Agents: Are You Sending MIXED Messages?

Written by Julie Escobar Posted On Thursday, 28 August 2014 10:55

8 Ways to Mix Your Message Mediums to Attract More Business

While coaches, experts, trainers, top agents, and our own marketing team will all tell you that consistency in your message is key to staying top of mind and a consistent pipeline of referrals -- most will also share that is not only fine to mix up the mediums -- it's a smart strategy for success. Why? Because let's face it -- we're all DIFFERENT. (Which is a good thing! Makes life WAY less boring -- don't you think?)

So because we're all different -- the way we view, absorb and react to marketing messages is different too. Using email, direct mail, social media, video, audio, visuals, phone calls, personal visits and everything in between will help you reach the folks in your sphere or farm in the ways that make the most sense for them.

First let's start with the obvious -- NAR tells us that more than 90% of home buyers and sellers START their search for their new home or REALTOR online, which is great news for you if you're busily building an online presence…right? There's just a little hitch -- according to a study of Broker Website Effectiveness conducted by the WAV Group 69% of visitors to broker websites type the address directly into the browser, 20% use search engine -- but with keywords such as agent or brokerage name, which means that more than 85% of all traffic to the brokers' websites were coming from people who ALREADY knew them. This is good in terms of retention of customers -- but not so good news in terms of driving NEW eyes to your website, blog or social media channels.

So if NEW traffic's your goal, then you've got to find some ways to get consumers in YOUR MARKET who are looking for information about buying or selling a house and they start to type something into that search bar….They know YOUR NAME & Company name!

1. Make direct mail your friend. Don't start yelling at me and saying direct mail is dead -- before you consider a few facts. According to a survey conducted by the Direct Marketing Association nearly 70% of consumers prefer to receive announcements and information from companies they are familiar with via conventional mail, versus less than 20% who prefer e-mail pitches.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of email marketing, but I have agents asking me week after week -- "How do I get email addresses?" And that's where I believe direct mail postcards can really compliment an agent's marketing plan. They're affordable, fast, don't have to be opened first, quick to make an impression and done right -- a great way to brand yourself, get your name TOP OF MIND for area consumers and drive people looking for real estate answers or information -- Straight to your website!

We even developed a great line of postcards to help you develop a social media following! Sowhether you're posting, pinning, blogging, tweeting, linking, or a combo platter -- we've got you covered -- they're called our

On-the-Web postcards and they're really helping drive traffic to your social media sites. Check them out: On the Web Templates!

Need help finding addresses to mail to? Check out our MapMyMail feature. It allows you to identify addresses in the geo farms where you're looking to brand yourself.

And now with the addition of Every Door Direct Mail -- you can send larger pieces like newsletters and flyers for a fraction of the cost (and make sure you are literally getting in EVERY door.) This is great news -- especially if you're marketing luxury homes and you want to saturate a high end market with larger Just Listed/Just Sold brochures. In fact our Dominator System is really taking things to an even higher level -- it allows you to send a 12 x 15 poster-size piece with done-for-you, direct response content for $1 (or less) a piece! Learn more here.

And one of the BEST things you can do in today's market is to share your STATS. Let people know what you are listing and selling. Here's a great way to showcase your success stories...

2. Next, add QR codes to all of your printed materials. Postcards, business cards, flyers -- even sign riders! Point those QR (Quick Response) codes to your Facebook Fanpage, your lead capture forms on your website, your single property websites or just about anywhere on the web you want to drive new customer attention. I've even seen them on car magnets!

Here are a couple of QR Code Generators for you to try:

If you don't like either of those just Google "QR Code Generator" and you'll find a bunch! I'd look for ones that have analytics attached so that you can track your results.

3. Add your social media addresses to everything just like your QR codes! Your business cards, email signatures, newsletters, printed materials, websites, blogs, the works. Make sure everything has got all the myriad of ways people can find you (and create some great backlinks for your different sites at the same time!) And please don't make the mistake that I see many businesses make where they simply say "follow us on Facebook" -- you have to go the extra step. Tell them HOW! For example -- Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/ProspectsPLUS. (A shameless plug -- but a good example!) I see business signs, cards, brochures etc. that just have the icons for social media and blogs but not the actual address. Make it EASY for folks to find you!

