Effective Online Marketing and Social Networking for Real Estate

Effective Online Marketing for Real Estate

Marketing to the Online Real Estate Consumer

Who Is the Online Consumer? First of all, the ONLINE consumer is now the AVERAGE consumer.

The Online Consumer Wants instantaneous results Wants accurate and consistent answers Does not tolerate interruptions Is more fickle than loyal

The Online Real Estate Consumer People are much more in control of what information they receive & how they receive it. By the time they reach the agent, they are much farther along in the sales process but we know much less about them.

Outbound Marketing "Old Marketing" = Outbound Marketing With this old type of marketing, your are trying to reach a broad audience and hope a small percentage (1%-3%) respond. In other words, at least 97% of your marketing efforts are wasted.

Examples of Outbound Marketing Newspaper ads Ads in Homes magazines Cold calling Door knocking Direct Mail

Beware of Using Old Marketing Online! Do NOT attempt to market to the online real estate consumer using outbound marketing techniques. Why? You will turn them off and once they leave, they will never come back.

They Will Leave! Remember: online marketing is permission based marketing. Once the consumer marks your annoying email as SPAM, you are blocked. Once the consumer sees you posting sales pitches and advertising on your Facebook profile, they will unfriend you.

SethGodin “Selling to people who actually want to hear from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don't”

#1 Rule of Online Marketing Do NOT self promote

That’s Too Hard! Brokerages thrive on self promotion. What do I talk about if not about myself? But I have to put my listings everywhere!

The online real estate consumer doesn’t care if you were the top sales agent for your brokerage in 2000 and 2007. The online real estate consumer doesn’t care if you’ve been a member of the “Million Dollar Club” since the day you got your license. All the online consumer cares about is WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THEM.

Old vs. New Old Way New Way Targeted advertising by area of newspaper circulation “New listing” postcards ordered, printed, addressed and mailed Cold calling Voice mail/alpha pagers Make the consumer call for a price or address Targeted advertising by demographics on Facebook Create a single property website for a new listing before you leave the house Engaging Google voice/instant chat Consumer goes online to get mapping/price

A Few Thoughts… Online consumers do not want to be considered “leads”. They want to be viewed as people. Online consumers want you to communicate with them via the same means they communicate with you. Online consumers will not do business with you if they don’t trust you. “Capturing” their information without their consent doesn’t build trust.

Agent Websites/Blogs In general, you have 5 seconds to engage someone once they come to your site Do you have something interesting enough to keep them there? What are you offering on your site that isn’t being offered on someone else’s?

What Does the Online Real Estate Consumer Want with Listings? Price Address An interactive map A million DECENT pictures Videos School information Floor plans As much as they can get….

Online Disclaimers aka Staying Out of Real Estate Jail

Online Disclaimers EHO and Realtor® logos aren’t enough. Agents/Brokers cannot possibly control all of the places where their listings may be posted. Some sites do not update regularly. Don’t scare people away with a lengthy, legalese-filled email disclaimer. Create an online disclaimer that has a unique url that you can link to for your online marketing efforts.

What to Include in Your Online Disclaimer Licensing information Contact information A statement of what you will/won’t do with captured information How to unsubscribe EHO & Realtor® information Memberships Release of liability

How to Create an Online Disclaimer Use an online host such as Google Docs Type your document, spell check and send to a trusted attorney as well as your Managing Broker for review Save the document as an online file Use the link/url provided by the host in your online marketing or register an easy to remember domain name and point it to your disclaimer

Creating an Online Marketing Plan

Create a Plan for Online & Offline Marketing Efforts Schedule your time online and stick to it so you don’t get “sucked in” to unproductive activities Make a list of 5 sites where you want to have a marketable presence You can’t do it all. You can’t be genuine if you try to have someone else engage for you Go outside the real estate box to engage

Tips to Save Time w/ Online Marketing Use syndication for listings – but enhance and follow Use sites such as Hootsuite, Posterous and/or Gist to consolidate profiles and allow for cross-platform posting and engaging Use Google Search for questions to answer Don’t look for the easy way out. If you don’t want to do it…don’t!

More Tips Sit down and make a list of common questions asked by your clients. Answer each question and turn it into a blog post or Q&A on your site. Facebook profile is personal. Facebook page is business. Google yourself. Google your competition. Ask for online reviews. Say “thank you” online. Remember, what you say online is forever.

Questions? Thoughts? Email: tina@wolkia.com Twitter: @wolkia Facebook: Facebook.com/realestatetechnology Slideshare.com/tinainvirginia

Effective Online Marketing and Social Networking for Real Estate

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Effective Online Marketing and Social Networking for Real Estate