Real Estate Marketing Blog

Did They Lie To Me?

Who rules the Internet today? Well if you judge it by money and broadband it is by far the baby boomer's. This group of 78 million people in the US control more than 83% of consumer spending. And that number will grow to  $4.6 trillion by 2015. 80% of them have broadband.

According to a recent ThirdAge/JWTBOOM study, people over 40 years of age have not embraced social networking or blogs despite being heavy users of other online services.

Boomer's want to connect and interact with others in their communities around shared interests and common issues, but they use more traditional web communications tools, such as email to keep in touch. 

"Do you visit Social Networking sites to connect and engage with others..."

• 53% said no
• 22% said yes
• 26% said that they did not but might

Among the 53% who said they had not visited Social Networking sites:

• 47 % cited concerns over privacy and security of personal information
• 39 % said they are too busy
• 32% said they do not see the benefit of spending time on social networks

67% of Boomer's expressed little or no interest in writing blogs. 63% expressed little or no interest in general social networking. 55% showed little or no interest in listening to podcasts or pre-recorded content.

Email still seems to rule.

• 75% who have received promotional emails about products and services have clicked through to the site being promoted
• More than 55% have purchased a product or service promoted in an email

Do you work your publicity? Because...

• 93% of respondents who have read an article about a website in print (newspaper or magazine) have later visited the site online

Boomer's participate in viral or word-of-mouth marketing as much as or more than younger age groups. 93% of Boomer's are very or somewhat likely to share product information or news with friends. 

Yellow Pages Dead?

Borrell Assoc. just announced that they believe that the Yellow Pages are all but dead.

Over the next five years, we are expecting 39% of the ad spending on print yellow pages to vanish.  After 12 years as an advertising medium, the Internet has finally reached small-business owners with viable marketing opportunities in the form of keyword advertising, interactive directories and low-priced online video commercials.  The recession appears to be triggering the shift.  Click here to download an executive summary or the full report.

Interestingly, they say that by 2012 streaming video advertising will surpass all other formats, including banners and paid search.  The report includes local online spending estimates for search advertising and streaming video for 210 markets.

FICO Scores

Fico Scores can mess up a deal. Getting way in front of a possible frustration is just smart business. Scott Mitic from Trusted ID tells us what we can do to protect ourselves and how you can help your client not only protect her FICO score, but raise it to a better level.

Trusted ID : Chief Executive Officer Scott Mitic is an accomplished entrepreneur and national expert on identity theft and consumer credit issues. As CEO of TrustedID, Scott leads the creation of innovative new solutions that effectively eliminate the most dangerous and costly forms of identity theft. Previously, Scott was Vice President of Sales & Business Development at Fair Isaac's consumer division, myFICO, where, during his tenure, he helped millions of consumers access and manage their FICO score, the gold-standard indicator of consumer credit worthiness.  .

My Recession is Worse Than Yours

Have you participated in a pity party lately?

Have we as an industry,like our country become whiners? Tony Robbins thinks we are emotionally unfit.

In Today's real estate mess Misses '80s Mark by a Mile, the author illustrates why this isn't as bad as back then. You can also make the argument that back then he was in Texas and that was one of the hardest hit real estate environments, while today it is one of the most stubborn markets. But what does that argument or his do to help?

Everyone, has it a little better, a little worse. Even here in Cali. I can remember being told that the unemployment rate was being cooked and it was closer to 20% back in the 80's. All the aerospace jobs had left town it seemed.

People literally had to reinvent themselves. Many of my friends, and myself included benefited from that "season". It was hell going thru it. In many ways it was worse than today, better in others. But tell that to the guy facing foreclosure or bankruptcy. They always need to bring that up don't they.

But what does that matter?If that person is you, or isn't you?So what.

There were more millionaires created during the Great Depression than ever (until the dot com boom, and a million was a million back then).

I know a guy who was broken from the late 80's, early 90's real estate bust. He decided to syndicate some guys with cash. He found the deals for a piece of the action.

He didn't really work during the last run up. He didn't have to. His cash flow from his "BK" set him free.

C21, The Web, and the Unseen Opportunity

Front page of this weeks DM News says C21 Revamps Web Strategy.

Pretty much a yawner until I read the following quote from Kevin Pollack, senior director of e-commerce marketing at Century 21

As real estate moves online, content is ultimately a commodity (that) is appearing across multiple sites.So it's about how you present those listings to consumers that matters.

