Most real estate agents are not marketing experts. You didn’t get into the real estate industry on your way to a lucrative marketing career. In fact, many agents don’t know anything about marketing at all and just do things the way they always have. And as has always been done with real estate, this is image advertising. This is not news. It’s an obvious fact that can be found simply by looking around your own neighborhood and in your own mailbox.
One of the most important aspects of real estate agent image advertising is the large color photo of themselves. When I see these types of ads and signs where the agent’s image is most prominent, I wonder why I should care what they look like. I know this will sound harsh to many of you currently using this type of advertising, but I’m not sure how my real estate agent, who is photogenic, will help you sell my home. I see myself as an average consumer. And in order for me to pick up the phone and call the phone number of each ad, I need to see the benefit to me. I see no benefit to me in these ads.
So if image advertising isn’t the way to go, what is? Direct Response Advertising. With a direct response ad, you give people a reason to pick up the phone and call you. You can force people to dial a call logging hotline, which gives them a number of benefits. The key is that you offer them something of value like a coupon, free report, or free home appraisal. People are far more likely to call an agent who offers them a free report on “10 Tips for Selling Your Home Quickly” than an agent who just gives them a nice smile.
The other important thing you can do in a direct response ad is differentiate yourself from the competition. This type of marketing is perfect for Yellow Pages ads. If you look at the ads that are usually placed in the phone book, they all look the same. What will compel someone to choose you over all other agents? If you use the standard image advertising approach, there is nothing that will make the consumer pick up the phone and call you. However, if you have a direct response ad that immediately grabs their attention and tells the consumer what you are going to offer them (e.g. you stand out from all the other agents in the book.
Direct response advertising has another major advantage over image advertising. Image advertising cannot be tracked. Image advertising has its place, and it does so in companies that have the time and resources to allow people to recognize their name or logo at first glance. Real estate agents don’t typically fall into this category. They work with tighter budgets and tighter deadlines. They need to know if the ads they are using are working now, what their return on investment is, and which ads need to be scrapped. All of this can be achieved with direct response advertising. Direct response advertising, when done correctly, has a built-in call-to-action that, when executed, can be tracked using call-capture technology. This allows real estate agents to really see what is and isn’t working for them.
Most real estate agents are not marketing gurus. When they got their real estate license, it didn’t include a degree in marketing. So it’s understandable that most agents just do things like they always have when it comes to advertising. Unfortunately, this is image advertising. If you want to get people to call you, differentiate yourself from your competition, and track the results of your advertising efforts, direct response marketing is the way to go.
Thanks to Brandi Armstrong | #real #estate #licenses #marketing #deals
