China is the number one foreign buyer of U.S residential real-estate, and purchased 8.6 billions USD of commercial real estate in the US, in 2015 alone.
Given these number, it is no surprise that foreign real estate companies are trying to promote their properties through WeChat, the largest social network in China. We picked a few case studies in the real estate industry to show you how to make the most of WeChat.
1. Interactive “surrounding” maps
Home buyers usually want to know about the surroundings when they are making the big decision. Facilities around the area like schools, hospitals, bus stops and hospitals can impact the value of property. Lianjia’s (链家) WeChat account makes it easy for users to figure out the properties surroundings with an interactive maps.
The interactive map enables to locate many landmarks around the property, including:
- Metro lines
- Bus lines
- Universities and schools
- Hospitals
- Banks
- Gyms
- Shopping centers
- Restaurants
(WeChat id: lianjia-com)
2. Agent profile
Anyone who’s been looking for a flat knows how a good agent is a crucial part of the process. In order to make this selection process easier and more transparent, Lianjia enables users to rate and comment on each agent’s service on WeChat website.
Each agent has a personal profile with information including: number of houses sold, average sales cycle, number of house tours in past 30 days, experience, focus area, user comments and the specific deals this agent has sold.
This transparency agency profile not only help users to pick the right agent, but also makes the service look reliable and transparent.
3. Real Estate price history and past transactions
For many Chinese buyers, foreign Real Estate is mostly an investment. Having a look at the evolution of property prices and past transactions is therefore a key feature in order to get a dynamic vision of the market.
58 Tongcheng’s WeChat account enables user to view clear pricing trends, list of past transactions and the average deal price. The users can also find out the average deal price around a residential area or a particular building. Disclosing these data makes 58 Tongcheng a reliable platform to get real estate pricing information. The sales cycle for purchasing a home can be longer than 3 months. These pricing data can attract perspective buyer to visit the platform even before the buying process.
(WeChat id: amazing58)
4. “One-click-call”
If each of your properties has different agent for showing, integrating a one-click-call button can make contacting much easier than a general contact number. For example on Lianjia’s WeChat account, user can contact a agent from the particular property listing page. You can also review the agent’s profile from the same page.
The presence of a photograph and name of the agent also makes it look more personal than a standard contact form. It also increase the efficiency by leading the buyers to the most knowledgeable agent for the property.
5. Mobile-friendly Q&A forum
Buying a house or flat is a huge step in one’s life, and many questions might come up in the process. Lianjia enables users to browse and ask questions directly to agents on a mobile-friendly forum.
6. Search Filter
Search filter can enables your customers efficiently find the right property. Xiaozhu Duanzu (小猪短租), the Chinese Airbnb, has a WeChat website that let users easily find the right pace to stay based on: location, number of rooms, price range, subway station, etc.
A search filter greatly improves the reach result and brings the users to the next step on the conversion path. The less browsing users has to do on a mobile screen, the more likely they will convert and make a booking.
(WeChat id: xiaozhuduanzu)
7. WeChat login & data tracking
Airbnb’s WeChat account lets users register and login with their WeChat and Weibo account. Users can log into the website with a one-click authorization button. Once users gave their consent, Airbnb can acquire followers data using the WeChat API. Information includes: WeChat user name, WeChat profile, gender, location, operating system. Airbnb will also be able to track all the actions the user take on their WeChat website.
8. Booking & contact sale representative
Sofang’s (搜房) WeChat account enables users to make an appointment when they view a particular property. The booking button will also take the user automatically to the specific sale’s agent who is in charge of the specific property. By including booking function in WeChat website, Sofang can not only maximize O2O conversions, but also collected users’ data when they make the booking.
(WeChat id: soufun2012)
9. App download button
Companies who have a native App can consider a WeChat website to be a “lite” version of the native App: users are able to access all basic features within WeChat; but they have to download the App to access more advanced features. This is a very common tactic in the real estate industry. Usually the action call appears as a banner at the bottom of WeChat website like in the following examples:
10. Bilingual display
WalktheChat’s WeChat real estate template has bilingual display feature. Users can easily switch from English to Chinese. This enables to clearly communicate about the international mindset of your company, provide an interface for non-Chinese speaking users.
How to create your own WeChat real estate portfolio?
Foreign investment from China is booming, but oversea real estate is a competitive market! Only by setting yourself apart can you make a dent in this market.
WalktheChat provides a bilingual, easy-to-use platform to create Real Estate websites.
With its intuitive back-end, WeChat-optimised design and competitive pricing, it is the ideal platform to get you started with promoting your properties to the Chinese market.