Re-"spinning" the content is so Web 2.0. That is what Trulia has done. But even they have realized that unique content is what makes for a rich experience. They call it Voices. And the only way to get unique content is...drum roll please.........User generated content or owner generated unique content.

Chances are slim that C 21 will get anyone much interested in just commenting on their site. However, perhaps a Trulia clone of "Voices" may work since they have so many agents. However, one issue most franchisorss suffer from is agent/broker resistance as many do not want to build up the Franchisor website as opposed to their own.

Thus, the agents and franchisees of C21 are less than enthused at out an already fat home base.

This is the opportunity of web 2.0 as I see it. The franchisor cannot create unique content. Content publishing is something that every agent and every broker has as a unique advantage in the marketplace. In fact, it is the only thing left. It is a royal pain. Which is why most will refuse to spend the time creating content. Leaving an opportunity for those that figure out a way to create.

Web 2.0 and your unique content: It is what seperates you from your competitors. It is your voice. It is what the new media allows you to do.

Some Perspective on the U.S. Economy

In today's economic environment there is a little of everything for the pessimist and the optimist.

Foreclosures are at record levels. Sales volume is way down. Vegas seems to be ground zero for bad housing news. As I mentioned in a previous post, to some investors, it has never been a better time to buy real estate.

Today's global economy is pulling the world's poor into the middle class at a rate of 70,000,000 people each year according the Goldman Sachs.

That means they will want to buy stuff. That means they will want to buy stuff from the U.S. And because of the weakness of the dollar our stuff is a pretty good bargain in other parts of the world. That could be why the Container ships are full and moving product over seas. (23% over this time last year). Yes, folks manufacturing is back.

And according to John Mauldin it is THE reason we are not in a deep recession. He is a great read and as his newsletter is headlined this week, Take a Deep Breath, The World Will Not End.

Some more interesting tidbits from his newsletter that kind of puts things into some perspective:

• Next year there will be 2.3 million weddings in the US, at an average cost of $30,000 (we have helped increase the average this year considerably). That is $72 billion on weddings. And many of those new families start with the need to find a place to live, furnish a home, and build their nest.
• 4.3 million babies were born in the US. Each of them will need all sorts of "stuff" - food, education, and places to live - in (hopefully) 20-25 years.

That spells opportunity. Mauldin goes onto point out that despite our big scary problems here and abroad that there are some really good things happening that usually in the end overshadows the bad. And his best advice: "Markets will adjust, and the world will be a better place. Things will work out better for you as an individual if you anticipate the problems and make the proper adjustments, as much as possible, in advance."

John Mauldin, Best-Selling author and recognized financial expert, is also editor of the free Thoughts From the Frontline that goes to over 1 million readers each week. for more information on John or his FREE weekly economic letter go to: http://www.frontlinethoughts.com/learnmore

Social Distortion

As a product of the late 70's and early 80's I was fortunate enough to be immersed by L.A. Music. It was everywhere. All over the country music fans have pilgrimaged to the Sunset Strip. The Whiskey and the Strip was and still still is to many the holy land.

Jim Morrison, The Chili Peppers, GNR and the Hair Bands of the late 80's. And somewhere in there you can stick the New Wave vibes of Berlin and Oingo Boingo and their evil twin brother of New Wave- Punk.

La La land has given birth to some of our cultures most cutting edge alternative movements...some good....some bad. So when I was looking for a title to my post today I thought:

Social Distortion Which made me think of the band:(warning some foul language)

Interesting name for a band, interesting words and theme for a song.

They I guess are now playing small gigs in the OC. They are sure looking old, not so punkish. Kinda peakish. Sometimes movements end up that way.

Funny thing about punk rock. They protested the establishment to create their own vibe. They strove for individuality and all they became was just another average punker.

The Koolaid Krusaders

The Social Storm going on about the web and especially in real estate is occurring almost as I hunt and peck. As the sheople begin to gather in San Francisco for the bi-yearly trip to Mecca to hear from the Lord Inman and his disciples of all that is technology. God Bless Brad. He is the Johnny Rotten of real estate.

If you are a reader of this blog, you know I am a skeptic of most online movements. Technology is an easy sell. A sales pitch on on unverifiable benefits is always fun to watch. SEO info sellers are famous for this as they hawk stuff that talks about all this minutia that is intellectually stimulating, and in most cases a waste of time. It is unverifiable because Google won't tell you how to beat them will they?

And please do not quote Matt. He seems very affable. But so does Karl Rove. I would relish having a beer with either. But Matt works for a multi gajillion dollar entity that wants you spending money on Ads. And he and his company are beholden to its shareholders to do so. And yes Matt has his sheople too.

