Flyers, mailers, billboard ads, television commercials and radio ads no longer monopolise the advertising industry. Social media is fast becoming one of the more popular means of reaching out to the target audience. See how local Singaporean property groups are taking to this new advertising form and running with it.

Social media tools have led to a significant change in the way property groups – which have traditionally been ‘bricks-and-mortar’ businesses – reach out to their customers.

Many companies can now be found across a variety of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr as they work to interact with their customers on a daily basis.

Ascott Limited has made their presence known across various social media platforms.

‘The proliferation of social media has opened up a new channel for Ascott to engage and interact with our customers,’ said Tony Soh, chief corporate officer of The Ascott Limited.

‘Fans following our Facebook pages as well as our Twitter feed are privy to exclusive deals, promotions and contests that are only available through our social media platforms. Ascott has also received reservation enquires which translated into actual bookings at our serviced residences.’

Aylwin Tan, chief customers solutions officer at Ascendas, similarly noted that business space providers must now go beyond just building a roof over four walls and standard utilities, and instead try to create ‘vibrant communities’ where interaction is possible across various platforms – including social media.

Ascott's youtube channel where you can view videos of their properties online.

‘As the on-line media and platforms evolve, we observed that our customers and partners are progressively seeking more engaging content and methods to connect on-line,’ Mr Tan said.

The company has received enquiries through its social media network that can potentially transform into business, Mr Tan added: ‘The numbers are encouraging and we think that there is much potential in strategic use of social media to engage and interact with our customers and partners regularly.’

Ascott, which is CapitaLand‘s wholly owned serviced residence unit, launched its social media initiatives in 2009. Today, the group has more than 20,000 fans across its four Facebook pages, with more than 12,000 page views per month. Ascott can also be found across a variety of platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

Ascenda's Spacetobe online property search and mobile application

Ascendas is similarly present on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The business space provider’s ‘Spacetobe‘ Facebook fan page, which functions as a customer engagement and branding tool, is especially popular. Since the launch of the Spacetobe fan page in October 2010, there have been over 13,000 post views and feedback.

In addition, Ascendas also has an internal blog where its management shares information, ideas, and expertise with the staff across the region.

Frasers Hospitality also recently launched its Facebook and Twitter pages. Right now, the group has more than 200 fans on Facebook and about 150 followers on Twitter, and these numbers are rapidly growing.

Beautiful photographs of Frasers Hospitality's properties across the globe are available online.

‘The advent of social media is exciting for us because it has expanded both our channels of communications and distribution,’ said Frasers Hospitality chief executive Choe Peng Sum. ‘These tools offer us additional channels of communication with our guests on top of our strong emphasis on face-to-face relations. They reinforce deeper customer engagement and allow us to be even faster with our responses.’

Property groups need to ramp up their social media platforms as a large proportion of Singaporeans are now open to connecting with companies and brands on social networking sites.

Nielsen's digital consumer report is available on order.

Nielsen’s inaugural South-east Asia digital consumer report, which was released yesterday, found that social media platforms are growing in popularity. Some 85 per cent of Singaporeans report accessing social media sites and 69 per cent connected or engaged with brands and companies, a survey by Nielsen found.

‘As digital media continues to grow and become an ingrained and essential part of many consumers’ everyday lives and activities, it is presenting advertisers with an increasing array of opportunities to communicate and interact with consumers,’ said Rebecca Tan, managing director of Nielsen’s media division in Singapore.

Nielsen intends to conduct this study on an annual basis to continue to provide the market with metrics to guide and justify their investment decisions in the digital space.

In addition to private property groups, government agencies in Singapore have also begun to use social media tools to reach out to the public.

URA's free application for iPhone and iPad

In April this year, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) launched its new and free ‘Property Market Information, Singapore’ application for iPhones and iPads. The app, which is downloadable from Apple’s App Store in iTunes, is aimed at enhancing the transparency of the property market.

Among other things, the new app allows members of the public easy access to property market information such as transaction prices and rentals for different private housing projects by project name, street name and district.

‘Home-buyers and those looking to rent a private residential property can compare and consider carefully prices and rentals across different properties before making a commitment,’ URA said after the app was launched.

In addition to reaching out directly to customers, property groups also use social media platforms to build good word-of-mouth and ‘buzz’ about their offerings.

Singaporeans’ trust in consumer opinions posted on-line is relatively high, noted Nielsen in its report. Its survey found that 48 per cent of respondents trusted on-line product reviews and 30 per cent looked at  discussion forums as sources of recommendations when making decisions about what to purchase.

‘Social media enables consumers to obtain opinions and information from sources that were previously not possible,’ noted Nielsen’s Ms Tan. ‘As a result, consumers are flocking to popular social networks to help them make purchase decisions and the platform has become one of the most influential forms of information available.’

Property companies are aware of this. At Ascott, for example, current and potential customers can share photos and insider travel tips to make more informed decisions about their travel or accommodation choices.

Photos of Singapore's Ascott Raffles Place property as shared by Ascott's customers on their Flickr page.

Frasers Hospitality has similarly leveraged on social media to forge a stronger on-line presence by aiming to become a one-stop information resource on the latest buzz in city life, the best travel hotspots, and insight into the best restaurants and bars.

Looking ahead, industry players said that social media is here to stay and reiterated their commitment to such platforms. ‘Maintaining a friendly and personal touch at every customer contact point helps us to build deeper relationships and deliver more engaging experiences, beyond just serving the guest only when he or she is staying with us,’ said Ascott’s Mr Soh.

Ascendas’ Mr Tan also noted that customers are demanding more visually engaging contents. ‘We have seen interactive videos and virtual tours that enable users to explore business spaces in a detailed and immersive virtual reality environment,’ he said.

‘As the technology matures, we may see more videos and virtual tours of higher quality detail and interactive features, or even employing 3D movie effects, emerge as a marketing tool for the real estate industry.’

Ascendas is looking to extend its social media initiatives to similar platforms in China as well as across different markets in the region, Mr Tan added.

Frasers Hospitality is also currently surveying the social media landscape in the China market, Mr Choe said.

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Reprinted with permission.

Editor’s Commentary:
Smartphone applications, new mobile-based products, real-time online information at your fingertips – the customer certainly is king in this new age of advertising. Which is your favourite property-related social media application? Do share.