New York City-based Corcoran Group is using location-based applications to build relationships and show off its neighborhood expertise to its real estate clients, according to Matthew Shadbolt, Corcoran’s director of interactive marketing, who spoke with SmartBrief’s Linsey Isaacs.
The company has an iPhone app and social media Facebok, Twitter and YouTube. But it is using location-based applications such as Foursquare, Gowalla and Foodspotting to really show off its philosophy that a home extends to the neighborhood by showing prospective buyers “what’s nearby” a property.
On Foursquare, Corcoran has left almost 1,000 tips around New York, winning 5,000 followers, and it has similar initiatives within Gowalla and Foodspotting. It is difficult to have a brand presence that is focused on sharing expertise on Yelp and Facebook Places, which limits brand involvement to managing venues. Foursquare, says Shadbolt, is “truly building on their premise of making cities more fun to explore.”
The company’s marketing goals? To expand its brand digitally and connect with customers in two ways:
- Share Corcoran’s deep knowledge and understanding of what it’s like to live in New York, as people are exploring the city
- Putting helpful and relevant information in the right hands at the right time–add value!
What not to do? “Don’t sell. No one wants to see open houses appearing in Foursquare.”
Watch as Shadbolt explains the Corcoran’s strategy of focusing on tips, vs badges or check-ins:
