Social media, younger expats and an trend toward more individual buying power are a challenge for many relocation agencies. In the US for example, we are seeing an increasing trend in which individual expatriates will contact the relocation agency directly with a fixed budget provided by their company. Some companies have fixed contracts with our agency, so for every relocation process, the relocation manager will contact us, especially if the company is relocating more than a single employee.
We run advertising campaigns to attract individual expats and ones to target HR professionals. In order to approach them, we use all kinds of online media, such as Google Adwords and specific expat sites. When targeting companies, we will mainly use client events, and global mobility and HR magazines.
Let’s take retirees for example. If we launch a new campaign for people in retirement, we would use different tools to reach them than we would use for young expats. For example, print media, lifestyle and traveling magazines that address a more wealthy and upper class society.
It’s all about positioning yourself to appeal to your desired target audience. Know who they are, know their interests and approach them in their natural environment.
The requirements of the younger expatriate are indeed usually different than those of an expat with family. The young expat will generally need only accommodation, not international schools and family insurance packages.
We target young expats with our social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. We even have our own YouTube channel, so we are up to date and communicate interactively with our younger target audience. We see that younger expats are no less professional than older ones. In times of need, they will find the information they are looking for.
Two markets, two funnels: B2B mobility and B2C assignees
Relocation marketing now runs on parallel tracks. Global mobility and HR buyers still award preferred-supplier agreements, attend industry events, and read specialist press. At the same time, more employees receive a lump-sum or managed budget and choose providers themselves. Missing either track means losing volume.
HSBC Expat Explorer research has long highlighted the practical stresses of moving: housing, schooling, settling in, which map directly to relocation service packages. UN and OECD migration and talent-mobility discussions show continued cross-border assignment activity even as models shift toward shorter tours, remote-hybrid roles, and younger assignees. Agencies that only market like it is 2005 corporate relocation will miss digitally native buyers; agencies that only “go social” will miss enterprise RFPs.
Illustrative service needs by segment
| Segment (illustrative) | Core services | Messaging focus | Primary channels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Young single assignee | Housing, banking setup, orientation | Speed, app-like UX, transparent fees | Social, YouTube, search |
| Family assignment | Housing, schools, spousal support | School waitlists, neighbourhood fit | Search, expat sites, webinars |
| Retiree / lifestyle move | Housing, healthcare navigation | Quality of life, concierge calm | Lifestyle media, search, email |
| HR / mobility manager | Policy compliance, reporting, SLAs | Risk reduction, cost control | LinkedIn, events, HR pubs |
Illustrative segmentation for campaign planning.
Channel strategy that respects how each buyer researches
For individual expats: Search captures high intent (“relocation services Singapore,” “temporary housing Dubai”). Specialist expat publishers and native articles build trust mid-funnel. Social and video work for awareness and culture-fit, especially with younger audiences who reject stiff corporate tone. WhatsApp and chat after the click often matter more than a PDF brochure.
For HR and mobility: Thought leadership on cost-of-living, duty of care, and assignment failure rates performs well. Case studies with measurable KPIs beat lifestyle imagery. Events and roundtables still close enterprise deals that ads alone cannot.
For retirees and affluent lifestyle movers: Lifestyle and travel media, long-form destination guides, and phone-friendly consultation booking outperform meme-driven social. Print can still work in select wealth segments when creative is high quality and geographically targeted.
Younger expats: majority of future assignments
Industry commentary and mobility surveys have pointed for years toward younger employees taking a larger share of international roles. They are tech-first, sceptical of sanitized PR, and more peer-identified than nationality-identified. They still need professional relocation help, but they judge providers on response speed, clarity of inclusions, and digital communication.
Tactics that land:
- Short vertical video of real neighbourhood walk-throughs.
- Clear package matrices (what is in / out of the lump sum).
- Self-serve scheduling and document checklists.
- Honest content about costs and timelines.
- Community answers on forums and social without hard selling every comment.
Avoid talking down to them or using “expat club” aesthetics that feel dated. Appeal to generational practicality: get me settled so I can do my job.
Families vs singles: product packaging in the creative
Family moves hinge on international schools, spousal employment realities, and larger housing. Creative should lead with school calendars and area guides. Singles care about commute, furnished options, and social onboarding. Running one “relocation services” ad for both wastes budget. Split landing pages and let paid media match intent queries.
Illustrative KPI set for dual-funnel programmes
| Funnel | Leading indicators | Lagging indicators |
|---|---|---|
| B2C assignee | Search CTR, guide downloads, chat starts | Files opened, revenue per move |
| B2B mobility | Webinar attendance, RFP invites | Preferred supplier wins, NPS |
| Retiree / lifestyle | Time on destination pages, call requests | Move completions, referrals |
Illustrative KPIs: align definitions with your CRM.
Local partners and destination proof
Relocation brands win when they show on-the-ground capability: landlord networks, school liaisons, immigration partners. Feature named cities, not only global claims. Multilingual support pages help when trailing spouses or parents are involved in decisions. Currency-aware fee explanations reduce friction for lump-sum shoppers comparing two vendors.
Measurement and attribution
Track both web forms and inbound calls. HR buyers may email from a corporate domain after reading a white paper; retail assignees may WhatsApp from an ad. Without multi-touch and call attribution, social can look “fun but useless” while search looks like the only hero, even when social warmed the brand. Use UTM discipline and CRM stages that distinguish “employee-initiated” from “mobility-initiated” leads.
Practical 90-day plan
- Split messaging and landing pages for B2C vs B2B.
- Build one cornerstone guide per priority destination.
- Launch search for high-intent terms; add social/video for youth segments.
- Book two mobility-manager touchpoints (webinar or roundtable).
- Create a retiree/lifestyle path if that is a revenue line: different media, different tone.
- Review CPL and cost-per-file-opened weekly; reallocate ruthlessly.
Reaching expats for relocation services is no longer a single campaign. It is a portfolio of audiences with different buying power, different media habits, and different service baskets: held together by clear positioning and destination proof.
Want help structuring dual-funnel relocation acquisition? Get started with your priority cities or contact us to review your current mix of search, social, and HR outreach.
