Judging by the preliminary results of our poll, most Property Ad Guru readers are planning to invest significantly more in online marketing this year. With the Internet Advertising Bureau also predicting another increase in online ad spending in 2010, one question springs to mind: How do you make sure the money you spend on online advertising doesn’t go to waste? In other words, how can you fine-tune your advertising strategy this year to ensure it results in more leads?
The place to start answering those questions is your records for 2009. Where did you spend your money? What form of advertising resulted in your strongest leads? If you’re not sure of the answers to these questions, start tracking your online ad spend today, recording exactly where each lead is coming from and how much it cost you in terms of dollars as well as time.
Of course, the biggest expense for agents advertising online is usually the property portals that carry their listings. Property portals are the obvious choice, especially when we consider the number of people looking online for property: the US National Association of Realtors estimated 90 percent of potential buyers were looking online at the end of last year. But even the major real estate websites are gradually realising they don’t have every base covered when it comes to online advertising.
US property search engine trulia.com, for example, recently said it plans to bring more content to mobile phones this year, and to offer property seekers more local information. In Australia, market leader realestate.com.au has also branched out into the local and social realms with a property review website.
So if even major property websites are catching on to these trends, does that mean agents should also invest in a mobile website, add reams of local information to their blogs, and double their efforts on every social media channel?
Not necessarily. Internet Advertising Bureau chief executive Guy Phillipson, quoted on outsourcery.co.uk, sums up the issue when he says, “In the end you need to follow an audience and find out what they do all day to decide where you are going to advertise.”
Phillipson added that he sees the social side of the Internet becoming “inescapable” for online advertisers. But as with every aspect of online advertising, the key is tracking the results your efforts are bringing in. Ultimately, this information will allow you to keep fine-tuning your marketing mix until you have a personalised strategy that works for you.
For more tips on knowing where your leads are coming from, check out our article here.
[Image: thechesspiece.com]
No related posts.
Loading ...
Comments