Spoiler Alert – the following post contains spoilers about the Stranger Things TV series, so if you haven’t watched it please proceed with caution.
Now unless you have been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about Netflix’s stellar TV series, Stranger Things. This supernatural 80’s inspired story phenomenon blew viewers away with its compelling visuals, captivating storyline and nostalgic atmosphere.
To celebrate the release of season 3, which surpassed all Netflix viewership records with 40.7 million household accounts watching the show since its global launch day, we decided to talk about a few valuable lessons Real Estate companies can learn from the show about marketing.
Lesson 1 – Connect and evoke emotion
I asked if you wanted to be my friend. And you said yes. You said yes. It was the best thing I’ve ever done. – Mike, Season 2 Chapter 8
This is probably the main lesson this show teaches marketing managers. In order to have a successful business and increase sales, you need to form a connection with your target audience. The content you produce, the campaigns you make, and all your marketing actions have to be relatable and have to generate emotion in viewers.
For example, even though the show’s story is full of supernatural events, the actual characters, their relationships and the whole scenery cause the viewer to feel reminiscent of the past and bring back childhood memories. Even the younger generation can relate as they receive a realistic representation of an era they have either heard or read about.
This “nostalgia marketing” technique helps the viewers to feel an emotional connection to the show and transforms them into loyal watchers.
Most of the times consumers don’t make buying decisions based on logic, focusing instead on their feelings and emotions. So, if you manage to evoke those with your campaigns, you can be sure that the results won’t keep you waiting. Why not use visuals that would remind your homebuyers of how the area your listings are in looked before? Or use nostalgic symbols to represent family, childhood and happiness?
Appeal to their emotions with short videos of your team doing charity work or helping the local community. Remember people want to buy houses when they are happy and when they feel that they will be happy living there, and it is up to you to make them feel that.
Lesson 2 – Trust is everything
“Friends don’t lie” – Eleven, Season 1 Chapter 7
If we had to name one thing that people are usually good at it would be sensing a lie. If you are not being honest with your audience, they will know it and you will lose them. This is why brands invest so heavily in building trustworthy relationships with their clients.
The “friends don’t lie” mantra is one of the main quotes promoted throughout all the seasons of the show and trust is one of the main subjects in it. Because of their honest relationship, the children are able to be more powerful and defeat dangerous antagonists left and right. Their trust allows them to follow each other without fear and with determination.
This is essentially the type of relationship you as a company want to be forming with your homebuyers. By being honest with your clients you show them that you are trustworthy, making them feel safe and open to doing business with you.
Invest in testimonials written by your past clients. Answer all the questions your potential homebuyers might have about your property and if you don’t know for sure, always check. People appreciate the integrity and if they feel that that’s what you represent, they will be more willing to choose you.
Authenticity was also a very important factor for the show, and it should be for you too.
Because everything is set in a time period so dear to the viewers’ hearts, if anything, and we mean anything, didn’t feel real about it, the connection with them would be lost. This is why the set, the props, the costumes – everything was created to look like it was actually the real deal and not just a silly attempt to recreate it.
Authenticity helps to deepen the emotional connection with your target audience and essentially elevates you above your competition.
Lesson 3 – Don’t be like everyone else
“Find you. Not Hopper, not Mike, You.” – Max, Season 3 Chapter 2
With the Real Estate market getting more and more saturated, you cannot afford to be similar to your competitors. To stand out, you need to have your own unique approach and vision, that represents your company’s mission and values.
The show quite literally gave the viewers 2 different perspectives by creating an Upside Down version of the universe it takes place in. From the colourful small-town setting, the viewers were thrown into a dark, cold, scary atmosphere that oozed danger and caused them to experience completely different emotions.
In the same way, try to be diverse with your campaigns and change things around to present them from a different angle from the others. Experiment with approaches until you find one that will give you the best results. Why not do a live Q/A session with your followers, where they can ask you questions about real estate and your company? Or maybe try turning your home viewings into a VR experience? There is no limit to creativity unless you set it yourself.
Lesson 4 – Study your Audience
Jonathan Byers: Do you even like baseball?
Will Byers: No, but… I don’t know. It’s fun to go with him sometimes.
Jonathan Byers: Come on. Has he ever done anything with you that you actually like? You know, like the arcade or something?
Will Byers: I don’t know.
Jonathan Byers: No, all right? He hasn’t. He’s trying to force you to like normal things. And you shouldn’t like things because people tell you you’re supposed to. Okay?Season 1 Chapter 5
Now we have highlighted this point many times in our previous blog posts, but it’s so important, that we couldn’t leave it out. You cannot market anything to an audience if you know nothing about it.
The first thing any marketing specialist should do is get a clear understanding of who their target audience is. Find out their main age group. Study their interests and likings. The more information you obtain, the more precise and effective your campaigns will be. This will help you to create blog posts about local events and businesses that your potential homebuyers will find appealing and present your listings in the best light.
If you don’t do your research you will end up disappointing your potential and existing clients, in the same way, Jonathan was disappointed by his father’s lack of interest in his and his brother’s preferences.
Lesson 5 – Focus on your strong points
Dustin: You’re going to take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot?
Lucas: First of all, it’s a wrist-rocket.
– Season 1 Chapter 3
Don’t try to build yourself up if you don’t have a strong base beneath your feet. Don’t try to make out that your properties are better than they are and don’t try to promote things that you are not really good at.
Instead, focus on your strong points and promote them. Maybe you can offer a discount from a moving company, to help out with your client’s relocation? Or you support newly relocated clients by letting them know about everything that goes on in their area through weekly newsletters? You might even get your listings cleaned prior to your clients moving in.
Whatever strong selling points you have, use them to base your strategy on. This way, just like Lucas convinced his friends that slingshots were a good weapon of choice, you will convince your audience that you are the company they should opt for.
