Week 8 Publicity Advertising Blueprint

Week 8 Publicity Advertising Blueprint

Media attention is one of the most powerful tools to  leverage for your real estate business. One of the most effective ways to reach the media is through a press release. You must be careful in how you approach this, or it can be very costly. Press releases when done right are not cheap, and you must give media representatives a reason to contact you as a result of your press release. Always give media a solution or a story that they can use. Never give them anything boring. As an example of what I mean by boring, do not provide them with a press release about your new location unless you are a publicly traded company that will substantially impact the economic environment of the area. In other words, don't provide the media with your new location press release. Small firms and brokerages don't have much economic impact on the communities they serve, and therefore news media will normally ignore your rah-rah new location press release. Give media representatives something news-worthy that they can use. You can provide information on market trends in the area or an opinion on a new law or legal issue affecting the real estate industry. You will want to position yourself as an expert and provide authoritative information on the content of the press release.

What is publicity advertising?

Publicity advertising is a mix of public relations and advertising. In college, we're taught that public relations and advertising are two different breeds. In reality, they're both part of marketing. If you're marketing your business, then you want to use every avenue you can to reach your potential audience. Public relations is one way to do this. Advertising is another. Advertising through the media is a highly effective way of gaining traffic to your website. By marketing through the media, you establish yourself as the expert in your field and create a perception to your potential client that you are the correct choice when they are deciding between you and your competition.

How do I write a press release and
why would I need one?

A press release is part of a carefully planned publicity campaign to drive traffic and potential clients to your website. Use headlines that capture attention. If you're looking for ideas on what would make a good headline, then head out to your local food store and check out gossip publications. These publications spend a lot of money on their headlines, and using those for ideas will help you gain attention in the media. Of course, be careful with this. You don't want to give your potential client the wrong idea about your services, but you do want to capture their attention. You'll want to provide a solution or development in your field, and then direct them to your website or report for more information. SIMC also offers a full-service publicity advertising campaign for those that would like this to be taken care of for them on a one time or quarterly basis.

Should I Include a link to a PDF or other download on my website?

Yes. Press releases are usually very limited in the amount of words that you can use when you're reaching out to newspapers, business journals, and magazines. So, you'll want to use your word count to your advantage. Including a link to a PDF provides a way for media to get additional information on the subject matter of your press release without exceeding word or character number limits.

What Should I Do When a Media source
Publishes my Story?

Make sure you leverage the exposure your press release provides by using media logos everywhere. If a media outlet picks up your story, use a logo with a link on your website, use it on social media, and use it on your business cards. If you create brochures, make sure you note "as seen on" everywhere. Once your publicity campaign has completed, you'll want to have your web developer place an "as seen on" webpage on your site with links to the releases. You'll also use the different media logos in as much other marketing material as you can to increase the perception of your expert status in your particular area of expertise.

Week 8 Worksheet

This week you need to put together some ideas about what you can write a press release about. One of the best types of press releases for real estate professionals is a detailed market report with ‘hot community’ information that both buyers and sellers would find interesting. Put together a market report in a PDF that contains the detailed information and then write a short press release. Provide top highlights of the market report with several percentages and facts. Then provide a link to the full PDF on your website within the press release. To maximize the effect of your publicity advertising strategy, plan a press release at least once per quarter.

My ideas for press release topics.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Media sources that picked up my story:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Places to share ‘as seen on’ logos:

Website:__________________________________________
Blog:_____________________________________________
Facebook:_________________________________________Twitter:___________________________________________

LinkedIn:__________________________________________

Google+:__________________________________________

Pinterest:__________________________________________

Business Cards:_____________________________________
Marketing Brochures: _______________________________

This blog is the last in an 8 week series of Blueprint walk-throughs on the 60 Day Internet Marketing Makeover. Each walk-through is intended to be worked on for a minimum of a week so that at the end of 8 weeks, or approximately 60 days, you will have created a sales funnel that attracts your ideal clients from the Internet and consistently brings you new clients on autopilot. 

Week 1: Content and Blogging Blueprint

Week 2: Social Media Marketing Blueprint

Week 3: Website Traffic Generation Blueprint

Week 4: Search Engine Optimization Blueprint

Week 5: Website Design and Navigation Blueprint

Week 6: Local Internet Marketing Blueprint

Week 7: Video Marketing Blueprint

Week 8: Publicity Advertising Blueprint

These walk-throughs are the basis for my next book and I am requesting feedback from the AR community on what would make these walk-throughs better. They are intended to be short, informative, and easy to implement. What would you like to see added or expanded upon? Let me know in the comments and when I publish this next book, I will make sure that you get your hands on a free copy :)