Why old school marketing won't sell your house

Some folks in the real estate biz have been reluctant to migrate their marketing efforts online.  You know who I'm talking about... and I don't have to worry about any of them reading this because THEY DON'T BLOG and the internet scares them.  They are missing out and so are you if they are working for you.  If you are hoping to sell your home in the greater Boston area, you need to call me if:

You ask your agent about their Google rankings and they say "what's a google??"

If that's even close to the response you get... run screaming or prepare for months of frustration trying to sell your house.  GOOGLE MATTERS!  Google logs 2 billion searches a day, that's about 300 MILLION users PER DAY.  Google holds 84% of the market share, running a distant second is Yahoo! with 6%...... think it makes sense to get ranked?

Your agent thinks that Facebook is "for kids" 

There are over 400 Million active users on Facebook.  What's the fastest growing demographic?  Women, age 55+.  It's not for kids.

Your agent doesn't have a BlackBerry/Smartphone

The internet has created an entire culture of narcissists with ADD (myself included).  If I don't get an answer within 30 seconds, I get frustrated.  If it takes more than a couple of hours to get an email answered - I'm probably going elsewhere to get my info.  Hate me for it, that's fine - but there are a lot of people out there like me - particularly home buyers who want to make an appointment to see your house on the fly while they are driving through your neighborhood.

Your agent tells you that name recognition matters to buyers

It doesn't.  A buyer or their buyer's agent are no more likely to call to see your home if you are listing with Coldwell Banker than if you are listing with Joe Schmo One Man Show Real Estate.  All that matters is that they find your house!  Do you honestly think a buyer calls their agent and says "I know that house is perfect... but I only buy from Prudential...."  It simply DOES NOT HAPPEN.

Your agent thinks that a "Beauty Sheet" is an effective marketing tool

Seriously?  Your coming at me with a beauty sheet?  For those who don't know, a beauty sheet has information about your house and pictures of your house and.... it sits on the kitchen counter of your house.  So, buyer's pick it up and look at pictures of your house WHILE THEY ARE IN YOUR HOUSE.  It looks nice, and it looks like you are working hard if you put one together for a client.  Let me tell you something, paper covers rock but YouTube smashes paper.  PERIOD.  Do you know what the second most visited website is (behind Google)? YouTube.  Do you know who owns YouTube?  Google.  See where I'm going with this?  YouTube videos get found by buyers.  How about I put together a virtual tour of your house on YouTube instead?

It's a competitive seller's market and you need an agent who has a bag full o'marketing tricks to bring you quality buyers.  Want to know more?  Visit my website, follow me on Twitter, follow me on FaceBook, call me, text me (781-799-9267) or email me: lori.liveston@virtualhomes.com.

 

 

 

About the author: This blog is provided by Lori Liveston, a Realtor with Virtual Homes Real Estate. Lori can be reached via email at lori.liveston@virtualhomes.com or by phone at 781-799-9267. Follow me on Twitter @loriliveston

If you are thinking of buying or selling your home, contact me today!  I would love to put my enthusiasm, marketing expertise and dedication to customer service to work for you.

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I service the following towns in Metrowest MA: Waltham, Lexington, Watertown, Billerica, Burlington, Woburn, Newton, Needham, Dedham, Framingham, Ashland, Natick, Hopkinton, Upton, Arlington, Weston, Wayland, Belmont, Concord, Lincoln, Bedford and Winchester..