Mastering online real estate advertising

Understanding  leads to success.

What you know:

• Real estate advertising is changing.
• Most home buyers and sellers view listings, brands and agents online before they go
anywhere else (to an office, to the phone, even to email).
• $7.5 billion was spent on online real estate advertising in 2009*. 

What you may not know:

• How can I capitalize on these changes?
• How can I execute better, more effective online advertising campaigns?

What you will learn today:

• 10 principles or “rules” to turn all of your online marketing and advertising efforts
(banners, block ads, agent branding ads and the like) into killer, bulls-eye hitting
campaigns.

*Borrell Associates 2009

Principle #10.
Be different.

The herd mentality:

• Most ads look the same
• Open house ad,
• Agent roster ad,
• The sold ad.
• Everything follows the tried and sometimes
true patterns. Results, as they say, vary. 
• Create Something that sets you APART – don’t
join the crowd.
• That holds true whether you are writing
headlines for pay-per-click ads or crafting
property descriptions for an enhanced listings
campaign.
 Principle #10.
Be different.

What jumps out at you about this ad?

Principle #10.
Be different.

So what might different mean in real estate? 

• Do your research. Look at the ads on the site or sites on which you plan to advertise. Do
they all reflect the same language (for example, "local experts you can trust," or "View
every home in Dutchess County") and the same imagery (say, happy couples in front of a
"Sold" sign)?
• Make sure you're not adding to the chorus. You want to sing a solo!
• Also, you may want to get a little risky. People expect real estate ads to say certain
things.
• Difference sells.
Principle #10.
Be different.
Principle #7.
Be reasonable.

Think like your target.

• When thinking through your ad
campaign, always, always ask yourself:
"Would I do what I am asking the viewer
to do?"
• Here's an example of how many real
estate advertisers get this wrong 
• Would you feel comfortable coughing up
all of this information when all you
wanted was a simple email alert? Probably
not.
Principle #7.
Be reasonable.

Now wouldn’t you be more willing to

fill out this form
Principle #6.
Be mindful of mobile.

Shameless plug alert! The Web is now in your audience’s

pocket. It pays to think small.
• 39% of consumers now own a smart
phone. The Web is in their pocket. That
number will grow rapidly. And this is not
just about the iPhone.
• Whitepages.com forecasts that more
than 10 million Android devices (Android
is the mobile operating system
spearheaded by Google) will ship in 2010. 
• The Kelsey Group estimates that the
mobile advertising market will grow from
just $160 million in 2008 to $3.1 billion in
2013.
• The nature of online advertising is
changing as you read. 
Principle #6.
Be mindful of mobile.
Principle #5.
Know who you're talking to.

You need to understand your audience in order to execute a successful

campaign. 
• Make sure you get more than just rates and traffic numbers from any site on which
you're considering advertising.
• You also need to see as much demographic information as possible.
www.quantcast.com measures web behavior and Demographics
Principle #4.
Nail the creative.

Do it well or don’t do it at all. 

• We see it all the time: a broker will submit an online ad designed by the person in their
organization responsible for print advertising, this generally results in a mess of acronyms
driven by print ad restrictions
• Finding good - and affordable - Web design and copywriting talent is far from impossible.
In fact, it's getting easier all the time. If you need help in this area, these three online
services are a good place to start:
• Sortfolio – hire web designer for your site
• 99designs – logo design
• Elance – hire freelance experts for ad designs
• Remember – your ad creative is an extension of your brand. And your brand – what you
mean in the minds of your audience – is more valuable than any other asset. Don’t
undermine it with poorly executed advertising.
Principle #3.
Always be testing.

You test. It's the only way to get an objective read on your ads. 
There are two approaches to testing:
• Qualitative: involves soliciting feedback on your ads from people who are similar to
the target audience you would like to reach. You can hire a research firm to conduct a
formal focus group, but it can be much simpler than that. Gather a group of six to eight
individuals - friends of friends, co-workers, neighbors - at a one-hour meeting where you
show them the ads you're considering. Ask them what they like, what they don't like and
why. - www.easyusability.com – inexpensive and easy way to get feedback on
ads and websites
• Quantitative: If you have the time, testing your ads in this manner is your best option.
A quantitative test does not rely on opinions expressed in a controlled environment; it
measures ad performance in live conditions and provides you objective data.
• How can you do this?
Principle #3.
Always be testing.

