Learn Why Most Real Estate Ads Fail
Local Realtor Offer & Advertisement Critique
My Introduction to Christine Johnson Re/Max Realtor
I "met" Christine Johnson in the Turnpike Buyer.
According to her advert, she's the #1 listing agent in Windham County.
IMO she's missing a BIG marketing opportunity.
Watch me dissect her ad and offer my NEW version. YOU can compare the two and decide which has the
Ad Placement
From a small business owner's perspective, advertising on the front page can be an appealing marketing strategy, and the best reason often boils down to Visibility and Brand Awareness.
It's the best and usually the most expensive page to advertise in any publication.
The investment can be justified for a business looking to make an impact in a competitive market because it offers unparalleled visibility and an opportunity to introduce your brand prominently and memorably.
BUT... you'll need a good message to market match with a compelling ad. A front-page placement can be a powerful tool in a small business's marketing arsenal but that ad and its message is critical.
THE KEY is crafting a compelling ad
My Take on The Ad
- Great 1st page Advert location.
But... - I don't know what to look at when I see the advertisement.
- A lot is going on in the ad, and my eye is bouncing around. - My confusion comes from the lack of a clear message and "call to action"
(meaning what you are saying and what you want the reader to do). - Her industry understands the phrase "FREE Market Analysis," but what does it mean to me as a homeowner?
- What exactly does she mean by market analysis?
- What is it exactly?
- What do I get out of it?
The idea is people don't have to think about it, and they need to get the message instantly.
In my version, I try to be clear about what she is offering people.
A good advertisement needs to:
Interrupt
Stop people from turning the page, or continuing to scroll their feed. It needs to break their focus and force them to look.
Engage
Attract or involve someone's interest or attention.
Educate
Give good, easy-to-understand information that people are looking for.
In the advert, offer a bit of info immediately or promise the reader they can get that info.
Offer
Something that people want. Ideally, they want it right now.
Better still - Offer a solution to a pressing problem.
The offer should scratch their itch.
It's all about good communication and
speaking DIRECTLY to your prospects
Because they, just like you, want to know... What's In it, For Me?
Let me show you what I mean...
Compare the two side by side
Click to expand
Which one JUMPS off the page
and tells you exactly what's in it for you?
The first thing you see?
(the graphic makes it hard to miss)
What Is Your Home Really Worth?
Immediately you know: WHATS IN IT FOR ME?
It also speaks directly to her market...
homeowners or people thinking about selling their homes.
Next Up
- I'm drawn to her picture.
Researchers have found that when people read, the 1st thing they do is look at other people AND read the caption on that photo. They do this BEFORE they decide to read the article or advert. - The caption creates curiosity.
Humans are programmed to be curious.
This demands the reader continue reading.
It takes the reader's eyes to Christine introducing herself and offering;
"Call me to get your home's current market value. Grab your complete report FREE!"
This does a few things:
- It makes it more personal
- It explains what they get
- It also removes people's biggest objection, being sold too
(no pressure, just the info) This allows the reader to feel they are not going to be sold and harassed but helped.
Next - the contact info
- Easy to read the phone number.
- A more professional email. No numbers or underscores.
It's not a @yahoo.com but it's @BravoLocal.com
It also includes her full name.
An argument could be had that cjohnson is shorter but fully spelled out... seems more professional to me.
Right Vertical Banner #1 LISTING Agent
This is something that people will look at after they have looked at the rest of the ad.
Special note
The logo and her office address are TINY.
It's there and gets, just the attention it deserves in terms of reader value.
Remember that most people would initially care less about the franchise brand or her office location. It only may become important later in their customer journey.
And that confusing SELLING or BUYING thing?
We turn it into "I can help you sell or buy, " which only becomes noticeable after the main message is seen and understood... Where it belongs 🙂
I would have added a website address like:
BravoLocal.com/FREE1 (URL is an example only, we own bravolocal.com)
If you want a BravoLocal,com email, just drop me a note and I'll send over the details.
