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e_Marketing Blog Communicating With Your Real Estate Agent In an article called The Future of Real Estate Communication Phoenix area real estate specialist and blogger Jay Thompson suggests that agents who want to be in the loop with the next generation of home buyers had better understand the communication media they use. Text messaging is something that has become second nature to young people as young as 9 or 10 years old, and it has basically made email obsolete as a way for teenagers to communicate with one another. Thompson reports that in December his two teenagers sent and received about 10,000 text messages - that's about 83 messages each per day - while his 17 year old son claims to have sent maybe 10 emails in the whole month. On the other hand Thompson himself - a technology savvy parent and real estate agent - has more than 5,000 email messages in his inbox, and most of his own text messages have been back and forth with his children. So there is clearly a "generation gap" when it comes to the use of electronic messaging. As he says, "The point is, the way we communicate is changing. According to some researchers there will be 2.3 trillion text messages sent this year. Wikipedia says that 80% of 13 – 24 year olds use text messaging (compared to 18% of 40 – 49 year olds). That’s a whole lot of texting by a whole lot of soon to be first-time home buyers." The other change that has already taken place over the last couple of years is the way an increasing number of people use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. People who would not think of using a stuffy email message to talk to each other find themselves commenting to each other back and forth through Facebook and Twitter. Not only are these becoming mature communication channels between people, but companies and entrepreneurs are finding innovative ways to interact with customers and prospects through these massively popular media. The bottom line is that real estate agents will have to accommodate themselves to the communication media used by their clients. That means if they want to reach young people who are plugged into these non-traditional modes of communication, they themselves will have to become plugged in. 2009 Will Be Pivotal for Microsoft 2008 has not been the greatest year for Microsoft, but they have still done surprisingly well in spite of the economic slowdown around the world. In an article from PCWorld called Microsoft's Top Three 2008 Mistakes, Shane O'Neill of CIO.com discusses some of the things that went well for MS, and some that clearly did not. In spite of aggressive marketing by Apple, Mac sales fell 1 percent over the year and Windows PC sales were up 7 percent. Microsoft's grip on the PC market remained firm - with 90% of users running Windows, and 70% of internet browsers using Internet Explorer. One has to think that the bad press MS keeps getting will have to impact these market shares eventually. Although it sure seems like both Apple and Firefox do not understand that their elitist attitude ("we're so much better and smarter than the other 90% of you") is an implicit criticism of the very customer they are trying to reach. 2009 will be a pivotal year for MS as they continue to try to beat off Apple, Google and Mozilla (Firefox). According to the PC Word article Microsoft's biggest mistakes for 2008 were: 1. Poor marketing of Windows Vista - They've been letting Apple get away with bashing Vista for years now. It's just not as bas as the critics say it is, and MS's own lack of promotion reinforces the idea that the critics are right. 2. Letting Apple Build Anti-Vista Momentum - Even though the sales figures may not yet show it in a convincing way, Apple has taken the marketing game away from MS with their constant Vista-bashing. MS has not shown that it can adequately respond. Expensive ads featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld missed the mark. Just recently I saw an ad touting the unique features of Vista in a straight-ahead way. It's about time. 3. The Failed Yahoo Bid - Early in 08 the bid for Yahoo looked like it might be a case of two search losers getting together. The failure of the bid did nothing for MS's image as a "winner" or a company forging into the future. As it turned out it was probably good for MS that Yahoo rejected their offer. Now Yahoo is worth a fraction of what MS offered, Jerry Yang, the big Yahoo opponent of the bid is gone, and new Yahoo investors are now courting MS. MS is still interested in Yahoo's search business, and may very well end up with it in 2009. Free Blog or Your Own Domain? Once you've decided to create your own blog, the first question you have to address is whether you want your blog to be hosted on your own web hosting account or be part of an already established site like wordpress.com, blogger.com, or one of the many other free blogging sites. If you use one of the free "hosted" blogging sites (Wordpress.com, Blogger.com, LiveJournal.com, Blog.com, and many more) you can create a brand new blog in about 15 minutes. When you choose this option you become part of a larger site such as wordpress.com and your address will be something like http://yourtownrealestate.wordpress.com or http://yourtownmoneymanager.blogspot.com The advantage of this approach is that it is fast and cheap. Plus you will get some traction and search engine exposure for your blog because it will be part of a much larger network that gets crawled by the search engines on a regular basis. But in my estimation, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. |
