This is my column for this week from the Arizona Republic (permanent link).
Phoenix real estate conference teaches Realtors and lenders the brave new world of internet social media marketing
What happens when you bring the brightest Realtors and lenders from all over the country to Phoenix for a social media marketing conference? Great ideas are cross-pollinated, germinated, planted, take root and flower.
We run a national real estate industry-focused weblog called BloodhoundBlog.com. There are 24 contributors — Realtors, lenders and investors from all around the country — and hundreds of daily visitors. We’ve been doing this for nearly two years, and, in that time, we have avidly pushed for excellence among real estate practitioners, especially in the burgeoning internet side of the business.
This past week we hosted the inaugural BloodhoundBlog Unchained event at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. People came from all over — a third from Greater Phoenix, a third from the rest of the Southwest, a third from places where it rains and snows. Together for three days we explored the world of social media marketing in real estate.
What’s that? Social media marketing is the commercial arm of the participatory internet. As more and more people make the internet their primary means of interacting with the world, real estate professionals are learning how to move their own practices online.
The important question: What’s in it for you? The internet is a brave new world of commerce. No one likes sleazy sales people, but sleazy sales tricks cannot work on the internet, where every suspicious claim can be checked in an instant. Transparency rules, and the practitioners who succeed with net-empowered consumers are the ones who are prepared to back up everything they say.
The bonus for people willing to work this way is that consumers will have a much higher degree of trust in their Realtor or lender. Rather than picking a name out of a phone book or off of a yard sign, they will have gotten to know that person — passively and anonymously — online.
BloodhoundBlog Unchained was put on by me and my partner, Brian Brady of MortgageRatesReport.com. If you’d like to sneak a peek at the world of real estate as the professionals see it, feel free to join us at BloodhoundBlog.com.
Technorati Tags: blogging, BloodhoundBlog Unchained, disintermediation, real estate, real estate marketing, technology
Louis Cammarosano says:
Greg
I think the Unchained event was spot on for marketing tactics. There was plenty of useful and thought provoking information. I agree with Mark Ekenrode that there may have been plenty of great tactical advice but we missed providing some overall strategic guidance.
Also it would be good to combine some of the marketing information with tip on how to be a good realtor.
Knowing google, blogging and social media can make you a master marketer BUT if you don’t have realtor skills you might be wasting your time.
May 24, 2008 — 8:31 am
Louis Cammarosano says:
As a follow up. Some of the unchained audience were new realtors. As such they learned marketing but don’t yet know as much as they may wish in order to become a great realtor.
The experienced realtors that were in attendence already knew how to be realtors and they took away some valuable marketing advice. Perhaps the experienced realtors next time can also in a panel session pass along some basic realtor advice to go along with the marketing advice that they receive.
May 24, 2008 — 8:36 am
Mark Eckenrode says:
louis, you gave me a “slap on the forehead” moment. yup, how to use the net in marketing was covered in good detail but the net is also being used for managing real estate business… online documents, transaction tracking, team management tools/sites, etc. this would be a fine addition.
May 24, 2008 — 8:58 am
Louis Cammarosano says:
Yes, mark
We covered the front end, bringing them in the door stuff but not the matching your marketing to your practices or the conversion and tracking stuff.
In all fairness the conference was touted as a social media marketing conference.
However, marketing without the right services behind it, is an incomplete recipe for success.
May 24, 2008 — 9:02 am
Tom Vanderwell says:
Greg,
Well said. I like what you said….
“ones who are prepared to back up everything they say”
Those are the ones, whether on the lending side or the realtor side, who are going to succeed in this new reality.
Thanks!
Tom
May 24, 2008 — 10:40 am
James Bridges says:
Having a good understanding of marketing online is essential, but I agree you have to bakc it with skills. I find new and experienced agents have the biggest problems with scripts on how to handle all of these new found leads. Just some basic skills can really make all of the marketing worth while 🙂
May 24, 2008 — 2:28 pm