The following rant is from a relatively new friend of mine, Amy Lewis. She just sold her home. And, she has some interesting ideas on how we might improve this often painful process.
I’m selling my house (editor’s note: Amy sold her house since submitting this post). Your sympathies are welcome.
As a marketer, it has been an eye-opening process. I’ve been surprised how, even in light of the new means of reaching and engaging people, the real estate industry chiefly relies on marketing techniques of 20 years ago.
Take pictures.
Put the listing on MLS.
Make flyers for bulletin boards.
Put a sign in the yard.
Have open houses.
And wait…and wait some more.
When the house doesn’t sell right away, lower the price. When a realtor’s bag of tricks is exhausted, the price is lowered again.
Maybe it’s just my realtor but I don’t think so. She’s learned her technique from others around her. That’s why I’m looking forward to the discussion at SMBMSP #25 on real estate and social media. Knowing SMBMSP’s track record, I’m sure the speakers are using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, a blog and other social media to build their business and their reputations. Near as I can tell, these folks are in the minority.
A Different World
Can you imagine if every company followed the marketing practices of realtors? Our world would be so different. Imagine:
- Every company would promote their wares with a tacky sign in front of their buildings – probably one of the pretty yellow ones with a lighted arrow across the top with a few bulbs burnt out and messages in black magnetic letters with scattered ones missing.
- Bulletin boards at coffee shops and grocery stores would be the size of billboards to accommodate scads of outdated 8-1/2×11 flyers about cutting-edge products.
- If sales are slow, prices would continue falling until every company operated at a loss.
- Companies would host their own trade show exhibit at their facilities. If you want to see what a company sells, you have to have an appointment or see the products when they said you could come in.
- Every product would be sold with the hard sell. No subliminal messaging. No attempt to build a reputation or goodwill. No partnerships with related products or services.
What do you think marketing would look like if realtors were charged with marketing for General Mills or Apple?
No Crystal Ball
I’m no expert when it comes to real estate. I can’t predict what will sell my house. But my marketing instinct tells me that what will sell the house will be networking and exposing it to as many people as possible. What a perfect use of social media!
Networking? That’s the premise of social media. My realtor could use social media to connect with other realtors who may have buyers looking for a home like mine or directly with prospective buyers. Realtors who use Facebook and Twitter to build their networks are ahead of the game – particularly if they use them for building relationships rather than shameless self promotion.
A blog? Also a great way to bring attention to their expertise and provide relevant content that Twitter followers and Facebook friends or fans would be interested in.
Video? A video that goes viral would have amazing potential, would it not?
With the versatility of social media today, it seems to me that selling a house could be so different. How would you use social media to sell a house?
For nearly 20 years, Amy Lewis, principal of Renown Marketing Communications, has been helping companies achieve business objectives through effective communications that influence the stakeholders who impact their success.
Photo credit: Dick Phillips, FlickR Creative Commons
Thanks, Ryan, for your thoughts. I agree that the MLS system is great for alerting Realtors and buyers to available properties. I currently have two searches set up to notify me when a home meeting my criteria comes onto the market. It sounds like you were in a highly competitive situation when looking for your house. That's probably a bit different situation than I was in when selling my house or now as a buyer. My house didn't sell in the first few days of being on the market. That's where social media could have contributed to a successful outcome and possibly sooner. It's all speculation at this point since my house sale is now pending.
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LikeInteresting post Amy. Having spent some 20-years very close to the real estate business, my parent are Realtors, I have some insight into their marketing efforts. Certainly, realtors could do a better job incorporating social media, but I would not discredit MLS.
In this hot market of foreclosures, banks are posting properties to MLS everyday. I know because that is where I found my current house. If I had not been working with my realtor every day looking for that deal I may have lost my home to someone else.
We had actually purchased our home before the sign went up in the yard. If you want to find deals in today's market you need a Realtor that can search the MLS system with your specifications in mind.
Craig's List, Facebook and Social Media is a great idea if you are selling your home, but if you are shopping for a home you are missing out if you are not linked to the MLS system.
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LikeMeghan:
Great ideas! A poll on the realtor's FB page? Bravo!
Now that I'm on the buyers' side of the equation, I particularly like the thought of giving buyers neighborhood information and testimonials from other residents right on the MLS profiles. Had I done a video on my house, that's what I would have done. Here's the 'hood - the park at the end of the street, the retailers close by and a bit about the neighbors. Sell the neighborhood. Give buyers a sense of what it would be like to live there. Love it!
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LikeInteresting topic, particularly from the buyer's lens. My first instinct is to think, "No matter what marketing technique they use, I'm not going to consider a place with only one bathroom!"
But on the other hand, how great would it be to have a YouTube video of each house? Get yourself a $200 Flip cam, and do a walk-thru.
With homes, though, you really have to get IN the place to decide how you feel about it. And that is going to require an open house.
But what if a realtor had a poll on her website, right next to the video for a particular home (or in the video description on her Facebook page, even): "When would you come to an open house for this home?" Give them a few time slots, have them vote, and send them an email update with the final time slot.
Oooh! And while they're at it, they can fill out a criteria profile and get themselves a PURL and have automatic updates when new houses that match their criteria become available.
I know some realtors do that now, but it's not very well executed. I'm thinking more like Pandora, where you can give a house a thumbs down and it never shows up in your results again.
It could also involve friendlier, more interactive maps -- like the one on MLS but with neighborhood descriptions and highlights. Maybe when you drive through Seward you don't immediately see the all the great hole-in-the-wall restaurants or know about the CSA pickups in the area or the great community feel. But what if you clicked on an area of the map, and it brought up not only a description of the community, a list of places to go, profiles/testimonies of recent home buyers in the area and how much they LOVE their new home? Then it shows you homes in the area that match your criteria (and ONLY those that match your criteria). And each one has a video!
OK, I need to calm down.
The point is - you're completely right, Amy. There is a lot that could be done outside the realm of the 10-picture MLS listing. The funny thing is that I really had to force my brain to think of different options because my immediate reaction was so strongly inclined toward maintaining the status quo.
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LikeNormally I would leave a loooong comment, but in this case, I shall just say..."Bravo"!
@CBRELongBeach
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