The New Age of Marketing

This is a duplicate post from David Allison’s blog on BC Business

What keeps me awake at night? The answer – at least the one I’m willing to commit to a blog post – is below.

It’s in an interview I did to help promote the Canadian Resort Investment Conference (at which I am a speaker), and I’m posting it because, even though I’m talking about real estate, I think its marketing lessons are broadly applicable. Substitute some particulars, and this could be a how-to for branding barbershops or accounting firms. Hopefully, something in here makes you stop and rethink an aspect of your business communication and positioning.

Q: Marketing resort property has traditionally followed a formula – how and why is it changing? What marketing methods are now being used in the industry?

The recession has changed everything. The investors and flippers are now gone. Buyers remaining in the market are thoughtful end-users, and they are being cautious in their purchases. Education and information are the only antidotes to fear and uncertainty. We need to stop being “hype and jive” marketers, and instead become more like journalists – Marketing Journalists, if you will. We refer to our company as a Marketing Newsroom, because that’s the functionality we need to provide to our clients these days. We need to help them BE the media.

Q: What is the impact of social media on the real estate/resort industry? Is it a fad or is it here to stay?

It’s here to stay. The recession has sped up the mainstreaming of social media. At a time when we are a) looking for community and b) distrustful of traditional communications channels, there is suddenly a new way to talk to people and engage them on a meaningful level. What would more motivate you to buy a car today – a fancy ad campaign or two friends on Facebook recommending it? Eighteen million Canadians are on Facebook. Of those, more than 50 per cent are over the age of 35. That makes it exponentially more powerful than the CBC and Globe and Mail combined.

Q: Fill in the blank: “The future success of the second-home property industry is reliant on _______.”

Truth. And plenty of it.

Look, it’s simple. For years we’ve sold resort and recreational property by showing people a sunset with a couple in matching sarongs holding hands. That won’t cut it anymore. Today, our buyers want to know about construction quality, energy efficiency of the appliances, resale potential, demographics of the community, historical averages of weather, cultural opportunities, soundproofing of walls, insurance policies, census data for the area, population and immigration patterns, and so on. Be a journalist. Be the media. Blanket prospects with a nice warm layer of facts and credible information. They will respect you for it.

Q: Today, developers and hoteliers are trying to make their product more attractive and marketable. What can they do to achieve this in today’s climate?

Be reasonable. If you have a “C” site, don’t put in a Euro-kitchen and bidet and try to sell it at premium prices. Build a good entry-level product and sell it accordingly. Second, really think about the consumers and how they will use the space. There are many small questions about which you will have to answer but getting it right on the granular level gives you a strong and solid truth. It’s something your customer can gravitate to.

Twitter For Real Estate Professionals – A Thumbnail Guide

Twitter is huge. And growing incredibly fast. This seemingly frivolous social networking site has become one of the biggest juggernauts in the social media pantheon. And real estate professionals are all over it – some deftly, others not so much.

We thought we’d take a moment to share what we’ve learned about using Twitter for Real Estate marketing and sales campaigns.

The service is simple. Users post 140-character “tweets” (which can be composed of anything from what they’re eating for breakfast to a link to a breaking story in The Guardian). Any Twitter user can “follow” another, without permission, and read their posts, known as “tweets”. But following is not reciprocal; once you’ve been followed by a user, you are not obligated to follow them back.

Which is the beauty of Twitter. Facebook is a relatively closed circuit, where your network is comprised almost solely of people in your real-time social network. LinkedIn is even more closed: you have to actually know the people you connect with.

Twitter, on the other hand, allows vast, disconnected networks to brush up against one another. In short, it allows you to make fast, fresh contacts with tons of new people.

Of course, with such a wide-open, loosely structured communication model, there is plenty of white noise. People post all kinds of nonsense on Twitter. And – yes – they waste a lot of time.

But the fact remains: Twitter can be a hugely useful networking tool, and it has emerged as the clear leader in the rising groundswell in online communications. So if you want to hear what consumers are saying, you’d better be there.

And Twitter can, in fact, be surprisingly focused. If you follow users who are of interest to your demographic, the network you build will be consistent with your target audiences. And search tools make finding these specific users – and their extended networks – that much easier.

The real estate world is waking up to Twitter’s potential. Many projects have an account, and countless agents have begun to expand their networks using this new channel.

But of course, we at Braun/Allison have an opinion about the best ways to use Twitter. And we’re going to tell you all about it.

Good Lord, Don’t Shill Too Much

We all know what your prime objective is – to sell homes. But would you walk up to someone at a cocktail party with a contract and a pen? Or blurt out that there are only “four stunning units left!” as soon as a buyer walks into your sales centre? Twitter is a conversation. Let it unfold a little. Then drop your sales message in, here and there.

Be Yourself

Now, obviously there are some limits to this. You do want to maintain decorum. But no one wants to talk to a boring company representative, whether in real life or on the internet. You’ve got to include some of your genuine personality. Everyone has a different formula for this. Find your balance, and try to stick to it. But be real.

Offer Something of Value to Your Network

Statistics on the neighbourhood you’re working in. Relevant news stories. Great restaurants in the area. Industry-specific facts. There are infinite ways to position yourself as an authority – and win more loyal, attentive followers in the process.

Connect With Others

This is a conversation, not a soapbox. You have to actually read others’ tweets. Find kindred spirits, and form alliances with them. Respond immediately to questions that are asked of you. Get in there – and be there for the long haul.

Be Patient

Twitter takes a while to get into. And even longer to yield value in terms of positive attention, buzz – and, ultimately, sales. But people are there. If you are too, and you’re genuine, they will sense that. And you will come out ahead.