What is Fractional Work?

And How Fractional Marketing Can Support Your Real Estate Business

You may have heard the term fractional work used more often lately—especially when it comes to leadership or specialized roles like CFOs or CMOs. But what does it really mean? And how does it apply to marketing in the real estate space?

In simple terms, fractional work is a flexible approach to getting professional support. Instead of hiring someone full-time, you bring in a skilled individual or team on a part-time, project-based, or short-term basis—depending on your needs.

What is Fractional Marketing?

In the world of real estate, marketing can be a big, moving puzzle. There are listings to promote, agents to support, events to plan, campaigns to coordinate, and now, social media and online reputation to manage too. For many brokerages or real estate related businesses, hiring a full-time marketing person—or building a whole department—just isn’t realistic.

That’s where fractional marketing comes in.

It’s a way to access professional marketing support without the overhead or long-term commitment of hiring in-house. The support can take many forms—from strategic guidance and planning to hands-on services like design, content creation, and social media management.

At The Real Estate Source, we’ve supported brokerages in all of these ways. Sometimes we’re brought in as consultants or advisors to help leadership teams build or refresh their marketing strategy. Other times, we step in as extra hands when things get busy or someone leaves unexpectedly. We roll up our sleeves and execute the plan ourselves. And very often, it’s a bit of both!

So, whether you’re rebranding, launching a new office, refining your recruitment strategy, or simply want better content and social media support, we’re here to help.

Why Brokerages Are Exploring Fractional Support

Every real estate support business, team or brokerage is different. That’s why we offer flexible, customizable support based on your goals, your resources, and your bandwidth. There are a few common reasons brokerages consider a fractional approach:

Flexibility Fractional support can scale up or down depending on timing, goals, or budget. It’s a great option if you’re growing, shifting your strategy, or not quite ready to commit to a full-time hire.
Specialized Skills Marketing covers a lot of ground—design, branding, copywriting, PR, digital strategy, operations. One person rarely covers it all. With fractional support, you can tap into a team with diverse expertise, depending on what you need.
Transition Support Sometimes things happen quickly—like a marketing manager resigning, or a big campaign coming up with no one to lead it. We’ve stepped in during situations like these to provide continuity and keep things moving while a new hire is found, or until the brokerage decides how to move forward.

Real-Life Examples of Fractional Support

To give you a clearer picture, here are a few ways brokerages have worked with us:

Strategic Planning – We’ve worked with broker-owners and real estate vendors to develop annual marketing plans, recruitment messaging, and launch strategies for new offices.
Temporary Support – When a team’s social media manager moved on, we stepped in to maintain consistency and engagement during the transition.
Execution Help – For brokerages that needed help with day-to-day design, posting, or campaign coordination, we’ve acted as an extension of their team.

The work can be temporary or long-term, depending on the situation.

Is Fractional Support Right for You?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Some brokerages are building toward in-house teams and just need short-term help. Others prefer to outsource entirely and stay focused on their core business. The key is knowing what you need—and when to ask for help.

Fractional marketing can offer a useful middle ground: a way to access experienced support, stay nimble, and continue growing without taking on more than you’re ready for.

Here's what The Real Estate Source can offer you:

Strategic Guidance & Marketing Consulting

If you’re looking for someone to help steer the ship, I can work with you directly as a fractional marketing advisor. Whether you're unsure where to start or need help aligning your marketing with your recruitment and retention goals, we can create a clear roadmap.

From brand audits to campaign planning to communications coaching, I bring over 20 years of real estate marketing experience to the table—so you can move forward with confidence.

Done-For-You Services (Short-Term or Ongoing)

Need someone to just take things off your plate? My team can step in to manage your marketing and operations—either temporarily (to cover a gap of a missing staff member) or long-term (replacing an existing marketing team or graphic designer).

Here’s a snapshot of what we offer:

Graphic Design – Listing presentations, recruitment brochures, signage, social graphics, and more. We have experience in print, large scale and digital, with a specialization in real estate.
Operations Support – System improvement, campaign rollouts, and behind-the-scenes organization to get your business' foundation strong and ready to scale.
Marketing Execution – Content calendars, campaign development, copywriting, and strategy. Rather than "spaghetti on the wall", we ensure you have a plan and work with you to strategically rollout your marketing activities.
Social Media & PR – Everything from creating and scheduling posts to community management, inbox monitoring, and media outreach.

Depending on the need, we can pull in support for things like event planning, refer you to a great recruiter or human resources expert. Fractional support gives you expertise, flexibility, and immediate impact—without the long hiring process or full-time salary. We become an extension of your team, on your terms.

Let’s Get the Conversation Going...

If you’re curious about how fractional support could work for your brokerage, I’m always happy to share what I’ve seen work (and what doesn’t). No pressure, no pitch—just a conversation about what’s possible—let's connect.

📧 melissa@therealestatesource.ca

🌐 www.therealestatesource.ca

Let’s build something great—together.