At PropertyGuru, Southeast Asia’s leading property technology company, we’re not just listing properties—we’re reshaping the entire property search experience through a data-driven, consumer-centric content approach.

Tynn Tan, our Head of Content, has been instrumental in driving this change. Since joining PropertyGuru in 2018, Tynn has witnessed and led the evolution of our content strategy. “Back then we focused a lot on creating helpful content to guide decision making property seekers in making confident property decisions. And over the years, it has really evolved to more social media-friendly content to create really engaging knowledge bits and information for property seekers in Malaysia.”

Balancing Education and Engagement

One of our key challenges is striking the right balance between providing valuable, educational information and creating engaging content that drives user action. Our approach to this challenge offers lessons for content strategists across industries.

“Our core mission is to help property seekers find their dream home,” Tynn states. “And we always start with the consumer angle first, putting ourselves in the role of a property seeker to identify ways we can help them and guide their decisions when it comes to making the biggest purchase of their lives.”

We achieve this through several tactics:

1. Data-Driven Insight: We combine sentiment studies, brand studies, social media analytics, and website data guide decision making.
2. Localise: Whilst we have an overall content strategy, we offer local teams’ autonomy to experiment and adapt to their specific needs.
3. Creative Flexibility: We encourage our team to experiment as much as they want.

Evolving Roles and Cross-Functional Collaboration

As our content strategy has matured, so too have the roles of our team members. Tynn’s career trajectory is a case in point. “This past year, my role has evolved into a growth marketing remit, where we look across sales, product, and tech teams to see how we can drive more value for consumers while still focusing on our business objectives,” she explains.

This cross-functional approach underscores the increasing importance of content in driving overall business strategy. By bridging the gap between different departments, we ensure that content not only educates and engages users but also supports broader company goals.

Measuring Success: Beyond Traffic and Engagement

While we track traditional metrics like traffic and engagement, we also look at more nuanced indicators of success. As Tynn shares “I think the best kind of comments are the ones where people are just reacting with emojis, because that’s when you know it’s genuine. They are just at a loss for words and then they are just reacting with laughter, or they get the humour or the angle that we’re trying to bring to the content that we create.”

Building a Culture of Content Innovation

At PropertyGuru we strive to build a culture of innovation. “We make it very conducive for the team to work on something that they’re passionate about and to not be afraid of making mistakes or failing because that’s the best way that they can learn about the work that they do.”

This approach—valuing learning over immediate success—is crucial in an industry as fast-paced as PropTech. It allows our content team to stay ahead of trends and continuously refine their approach based on real-world feedback.

Challenges and Opportunities

Looking ahead, we see several challenges and opportunities for our PropTech content team:

1. Increased competition: With agents and influencers now creating their own content, standing out in the digital space is getting harder.
2. Balancing brand and authenticity: How do we continue to create authentic relatable content within the boundaries of our brand space and business objectives?
3. Property trends: Digital nomads, for example, offer new content opportunities, that necessitate strategies that cater to a more mobile, global audience.

At PropertyGuru we believe that effective content strategy ultimately comes down to understanding and serving user needs. As Tynn puts it, “I find it incredibly rewarding to help people find and own their dream home. Because we’re making helpful content that guides them to making confident property decisions.”

By keeping this human element at the core of their strategy, we’re not just listing properties, but building trust, driving decisions, and ultimately, helping shape the future of home ownership in Southeast Asia. “I love that the company is always looking to future-proof the business and that keeps things exciting for us,” Tan concludes. “And I really enjoy the work that we do because helping people find their dream homes – that is something that is very meaningful and incredibly rewarding for us.”