RISMEDIA, May 20, 2010—Have you ever sent a tweet that produced a phone call that turned into a sale? If you’ve had actual success using social media, consider yourself fortunate. If not, it may be time to get back-to-the-basics.
HomeGain recently published the results of its independent survey on effective marketing methods for real estate agents. The purpose of this survey was to show what agents are doing to market themselves and more importantly, what marketing methods are producing the greatest results. For well over a year, social media has dominated office conversation, so it was not surprising to see Twitter, YouTube and MySpace make the list. Shocking however, was that Realtors ranked these three dead last for overall effectiveness.
If Twitter, YouTube and MySpace aren’t producing results, why do so many agents pursue these strategies? Because they are virtually free to use. Unfortunately, the old adage “you get what you pay for” continues to ring true. Because anyone can use them, everyone is using them and therefore, social media messages can get lost in the crowd.
So what are the most effective marketing methods real estate agents use? According to the survey, postcards are at the top of the list after referrals and featured listings. Although postcard marketing has been around for decades and doesn’t seem “cutting edge” like the new social media methods- direct mail works. And, because so many real estate agents are now using these other marketing methods, agents sending postcards have little to no competition in the mailbox. The average email inbox receives 60 to 100 messages every day while the average mailbox receives just 1 or 2 postcards. Personal promotion is about getting noticed and that’s tough to accomplish when you are simply one in a hundred.
If your social media efforts have not translated into actual sales, now may be the time to get back-to-the-basics. A direct mail provider, LentzDesign, has been promoting real estate agents since 1994 and has hundreds of postcard campaigns and designs to choose from. Each card is completely personalized with all of the Realtors’ contact information and can be purchased for as little as 22 cents each. This price includes full-color printing and gloss coating. A complete mailing option is also available and you can send as few as one postcard.
For more information, visit www.LentzDesign.com.