Its profitable having your own sheople. Thought Leadership is where you should aspire if you are an online real estate marketer. Here is a hint. Make sure it is relevant to your marketplace.

Online Real Estate Has Become an MLM Meeting

Actually I would guess Inman will be the best ever this year as there is more content to pull from as the real estate community grows every year.

However, conferences are great for networking but also for "group think". Ever been to a MLM conference?  How scripted is that deal?Everyone is smiling, everyone is convinced, and no one is making any money.

The first thing I ask anymore when agents/marketers/advisors throw advice around is how much have you made doing that? Usually there is silence and then an uncomfort as I just took us into a real weird space. But it is a great way to cut to the chase when someone is trying to convince you of something.

Nothing worse than a fat guy trying to tell you how to lose weight right?

I think Twitter definitely holds promise for Realtors. But please do not tell me it is the be all to end all. Just ask wheres the money? In fact hwere is the money on any internet activity. As most have not figured out the first step, let alone blogging, let alone microblogging.  

But Twitter is the next big thing. Yet no one makes money at it. And Koolaid drinkers drink. While still waiting on a paycheck from blogging.

But the Koolaid continues to pour and the wisdom of the crowd follows in tow. Jim Jones is smiling in his grave.

STOP!

Okay some people are making money at real estate blogging. Soon someone will make money at Tweeting real estate. I know people are making money at these in several other industries but I am talking about real estate here.

I did just recently counsel a Private Investigator on using Twitter. He does lots of cheating spouse type investigations (sadly enough). And we found a few divorce groups that looked promising. He was instructed by me to follow the conversations then enter into them slowly as he gained trust. Then he could offer advice and even links as resources. Of course some of them could be his.

While I am at it. Do you want to know the secret to Twitter? Besides the above strategy. On whole offer value. Same goes with anything else you do online. Blogging, comments, etc. Paul Chaney said in a recent interview that some of his comments on others sites are bigger than his own blog posts. 

The Power of Leadership and Community

When you become a thought leader you get people to follow you. 

• Mobs
• Club
• Cult
• Tribe
• Republican
• Democrats
• Those punks of politics-Libertarians
• And Hard Core Punkers of Politics-Independents
• Sheople
• Raving fans
• Herd
• Patriotism
• Fraternities
• Teams
• Separatist

It is interesting how we humans are absolutely wired for belonging. We all need to belong. It is that darn DNA thing. And if you are repulsed by this, then you are more inclined to join the first person to mirror your repulsion and ask you to join his "repulsed human community club" ;-).

The words in the list above are favorites for the Koolaid Krusaders of  Social 2.0.

2.0 stuff is only makeup on a pig. The rules that apply today is not much more unique than a generation ago. If humans truly behave based on emotion, then I do not think that I or anyone I know, has spawned any new emotions over the past twenty years. Although my youngest has given me doubts at times ;-)

Yet we keep hearing that the public has changed. If anything we humans are more human and frail than ever. Marriages are being held together by threads as spouses work then run home to jet Mary to Soccer and Johnny to Baseball. Dad works two jobs to keep the kids in a safe and good school district. While the predators and a terror cell might be just around the corner.

The emotions are the same, just elevated. Remember doing Nuclear bomb drills in school. Holy Sheet are you kidding me? At 8 years old I remember thinking that this is way to off the radar for comprehension. Today you got planes going into buildings. Watch out that dark guy might just be a terrorist. 

Nothing has changed. People are people. And we trade one not acceptable fear for the acceptable prejudice of the day.

And the net was supposed to make decisions easier. Here is some advice to home buyers go see the damned property! The picture online is nothing like the real thing. Seriosly.  In many ways one can argue that the Internet has made the decision making process even harder.

I remember when we bought our house. I got hold of one of those email tools that would send me listings based on my criteria. Man I had the whole city sent to my email box. Yah that was useful. Not. All this technology crap are just tools.And they will remain as crappy tools so long as they are not used with any sort of strategy. Once I developed a more useful strategy like getting pre-approved first then narrowing my criteria. Then we were in our house in a couple months. 

So what communities do you belong? Online and off. Are you a follower? Or are you a budding leader? The leader makes the dough.

Thought Leadership and Commenting

You see that is what comments are for. That is how you participate. Do you just say yep when you comment on a blog or forum? Or even worse do you place what is nothing more than a classified ad? Or do you add to the value of the talk? And by giving you stake your claim to fame and you get your own Tribe of followers. You are either the Chief or you are the Indian. The Chiefs get all the squaws by the way.(to all the ladies my apologies as I am a male chauvinist and need to come up with some female metaphors. Please forgive.)