Cottage-Sales.com - Looking for a cottage or summer home in Canada? You've come to the right place. We have valuable background information on cottage sales and what to look for in a summer home. If you've done any searching for cottages or summer homes, you know this market changes daily. Cottage-Sales.com is a member of the Linknet network of websites. Trade Show Handouts that Stick Around After the ShowMay 1, 2006 - Linknet Business News Full Color Brochure Printing - Order brochure printing at PrintPelican.com PopUp Displays Low Cost - Beautiful graphics, shipped across North America PPC Advertising - Premierad.com lets webmasters earn up to 75% of ad revenue. Trade Show Handouts that Stick Around After the Show by Rick HendershotWhen planning your trade show marketing program, one of the important things to consider is the series of handouts you will make available to your booth visitors. Full color printed materials are by far your best bet when it comes to trade show handouts. But how do you maximize the impact of such a traditional item? You've spent significant money on staff training, beautiful graphics, and a professionally designed display. The traffic is pouring through your booth. But will they still remember you tomorrow? Let's face it, you only have two chances to make your message stick with your booth visitors: your follow-up strategy, and your handouts. Will your handouts make it past the waste basket? Are they an integral part of your follow-up strategy? Let's be clear here. We're not talking about handing out sexy things like cds, yoyos, ball caps, t-shirts, or beer mugs. Those things have their place, but this is not it. Right now we're talking about getting a piece of product literature into the hands of your prospects and hoping it doesn't get chucked into the garbage can just outside the exhibition hall. Why product literature? Product literature is always the "go to" handout because printed pieces of paper or card stock are cheap. And done correctly they can be more effective, have more staying power, and certainly communicate more about your actual product than things like hats or pens. So what makes a memorable piece of product literature -- one that a prospective customer will keep? Here are a few suggestions. Don't be cheap when it comes to graphic design A cheap one colour flier may save you money in the short run, but it is much more likely to be pitched into the waste basket. On the other hand, you probably don't need an expensive multi-page brochure. The first one is "underkill", and the second is "overkill". Do an attractive, simple advertising piece that has catchy graphics and a clear statement of "the pitch". Use full colour and use striking photographs Create a striking headline and don't just do a description of the product. Create a "benefit-rich" statement that focuses on some significant customer-oriented benefit of your product. For example, you can create a headline that says "Powerful Front End Loaders from Mega Loaders", or you can say, "Get the Job Done in Record Time for Half the Price." Which one would you look at? Content matters - make a substantial offer By content we mean the pitch...the offer. Create an offer they cannot discard or ignore. Give something substantial away if they fill in an inquiry form. Or tie your offer in with your website. Create a valuable special offer they can only access online. Put it in the form of a "valuable coupon", something like this: "Get off your next purchase when your register on line." This encourages your prospects to keep the handout, and also encourages them to respond by going to your website and having another close look at your special offer. What could be better? An automatic followup strategy. Give them something they will keep Often a business card is the best. Everybody keeps business cards. Often we keep them long after the person has left the company or the company has ceased to exist. Most of us have a little (or big) pile of business cards. And some of us have a drawer full of them. A few of us even have them carefully sorted in a Rolodex. Make your business card stand out from the crowd. Spend a little extra and do it in full color. Put a photo of your product on it, or use a striking photo that illustrates the benefits of your product. This says "credibility" -- "this company is for real". In other words, business cards -- especially full color cards -- are good. You might even consider a "double whammy" full color perforated post card / business card combination. The 3.5" x 6" (or whatever) postcard contains a coupon type offer, and the attached (perforated) business card can be neatly torn off and kept in your pile, drawer, or Rolodex. Remember to make your printed handouts memorable, creative, and substantial and enough people will keep them to pay you back many times over for the bit of extra cost involved. Rick Hendershot is the president of Linknet-Promotions.com -- an online marketing and advertising network.
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