Abacus Estates Project

Abacus Estates are a family-run estate agency specializing in residential sales, lettings, property management, investments and, new homes. Project: Cut the costs of outsourcing photographers and marketing by bringing someone in-house, who can do all the creative work, and specialised in more than one discipline. Execute a whole rebranding project: new website, sharp/slick imagery (photographs, sales board, company brochures), manage content for all social media. To deliver this project, I invested a lot of time and energy in training myself and developing my skills. I started reading about how to sharpen my photography skills, build websites, manage social media, and create graphic design. I completed courses on marketing, Google Analytics, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Indesign, Adobe Illustrator, and interior visualisation. PROPERTY PHOTOGRAPHY I invested in a better camera, a wider lens, and a stronger tripod. Thanks to my training, the photographs became sharper, slicker. Abacus Estates finally measured up to industry standards and started to get better instructions, million-pound properties. WEBSITE DESIGN I had to choose the template and design the content for each page, a straightforward easy to follow layout with a corporate look. To create the visual content for the Area Guide Pages, I traveled on the tube/overground (Jubilee Line, Bakerloo Line, and London Overground) and photographed every station in the areas the estate agency covers (NW10, NW2, NW3, NW6). To create the copy, I asked my colleagues to write their thoughts on what are the best places to eat/drink and socialize in these areas. That way, the readers can relate to them on a personal level. The Testimonials Page was very important because the company has received some bad reviews in the past. With the new team, it was crucial to turning that into a good reputation. I had to find a way to make it super easy for people to write a Google Review and for my colleagues to request one from satisfied clients. I used the Testimonials as a Landing Page and created two hyperlinked buttons that will take you straight to write a Google Review. The content for the About Us Page came from the Welcome Pack Project: which is a local area brochure I created for Kensal Rise and West Hampstead, with a cherry-picked selection of the best shops, cafes, restaurants, hair salons, opticians, pet spa and more with a 10% Discount Voucher for each shop. Abacus Estates gives these brochures as a gift to all their new tenants and buyers who move to the local area, as a gesture of welcoming them in their new homes and encourage them to explore their new neighborhood. For the Property Listing Pages (Sales and Lettings) I chose a grid layout (4 rows-3 columns), which makes it quick to take information in and compare the look of available properties to one another. I also added a Similar Properties block under each listing, so clients can browse further and stay on the website longer, which reduces the bounce rate in Google Analytics. For the Property Videos Page content, I started recording videos with my DSLR camera and edited them with iMovie. Then I needed a platform, a Youtube Channel where I can upload them, and link them to Property Videos Page as well as to social media. That is how the Abacus Estates Youtube channel was born. SOCIAL MEDIA For the Social Media content marketing strategy, I implemented what I learned at the Digital Marketing Strategy course at the UAL. I used my photographs of new properties (lettings and sales) and the Youtube videos for the weekday posts. For Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays I scheduled lifestyle content: tips and ideas on how to explore London and enjoy weekends for all walks of life. Places to go on Friday night, dinner recipes to cook on Saturday, cool restaurants to eat-out, sports to watch on Sunday, parks to walk, and so on. I used Hootsuite to schedule all posts for the week ahead. SALES BOARD To sharpen my skills in graphic design and typography, I completed 3 software training on Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Illustrator. With the knowledge I learned, I was able to design the new Sales Board for Abacus Estates, which has given the agency a classy, minimalistic look. COMPANY BROCHURES I implemented the design principles I learned to create the company brochures for each department: Residential Sales, Commercial, Residential Lettings, Investments & Development, In-House Marketing & Graphic Design, Property Management. For ideas and inspiration, I used corporate brochure templates as a reference. Once the brochures were ready, I added them to the website Services Page, through hyperlinked buttons that open up each E-Brochure.