I've never had much (any?) luck with mass-advertising (newspapers, bus benches, SEO), at least, not that I could tell. One year I took out over $20,000 worth of newspaper ads which resulted in, get this, ZERO phone calls. Enough of that nonsense.
However, I'm starting to think about the effectiveness of "advertising" to your SOI. Here's where my brain is going.
I live in a trendy, hip neighborhood that has barely noticed the recent doom & gloom of the real estate market. People still want to live here and decent homes sell quickly. (Although there's plenty of overpriced crap on the market that isn't moving, for good reason.) I also happen to know a lot of people who live here in the ‘hood with me - probably 20-30 members of my core SOI are neighbors. We're such a hip, trendy crowd...
So I'm thinking... would it be effective to advertise in the local (neighborhood) newspapers - not necessarily to attract the business of total strangers, but rather to reinforce my name recognition among the people who DO know me, or have at least heard of me?
I remember many years ago, there was an agent in town who advertised heavily on bus benches. I thought she must be a Top Dog because it seemed her name was all over the place. When we finally met (and became friends), I was shocked to discover that she was newer than I was and did significantly less business. But the perception I had of her was that she was very successful.
Here's my point... If I were a consumer, would all those bus benches have inspired me to call her up and hire her on the spot? Not a chance. BUT, if I'd met her, at an open house, at a party, wherever, would she have already had some credibility with me, due to her advertising efforts? Probably so, especially if she were professional and credible in person (which she was).
So... I'm wondering if the point of local advertising might be to put you in a position of credibility should you ever have the opportunity to meet those who have seen your advertising. Or, of course, to remind those who already know you of your existence, if they've forgotten...?
Is this a big DUH question?
Subscribe to
The Daily Seduction
Tips & Inspirations to Generate Business from the Very Important People Who Know You
Hi Jennifer. I think you are right on. We don't really put ads in papers to sell our homes. Yes the ads appease sellers, but we are selling ourselves.
Your impression of the bus bench realtor is probably the same as everyone elses. That she is successful.
That is exactly what she wants. She has the celebrity factor.
Keep up the great posts.
Ken
Wow. You hit the nail on the head. I get a lot more business from referrals and SOI than I have from "classical advertising" for sure.
Great Post!!
Very good stuff here, Jennifer; I love your site! Thanks for the tips and I will most assuredly be looking at your site in depth over the next few days. I look forward to reading future posts as well!
HOPPY EASTER!!!
-=Dan
Ditto. Your site is awesome, and your attitude is contagious!
Jennifer, As real estate agents we are the poorest source of information as to what works. We are somewhat jaded by the fact we have been doing the same things over and over again year after year and often absolutely wrong.
Of course the best way to asess the virtues of a campaign is to have the consumers tell us what works. You SOI is a great resource for that. You might also create a letter that asks that question and send it out to a farm neighborhood that you may not dominate but wish to. Be sincere and tell them that you want to be the best and that you value there answers.
The best way to show people is to list properties for sale. Your signs in the yard prominently displaying your name and or tag line " Jennifer does it again" or what ever you use will do more than any single thing you can do.
Remember that internet advertising is not like local advertising. Sell the service and your knowledge of the areas. Provide rich content with lots of photos and info about parks, shopping, restaurants,coffee shops or local attracions . Spend less time on your name for internet adverstising that is the least important factor to an out of area consumer.
Good Luck.
I guess you are right. It takes several advertisings to put your name in the head. Benches is one of those. Then, if they see you somewhere else, in a magazine ad, at a fuction, it clicks. I have seen this person, it is immediate recognition.
Good stuff, thanks.
Jennifer,
As I thumbed through one of those real estate magazines, looking for my ad, I wondered "if I'm having this much trouble finding an as I know is there, what chance does a consumer have of finding it?" Also, I noticed friends that had 3, 4 or more full pages of ads and thought they must be doing pretty well.
So, as you hinted, the question is, are we advertising to our fellow real estate professionals or to the public?
Kim - great point - I want people to recognize my name, but perhaps not quite sure where they've heard it before (unless they already know me, of course!).
Richard - I never thought of it as advertising to other real estate agents - please elaborate!
Herb - DEAD ON. The best local advertising is For Sale signs (preferably with a SOLD rider on top). I used to have that in my neighborhood before I took my sabbatical, so there should be some residual name recognition still left. The ads I'm considering running actually do not proclaim me as a real estate agent, but rather a source of information for the 'hood. I'll share when/if I finish it.
Ken - CELEBRITY factor- yeah! That's what I was trying to say!!!
Dan - Stay tuned!
Jennifer,
Fact of the matter is, very few purchasers (at least in our area) actually look through every page of the real estate books. As advertisers, we thumb through looking for our ads, we can't help but notice who is doing what with their advertising dollars ... more pages = more status, and when I am looking to refer business, I try to get my hands on a local real estate book (or on-line) and see who has the resources and pop in that area!
BTW I looked at your SOI site, I'll order a book this week and have a read!
Jennifer - I think your right. I think marketing can be a great tool, mostly to build your awareness and branding with the people you already know. I know I keep my big property listing on our local home cable show just for that reason, because when I bump into people I know they always tell me they saw me on TV with that big listing and ask me how I'm doing in the real estate world. I also try to get myself in the paper as much as possible too. Free PR is the best advertising you can get :)
Hey Jessica - I think your primary question is whether you should advertise in the local newspaper or circular as opposed to the major newspaper to keep your name prominently out there for your SOI. While I think what you want to accomplish is a great idea, there are better methods. Advertising for the sake of advertising is obsolete. As everyone has already mentioned, people really do ignore advertising. Even in local newspapers and circulars.
