Facebook outperformed Rightmove and Zoopla by over 350 per cent in terms of visits generated to the Hatched website. In April - when Hatched says transactions generally dipped thanks to the Easter holidays and lead up to the general election - the social media package beat Zoopla by 444 per cent and beat Rightmove by over 190 per cent in terms of generating visits. 

“Our bespoke campaigns are putting properties in front of truly targeted audiences. Hatched can target people within a mile of the property for sale, or based on the fact that someone has just had a baby or got married, and might therefore be looking to move in the near future“ claims Hatched managing director Adam Day.

Hatched has also launched what it calls a ‘social proofing’ feature in the form of an online pop-up that shows, in real-time, the number of times a property has been viewed online and the number of bookings for physical viewings.