Print Marketing vs Digital Which is Best for Realtors?

In order to cross over and finally make it to “elite agent” status you’ll have to master the art and science of marketing.

What is marketing, actually?

Well, without turning to Webster’s dictionary or some leading business school I can tell you that it’s simply the act of bringing your products and services to the market.

Think about a farmer who has an impressive watermelon crop.

She knows that people love this delicious fruit but before she can sell any she has to tell as many people as possible about what she has in “inventory”. So she goes down to the nearest farmers “market” and offers her produce for sell.

The same is true for real estate agents but in today’s modern age things are much more complex primarily because there are so many OPTIONS and places to “market” products and services.

Here’s how to choose which direction is best for you:

 

PRINT MARKETING

Traditional print marketing is any physical sign, banner, direct mail, print publication, or flyer that you would use to get the word out about your business.

Grocery stores have relied on print marketing for years to remind you every week about the latest specials they’re running on produce like, watermelons.

Pros

• Conditioning.
  People have for years come to expect offers in print as they flip though their mail they will glance at an offer and if it is interesting they may respond or mention the offer to someone else.
• Credibility.
  Publishing an ad in a popular magazine or newspaper has the effect of elevating your stature as a professional.  People tend to see you as more professional because your ad is there in a successful publication.

Cons

• Not time efficient.
  Handing out flyers only works when thousands and thousands of pieces are distributed consistently.  The idea that most agents would have time to do this is only a dream.
• Expensive.
  It takes multiple mailings in order to finally catch a consumers eye with whatever special it is you’re offering.  Not to mention you have to purchase mailing lists or spend tons of time building your own lists.
• Wasteful.
  Most people hate junk mail and getting unsolicited offers usually turns off more people than it generates in leads. This is why the conversion rates are usually very low.   Plus it wastes a TON of paper.

DIGITAL MARKETING

Ah the internet. It changed the way businesses market their products permanently and continues to do so with social media now taking things to even another level.

Digital marketing includes all forms of advertising that you would consume electronically including blog posts from your website, internet ads, social media sponsored posts, and more.

 

Pros

• It’s Easy.
  It’s really easy to set up an awesome website and start a digital marketing campaign to promote your listings.  This is part of the reason why you continue to see more and more print publications going to online only distribution like Variety magazine and Newsweek.
• Context.
  One key for a successful marketing campaign is to provide the right message but where that message is given is equally important.  Digital marketing empowers you to connect with people where they are rather they’re at home or work on their laptop, cell phone, or tablet.
• Fast Results.
  One huge problem with print marketing is you never can tell what happened.  You can only guess why no one is responding to your ad.  This leads to second guessing yourself about why you’re not getting calls.  You start to think, “Was the phone number too small, too large, too red or blue?”  With digital marketing you can get specific information on how your ads performed and from there incrementally improve your performance.

Cons

• Frequent Changes.
  This is really a reflection of people, we change a lot and so does what works on digital marketing.  There is no “set it and forget it” you have to constantly build your brand through blogging and social media interaction in order to grow.   A professional website makes this process much easier.

 

• Difficult.
  Digital smigital success is still hard on the internet.  It’s NOT EASY to get to the point that you’re actually making money as a result of your digital marketing campaign; but it is very doable if you’re committed to reviewing your results and then persevering by making timely adjustments as you move forward.

 

The elite agents who know this and earn from their digital marketing not only use the right tools but they know that it takes time and work to find success.

Good luck.