Since we’ve been talking about knowing your target market, and communicating & connecting effectively online, I wanted to share a great book on this very subject.
Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business helps marketers and their companies understand how to engage customers, build customer communities, and maximize profits in a [...]
In my post last week, , we talked about the importance of knowing what your target looks like.
An important tool you have at your disposal is an analytics package, like Google Analytics. Being able to track your visitors, where they’re coming from and how long they’re staying on your site can help you make sure that your website speaks to your target market. It would be a terrible thing to know exactly who you’d like to be working with, but not be bringing any of them in due to a bad (or untargeted) website.
Here’s a great overview of Google Analytics from both the Group Manager at Google, as well as from a Realtor® that’s currently using it on his site. So be sure to put tracking in place on your site as soon as you can, so you can start making more intelligent decisions about your website and online presence. And don’t forget, this isn’t just for your site. Any single-property site you’re creating for clients should have tracking in place so that you can see where you’re getting the most traffic from, see what ads are working and what aren’t , and provide valuable info to your home sellers.
So you have an account at Twitter. Maybe you’ve developed some relationships, gotten some new followers, and aren’t sure what to do next. Try a TweetUp!
Today’s Web 2.0 Wrap-Up is a great post from Diane Guercio on ActiveRain - Get Better Known at a TweetUp. TweetUp’s are local gatherings of people on Twitter, and it’s a fantastic way to develop or deepen relationships that have started on Twitter. Putting real faces to names, getting the opportunity to chat with local people that have embraced social media sites like Twitter, and just meeting new people from your area are just three of the many reasons to go!
Diane also has some great tips on putting a TweetUp together, getting publicity for it, and making yourself known at the event. You can also check out “Using Twitter To Drive Local Business and And How To TweetUp Succesfully” another great post from Mary McKnight. She walks you through the process of putting together a TweetUp, then marketing it successfully.
Knowing what your target market looks like is a great way to make sure every marketing dollar you spend (or every minute of your time) is working effectively for you. Stats are a great way to do this.
For example, here are some stats compiled by Quantcast on what first-time buyers look like in 2009:
* 58 percent female
* 41 percent are between age 18 and 34 (59 percent are 35 and older)
* 62 percent are Caucasian (26 percent African-American, 7 percent Asian and 4 percent Hispanic)
* 80 percent have no kids
* 35 percent earn between $30,000 and $60,000
* 58 percent have some college education
Can you describe, in a few words, what your ideal client looks like? Take a look at your past clients (or at least, the ones you’ve really enjoyed working with, that have sent you referrals and/or become repeat clients). Look at their age, their income, the type of work they do, etc. and you can begin compiling stats for your own business. You can also utilize analytics and tracking systems online to see where you are getting a lot of traffic (and business) from. In the next week, we’ll be looking at some different ways you can track your business online, but in the meantime, think about what your clients have in common. Be keeping their personality traits, interests, habits and preferences in mind, it can immediately help “drill down” your marketing by including the things that will appeal to them, and leaving out what won’t.
Online real estate marketing has been a big topic lately - partly because it works so effectively and requires no real monetary investment, just a little bit of time. But don’t forget that your past, current and potential clients are real people and there are many marketing methods offline that work just as well with a similar investment of a little time and a little money.
Here are three traditional marketing methods that still work very well. Make sure that you don’t forget about traditional techniques in your marketing, in addition to your online marketing, because you can never completely replace that person-to-person touch in an industry like real estate.
Make a quick call to potential, present and past clients just to touch base.
Drop a personalized note in the mail to say “hello” and see how they’re doing in their new home, now that they’ve gotten settled.
For past clients that you know a little better and know where to find them, stop by their work or home with a small “thinking of you” gift that will be completely unexpected.
Although each of these is a simple act, I’m always surprised at how few Realtors® actually implement them. What traditional marketing methods are incorporating in your mix? How are they working for you?
Fresh Marketing Insights You Can Implement Immediately
3800+ followers on Twitter, 1136 RSS Readers
About Consistent Clients
Consistent Clients is a destination for real estate insight, news, marketing tips, services and products. Our mission is to be your guide to real estate success by bringing you up-to-date info you can use to grow your client base through referrals - both online and off.
Knowing what your target market looks like is a great way to make sure every marketing dollar you spend (or every minute of your time) is working effectively for you. Stats are a great way to do this.
Online real estate marketing has been a big topic lately - partly because it works so effectively and requires no real monetary investment, just a little bit of time. But don’t forget that your past, current and potential clients are real people and there are many marketing methods offline that work just as well with a similar investment of a little time and a little money.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
0 Comments