The venue and your presentation—simply put—is how you reach millionaires.
It’s not ‘how many’ sites you are syndicated on. You can stream your content everywhere for free—easily. But that’s not how you’re going to reach Tiger Woods or international business travelers. With all the talk about magazines losing their luster and effectiveness, it is worth noting that the ones that are losing are the ones that have become irrelevant.
Take Gourmet magazine, for example. One of the reasons it became redundant is because of the access to everything that was already online—at least it was for the consumer.
A printed luxury publication is different.
Direct mail is still one of the most effective forms of marketing—even in the age of blogs and twitter. This is what a luxury publication enables an advertiser. Luxury properties (in contrast) take months, if not years to sell which is precisely why the printed page is still important to one’s marketing.
I hear this day in and day out…
everything is on the internet… or 80 per cent of all home searches start on the internet
photo courtesy of silipo via flickr
Says who? And if so, then why is the agent not leveraging the internet for success with their luxury properties. Clearly, if the above is true, than it stands to reason that a broker would be on every reputable luxury media channel. If not, osmosis is not a safe marketing philosophy.
More than that, people think that the internet is so effective but don’t have a clue how to use it. This makes no sense. If the internet provides an ‘inexpensive – sometimes free’ advertising venue, then why aren’t luxury brokers using just a few of these marketing tools? The internet is a big place and it’s changing very quickly. . . by the minute.
Use both
Personally, I love the internet. I have a natural affinity towards finding things on the internet and I presume I’m not alone. And from what I can tell is this: The brokers and agents (that are still in business) are the ones who have embraced internet marketing , (i.e., targeted syndication of listings and social media) and targeted tangible resources, (i.e. catalogs and postcards).
Embracing the new media is essential
By far, the largest response I get from an agent when I ask them if they have a blog is this:
Are you kidding? That’s just one more thing I’d have to maintain.
I’m not kidding. And a blog is not always about what’s for dinner. And an established branded presence on twitter is not about walking your dog. Sure it can be. And, to a larger extent, this is precisely what these tools enable a luxury agent: human micro-interactions. Interactions that would normally not take place because of geography.
Luxury agents can do this. It doesn’t take a whole lot of time. You might actually enjoy it, which might lead to more success.
Real Estate for youTube = FAIL
I’m sorry about this one. Maybe I’m wrong about this, but watching a video with ‘canned sound’ on youtube of luxury property may, in fact, be the most boring thing one may do on the internet.
Here’s an idea: How about you, the agent, actually narrate the video with your own presentation… your own selling style. I might want to watch that. (maybe) And I’m not buying a 20 million dollar property. It’s a good bet that if I think it’s not worth 4 minutes of my time, a millionaire will value it even less; however, you could make it more human… that would be a reason to engage.
and lastly…
Facebook for promotion.
People want to know about other people on facebook. That’s why we’re there. If you are going to post something on facebook, post your blog. Tell your story. That’s why people buy from you in the first place.
