There’s a lot of talk these days about “extending your reach” in marketing and I think that’s good. Working to expand the number of people who know you and what you offer is important. Expanding your efforts into additional marketing channels is also good. While your clients may have a preferred medium of digital communication (like email), studies show that people rely on multiple platforms for information including social media, advertising, text and others. This is especially true for Millennial consumers whom, as you know, comprise an ever-growing share (up to 40%) of home buyers.
But expanding your numbers and replicating your message are not enough to maintain consistent mindshare. Breaking through and sending a message that sticks requires a strategy that goes deeper.
As you plan your digital marketing efforts for 2017, you should certainly consider what channels to use. But here are some more fundamental considerations to throw into the hopper as well.
Thought #1 – Consider the Internet a Community, Not A Medium
Credit to Ryan Cote of the Online Marketing Institute. The internet is no longer a place where people go to do internet things, then return to real life afterwards. It is now enmeshed in everything we do. Our lives are inextricably linked to being online. This is true for not just for some of your clients, it’s true for virtually all. And, your clients are not online in isolation, they are online in community, which means they share messages, including yours, with each other.
When considering your message and the mediums that carry them, choose ones that are, by their nature, good for sharing. Think about adding information to your listing-based marketing like neighborhood info, market data, referrals to businesses and resources you know your clients need, etc. This is the kind of information that gets shared, taking your brand along with it.
Thought #2 – Consider Each Tactic as Part of a Whole
As outlined in this excellent resource from Whole Brain Group, an individual marketing tactic must be considered as part of an overall strategy. All tactics should tie together and reinforce each other, like a web.
What does this look like in real life? Well, think about posting your emails to your social media accounts, then support them with a digital advertising campaign. Or, when you host an Open House, create an EventBrite page (it’s free and integrated into rezora) to invite, register and remind attendees, and afterwards, send your attendees a neighborhood market report and invite them to subscribe to your blog.
Thought #3 – Consider Yourself a Subject Matter Expert
When you market, offer content that speaks to your bona fide status as an expert in your field. If you’re not an expert in your field, become one. I’ve been at this game a long time and one thing always rings true - competence will set you apart from your competitors.
A Bonus Thought – Are You Differentiated?
Finally, and I’ve said it before, differentiation is key. In fact, I think it’s the single most important asset in your marketing arsenal. To establish a unique and defensible place in the mind of your market, you must establish yourself as an expert in a specific niche.
Let me give you an example from a different industry. My neighbor is an insurance agent, and he does well. When I asked him how he differentiates himself, he said that no one knows insurance for tow trucks like he does. Tow trucks! And he’s killing it.
In closing, it’s fun to market. It’s fun to press “send” on a marketing piece and watch the metrics roll in. But as you do, take time to build a foundation based on the above thoughts.
Happy marketing!
Links to additional resources:
- http://www.smartinsights.com/internet-marketing-statistics/how-important-are-digital-communications-in-2015/
- http://www.realtor.org/news-releases/2016/03/nar-generational-survey-millennials-increasingly-buying-in-suburban-areas
- http://blog.thewholebraingroup.com/9-tips-developing-2017-sales-marketing-strategy