4. Join the online conversation. Don't expect immediate results, but also don't discount the power of the internet to help establish and fuel new relationships. I was just on a webinar with an agent who is terrifically engaged in social media and can attribute THIRTY SIX referrals in the last year to her online networking. 36! With a commission value of over $1 million. Talk about what's going on in your market, but don't make your social media posts all about you or all about real estate. If you've got a niche your passionate about-talk, post or tweet about that! Let your personality shine. Connect with agents from all over the world. ENGAGE them honestly with the VISION you have for your life and your business. Like attracts like. Ask questions. Invite the neighbors in your farm area to join a neighborhood fan page where you'll help to keep them posted on all things that pertain to their area. Like to work with seniors? Blog or post about the things that interest them. First time home buyers your gig? Make sure you include information on how to save for a down payment, how to protect their interests, etc. School events coming up? Neighborhood changes? Thank agents for referrals in big ways. You'll be surprised at the connections you can make.

Another great strategy is to interview area business owners. If you're tweeting or facebooking about them, there's a good chance they'll do the same for you! Ask an area roofer how what are the signs of a roof that needs to be replaced. Ask a plumber about winter pipe maintenance. Ask a local restaurateur about new menu items and promotions they might be having. Start conversing and connecting! Ask a local pediatrician about school vaccinations or seasonal allergies. Ask a new shop owner what brings them to the area. (You get the idea!)

5. Offer items of value on your website or blog. A great way to capture email addresses is to offer free reports and value items to your website in exchange for email addresses. People are information hungry these days and if you can satisfy that hunger with the right collateral pieces- they'll share their contact information and their loyalty! We've got lots of free reports and handy tools that you can download for free -- find them here: ProspectsPLUS.com Resource Page.

6. Event marketing. People are thirsty for information -- invite them to learn what you know by hosting workshops in your market on popular topics such as First Time Home Buying, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate and Today's Seniors, What You Need to Know About Short Sales and Foreclosures. PTAs and PTSA's are always on the look out for local professionals that can speak for 15-20 minutes or more at their meetings to draw more attendance, libraries are another great place to host meetings, or talk to some of the HOAs in your area about community meetings that you can take part in. All great ways to reach out to folks in your area. Here is a link to some handy workshop invites!

7. eMail is still viable: eMail is tough in a lot of ways -- spam blockers and just a saturation of inbox items can make it hard to get seen from the rest -- but it is a good way to just touch base with your sphere -- especially if there is something new in the market to talk about. Stay in tuned with what's going on in your area so that you have little sound bites to share with people for that kind of hyper-local touch that's so important. Things like school events, neighborhood block parties, community garage sales, new business openings, special offers and items of interest that people are happy to learn about and grateful to have a resource to remind them!

8. Stop being camera shy. Awesome GoPro and iPhone videos are becoming more and more a powerful marketing tool for agents who are stepping in front of the camera to share everything from market information tidbits to house tours to great news sound bites and featuring local businesses. They spotlight community attributes, share valuable content, are a great way to get seen, heard AND build SEO-friendly websites! Be sure to have links to all of them on your website, drive people to your YouTube account and break out your inner movie star! (Go ahead -- it's fun!)

So start mixing and matching and building both your email database as well as your book of business database so that you can whether whatever market storm comes your way. Good luck and remember we're here when you need us! Call our team at 866.405.3638 or visit www.prospectsplus.com/specials if you need help with mastering any of your marketing needs or implementing any of the direct mail solutions we've spotlighted here!

Rate this item
(6 votes)

Agent Resource

Limited time offer - 50% off - click here

Realty Times

From buying and selling advice for consumers to money-making tips for Agents, our content, updated daily, has made Realty Times® a must-read, and see, for anyone involved in Real Estate.