Social Distortion

The Social web has its evangelists. They are the leaders. They have their own agendas that may or may not benefit you. At the end of the day you want the mantra to include you and benefit your profit margin right?

But so many of the evangelists preach ideals that often times are sugar gooey and just don't always fly in my opinion. These ideals have spawned a new vocabulary.

The Idealism of the Koolaid Krusaders

Interruption Marketing-The godfather of the Internet deemed the interruption dead. I say it is alive and well so long as long as the offer has any value. If Ed McMahon showed up at your door I think you might get excited about the interruption.

Community-I have met some real cool people online but when I really want to connect I pick up the phone. The phone easily wins over any technology. And when you want to beat the phone. go stand in front of another human and connect. If you do not believe me then write a blog about how much you love your mom and then go visit her in person. Spend a day showering her with intimacies that you have not shared in years. Tell me what did the better connecting.

By the way if Inmans online community was so hot he wouldn't have the need for his conferences every 6 months.

Web 2.0-More prettier choices thats all. Makeup on the same pig. Sales and marketing sucks. And don't tell me 2.0 is not marketing. If you are not out there looking for a new client then you are running a hobby.

If Web 2.0 is the savior of real estate then why isn't the real estate bust already well over?

New Media- Huh? This phrase is often used as an excuse to fan the arrogance of the geek class. I witnessed a group of esteemed marketers Tweeting to one another at a recent conference. I found the exercise extremely rude although the Tweeters felt very justified with their heads buried into their laptops. It seemed to me to be a modern day version of passing notes across the classroom.

We are not journalists. Far from it. Be very careful there because if you start claiming that you are a new form of journalist then I can only imagine the law suits coming your way. We are in fact editorialist's in some form maybe. And we are not entitled by our tools to anything special. Just because one has voice does not mean it always needs to be said. By the way, the archive of the Tweets were not a very good representation of the talks at all.

Transparency-How is this a new concept? Its always been sales 101 as far as I know.

All these tools in the so called social media are just tools. They will only succeed when employed with strategy. The best way to develop your strategy is to go back in time and study Direct Response Marketers prior to the net.

You will find that writing was second nature to these guys. They "posted" their words abundantly. They understood the need for narrative and publishing.

Its nothing new. As usual, hopefully it is capturing you prospects and leads? If not, could it be? If not, perhaps you should scrap it.

There are strategies being employed by yours truly and others that are making money in the new environment of 2.0. I have found John Reese to always be out in front of the trends. He blogged before anyone even heard of blogging. He is now doing the 2.0 thing in ways that none of the Krusaders even are mentioning.
You can get it here.

 

Some Good News In Housing

Housing is getting some good news as the markets keep fighting on despite the front running economists saying its all but dead.

First off any good news needs a narrative and it starts with Donald Trumps record sale of his Florida Mansion.

Meanwhile U.S. Housing starts U.S. housing starts unexpectedly surged 9.1%,  the most in more than two years in June.  Barron's Magazine is asking if the market is ready for the "giddy days again".Stating a recovery may well be on its way. While affordability of many real estate markets are being sung across he Country.

Study good and bad news on the web. Be curious how it spreads. Do you want to talk viral marketing? This is how it is done folks. Not some widget or some poorly conceived link bait.

This is good news folks. If I was an agent I would publicize it.Everywhere. My next move after this post is to talk about Trumps sale at Twitter.  I would get the world to know that there is positivity out there. Say it enough times and eventually it will catch on. Perception is reality.

Interview With a Social Media Pioneer

Paul Chaney of Bizzuka.com

When someone talks about the "new media" what does that mean? Paul Chaney is a pioneer in the social media and as such is a force to reckon with. He talks about blogs and the new media. Learn from a master. He is also an author of the book on blogging called Realty Blogging.

You do not have to be a Realtor to appreciate this book as it is in my opinion the book on blogging for any small business.

Real Estate Lead Generation

  Interview with Payam Zamani CEO Reply.com-online godfather of online leads

Lead Generation 1.0: Challenges with Lead Generation Today
The lead generation industry has been significantly impacted by legislation, a downturn in the economy and tightening of consumer credit. In 2007 and 2008, several large lead generation companies went out of business or stopped generating leads (RealEstate.com, House.com, Loanweb, Loanpage).