Local or National? Home Building Brand Awareness and Audience Reach Near and Far

Did you know that 46% of people prefer buying from familiar brands? Another 46% also said they'd pay more for products/services if it meant purchasing from a brand name they could trust. This is why the same report found that the top goal of branding was to increase brand awareness (45%). Brand awareness for home builders is essential to elicit this kind of familiarity, trust, recognition, and support.  

This is especially true in your industry because there is high demand for your products/services and increased competition fighting to reach and resonate with the same target audience.

That said, brand awareness shouldn't be passive. You should have your brand consistently on multiple platforms to optimize audience reach for home building. To maximize your efforts, here's what you need to know about brand awareness and marketing for home builders, as well as some of our top marketing ideas for home builders and what to consider in the debate to go local or national.  

Brand Awareness for Home Builders

As of 2022, IBISWorld reports 434,674 home builders businesses in the United States. That's 5.2% more than there were in 2021. Combining the substantial increase in competition with the slowdown in demand (although still high, not as high as a year or two ago), now is the time to ensure your brand is getting out there and noticed.  

First, ask yourself: what sets you apart from the rest? Are there areas in the market where you can fill gaps the competition cannot? This could give your home building business a significant competitive advantage when you boost brand awareness with messages/content highlighting the value you bring to consumers. 

You also need to consider your: 

• Target audience  
• Niche  
• Big-picture branding  
• Values, mission, colors, logo, voice  

These components all play an important role in how well you reach and resonate with the right people.  

Establish an Unstoppable Online Presence

Whether you're reaching local or national audiences, you must have a strong online presence to boost brand awareness and sales. Research shows that most (76%) consumers consider your online presence before visiting a business or calling your office. Another 45% admit they are more likely to consider a company if they have a strong online presence on a local search page.  

So, how can you establish an unstoppable online presence? With these digital marketing strategies to increase brand awareness: 

• Optimized website - More than half (60%) of consumers go to a search engine and a company's website before making direct contact (via call or visiting a location).  
• Content marketing - Research shows that companies that blog generate 67% more monthly leads, and 61% of consumers have purchased a product/service from a brand because of their blog.  
• Presence on third-party sites - Especially in the beginning, establishing a strong online presence requires associating your home building brand with relevant sites (for instance, real estate marketplaces) to reach their audience and gain trust by association.  
• Search engine optimization (SEO) - Ranking high on search engines is crucial because 75% of searchers never scroll past the first page of results. 
• Search engine marketing (SEM) - Reach most of your market on search engines (Google alone receives 943+ billion searches a year) with paid advertising.   
• Geofencing - Refers to advertising to nearby mobile devices with your home building brand and product/service notifications. The strategy is compatible with 92% of smartphones, and three out of four receivers take action after getting a message when they get close to your location. 
• Social media marketing - Did you know that 90% of consumers purchase products/services from brands they follow on social media? This is because it gets your home building brand in front of the right target audience, creating social proof of your products/services, value to the market, and relatable personality.  
• Video marketing — 88% of consumers said they want to see more brand videos.
• Paid ads — 23.7% of social media users say they make purchases after seeing social ads about 26-50% of the time. 

Connect with Local Audiences and Reach National Audiences with McClatchy

Did you know that when you partner with McClatchy, you get access to millions in their local and national audiences? The local or national debate isn't about how to leverage one or the other but rather how to leverage the best of both worlds. Fortunately, a partnership with McClatchy can make all the difference. 

Are you interested in connecting with local audiences? Get in touch with your local market with McClatchy's highly trusted local media and strong viewership in dozens of markets across the U.S.  

Do you also want to reach national audiences? No problem. McClatchy can help with that, too! Our audience reach goes far beyond the borders of our local markets, connecting with 75+ million unique digital visitors, 10+ million viewers on our monthly videos, and 7 million (and counting!) combined social media followers.