Florida Association of Realtors EARLY BIRD NEWS today, featured the short article below. I tried to find the NAR study that Matt references, but was unable; I'll keep looking. What interested me was that only 5% of consumers found PRINT advertising useful. Another reason for wanting the NAR study is to help sellers understand why we don't see the value in print advertising. The second point of interest is marketing on YouTube. I'd love to hear how YouTube is working for you.
MARKETING VS. ADVERTISING
Real estate technology expert Matthew Ferrara of Matthew Ferrara & Co. underscores the difference between marketing and advertising properties. If Realtors place a picture and a home's specifications in the newspaper or online, they're merely advertising, he says. But Ferrara insists that advertising is not effective, citing a consumer survey by NAR that found fewer than 5 percent of homebuyers consider newspapers helpful; in contrast, virtual tours were deemed useful by over 88 percent of respondents. According to Ferrara, the biggest difference between advertising and marketing is that the former concentrates on a product, while the latter focuses on people and the opportunities available to them through the purchase of the product. Web sites that allow buyers to search by value - as new buyers or retirees, for example - are more useful than searches based on home price. Ferrara believes homes targeting entry-level buyers should be marketed on YouTube or iTunes because today's buyers in this demographic generally are interested in videos and podcasts, while maintenance-free condominiums geared toward empty nesters could be marketed on sites with guided video tours and printable high-quality brochures.
Source: Maryland Realtor (09/01/2007) Vol. 41, No. 4, P. 27; Ferrara, Matthew
© Copyright 2007 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
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That is definitely an interesting study. I think I am inclined to agree. Are real estate agents really advertising on YouTube?
Gail, I mostly agree with you. An is like a loose shotgun blast while marketing is targeted to a specific audience.
Tracy - Don't have an answer to your question, but I do know "the times they are a-changin" and I'm going along for the ride - Woo-Hoo
Larry - thank you for taking the time to comment. I've been all over the NAR website and Google, but can find hide nor hair of the mentioned survey. I called the number at the end of the article, but could not be connected. I'll try again, really want a copy of the survey to use in the future. If I locate it, I will post.