South African proptech company Flow – the company that uses the largest social platforms in the world to match people to property – have signed a distribution deal with Prop Data – the company that manages the country’s biggest pool of property listings, leads & customers – in one digital environment.
Flow has developed proprietary technology which automatically creates powerful, effective ads on social platforms, delivering better business leads, faster than ever before – and more cost effectively – to estate agents and landlords.
Flow’s innovative marketing platform is run by co-CEO’s Gil Sperling and Daniel Levy, the brains who built the continent’s largest and most successful adtech marketing company, Popimedia. Popimedia were the largest buyers of Facebook media inventory in Africa, representing some of the world’s biggest brands, when the company was acquired by global communications group Publicis in 2016. Prop Data is the most prolific agency software provider in the country, with a reach of 14,000+ professionals and thousands of agency offices, and has significant reach and makes for a very natural distribution partner.
The business relationship will see Flow’s platform with its automated social media property marketing system, FlowFuel, paired with Prop Data’s massive pool of agencies to deliver the ultimate digital marketing solution for the industry across Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Flow’s Gil Sperling explains: “There are 23 million South Africans on Facebook and Instagram, and 70% of them use the platforms every single day. People connect, network, share and search using these platforms – so they’re the perfect place to match keen buyers and renters with the properties they’re seeking”. He says that FlowFuel closes the loop with Prop Data to allow their large base of clients to market their inventory on the world’s biggest social networks with the flick of a switch, seamlessly, to drive higher performance.
FlowFuel automates the property marketing process and utilises Sperling & Levy’s expertise in maximising the potential of Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn’s marketing algorithms to laser-target agents’ property portfolios to a primed market – and then deliver instant “hot leads” and contact mechanisms to help conclude deals. Lead data is ingested back into the Prop Data Management System to be used for existing – and additional – digital brand marketing processes provided by Prop Data. “In the online space, the chances of converting a hot lead deteriorates by 40%, every 5 minutes – and 78% of leads are closed by the first business to respond,” says Levy. “FlowFuel is designed to maximise those leads and give participating agents the best possible opportunity to match prospective clients with their ideal properties – instantly”.
Prop Data CEO Mark Buttress says that “the Flow platform is totally unique and dynamic and something the industry has been longing for. We are excited to integrate the Flow platform with the Prop Data database to change the way people find spaces to live and work. The ability to instantly find people on the social media platforms they prefer, with the information they need, is a game-changer,” he says. “It appears to be a simple solution, but the beauty of complex systems is that they do what they’re supposed to do, well – and FlowFuel does what it’s designed to do, very well”.
An agent’s listings data is ingested into FlowFuel, which generates instant dynamic ads for Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin. Using proprietary algorithms, pre-set budgets and targeting criteria, the ads are run almost instantly on the chosen platforms, with agents able to track performance and leads via a live analytics dashboard, as they are served to prospective clients. “The automation aspect is key here – it’s easy to say ‘anyone can put together a Facebook ad’, but FlowFuel allows for entire agency inventories to be loaded and unique and specific ads generated and served, almost instantly,” says Sperling. “Proper targeting and harnessing of the complexities of the Facebook algorithms which govern who sees what, when is a challenge – particularly at volume – but FlowFuel makes the process automatic and seamless, with measurable, instant results”.
Maximising marketing spend is a key aspect of FlowFuel. Levy says that it’s natural that brands have been shifting their marketing spend online over the past few years. “More than 50% of marketing spend is now being invested in digital channels – and more than 60% of that spend is on Facebook, Instagram and Google. If you’re not using Facebook performance marketing media, your business is being left behind,” he says.
