It looks like every real estate professional on the planet is looking for fresh marketing ideas! At any one time we have a number of ideas and concepts in play to make sure our clients keep the edge in their local area. So I made some notes and want to share some thoughts and ideas with you that you can begin using today to attract more business.I’m continually astounded at the lack of quality marketing produced by our industry to promote real estate services.The amount of money wasted each year must be in the hundreds of millions. I notice Radio, Television, Billboard, Newspaper and Internet ads that cost a fortune but generate little or no response and this is before we consider the dismal quality of most letter drops and marketing cards.Advertising experts all agree that the power of re-stating a message is a whole lot more effective than introducing a new message at every opportunity.Notice how a new ad on TV gets played and replayed until the advertiser is sure we get the message? It’s not ten different ads in ten different spots. Corporations spend millions testing their marketing messages to make sure they work. Why don’t we just save our money and copy the giants by using a consistent response driven message?Here are the 7 Mistakes of Real Estate Marketing
They confuse the target market (I don’t know what they stand for. They just want me to list with them)

They fail (dismally) to create any connection between each message. Each ad carries a different message and the time lapse between messages is too great.

They are mostly without any design element or layout and look dreadful. Too much copy no image.

They have no definable point-of-difference or Unique Selling Proposition that sets them apart from other real estate agents.

They are too ‘busy’ and have obviously never heard of the power of white space and cram not one but two sides of the flyer. White space is our friend not our enemy.

The communication is all about the agent not the target (fatal) Remember our favourite radio station; WIIFM?

They have no call-to-action. They give me no reason to want to call them so they can ‘capture’ my details and begin a relationship.
Let’s consider what MUST happen to boost the effectiveness of communication and get a serious return on our marketing investment.Here are The 7 Secrets of Real Estate Marketing Success(They must be secrets because so few people actually do them!)1. Establish a dynamic point of difference. This is what you stand for and what you believe in. If you were a country it would be your national anthem.2. Repeat your message consistently at every opportunity. (Don’t chop and change) From your office, in your emails, your on-hold message, at your opens, on your webpage. It needs to be compelling and interesting. Create a can’t-say-no offer!3. Develop your personal marketing plan for 12 months (Printing and all advertising is cheaper if you do it bulk)4. Use a call to action at every opportunity so you can…5. Take names. A contact base is currency in real estate. Used correctly, every name on you database is worth hundreds of dollars. This will allow you to…6. Initiate ‘value contact’ with your database so when they think of real estate, they will think of you. This is top-of-mind marketing. We need to give them enough reasons to call us when they’re thinking of selling or know whom to recommend when someone asks. (Referral business is the best business)7. Develop your professional contacts as well and include them in your marketing. (Your local mortgage broker or finance professional probably has hundreds of clients who would benefit from your expertise. Why don’t you look at doing a joint venture promotion?)These 7 ‘Secrets’ actually define relationship marketing. People do business with people they know and like. We need to build a relationship with potential clients before we can expect them to call us.One final word of warning; Putting your logo on everything is not going to help. In fact, I’m convinced it will work against you. It’s not about you. It’s about them! There will be plenty of opportunity to ‘logo up’ with For Sale signs and local paper ads once you have a heap of fresh listings as a result of your dynamic lead generating campaigns.Advertisers love to tell us how we need to constantly promote our brand. They call it ‘brand awareness’ and commit us to expensive advertising by convincing us that it’s the only way to go. (Sound familiar?) Relationship marketing is a whole lot more effective and a fraction of the price which allows individual real estate salespeople as well as real estate companies to build personal marketing profiles with a very affordable investment.As you read these words, there is someone in your target market ready to list their property for sale. Have you given them enough reasons to call you?

Almost any business these days has a Facebook or a Twitter account, and the public is accustomed to accessing information just about anyone or anything, including businesses, through their social media accounts. But with the advantages of social media also come disadvantages –this is particularly true in the case of making investment decisions.In a recent Reuters interview, the FBI expressed its concern with fraudulent stockbroker’s use of social media to attract potential investment victims. Like a business or person tweets or gives status updates, it provides the platform for fraudulent stockbrokers to taut the high earnings and low risk of their investment opportunities. While these tweets or updates can be completely false, the savvy way that the stockbrokers use social media helps provide an official front to the investment scam. And the constant reminders of how good an investment opportunity is and how much other people “like” it (including other involved in the scam who leave false positive feedback about the scam) can eventually mount the pressure on a potential investor to take the plunge.Investors should be wary of following investment trends on Facebook and Twitter, especially if the one tweeting is an investment professional. Integrity Research Associates reports that half of surveyed investment advisement firms who are registered with the SEC have established written policies that forbid their advisors from using social media for business purposes. While other firms have increased their use of social media, investors should still not make investment decisions based on information gathered from it.The high pressure, immediate need to invest created by social media is usually bad news for investors, and can be a sign of potential investment fraud. Investors should always take their time when deciding how to invest their money.There are several overall tips to safe investing when it comes to social media:• Don’t fall for hype. Just because an investment is widely talked about or liked doesn’t mean it’s a good investment for you. The hype surrounding an investment might also make you feel pressured to invest quickly, but the life of your investment will outlast how popular it is one day on twitter. Take your time deciding on how to invest your money.• Don’t be wooed by an online investment advisor. Even the most simply investments take some time for potential investors to understand and for advisors to explain. This explanation is best done in person, so that you can review terms together and ask questions. Questions the advisor can’t help you with should be reviewed with your lawyer or other investment professional.• Know that online credentials can be faked. While an investment professional may have an active and legitimate looking firm online, the reality may be much different. The best way to know if your investment advisor is a good fit for you is to check their professional credentials. You can do this on FINRA’s BrokerCheck, available for free on their website. BrokerCheck will let you know if and how your advisor is accredited, and if they are in good standing with regulatory boards.While investments touted on social media may seem like good options for your investment portfolio, investments should always be carefully researched to ensure you don’t give over your hard-earned money to an investment scam.