May 19, 2012

The future of real estate marketing is online

Is your lead-generation system flashing?Leads have always come from your ‘social network.’

Today they are coming from your online social network. And that’s a good thing, because now you can easily extend your reach, using social media tools to touch base with your contacts (and their contacts).

You know that. And you know you need to position yourself now to take advantage. Because social media is not a trend that’s going away.  Maybe you feel a nagging anxiety for not having done enough about this.

That’s understandable. Because it will take some work to dislodge the real estate professionals who get a head start and establish themselves at the top of the search rankings in their local markets.

But the truth is, you’re busy. You just don’t have the time to figure out how to generate more leads through:

•    Search engines
•    Hyper-local marketing
•    Social media
•    Smart phones

So you put it off.  Yet there’s a real urgency to it.

It’s like when you’re driving down the road and the CHECK ENGINE light comes on.

You realize that you have to do something fast, or it’s going to be a disaster. And by ‘something’ I mean, get to a mechanic immediately. Because you wrenching on your engine yourself is not going to end well.  It’s complicated, and better left to someone who really knows what they’re doing.

That’s what online real estate marketing is like.

You sell homes. It’s what you’re good at. But doing it to the best of your ability requires that you generate a steady flow of leads through an effective marketing program. And to be effective, any lead-generation effort must leverage the ongoing revolution in marketing. Did you know that:

  • 90 percent of homebuyers start their search on the Internet
  • 73 percent of Realtors®said they were not satisfied with the number of leads they receive off the Web
  • 20 percent of Google searches are with local intent
  • 130 million Americans (40% of the population) are active on Facebook.
  • 28 percent of the U.S. mobile market uses smart phones.

What does it all mean? It takes time and expertise to figure it out and chart a path forward. So the questions facing you are:

•    What is your time worth?
•    Where do you get your greatest return on investment?
•    Why aren’t you outsourcing your online marketing to a team of experts?

Your marketing is the vehicle that delivers qualified local leads. And the CHECK ENGINE light is flashing brighter than it ever has before. Are you going to wrench on it yourself? Or get to an online real estate marketing specialist immediately?

We’re here for you. Call us and we’ll get started.

Photo: Robert Couse-Baker, via Creative Commons 2.0.

Increase click-throughs by more than 500%? They did.

Word-of-mouth recommendations are more powerful and persuasive than slick advertising.

Real stories from real people who have done business with you demonstrate the value you provide in ways that self-serving marketing statements just can’t. That’s why third-party reviews at sites like Yelp and Google Places are becoming critically important to your reputation – and ultimately your sales.

It’s about trust, and reviews help build trust.

Reviews also help build traffic, as proven recently by Intuit, provider of QuickBooks, and Bazaarvoice, a company that enables Web-based reviews. ProAdvisors are consultants and trainers certified in QuickBooks, and those with reviews in their profiles are 555% more likely to get click-throughs than their peers without reviews.

What’s more, the rating doesn’t matter as much as the number of reviews. A business showing a four out of possible five-star rating that had 10 reviews attracts more clicks than a five-star rating with only two reviews. This means that volume matters, so it’s time to start generating reviews now.

This is true for real estate professionals as well as other small businesses.

Let us know if you need help claiming your Google Places or Yelp listing, or you need any help at all with your review program.