The future of real estate may be looking at more virtual and hybrid events

With the integration of digital components, agents can provide more avenues for potential buyers to be interested in a home 

Since the arrival of the pandemic, firms have shifted towards virtual events and digital marketing strategies to continue connecting with their audience.  

Despite housing sales and new listings remaining active during the pandemic, industry workers have been forced to seek creative solutions to connect sellers, potential buyers, and industry professionals.  

A home or rental property’s look, feel, and aesthetic is crucial in supporting the real estate industry. Now more than ever, homeowners can purchase properties without ever stepping foot inside. Through the integration of digital components, agents can provide more avenues for potential buyers to be interested in a home.  

PropertyGuru Group, Asia’s largest online property portal group, is among the leading real estate firms that have hosted their annual PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards programme and PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit virtually throughout the dawn of the pandemic up until this year.  

Virtual editions of the historic PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards allowed us to continue celebrating the finest developers and projects across the Asia Pacific region, as well as honour innovative minds of the industry that can overcome the difficulties of this unprecedented time.  

Partnering with broadcasters like History Channel, the long-running real estate programme was able to reach an audience from all over the world. The 15th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final virtual gala Livestream attracted 23,300 views on Facebook and 1,300 views on YouTube. For all PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards events, across all channels, more than 516,000 views were reached. 

Moreover, the integrated live chat feature in the official awards website enabled patrons, developers, and investors to seamlessly communicate with one another, empowering the share of ideas and congratulatory messages to nominees.  

Meanwhile, the 2020 PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit webinar series reached viewers in 45 countries with a 52 percent attendance rate, higher than the average across all industries. It included 25 expert speakers, leaders, and decisions makers from more than 20 industries, and reached more than 35,000 global views. 

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As the world moves toward digitisation, it is evident that virtual and hybrid events are here to stay, so the real estate industry should take advantage of this opportunity. As a result, agents could see an increase in revenue, marketing funnels, and lead generation avenues.  

Virtual event platforms will allow companies and event organisers the ability to plan a digital event and tailor the event to certain themes to optimise audience engagement.