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Real Estate News and Advice |
July 10, 2009 |
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 Five Reasons Why You Need Internet Marketing
by Blanche Evans
Realty Times is a popular resource for new and experienced brokers and their agents. Many times we are e-mailed to find out more information about Internet marketing solutions. Here is the one question we are asked the most, and our answer - the five reasons why Internet marketing works for Realtors. Q: I already do well using traditional advertising to market my listings. Why do I need the Internet? A: 1. The Internet is where the buyers are. In 1995, about two percent of buyers used the Internet to find a home. By 2001, that number had skyrocketed to 41 percent – even-steven with newspapers which have lost ground for the same period. The Internet was the only medium to go up in use while print, yard signs, and television all went down. Also going down in percentages of information sources used by buyers were open houses, referrals, and relocation companies. This information is straight from the 2002 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. 2. You can capture Internet buyers (and sellers) before they choose another Realtor. Buyers need to prepare themselves before executing a home purchase. They turn to the Internet so they can navigate in privacy and obtain scads of information in order to better decide what they want to do. Imagine making the momentous decision to buy a home. Would you know the answers to basic questions like ‘what is the market like?’, ‘how much house can I buy?’, ‘when will I be ready to buy?’, and ‘how will I know a good deal when I see one?’ A savvy Internet Realtor is prepared to be an information source and assist with answers via e-mail, market conditions reports, school reports and more. While it's true that consumers don't typically go to the Internet to find a real estate professionals, according to the California Association of Realtors’ survey of Internet buyers in February 2002, 79 percent of Internet buyers chose their agents from the Internet. If you wait for traditional media to deliver prospects, you may find they are already working with someone else – someone they met on the Internet. 3. The Internet can not only deliver answers quickly and easily to consumers, it can also dazzle them. Online display and information technologies such as virtual tours, multiple photos, mapping, crime statistics can deliver rich, detailed information about listings which is invaluable to consumers. Compare that to what you can put in a typical classified ad, and you can see why consumers prefer the Internet. It saves them time and they get more information, and that saves you legwork. The CAR survey quoted above also noted that Internet consumers take longer to get prepared, but once they engage a Realtor, they view fewer homes, act more quickly when they find a home and buy a more expensive home than traditional buyers. 4. The Internet is an ideal communication medium. And don’t underestimate the importance of the Internet as a communication tool. The Internet is the only medium where you can engage in a dialog with your prospect directly from your ad. CAR also found that Internet consumers communicated primarily with their agents via e-mail – 88 percent of the time. Realtor.com found that they also call straight from listings. According to an internal survey of Realtor.com visitors, first published exclusively by Realty Times, out of every 100 visitors:
5. Advertising is cheaper, more innovative and more far-reaching on the Internet. Where else can a prospect view your listings and find out all they need to know about you, too? According to the NAR's 2001 Member survey, agents are paying about one-tenth of their earnings to advertising. It's clear that if you are tithing that much, you want to be certain you are spending your money in the right places. Internet exposure is a bargain compared to most newspaper advertising, but many agents feel strapped by having to spend money on both. Newspaper advertising is more targeted, but it is very expensive because space is sold by the inch, and newspapers target jobs, real estate and cars very heavily. Because they are targeted, they are more likely to get consumers who are closer to buying a home than in the information-gathering stages. These consumers, however, may already have a relationship with an agent because those are the people looking for open houses and listings in the classifieds. The Internet has more areas to advertise in, search engines, listings portals, and so on, while there may be only one major newspaper in town. However, for the cost of one week's newspaper ad, most agents can fund their listings, virtual tours, and personal Web sites and some Internet placement for about the same costs. There are also new ways to advertise that hit consumers with exactly what they want to know - what the local market conditions are like. You can supply consumers with your expertise with a report that includes access to your e-mail, newsletter, and Web site. In short, you can find a program that suits your budget whether you are a sellers' agent or a buyers' agent, or whatever specialty you have. Real estate is local, but what is happening is that it is the locals who are going to the Internet for information, as well as relocating families who are buying outside the famous 50-mile radius. Published: January 28, 2003 Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. 
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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68.
