The real estate agent of today has a much different market to work in that Realtors of the past have ever been confronted with. In the past throwing out buzzwords into classified or print magazine ads, a picture or two, or holding an open house were about your only real options in affordable Realtor marketing that didn’t involve shelling out an arm and a leg for radio time or plastering your face on a giant billboard.
It’s a different world of Realtor marketing; if you aren’t riding the very cusp of the wave you are likely to get washed out to sea in this tumultuous real estate market.
Here’s an example of the OLD way of marketing your listings, taken from the 70′s:
A Northend Boise Realtor listed a home on Harrison Boulevard, her brokerage firm paid for a one and a half line classified ad in the Idaho Statesman that offered the location, a hint of the price and a limited description that read: “Great sun filled home, excel maint, desired locale”. She placed the ad, held a small open house, and while that was enough at the time to drum up a buyer we can look at the cost of that one time print ad, the time spent at the open house, and realize even though it was the only game in town at the time, it definitely may have not been the most cost effective means to move real estate; even if ALL their subscribers saw her ad that would only be about
30,000 possible contacts…maybe in reality 5% of which even saw the ad and of that 5% perhaps 2% were even in the market for a home.
If they were in the know, the same Realtor would market that listing much differently today. FREE social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook would very likely replace the one time print classified ad. She would pay a professional real estate photography or real estate virtual tour company to photograph her listing so it could be posted on her blog,Posterous, Realtor.com, and showcased on her Realtor website. By marketing her real estate online she has not only likely saved money but she has also increased the exposure of the listing by a hundred fold. The internet is world wide, open 24 hours a day 7 days a week!
This may not seem like much, just the cost of a print ad, but fact is for the cost of a one page ad in a magazine or a newspaper your Realtor Website could be up and running, showcasing your listings and your Realtor brand 365 days a year!
A good listing agent is a marketeer first, a salesperson second.
Traditional marketing methods have not disappeared, and are still effective, Just Listed cards, Farming Cards, and open houses all still get results but are likely to not be nearly as cost effective as social networking and technology have made marketing online.
The internet is not a new invention but many real estate professionals are just now beginning to grasp it’s importance in marketing their listings and getting the word out about their services. It is also a powerful tool for Selling Agents as well, as consumer expectations regarding how a home should be marketed have changed as well.
A Realtor Website, no matter how advanced it may be, is not automatic, and should by no means simply be created and forgotten about except for when the bill comes.
If you do not have a Realtor Website system that puts you in control of your content and search engine visibility, GET ONE. Pre-canned Realtor Websites, and freebie Realtor websites almost do more harm than good to your digital presence. You don’t need to be serving out the same content as a thousand other area agents – it benefits the website company, not YOU!
If you yourself are not actively working your Realtor website and putting fresh content and information into it then by all means: PAY SOMEONE to do it for you! Just blogging once a month can provide a noticeable increase in website traffic.
The days of just being online, just having a website, and that being enough are OVER. Your website needs to be fresh and alive to compete with the growing tide of online Realtors vying for a narrowing client base. Don’t risk losing your valuable share of this difficult market because your website was not able to keep up with your real estate business needs.
Contact Tour Real Estate Inc today to find out how you can boost sales and move more real estate by getting an affordable, powerful Realtor Website from us. Already have a TourRE website? We can help you make it even better – drop us a line to find out more about our Boise Search Engine Optimization services, social networking tips, and more to help make your Realtor Website even more effective.
