Politics and Property Don't Mix in Marketing

The wealthy*, like any other group, have diverse political affiliations that should be acknowledged, regardless of our personal feelings.

And, I write this as someone who is passionately interested in politics.

Wealthy people vote Conservative, right? Not necessarily. While 45% did vote Conservative in 2019 and were 33% more likely to do so, it's important to remember that this is less than half of the target audience. Let's not dismiss the other half that didn't vote Conservative; instead, we should respect their diverse viewpoints.

Headlines like 'I'm a Tory estate agent, but Rishi's July 4th General Election is a bad idea' are not a good PR strategy. "People are not interested in you. They are not interested in me. They are interested in themselves – morning, noon and after dinner," Dale Carnegie.

Wealthy people voted Remain, right? Wrong. 46% did vote Remain in 2016 and were 23% more likely to do so. The smart ones amongst you will have noticed that that is also less than half. Don't annoy the half that didn't vote Remain - such as the 39% who voted Leave. Roughly one in seven (15%) did bother to vote.

Headlines like, "'Why I still back Brexit' explains leading London agent," are not good business. No one cares what he thinks.

More broadly, 50% of this wealthy segment do indeed describe themselves as right-wing, 18% centrist, and 32% left-wing. That said, 56% describe themselves as either slightly right-of-centre, centre, or slightly left-of-centre. Regarding the extreme minority, more wealthy people see themselves as very left-wing (2.5%) compared to very right-wing (2.3%).

34% to 39% of the population describe 'politics' as a topic of interest, compared to 27% to 35% of the population, but again, these are minorities. Two-thirds are not just interested.

American author, public speaker, and business owner Donald Miller wisely said, "Customers are not interested in your story. They are, rather, interested in being invited into a story that has them surviving and winning in the end. "

This is true of politics, property, business, and your marketing. It's not about you, the agent, being the hero of this story. It's about inviting your audience into a narrative that powerfully resonates with their passions, interests and concerns, making them feel valued and included in the discussion.

Wealthy people are interested in news and books, food and drink, music, and, of course, their locality and the housing market. Write about that. To underline that point, in the last 12 months, Google searches for 'property' were 13 times those for 'politics', 18 times those for 'Conservative', five times those for 'Labour', and 30 times those for 'Brexit'. 

*Wealthy refers to the three highest income and highest residential property geodemographic groups.