That link would provide more details for people interested in learning more but aren't ready to commit right now.
On that landing page, I'd have a tracking pixel that would allow Christine to remarket to people that visited the page. By adding the #1 to the end of that site address, she could track what advertisement people came from when they saw the page.
BCMG
I added that for tracking purposes. It stands for BigCatMarketingGroup.
When someone calls her, she can ask what are the four letters on the lower right.
This will help her track what adverts are working and which are not.
CUSTOMER JOURNEY
She needs to think through her customer's journey.
I'll explain a customer journey with a story about a house builder.
Most home builders (and realtors, too) advertise and compete with each other in the spring. However, ONE "Trigger Event" that makes people START to think about selling their home happens MUCH earlier.
Many homeowners' "Trigger Events" happens during Christmas and the holidays.
What happens?
Homeowners have family come for the holidays.
As the family grows, more people come, and the home becomes too small.
One home builder realized this is where most customers' "customer journeys" starts.
He advertised during the holidays (his competition did not).
His strategy was educational.
He discussed people's "pain points," and offered information about how to resolve them.
Over the next few months, he built relationships and trust.
So when spring came, and people were ready to make a move, the ONLY company that came to mind and who they trusted was this home builder.
The home builders' business skyrocketed.
In this example: the customer journey started with a trigger event and the path people followed to finally get to where they were ready to buy.
Those steps are the customer's journey.
The builder offered what those people wanted (information) and helped them on each step.
When they were ready, there was only ONE company they considered (five mile famous)
Back to Christine
STRATEGY
Generate new prospects to increase Christine's inventory of homes.
TACTICS
- Use Turnpike Buyer & Shoppers Guide to reach homeowners that may be interested in selling their homes using a Free Market Analysis
- Use a website with a specific landing page
- Consider other offers, for example, providing a specific offer to a particular neighborhood
- Using Google and Facebook advertising
- Educating people with offers (HELP PEOPLE)
ADVERTISING
Facebook and Google. Google includes YouTube and other Google properties.
We looked at a 10-mile radius around Woodstock, CT (minus any overlap into MA or RI), and Google offers 385K impressions. That means there are plenty of places on Google to reach homeowners in that area.
Similar outreach on Facebook as well.
FYI - Turnpike Buyer (TB) and Shoppers Guide(SG) are great, but it is hard to target people, and other than their broad city mailings, it's tuff to target specific areas. BTW - TP & SG are becoming known as an "older person magazine."
That does not mean TB & SG doesn't have a place in your advertising plan, we plan on advertising in both publications.
SOCIAL
She should leverage social using education, as I mentioned here
CONTESTS
I believe her goal is to be five mile famous in her market area, so the more name-brand exposure for her, the better. If done properly, contests offer a way to put her name out there with "value" and build relationships with other businesses at the same time. Collaborating with other businesses to offer great contest prizes is a win, win.
The biggest missed opportunity for real estate agents...
Real estate agents have already sold homes to people, right?
During that process, they spend a LOT of time with that person(s) and develop a strong relationship with that/those people.
During that time, the realtor's client(s) are answering the realtor's calls every single time. It also usually ends with a home purchase. Talk about a great result!
After the closing, the realtor suddenly disappears.
With any luck, the client may get a holiday card or an anniversary purchase date. Then over time, there is no interaction at all.
What a horrible waste of relationship currency.
We suggest using a process (we have) that AUTOMAGICALLY sends out a card at different times of the year for as many YEARS as you like.
This is important because your client can recommend you (realtor) for years.
Or, with some customer journeys, the home buyer will buy another home or move again in just a few years.
You set up the process once, and it runs.
It allows you to "touch" your client over and over again in a nice personal way.
The cost is pennies.
This continues to build relationship currency, and it's easy and inexpensive too.
If you want to learn more about this tool, reach out to me.