Good morning AR!
Recently in an office discussion we talked with our brokers about the benefits of marketing versus their costs. In recent years, brokers would simply rely upon yellow and white page ads, billboards, signs, and promotional giveaways. Ads were placed in the open house section of the local and regional papers, and some brokerages even dabbled in radio and television advertisement.
Those days were a little simpler. You expected to pay hundreds per year for advertising in order to do business. Brokers targeted neighborhoods and sent out flyer or postcards. Broker knocked on doors in order to meet new potential clients, and a whole lot of sponsorships of local events or charitable organiztions.
What we often failed to see, was the true cost of this type of advertising. Sure it would bring in clients, and deals. But when the dust settled how much had we paid to earn our commissions?
With advances in technology, the game changed. Did it get more complex? Absolutely. However, it became less expensive for brokers to get their names out to the public. Currently, a shift in trends has occured toward a blend of print and online advertising. Websites such as www.postlets.com began to appear, allowing brokers to advertise online for free. Tools such as www.ams.treb.com were developed by companies such as the Real Estate Book which allowed brokers to buy print ads, and then have them sent out to numerous online portals or search pages where buyers go to search out listings.
What we are experiencing now is once again changing. There are now resources available online that allow brokers to get their names out to the public and to begin networking. With tools such as www.facebook.com brokers can tap into social networks and earn new clients without paying a penny.
At Chaparral Realty Group www.chaparralrealtygroup.com, we've embraced these technollogies for our new brokers just getting started in the real estate game. We help coach our new brokers to learn about new and exciting tools which give us the edge. By schooling them about such tools as www.activerain.com, we help them to get their names out there without having to invest so much cash up front.
A strong active rain presence affect your rankings on www.google.com, www.yahoo.com, and www.msn.com when buyers and sellers search the net looking for real estate info. Sites such as www.zoominfo.com and others allow agent to add their contact information for free, thus placing them on a list of local brokers who appear online when searched. With Active Rain, we teach them to create blogs to showcase their talents and expertience, which then appear once they are searched online.
Next, by fostering a group of contacts through www.facebook.com they can then reach out to the public offering to answer questions and help folks to find homes or sell homes. Next, we encourage them to create their own websites, generating leads, and then feeding the content of their online marketing through www.postlets.com directly to their website.
These channels all flow together to help new or established brokers to increase their contact database, and also to properly market their listings to this database and to the general public.
Next, by attending local events and charitable functions - brokers can meet locals who just may turn out to know someone who needs to buy or sell. During these events, they can pass out business cards featuring their website address.
All in all what they are doing by following this model, is establishing a local presence and establishing clout as a knowledgeable broker. In essence they can build their business for very little up front cost.
The best part of this system is the numbers. Lets look at what this new approach will cost.
Business cards through www.gotprint.com = $35.00 (1000 cards plus shipping)
Active Rain account = Free
Postlets account = Free
Facebook account = Free
Attending events = Free
Personal website = Free for brokers of Chaparral Realty Group
Total investment (figuring personal website cost is $300) = $35.00 (produces national exposure)
Now lets compare it to the old approach:
Business cards = $35.00
White and Yellow page ads = $250
Postcards plus postage = $100
Total investment (figuring personal website cost is $300) = $385.00 (produces only regional exposure)
As you can see, the difference is substantial. By utilizing modern technology it is now more affordable than ever to build a client base. Considering the many other expenses brokers must pay in order to do business, I think we can all agree that embracing modern technology just makes sense.
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