Real Estate Marketing Tips

Learn what it takes to build a successful online marketing campaign and start leveraging the Internet's potential today.

Online Marketing
The Advantage for Realtors

Many realtors today are saying "I have done fine so far without the Internet, why do I need a web site?". In the January 2006 Home Buyer & Seller Survey, NAR President Thomas M. Stevens answers that question:

"The real estate industry today bears little resemblance
to the way we did business 10 years ago."

77% of homebuyers use the Internet in their search, up from 74% in 2004 and 41% in 2001, according to the same survey Homebuyers today are savvier and understand that the Internet is a great tool to aid in finding the right realtor and the right home.

These numbers shouldn't be surprising. Children are being taught at an early age how to use the internet from their parents and teachers. Many teachers today expect their students to use the internet as a tool to find information for their homework assignments. Naturally, as these children turn into adults, the number of internet homebuyers will only increase.

Internet Homebuyer vs. Traditional Buyer

In the "2005 Internet Vs. Traditional Buyer Survey, published by the California Association of Realtors, internet homebuyers are more educated on the home buying process and have a tendency to purchase more expensive homes then the traditional homebuyer on average. The survey points out the Internet Buyers had a slightly higher median annual income of $185,100, compared to $151,200 for traditional buyers. It goes on to point out that the internet actually cut the amount of time Internet Buyers spent looking for a home in half, because they were able to narrow down their search to only the homes they were strongly interested in.

Online Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing

A well executed online marketing campaign will yield wealthier and highly educated clients. Is online marketing easy? The answer is NO. Then again is walking around your farm handing out your monthly newsletter easy?

Both Online and Traditional marketing campaigns take time and consistency to be effective, and both will yield great results when done properly. Your online marketing campaign should not replace your traditional marketing campaign. It should compliment it. The real goal behind any marketing campaign is getting your face in front of your customers before your competition does.