A better idea would be targeted marketing to your SOI. And, by targeted, I mean set up a marketing campaign specifically for them. In it, include things that may be coming up in your local community by sending out a postcard with upcoming events listed on the front. Also, see if there are opportunities for you to sponsor any of those events. Then, place an ad in the local paper about that event with your name and picture prominently displayed. That way, the advertising will not be so "advertisy" (is that a word?).
Also, market to your sphere using unique holidays - a reason to get your name in front of them. Don't send the typical holiday greetings. Be original. See some of my past posts about unique holiday marketing.
~Renae
I'm finding that "advertising" to my niche is helpful through my blog. So far one is in contract. I've had several listing appointments etc. I also am involved with community affairs which seems to help as well. But you can't stay local and get enough volume. So to get "known" all over the county is a very difficult thing. You can't avoid advertising around here. My post-cards are pretty funky and NO ONE is doing anything like it. So people do call- probably it was so unusual - they stopped long enough to look before throwing every piece of mail into the shredder.
Does it help when people I know see this card...Apparently yes, a couple of pet-owners got the card in one of mass mailings and really liked it. They noticed it before they noticed that I had sent it.
Ruthmarie - in your situation, I wonder if strategic advertising would actually help your efforts? What I'm hoping to achieve is, as Ken said in the first remark, a "celebrity factor" among the people who already know me. I don't expect a stranger will see my ad and be inspired to call, but if I just get a couple of sales over the next year due to either 1) someone who had heard of me when I specialized in this market before and sees my ad or 2) someone in my Group 2 SOI (those I don't socialize as much with) sees my ad and uses me or refers me, it will be well worth the cost and effort. I do very little self-promotion, but I think this might be an effective addition to my SOI efforts...
The Celebrity Factor is why I'm ONLY advertising in the local neighborhood paper where I already have a good name. In my experience, mass advertising alone doesn't work unless you already have some sort of name recognition in a neighborhood, then it all fits together. This is why I won't be advertising in the real estate magazines - I doubt my SOI will ever see those, but they will very likely see me in the local rag...
I still wouldn't put the money into newspaper ads simply because most of the hip, younger crowd get the news online rather than in print because it's more eco-friendly. Also, the best advertising of all is your 'for sale' signs around the neighborhood!
I appreciate all the input and I'm curious myself as to how this will work. I'm not advertising my listings or even my fabulous-ness as a real estate agent - I'm simply posting a bright, full color link to my website which focuses on the neighborhood. We'll see how it goes. The paper I'm advertising in does have a wide circulation and I'm also going to contribute articles to it...
Have you decided what type of ad you are running? I see a lot of people just do a copy of the business cards, but I was thinking something a bit bigger. Maybe something along the lines of 'Let the power of RE/MAX work for you!' kind of thing. I don't know, still brainstorming on that part!
Here's a draft of what I'm going to try first... It will run me $90/month, full color.
Renae - Thanks for the tips. I'm always looking for things of value to send my SOI. Community Events Calendar and other community updates are a great idea.
Jennifer - Your ad for print...Love it!
I LOVE your ad Jennifer...Are you thinking the local rag - or at supermarkets????
As far as advertising - I advertise in a few on-line doggie journals. I've had a slew of calls. Unfortunately, mostly for rentals and around here few rentals are listed and those that are only have token fees. ($25 isn't enough - sorry!) Getting it from the customer is like pulling teeth - they expect it to be FREE and find any way they can to work without me even while I'm going nuts trying to find them something. I was losing so much in time and gasoline on each one that I had to discontinue. I was also getting the most difficult situations - like someone with 7 cats or someone with a bull mastiff that could only afford $1000 a month. Impossible around here - and that's without the pet! I do get some activity for sales, but our market is a very difficult one.
The cards have worked because they are so funky. When I first started (in a much better market) I farmed the same areas for a year with post cards and not a single response. Literally nothing. Not a phone call, not an email - zero, zippo. $4000 later I said "STOP!" They were the typical "just listed"/"Just sold" cards. These are more expensive by far -but they do get a response. I do go strictly "local" on these. They are for three select complexes in the immediate area only. What I may do is follow up with an ad in the local newspaper. They have a pet section once a month - and I may actually post to that rather than try to compete my way with the 1000 other agents posting their stuff in the real estate section.
Jennifer,
You know how I feel about this. I do think that when your SOI sees something on a consistent basis from you, it reinforces the idea that you're the real deal. I send JL and JS to my SOI to let them know, "Hey, I'm really doing this - and I'm successful at it." I think it lends some credibility to my business.
Love the ad. And I agree with pushing the blog. I'm starting to really push mine, as well. I'd like to position myself as a resource for people, rather than cramming a "SuperRealtor" schtick in their face.
I am all for newspaper ads, if they are affordable. I joined a company that does its own weekly ad featuring agents homes. I have to admit this was a big draw for me. On top of that they have negotiated favorable rates for our agents on all display advertising and that makes it easy to afford a weekly stand alone ad for myself. People tell me that they see me in the paper all the time. It does help to build credibility especially when so many agents have dropped out of the market. A newspaper ad says "I'm still here" and keeps your name fresh for those phone conversations.