Here are a couple tips:

• Facebook ads: Facebook offers very affordable - and very targeted - advertising
options. Let's say you have four messages you want to test for a larger campaign on a site
like HomeFinder.com. Testing all four on Facebook with a very small ad buy will give you
hard data on which message gets the strongest response.
• Google Website Optimizer: Google Website Optimizer allows you to test different
versions of a Web page to see which is best at producing the result you're after. It's a free
tool that can be implemented on your site easily.
•   The bottom line: even a little testing, or imperfect testing, is better than no testing!
Principle #2.
Aim for the heart and the mind.

Connecting with your viewer's mind is

often just half the story.
• The heart - particularly in an industry
like real estate can be just as important. 
• For example, this is a GREAT niche
marketing sample from
Sandstorm Design agency (promoting the
SRES Designation)
• Very often, brokers and agents will try to
create this effect by including pictures of
people in their ads. Families in front of a
new home, a couple next to a "Sold" sign,
or a happy "consumer" are familiar
images.
• And this can be very effective. But there
are a couple things you must consider
when going for the heart.
Principle #2.
Aim for the heart and the mind.

• Know your audience: Make certain your imagery creates a sense in the viewer that
they are looking at "people like me." This means you need to adhere closely to #5 - "know
who you're talking to."
• Avoid overused stock images: Look at online real estate advertising long enough
and you'll notice the same images appearing again and again. That's because many
designers source images from the same online stock photo sites.
• Recognize that connecting with your viewer is not all about images.
• You can have a profound impact with words. We're not talking about the
overwrought real estate writing we see too much of (we help families realize their
dreams) but rather simple words that provoke an emotional response. A great example
is this Google ad from Superbowl Forty-Four…
Principle #1.
Have a plan.

Our last rule should be the first thing you do. Before you invest in creative,
before you research sites, before you spend a dime - you need to have a plan. 

Establish a goal: First, be clear if you are undertaking a branding campaign (meaning you
want to build general awareness of your brand) or a direct response campaign (you want
viewers to take an action immediately).

Specific outcome: Now that you have a goal, it is time to determine what you'd like to
achieve with your campaign. That may be Website traffic, email leads, phone calls, closings,
or an increase in your brand awareness. 

Measure: How will you know if you reach your goal? If you can't tell what's working,
you're not going to succeed over time. How you measure depends on your goal, but here are
a couple methods:
• Tracking number of views on the landing pages to which your ads point.
• Tracking emails or calls your ads generate.
• Tracking the number of times your Brand is searched on Google (check out Google
Trends)
Principle #1.
Have a plan.

Evaluate your ROI: Was it worth it?  

• You won't know for sure unless you take the time to evaluate your measurements
against your goal, then factor in the cost of your campaign.
• This tends to be more challenging in real estate than it is in many other industries
because the time from first point of contact to closing can be many months.
• But if you do this over time, you will develop a baseline that can help you evaluate
advertising campaigns quickly.
• If you know, for example, the percentage of Web site leads that can be counted on to
result in a closing within a 12-month period, you can then establish a "customer
acquisition cost" that can help you plan your overall marketing budget more efficiently. 
Knowing where to start.
Understanding  leads to success.

Keep it simple.
• Identify where you are currently weakest and work forward from there.
• If you struggle to identify who, exactly, your customer is, start collecting that data.
• If you suffer from bad design, find a better creative resource before you do anything else.
• If you have no idea how to measure the success of your campaigns, implement an
analytics package on your Web site today.

You get the idea: better advertising is a process. You start where you need to start and never
really stop tinkering, adjusting and improving.

On behalf of the entire HomeFinder.com team, we wish you continued success!

Thanks for your time.

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